The Anthem

[BrettnotBritt]

Went for the first time last night and just wow this place is incredible. Lines were long but efficient, took maybe 15 minutes to get inside once a staffer informed us of two more GA lines towards the left of the main entrance.

Lines for the bars were painfully long on the second floor, but once the show started there was very little wait. Will just do that next time.

I know soap dispensers are a hot topic 'round these parts, but they had a bunch of Softsoap containers in the restroom as replacements.

Anyway, back to the venue itself, I was in awe. Not a bad seat in the house and the sound was terrific. We opted for the center balcony on the second floor since my wife is 5' and we could see everything.

We had to bail before All My Friends to avoid the Uber onslaught and get in home in time for the sitter, but Seth & Co hit a grand slam with this venue. I've been pining for a place like this since seeing the Pixies at DAR in '04 and The Anthem was worth the wait.

Also, I got a full signal inside with T-Mobile, even better than at my own house.

tl;dr this place is awesome and can't wait to go back

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

that DJ was terrible 

wow Kosmo got a good slot

[StoneTheCrow]

It's my potentially wrong understanding that only a few of the wharf restaurants are actually open at this point. Can anyone confirm?

I know some temporarily opened last week and will reopen Monday. My wife and I are coming down for Queens on Friday and would like to eat before the show (sorry, Seth. We did eat at the soft opening, tho).

[K8teebug]

It's my potentially wrong understanding that only a few of the wharf restaurants are actually open at this point. Can anyone confirm?

I know some temporarily opened last week and will reopen Monday. My wife and I are coming down for Queens on Friday and would like to eat before the show (sorry, Seth. We did eat at the soft opening, tho).

There is not that much there for food. I was glad I ate dinner right before I left. Super long lines for what is open.

[friarfunk]

Anyway, back to the venue itself, I was in awe. Not a bad seat in the house and the sound was terrific. We opted for the center balcony on the second floor since my wife is 5' and we could see everything.

My similarly height-abbreviated wife and I were probably near you on the center balcony. She was over the moon at the sightlines everywhere.  IMP did an absolutely incredible job with the design of this place.  I don't know how many people have made it up to the third floor balcony yet, but it's tremendous as well.  The lines at the bars get lighter and lighter the higher you go, too.

Food is definitely a cluster.  A little before 8 last night it seemed like the counter gave up on the whiteboard and was just trading in receipts first-come first-served.  I think that was a good call.  More beer variety would be nice too--of the five craft options I saw available last night, 4 were IPAs. 

But that's just concessions and can be fixed.  In terms of design, sound, and overall vibe, this might be the best venue I've ever been to.  LCDSS obviously helped set the tone, but this is a keeper.  We were blown away.

[Thousand Made-Up Loves]

that DJ was terrible 

I thought he was pretty good

[hutch]

He was there from at least 7...the dj

[Vas Deferens]

he played the most unimaginative music you could imagine.

that DJ was terrible 

I thought he was pretty good

[grateful]

It's my potentially wrong understanding that only a few of the wharf restaurants are actually open at this point. Can anyone confirm?

I know some temporarily opened last week and will reopen Monday. My wife and I are coming down for Queens on Friday and would like to eat before the show (sorry, Seth. We did eat at the soft opening, tho).

I noticed a crowd in Taylor Gourmet, and popped my head in.  They said they were doing a staff-only soft opening last night, but would be open for business on Monday.

[grateful]

Another minor point - the bars don't have a way to scan your FWB card (or in my case, a screenshot I keep on my phone).  I had to write down the number on a napkin, and the staph had to figure out how to manually key it in.

Food service was better than it was initially, but still meh.  I got my food relatively quickly, but I think the lady who handed it to me said something about recognizing me as the guy taking pictures the other night.  She seemed annoyed.

Noteworthy - the Bao and pulled pork were off the menu.

[Got Haggis?]

When I walked up last night around 7:20, I saw a huge line. Turned out the line was for the lobster stand outside, not the anthem haha. Only took about 5-10 minutes to get inside, nice work.   Was up front for most of the show - with 2 of the tallest dudes in the venue in front of me (must have been 6’8 or so) - neither of them danced or even had a little head bob movement.  The women behind me were sooooo pissed. Heck, I was pissed too, until I managed to get in front of one of them with about 3 songs left. Theses aholes pushed their way up forward with their girlfriends, so annoying.  So for me, sight lines SUCKED

LCD sounded fantastic up front though.

I parked at the Federal Center Plaza - about a 10 minute walk to The Anthem, not bad at all and only $8 - no traffic to deal with.

[mdphunk]

Feedback after my 2nd visit to The Anthem:

- The line to get in can be long but really does move quickly. I saw a huge improvement between Foo Fighters and last night (LCD1). The change to check bags after the wanding process seemed to speed things up dramatically. That said, please put people's wrist bands on for them. The dude who handed me mine put it on for me and then I was stuck behind a mob of people struggling to put their own wristband on before going in.

- The bar situation obviously continues to be the biggest problem. Bartenders are working as fast as they can, but it's frustrating to get handed your drink and then have to wait 3-4 minutes for your card to get swiped, only to them have to sign a receipt. Adding more POS terminals at each bar would help, self-pay terminals (with phone payment options) would be even better, and adding at least some cash bars would be best. Also there were multiple beers sold out at each bar I went to last night. Having this info on the screens would speed things up since time is wasted by people needing to make a new selection. Bonus points if you indicate on the board if the beer is draft, can, or bottle.

- No cell service is turning out to be a big problem, even with wifi (which was much spottier at LCD than it was at Foos). Meeting up with friends in a place that size among 6k people is tricky unless you have specifically set up a meeting point in advance. Parents needing to stay in communication with babysitters are going to have problems.


These are relatively minor gripes for an otherwise amazing place. I can't say enough great things about how much attention was paid to detail and how amazing the sound is in the room. Can't wait to head back for three shows next week!

[Yada]

It's my potentially wrong understanding that only a few of the wharf restaurants are actually open at this point. Can anyone confirm?

I know some temporarily opened last week and will reopen Monday. My wife and I are coming down for Queens on Friday and would like to eat before the show (sorry, Seth. We did eat at the soft opening, tho).

depending on your mode of transport to get there, may I suggest dining at the Navy Yard or Barrack's Row and Ubering over.

[mdphunk]

Another minor point - the bars don't have a way to scan your FWB card (or in my case, a screenshot I keep on my phone).  I had to write down the number on a napkin, and the staph had to figure out how to manually key it in.

Now that you mention it, none of the bartenders have said anything about it when I handed the FWB card with my credit card, but my statement shows no points for Anthem bar transactions so there may be some training issues.

[Yada]

In a venue of that size, I'm all for some babes at a giant tub filled with ice selling $10 bottles of bud light lime for cash. Would probably make things go a bit smoother.