I give the Nokia Theatre an A+ - the sound quality is unbeatable (maybe as good as the Beacon). Spoon sounded as clear as can be on Saturday.

I plan on testing Nokia's flooring surface and bounceablity at the LCD Soundsystem show on Thanksgiving Eve. I'll report my findings soon after.

But seriously, the guy in the advance ticket booth there was really nice, complimented me on choosing the hippest show on their schedule, and let me know about other shows I might be interested in. And no service charge. Sweet.

I hate going to midtown but the place itself is great. The room rocks. You can go way down in the pit up front, hang back a bit on the mid-level, lounge in the stadium seats in back and enjoy your high, or if you're VIP (which I haven't been yet) there's a balcony to go schmooze with the suits. Yes, the fact that they have Nokia phones to try out on the walls in the hallway is a little weird, but without a corporate sponsor, no one would have been able to afford a theater like this at this address.

The place is way to clean and "Disney" for me but there's so much room to hang out and a million places to get a good view of the band. But, I'm the type of guy that likes adversity in my venue. I want the sauna of Webster hall, the inconvenience of north six and awful sight lines of the mercury lounge.

A quick aside in response to pjd's comment on the sound at the beacon-I saw two nights of Sigur Ros there on the floor and it was incredible, but if you are in the balcony toward the back (as i was for Rufus Wainwright) rest assured that all you'll hear is a wash of indistinct noise...

I like this place, and I hate everything!

i like the room, but when i saw jamiroquai there i thought the volume should have been way way louder.

why would you enjoy difficult situations in crowds? and why would you use the wrong usage of to/too?

I bought Spoon tickets mostly because I wanted to check out the sound in the new theater (the alternative being the Warsaw, which I find to be consistently muddy), and also because going to a show in Times Square seemed like kind of a novelty.

My girlfriend and I were immediately stage left, and while the bass was a little rough, the vocals, guitar, and keys were pristine - I could hear every little change in sound (the reverb was especially nice). Spoon was tight and played a great selection of songs as usual.

The venue, however (and maybe this is my age talking), kind of freaked me out. The sort of slick neon soul-less-ness felt like a cheesy downtown club mixed with a movie theater/bowling alley/shopping mall. It certainly wasn't helped by what appeared to be stoned-NYU-freshmen-get-in-free night.

If atmosphere doesn't bother you, then I suppose the place is ideal. I don't think I'll ever go back, though.

full report from me on my site after I see Bauhaus there on Saturday, but seriously, why would a place being too clean be a bad thing?
we shall see i suppose.

My remarks were justified had you been at the same show as I. Worst show of the year.

I'm glad others have had better experiences. Maybe I'll eventually go back. Once I'm certain they won't screw up the sound again.

You know, in terms of atmosphere, I kinda liked how it seemed more like a cineplex than a rock club. It's kinda novel that way. I like all the conveniences, and the sound was amazing (I recommend going to the stadium seating, you get an incredible mix back there without any monitor sound getting in the way), so I think anyone who hates on this place is just being snobby and elitist.

i think someone could hate on the place because they don't like the atmosphere, not because they are snobby or elitist. someone could say you're snobby and elitist for liking a super clean place with only the best quality sound and no "monitor" interference. they might be wrong, but so are you.

I've seen 2 shows:
Keller Williams
and
the first night of Jamiroquai.

Once you get into the music hall, the Nokia Theater is Amazing. Sound - Perfect; spots for all tastes; pretty good lineup thus far. That said, I still think the Bowery Ballroom is my phavorite venue in the city.

rating: 7.5 out of 10

saw the spoon show, brilliant from a performance standpoint, sound was amazingly crystal clear for their set, we were in front of the sound board. man behind the board for the spoon set? hipster dude in a red shirt. great job by that guy. earlier, got excited to see American Music Club. only 3 out of the 5 members were there, sound guy was obviously the house guy, sound SIMPLY SUCKED!!
AMC had an off night, but my advice to any band that's gonna play there: hire the hipster in the red shirt, you won't be disappointed!

Most people don't realize that sound quality has very little to do with venue layout or quality of sound equipment. Poor sound is usually a function of a sound engineer who is unable, for whatever reason, to maximize sound quality in that particular venue at that particular moment. Bands themselves are also often at fault- they refuse to allow their soundguys to create an appropriate balance of sound.
A skilled sound engineer can make the worst 'sounding' venues sound great, regardless of who's on stage.

Exceptions to this that come to mind are Maxwells in NJ, which was never designed to be a live venue and has a poor layout, and Roseland, which is just so bad for so many reasons.

Keep in mind that most, if not all major touring bands have their own soundguys. Rarely is poor sound the fault of the 'house' employees.

In my opinion, a venue that has good sight lines, a logical layout, and knowledgeable and courteous staff is a good venue. These factors are the ones that a venue has complete control over- the rest is up to the particular performing acts.

how much are drinks? not to sound trite but this is an important factor...are there stella/sierra goodness available for 5 dollars like bowery or 12 ounces of bud for 6 dollars like webster hall?

just saw Spoon here...the sound is great,
but they only serve Heineken and Amstel Light(in cans!) And you have to keep leaving the main room everytime u need a drink, so that's annoying. def. the worst thing about this place.
the Bowery is still #1....

It is a horrible gentrified monstrosity. Please save your money for other venues. Avoid at all costs.

"I like this place, and I hate everything!" - :D

HALLO YES I AM TO WONDER & SAY THIS -- IS A GOOD DOMICILE TO DRINK IN SOUNDS OF ROCKING ROLL... I DISAGREE WITH ANGER WITH THE PEOPLE WHO SAY NEGATIVITY -- I AM HAPPY TO DELIVER MY OPINION. THUMB UP THANK U

^ trippy ^

How are they with checking for contraband at the door?

same as irving plaza -just metal wand detectors. I smelled so much weed, you would think there was no smoking laws in the city.

having to deal with ticketmaster for tickets is the crushing blow here for me. sometimes you can't get to the box office, and paying a ticketweb fee is way better than the four fees ticketmaster charges you. i was really disappointed to see a "bowery presents" on the schedule with the tickets coming through ticketmaster. and it's a house of blues show, too, which is evil. bowery ballroom should not allow themselves to be tainted any further.

who the hell is this asshole who won't shut up about greenday?

anyone know what the deal is with the barcodeson the tickets? got tix for bauhaus and it was the first i had seen of them.

I was at Spoon & I thought it sounded great. Comparing this place to Bowery is moot because Bowery is much smaller.
So you really if you compare Nokia to the other large clubs in midtown (Roseland & Hammerstein) its much, much better..
NYC for being one of the music capitols of the world has a dearth of decent larger venues so its welcomed in that sense as well but it would be cool if there were more options downtown

"i was really disappointed to see a "bowery presents" on the schedule with the tickets coming through ticketmaster." - agreed. I'm all for "The Bowery Presents" branching out to venues other than the Ballroom, Mercury, and Webster, but not if it means having to deal with ticketmaster.

iQue terible!

"I DISAGREE WITH ANGER WITH THE PEOPLE WHO SAY NEGATIVITY"

I'm having T-shirts made. Bless you, the most fan.

Can I pre-order one?

YES --TO BE HONEST, IT IS OKAY -- ABOUT T HE SHIRT - WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THEMUSIC ... (WHEATHER THE COLOR IS GREEN, OR ANOTHER COLOR) THANK U.

is there an attendant in the bathroom? i fuckin' hate that shit.

ticketmaster is affiliated with ticketweb...they're basically the same company

Oh really?????? then explain why one charges ridiculously insane service charges and the other doesn't.

Ticketmaster and ticketweb are related, for example, go to www.ticketweb.com and note the link to ticketmaster.com on the front page. Second, follow this link, http://event.ticketweb.com/about/careers.html that addresses applying for a job at ticketweb. Click the link that says "click here" on this page and see how far the rabbit hole goes.

ok...

so they're related. but are they "basically the same company" I think not

still don't have an explanation regarding the service charge discrepancy

Leaglly, speaking you're right. Practically speaking, it's a sham.

I saw the Spoon show and yes, the venue was perfect in every way. And that was a bit unnerving. But I was there to see the show and the theater did everything to make it the best experience possible. Corporate rock is dead, long live the corporate venue.

I was at the Spoon show as well and I have to say that I felt the venue was deadening. Spoon, a band I love, was about as exciting as a print ad in Redbook magazine. Yes. Sure. The sound is pristine, perhaps the best of any venue I've been at in NY. But at the same time, pristine sound isn't all where it's at. It's the crowd. The sticky floor. The bar in the back. The location, location, location. Nokia theater has none of these. Waxing metaphoric, venues are like restaurants, and like a restaurant, the food can taste amazing, but if the atmosphere is generic then the experience pales, regardless of what's being plated. And the atmosphere in the Nokia just makes you feel alienated and cold. It's a breeze over your hot dish that removes all the flavor. Walking into Nokia theater is like you've stepped into some VP of Marketing's idea of what a venue is. It's a photo shoot of an indie rock show. It's not a show. And that doesn't, for lack of a better word, rock. It sucks. And it doesn't help that it's in Times Square or as it should be renamed, Disneyland. Or hell on earth. In short, I'd say avoid this venue at all costs and hope that the bands you really want to see will stick with Bowery so people will actually come to see their shows. Am I ranting? Uh. Yeah.

Jackson, rant on. You are right. Cold, plasticine environs are simpl off-putting and grotesque.

Avoid, avoid, avoid. Would you actually pay to see your favorite or second favorite band play here? Is this the memory you want of them to be forever burned in you brain? "Yea I saw "them" and I then checked out the new blue-tooth digi- video Quid THree soaked Coke formula..mmmmmmmmmmm. Dont be so f'ing short-sighted, please!

I think what we all want in a venue at that size in NYC simply doesn't exist. I think Bowery holds about 600 people & Nokia about 2000..let's face it any venue over 1000 capacity is never going to have the charm as something smaller and homier. This isn't Europe where art & history are actually valued on same level as commerce.
So people may want to avoid, avoid Nokia but it may be your one crack at seeing a particular band in a given year.

I think what we all want in a venue at that size in NYC simply doesn't exist. I think Bowery holds about 600 people & Nokia about 2000..let's face it any venue over 1000 capacity is never going to have the charm as something smaller and homier. This isn't Europe where art & history are actually valued on same level as commerce.
So people may want to avoid, avoid Nokia but it may be your one crack at seeing a particular band in a given year.

Huge fan of the Nokia Theatre...I give it three thumbs up.

Ticketweb was bought out by Ticketmaster about 4-5 years ago. That probably explains why the Ticketweb charges are much more than they used to be (they used to be $1.50-2.50 a ticket). Apparently the guy who started up Ticketweb is a super nice guy, and got a few million bucks from the deal. Good news for him, bad news for everyone else!

So people weren't getting kicked out for smoking? I was at the Experience Hendrix show at the Beacon a few weeks ago and I didn't even recognize the place. I've never seen such vigilant security Nazis in all my life.

And to think, this is the venue where I once bought endless drinks sans ID as a baby-faced 15-year-old.

Anyway, the reason I ask is because I'm going to the Ghostface show on Friday, and I'd like to celebrate in an appropriate manner...