930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: cal on June 23, 2003, 10:58:00 am
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I tried to get Pit tix and ended up w/ LAWN.
How pissed am I after being totally screwed at the Bullrun show. I had a spot right in front of Thom belly hitting the stage. and then the frickin rain.
anyways
anyone know how good/bad lawn seats are at Merri?
and more importantly any backroad directions so i can miss some traffic! what time are you guys leaving?
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also,
are there sections for lawn seats as well. i just viewed a map that had left/right/center lawn
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lawn seats are crap. as far as i know they are GA, ive never seen the lawn section divided into sections
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the lawn is not divided into sections -- probably just an accounting method for tickets sold.
as for the back roads -- 29 goes straight up to merriweather - exit on broken land parkway - signs for the pavilion are posted
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Not to ruin your day further Cal, but given the weather of the last month, the lawn probably won't be in the best shape, so I'd highly recommend bringing a blanket or something to reduce the inevitable muddyness on your ass.
And I'm happy with my tix.
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The lawn is not very good unfortunately. Acoustics suck and your at the weather's mercy. So getting there early might not realy make a huge difference although I will probably be going early just to avoid traffic and try to get in the center section.
Last time I was there I went to see Travis open up for Dildo and it rained cats and dogs. Luckily I had a big tarp that my GF and I sat on and pulled over our heads like a tent. What a life saver, I just hope mother nature is kind to us this time. And yeah, I left after Travis because Dido made me want to vomit.
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Originally posted by mjnova:
Not to ruin your day further Cal, but given the weather of the last month, the lawn probably won't be in the best shape, so I'd highly recommend bringing a blanket or something to reduce the inevitable muddyness on your ass.
And I'm happy with my tix.
Blanket Hell! Better bring plastic. All that moisture will soak right through a blanket.
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Originally posted by Jaguär:
Blanket Hell! Better bring plastic. All that moisture will soak right through a blanket.
Yeah, ponchos tend to be good things to sit on.
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mjnova
do you have good tix or lawn seats like me
i think a tarp sounds good
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is parking at the mall still an option?
(last merriweather show I saw was in 96)
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It worked for me there last year, and is quite the preferable option IMO. You have to walk a bit more, but you can hit bars and restaurants in the area before the show and your walk back gives the traffic some time to thin out.
Are they really tearing down Merriweather next year? Damn, I hate the Nissan pavilion...
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To get to Merriweather, I would not recommend going up 29, that will be a nice big parking lot for most of the day. Better to come in 95 and take the 175 exit west, that road will follow around until it reaches Merriweather (after crossing 29 and then several lights). I park at my parents house and walk the mile there, but then again I am local.
I don't know anything, nor have heard anything, about tearing the place down, hell it has been around for 35 years, an institution, where the Who had a big riot in the early 70's. Some classic concerts were recorded there (Jackson Browne and I think Bob Seager). Yeah, not to everyone's tastes, but I did see the Replacements there, and lots of other cool bands.
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Merriweather isn't ideal but it's a lot better than anything N.VA has to offer. I've seen tons of shows there...Moz, Bowie, Mellencamp (I know!) Don Henley (I know again!!) Cure, Squeeze, Smithereens, Beautiful South, to name a few...actually, Mellenhead puts on a fine show and I got the album the Scarecrow after that which is a pretty good album.
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Originally posted by Sir HC:
where the Who had a big riot in the early 70's.
where DIDN'T the Who have a big riot in the early 70's is my question!
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I went to my first concert ever at Merriweather in 1988...Aerosmith/Guns N Roses!!! haha. But I have seen plenty of bands there, Poison, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Styx, Jewel, and Pearl Jam.
I have also seen some good shows there.
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The Merriweather closing thing came from another thread. I don't see it happening either. By far my favorite "large" venue in the area.
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by Sir HC:
where the Who had a big riot in the early 70's.
where DIDN'T the Who have a big riot in the early 70's is my question! [/b]
This one was classic, they tore up all the seats in the Pavillion (the audience, not the Who). Merriweather didn't allow rock shows for about 2 years until Pink Floyd (Dark Side of The Moon tour I believe) made it back in.
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Originally posted by cal:
mjnova
do you have good tix or lawn seats like me
i think a tarp sounds good
Seats luckily, but I've seen a few shows on the lawn (REM, Depeche Mode) and still had an excellent time.
Also, if they tore down Merriweather I'd just stop going to big shows altogether. Nissan and Bull Run aren't worth the trek and I have horrible luck with MCI (the last couple of times I've been there I've had litterally the worst seats in the house, in the veeeeeery back). When I saw Zwan up in Towson or wherever that was, it was like being in a barn.
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Originally posted by mjnova:
Originally posted by cal:
mjnova
do you have good tix or lawn seats like me
i think a tarp sounds good
Seats luckily, but I've seen a few shows on the lawn (REM, Depeche Mode) and still had an excellent time.
Also, if they tore down Merriweather I'd just stop going to big shows altogether. Nissan and Bull Run aren't worth the trek and I have horrible luck with MCI (the last couple of times I've been there I've had litterally the worst seats in the house, in the veeeeeery back). When I saw Zwan up in Towson or wherever that was, it was like being in a barn. [/b]
Zwan???? and Ben Harper is a pox on music? lol.
the Towson center is a bad place to see music. I saw Tribe Called Quest there years ago, and they were horrible sounding. Oh and you forgot about the mecca of live music, the Patriot Center!! hahaha. It is a shame that theres not many good large venues around.
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Merriweather isnt too bad, I have tickets for the Iron Maiden show coming up, I caught Black Sabbath there back in 1999, and I think Live/PJ Harvey a few years before that. I live in NOVA and Nissan is still a massive trek for me along the parking lot that is 66 to pay such outrageous prices. Ditto on the MCI Center, easier to get to, but I have a hard time justifying 50 bucks for nosebleeds in that place...
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Zwan???? and Ben Harper is a pox on music? lol.
the Towson center is a bad place to see music. I saw Tribe Called Quest there years ago, and they were horrible sounding. Oh and you forgot about the mecca of live music, the Patriot Center!! hahaha. It is a shame that theres not many good large venues around.
Ben Harper is awful. Have you seen his soulless vapid takes on Motown Classics in standing in the shadow of motown? God, Bootsy can't really sing but at least he gives his all. Can't say that about Harper.
Zwan needed to be seen to confirm that Billy has lost it. Which he has. He's the weakest member of his own group. The whole is waaaaay less than the sum of the parts. Lesson learned on that one.
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while i don't mind a lot of the larger venues, for the ocassional show, nissan pavillion just needs to go. i can't think of one redeeming value about that place.
the patriot center can be a royal pain in the ass, but depending on the show, the sound can actually be great. it was for david gray in january. 'course getting there and back without a car is an adventure.
mci center, obviously for me, is easy as hell since i live 3 stops from there, esp when you buy your ticket half price from some guys because their friend is too hungover to make it to the show and they need to get rid of their extra ticket.
bender arena has mediocre sound. wolftrap is great, but i think its more the concept and whole package that makes it such an enjoyable experience.
and if you've been in dc long enough, you have a certain affinity for rfk. its just nostalgia.
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the last time i saw radiohead at merriweather they opened for alanis morisette.
to clarify i wasnt there for her...
anyone else?
see i've been a fan for a loooooooong time
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The best venue in DC (and the metropolitan area)without a doubt is the 930 club. The Black Cat gives me the feeling I'm in a church hall or something, probably with having the seats all the way at the back for your mums and dads. Sports arenas are meant for sporting events, and seating is designed for all to see down to the center of the arena not at one end, so there's not many really good seats to be had at MCI. Listner needs to be a movie theatre, and nothing in VA is worth the drive. Wolf Trap is the best of a bad bunch.
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Originally posted by lily1:
while i don't mind a lot of the larger venues, for the ocassional show, nissan pavillion just needs to go. i can't think of one redeeming value about that place.
the patriot center can be a royal pain in the ass, but depending on the show, the sound can actually be great. it was for david gray in january. 'course getting there and back without a car is an adventure.
mci center, obviously for me, is easy as hell since i live 3 stops from there, esp when you buy your ticket half price from some guys because their friend is too hungover to make it to the show and they need to get rid of their extra ticket.
bender arena has mediocre sound. wolftrap is great, but i think its more the concept and whole package that makes it such an enjoyable experience.
and if you've been in dc long enough, you have a certain affinity for rfk. its just nostalgia.
Hell, RFK is the best stadium around. It's got charm and charecter and a horrible futbol team who play there who I love anyway.
Wolf Trap is actually really nice. BUT, for the next 20 years or so, there won't be much I wanna see there. The only reason I went before (and I'm going again) is to see Elvis C. do half a dozen tunes off of This Years Model, and hopefully Watching the Detective this time (or did he do that last time, my memory is going in my young age).
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the 9:30 reminds me of a Roman colleseum, especially from the stage, you get that view of all those balconies. You expect some dude in a toga to be giving the thumbs up/thumbs down from the top.
Black cat I like the brick walls, sounds pretty good, and yeah the tables are a bit cafeteria like. Still better than the old one.
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Speaking of venues, why does everyone love to rip on Constitution Hall? I've been there a couple of times and thought the sound and view were pretty good.
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iota is quite good. though, yeah, for a smallish venue, the 930 kicks ass.
Originally posted by mankie:
and nothing in VA is worth the drive.
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Originally posted by mjnova:
Ben Harper is awful. Have you seen his soulless vapid takes on Motown Classics in standing in the shadow of motown? God, Bootsy can't really sing but at least he gives his all. Can't say that about Harper.[/b]
Come on now. If Ben Harper did more than 2 songs on that compilation I will kiss you. Plus, he didn't even write those songs, and may not have even wanted to be on that album or sing those songs. (we all know that musicians dont make ALL of thier own decisions). I think Harper has a style of his own, or of few, and one of the things i think makes him good is that he does put so much feeling into it. you should pick up an album of stuff he wrote :)
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are we in the wrong thread?
whoops
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ben harper isn't all that bad. i mean, come on, he didn't write a song called "bubble toes" like jack johnson did. man, that song goes in the wtf were you thinking category.
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Originally posted by eros:
Speaking of venues, why does everyone love to rip on Constitution Hall? I've been there a couple of times and thought the sound and view were pretty good.
Try sitting in the back on the floor. The view ain't too good. The upper level has super duper stadium seating and I would fear that if I got up to fast I'd go toppling down 20 rows.
Otherwise it is a rather nice venue.
And as for Ben Harper, he just wasn't cut out for motown songs. And now I'll leave him and the Jack Matthews Mayer Band alone.
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i have had positive experiences there, but i think it depends on your seats. if you are in the first 30 rows on the floor, or the first section off the floor, you're okay, after that, the viewing is tough and the sound really gets distorted.
i was there for the opera this winter while the renovate the opera hall at the kennedy center. now that was interesting.
Originally posted by eros:
Speaking of venues, why does everyone love to rip on Constitution Hall? I've been there a couple of times and thought the sound and view were pretty good.
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Originally posted by lily1:
ben harper isn't all that bad. i mean, come on, he didn't write a song called "bubble toes" like jack johnson did. man, that song goes in the wtf were you thinking category.
Ben Harper is the only time i could actually say a Led Zeppelin cover wasn't completely butchered.
Bubble Toes!! haha, thats too funny. and dont forget about "Sexy Plexi" , a song about his love with a window...or something.
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Originally posted by Sir HC:
the 9:30 reminds me of a Roman colleseum, especially from the stage, you get that view of all those balconies. You expect some dude in a toga to be giving the thumbs up/thumbs down from the top.
actually, i sit near the front door, and rarely wear a toga.