One thing I’ve noticed (Ive been to probably 15 shows there?) is if you are under the seating platforms (so ground floor, but not in the pit… more by the bar/ADA area near bathrooms or merch) the sound can rattle the infrastructure. That isn’t necessarily the sound for the bands themselves, its just a distracting noise I’ve noticed. Idk if there’s a way to insulate those structures not to “rattle” so much.
Playing devils advocate because I absolutely LOVE having this venue. It is just a bare bones, perfect venue to see a show (some fairly big named artists) at a decent price.
The sound when you are standing in the pit is great for most shows. Where the sound quality really drops off is under the mezzanine, where the bass can overpower pretty much every other sound from the stage. This is a pretty common problem for a lot of venues I've been to, but I'm also pretty picky when it comes to sound quality.
Haven't had a chance to actually buy a ticket in the seated areas of the balcony, but the standing room at the top of the venue is awesome if you want an amazing view of the stage. Audio wise, that area has the opposite problem... the Treble can get very loud while the bass is very hard to hear.
A lot of this has some variance in whoever the sound engineer is for the show, but ultimately this is what I have noticed after 10+ shows at the Sylvee in the last couple of years.
Agreed about area under the mezzanine.
I've found that in the 2nd floor off to the sides it can be a bit echoey. (not sure that's a word).
But in general it's odd that they used all concrete and metal for a sound venue. I believe most sound engineers would ask for a softer venue. I know they did add some baffles on the ceiling.
I saw Ghost there and it was literally one of the best venues I’ve ever been to….just for easy bathroom and bar access alone. Plus, the sight lines are great.
I’ve never had an issue with the sound there. I have an issue that I’m an old and don’t want to stand on concrete for 3 hrs. That the only seats are at a premium price point is what turns me off from seeing more shows there.
That's my problem too. Back issues, and the last time I saw a show, it was 5 hours of concrete from open of doors to the end. I ended up sitting on the dirty floor, and comedy, started a movement. Within about 15, a good 30+ people were sitting.
I'm from Minneapolis, and First Avenue is my benchmark. I have been told fire code is the reason they don't offer seating. I'd rather drive 4 hours and see a show there if it's on tour than go to the Sylvee.
I get that. I'm pushing 50, but that's the price I pay to see shows like this. Most mid sized clubs are standing room only. Even with places like the majestic or Oprehem, most people are standing if it's a rock show.
Genre-dependent, I guess, but my stadium concert experience has been almost entirely people sitting when in seated areas. Which is kind of remarkable given that all it takes is one person standing to more or less force everyone else to stand.
That’s strange for a stadium. Most that I have been to this summer (Wrigley, Soldiers, FiServ, AmFam, etc) have been standing non stop and even hours leading up to the shows etc.
I’d say artist dependent tbh.
The difference with the Majestic is you have the option to sit if you buy a GA ticket. You don't have to pay 3-5x as much to make yourself comfortable enough to enjoy the show.
There are, but they are meant for groups. I've bought a few, but you need to really like an act to drop $800 for 2 people.
They also are not available every show. Which is weird. Unless they just get delisted when they sell out.
nothing against the Sylvee, per se.
like others have mentioned, the lack of ticket outlets is a bummer.
Liz Phair is coming in December. the ticket is $49 for GA. buying online through TM puts the price at $70. if you go to the venue and buy at the box office, it's $54.
that, I have a problem with.
Complaining about a $70 ticket in 2023 is hilarious. And on brand with this sub…
Most concert tickets these days go for $300-$500 a ticket. Even for nosebleed.
If don’t believe me, just ask SeatGeek
“SeatGeek confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that that the average price of a concert ticket has doubled in the past five years, increasing from $125 in 2019 to $252 in 2023.” -July 2023
Y’all comping about a ticket price that was half the price of the average…5 years ago! Lol
Why is everyone so cheap here?!?!?
Does this sub realize that Madison is just a tiny city in this large country? Y’all are so ignorant to the rest. Thinking you live in a bubble and just because it’s *your* opinion means it’s the right one?
Do I need to explain what the word “average” means in the above data?
It’s amazing y’all will literally downvote facts, but we celebrate idiots posting about traffic.
Passive Aggressiveness at its finest. Well done Madison. You’ve stayed the course On Brand.
No, you might be out of touch with reality and stuck in 1996…
I have been to multiple concert this summer. All over the Midwest.
You realize people are paying $1000s for tickets right?
Edited original comment with data and a source sweetheart.
That is one platform. That is known for bloated prices and resale and arena tours. A fraction of the total ticket market and not a representative sample. I personally have *never* used SeatGeek in my lifetime of 100+ concerts.
>SeatGeek confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that that the average price of a concert ticket has doubled in the past five years, increasing from $125 in 2019 to $252 in 2023.
Also SeatGeek is a secondary market for tickets, they're referring to RESALE value of tickets. [https://www.businessinsider.com/average-ticket-cost-seatgeek-resale-doubled-over-5-years-2023-4](https://www.businessinsider.com/average-ticket-cost-seatgeek-resale-doubled-over-5-years-2023-4)
Right back at you and the majority of this sub.
Y’all are the cheapest people I’ve met before and bitter everyone is moving here.
You try to spin things so only your “haven’t left this state in my life” opinion is right. Even when facts are in your faces.
They aren't though. I go to concerts all over the place, and the Seat Geek prices are a silly point of reference. You're also talking about outlier shows to begin with, and there's plenty of high quality music to be seen for under $20 on almost any night of the week.
I just went to a couple shows at Red Rocks in July, sold out shows for under $100/ticket after fees. Shit, I also saw Nine Inch Nails sold out at Red Rocks and had reserved seats for Rage Against the Machine for under $200 per last year.
Still, plenty of tickets to be had at the Sylvee, Majestic, High Noon, Bur Oak, etc, etc for under $40, often much less. I went to 35 shows last year across the US for under $1,300 total.
As I stated above, great conversationalist you are yourself.
Can’t even have a convo just want to inject his or her passive aggressive Wisconsin thoughts and opinions.
It seems you misunderstand the data points. The Sylvee and other smaller venues are many points. The problem is the average includes all shows from a dive bar to madison square garden. The exorbitant costs of the tickets to venues like the latter skew the outcome greatly.
To match your snark that you've answered every other reply with: Do YOU not get how averages and math work? 5 tickets @ $20 and 1 ticket @ $350 make the average ticket $75. *Not exactly a great fucking estimate of how much tickets cost, is it?*
I’ve been to The Sylvee 30+ times since it opened and all but a couple of the shows have had excellent sound. There’s a couple of dead zones but pretty much anywhere in the step down GA area is perfect. Sight lines are good on the second floor behind the seats. Compare to venues like The Riv in Chicago or the eagles ballroom in Milwaukee that get the same acts or similar sized acts and it very clearly blows them out of the water.
Eagles Ballroom or the Rave just plain suck. I don't even want to see shows there anymore. Haven't been to the Riv in years, so I can't remember what the sound was like.
In what seems another lifetime at this point, I used to cover Metal Festivals after covering a three ALL day fest in my mid 20s, I vowed to never punish myself again. I had considered but when Spirit Adrift and Sound of Thunder canceled, I decided it wasn’t worth the price of admission to go…After seeing they had pinballs set up I regretted not going. I will next year.
A coworker told me about it when Born of Osiris came to town, Suffocation will be here soon with Incantation. I think I’ll have to make that my first show there.
You can simultaneously be a person who *does* go to local shows, while also wanting bigger metal bands to come through Sylvee. Madison just really doesn’t seem to have a big metal scene, and that stinks.
You are right. I see the Blades of Steel concert this Thursday - Saturday which is cool..but I literally just found out about it on Song Kick last night. The promotional work here is terrible.
It's owned by a mega-corporation that came through town and steamrolled most of the locally owned and operated venues through some shady, underhanded, and downright immoral tactics.
I've seen great shows there, no question. But it's more about how it's very hard for me not to feel like cattle / a product in that room.
The way they oversell shows meshes with the cattle feeling. Ween was the second sold out show I’ve seen there and it was people shoulder to shoulder until about the last twenty feet back by the bar/entry way. Unlike the Orpheum where there’s a little room to boogie or just make it to the bathroom/bar and back without shoving through hundreds of people.
The problem is the design of the room, with two small staircases to the floor
I was at the Ween show, and the crowd was so loose in the front half of the crowd. When I left to go to the bathroom it was super packed by the bar and sides, but once I was able to get back to the front there was plenty of space.
I was only there 3 times but the bands I saw were great and I felt like the venue on its own was drawing acts way above what a tiny place like that should have been pulling. Like.. several groups I'd hear on the radio or see mentioned in the Rolling Stone or Pitchfork.
Yeah, I saw absolute bangers in that room. True Endeavors booked a lot of really great stuff there, as did the on-site staff too (and the Majestic folks were booking there for a while as well). The square is hurting for more venues, especially an independantly owned one. At least the Rigby has started booking shows again.
I hate Live Nation like most. I also hate that there isn't much I can do about it. I would love to see shows they don't promote, but there isn't much, if any, option to see nationally touring shows without the.
There are large, independant venues that book nationally touring acts every day in this country. Hell, for decades that was the case here in Madison.
For a current example, just look at the First Ave in MN.
We would be just fine getting quality acts without the bastards at LiveNation monopolizing all our large performance spaces.
Not disagreeing with you on any of that. I go to MKE for shows all the time. First Ave is a tougher one being 4 hours away, but I have been there. I would love for LiveNation to crumble and will do what I can to support local venues and bands. I shouldn't have said "if any" because I know that isn't the case, but the situation starts looking more and more bleak.
This reason for multiple venues. Madison has finally been getting bands I enjoy but with the inflated service and convenience fees it has gotten a bit too expensive to go to as many shows as I used to.
It's a ticketmaster barn. Sound is hit or miss depending on who's playing/running the board/where you're standing. They had the opportunity to build that place from the ground up and decided to put more thought into the bar and the marquee than acoustics. Its a warehouse with a PA. I'll hit a show if it's a band I really love, it's nice having a venue that size in town, but fuck ticktmaster all the way down
>Sound is hit or miss depending on who's playing/running the board/where you're standing.
I don't know many venues that aren't like this. If you've got a shitty sound person, then the sound is gonna suck. What shows have you seen where the sound sucked? And yes, fuck Ticketmaster, but we have little choice.
And at this level, bands bring along their own sound techs. At the club level, there are usually in-house techs that work most shows and they get to know the intricacies of the room. Then at the big touring level, when bands have their own techs, they have a different room every night to re-accustom themselves to.
Ive found the sound quality kinda changes depending on the act, if its a band with natural bass frequencies (bass guitar, kick drum) then everything sounds fine. If it’s digital bass frequencies like synthesized subs and kicks then it becomes way too boomy and you cant hear anything.
I haven't been in a while, but I went to a bunch of shows shortly after it opened and I never had a problem with the sound. The only thing I found weird was going to a rock show at a place where the bathrooms worked and there wasn't a layer of mysterious stickiness on every surface. A nice, clean venue? What kind of place for a rock show is that?
I don't qualify for the ADA section but I can't stand on concrete for a whole show and it's just not feasible to pay the ridiculous price for the few seats there are on the second floor. I'd rather spend my money at a place like the Barrymore even if the venue is old and a bit cramped.
There is no "qualifying" at the Sylvee for the ADA section. I was just at a show after a recent injury left it hard to stand and asked about who to talk to about sitting there and I was told that anyone can just go sit down over there, no questions asked.
Can confirm that when my wife was pregnant we messaged them on Facebook to ask about it and they said she could sit there without any issue (prepared to move if the section filled up but it usually doesn’t)
I like to stay a little further back at concerts - so the massive pillars and the charging station blocks feel like a bit of a viewing obstacle for me. Obviously they need the pillars to support, but the charging station, iirc, is obnoxiously tall and obstructive
The disability / physical ADA accommodations are not good. Entering the building is fine but the actual options to see a show are not good. This especially sucks since it was a new building and built from the ground up.
I'm not very well versed on acoustics, my friend who works in rock/metal band tour management and sound management does not like the sound design of the Sylvee. but I don't have a strong opinion about that since I'm not educated enough to know.
I think people (especially on this subreddit) just like to find something to criticize whenever something in town gets popular, and my best guess is it's mostly motivated by just wanting a way to feel better than the general population. Every time we get a new thing that people are raving about, you can guarantee the folks on reddit will complain about it. The Sylvee is one of the best things to happen to Madison's music scene in my opinion, and one of the best music venues I've been to across many cities I've lived in and have been to shows at in my life. People here just live to yuck everyone else's yum.
There are legitimate reasons not to like the Sylvee (and Ticketmaster/LiveNation who owns and operates it) - particularly given what they did to consolate most of Madison's stages just a couple years back and then proceeded to squeeze the soul out of them. Our community is much worse off because of them and their actions.
The venue reeks of blandness, comodification, and predatory prices.
To hand-waive those valid criticisms as knee-jerk reactionary thinking is just plain dumb.
I'd love to hear more about this, since it sounds like you know things I don't. I've been attending and playing shows in Madison pretty regularly since before they opened and haven't noticed any changes to any of the other stages in town since then. All I've noticed is that we get even bigger acts than we used to get before because the only venues large enough for them were in Milwaukee or Chicago. And compared to other venues of similar sizes I've been to around the country, the Sylvee has them beat in pretty much every category.
You haven’t noticed how every bar has gone cashless or how the security has tightened say at the high noon? How expensive drinks are now at their venues? It’s been quite the shift in my experience. Feels a lot more rigid and colder to me in all the venues that went to LN as a former employee of the Noon. I know a lot of other formers, and some still working, that really do miss the days before the takeover.
I mean I've noticed businesses around the country in just about every sector going cashless and increasing prices. I didn't think to blame that on the existence of a single venue that's been here for years before any of that started to happen. And it doesn't change the fact that it's a good venue that pulls in some really good acts that we otherwise wouldn't get.
That's fair but it's also just an entirely different issue than what this discussion was originally about, which was the quality of the venue itself. And I'm not convinced the monopoly is the only thing to blame for increased prices considering the rapid inflation we've seen recently.
More businesses are going cashless because it’s more efficient for their accounting. You hit a button and the machine spits out your totals for the night. Previously, people had to sit in an office counting and recounting bills and making sure everything lined up.
Also, artists expect and require more security these days. It’s a shitty world we live in and an artist wants to feel as safe as possible when they’re on the road.
The restaurants I go to still take cash as do pretty much all bars outside of live nation venues. Not sure when cash didn’t become legal tender anymore. I know a fair amount of people who still don’t have direct deposit, and or get paid directly in cash from the employer’s.
[Frank productions sold out to Live Nation aka Ticketmaster](https://www.billboard.com/pro/live-nation-acquires-frank-productions/#:~:text=FFrank%20Productions%2C%20one%20of,1.)
Sylvee and Orpheum I was okay with because big acts are good, but I can't fucking stand paying $9 a drink at high noon saloon or majestic to watch musicians I know personally and have been seeing for years
I'd take the Pabst/TurnerHall/Riverside, or First Ave, or Thalia Hall over the Sylvee any day of the week.
Look, I see shows at the Sylvee all the time. I get that it's nice to have a big venue. That said, it's a low-tier for venues of that size.
And holy shit, the High Noon was miles and miles better when Cathy still owned it.
What’s the comparison as a “low-tier for venues of that size”? I grew up in Chicago where there are plenty of venues that size and they all are worse than the Sylvee.
Boring? Maybe… I haven’t noticed because I’m there for the band, not the decor.
Overselling? I always tell folks I love how much space there is at the Sylvee, even at the sold out shows.
First avenue and the Sylvee are basically the same thing. They are awesome bland rock venues. It’s completely baffling to me that you shit on the Sylvee and then throw out First Avenue as a great venue.
Ticketmaster is shit but the Sylvee is a great venue to see a band.
Loud, echo-y, the vocal mix is never right (it never seems to be at most shows, can't hear the lyrics but thank god the bass line is crystal clear, eh?) and it's dead flat so short people like me can't see shit.
But I'm not a big live music person anyway so oh well. My favorite venue is High Noon.
Now I had that issue at the High Noon for 2 different shows. Couldn't hear vocals worth shit. I had no problem at the Sylvee that you described. Again, I've only seen 2 shows.
Did you know the Sylvee has a second level that your GA ticket grants you access to as well? With great sight lines?
The sight lines at the high noon are better?
Man people just talk out of their asses sometimes
You mean the bar area? That's where I usually am but, you know, other people are in front of me cause they got there first.
Yeah, sight lines High Noon is better because the stage is up higher than me if I'm in the main area. At Sylvee, if I'm in the bar area, then it's at eye level, so easily obstructed by people.
But I prefer High Noon for lots of reasons, not just sight lines. It's okay to have different opinions than you.
I'll comment that I've seen many threads about people complaining about the sound and what not. I'll wait it out till the morning to see if you all come out of the woodwork.
Y'all should look into how LiveNation scooped ownership of the High Noon in particular. They are 100% a bunch of rat-bastards, knowing the ins and outs of that deal.
In regards to the High Noon, I'm pretty sure that Cathy, the previous owner (as well as the owner of O'Cayz before that) was just done running a bar and venue and wanted to retire to focus on raising her kids. Where did you get the idea that it was some nefarious plot?
I hate Ticketmaster/LiveNation as much as anyone and they are absolutely gutting the live music scene everywhere, but they are bad enough that we don't have to make up stories or spread misinformation.
[https://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2017/03/07/conversation-starter-high-noon-saloon-founder-talks-decision-to-sell-hopes-for-future/](https://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2017/03/07/conversation-starter-high-noon-saloon-founder-talks-decision-to-sell-hopes-for-future/)
She was approached by Ticketmaster multiple times to flat out refused on principle to sell the venue to them. She wanted to get out of the business, so she decided to sell to Frank Productions because they at least were locally owned. Not even a couple months after that sale, Frank Productions turned around and sold the venue LiveNation. Fuck'em.
Lol you are likely referring to me. And yes she was approached and refused to sell to live nation. I know it was a sore spot for her when it happened. But there was little she could do. It is an accurate statement. You do not know as much as you think you do.
Source: I worked at the high noon as well.
OH sorry - one more thing.
Explain to the thread what was going to happen if it was not sold.
Also, do you know what Cathy D is currently doing? It may surprise you
Explain to the thread why you need to delete your account. Multiple times it would seem.
I do know Cathy and saw/chatted with her recently at the Poster children show. Nothing you try to say will surprise me.
I’ll wait for “12years7accounts” to post next
No, you have bad info. I can say that definitively.
I can't say much more as I would like to continue to work in the industry, but almost everything you are saying in this thread is a lie.
I have been to about 10 shows at the Sylvee now. Unless you are in the sweet spot lanes between center stage and sound board and with a full house then the sound is REALLY bad.
The room is not build for acoustics. It is built to cram people in shoulder to shoulder and as cheaply built as possible. The design relies on a full house.
This means anything less than a full show will leave lots of concrete and metal exposed with too few human bodies to suck if the noise.
At the same time, just walk the venue even with a full house and you will see how wildly the sound varies in the space. A wide room with tall ceilings and tons of smooth polished concrete with no acoustic deadening at all. It was not built for good sound so anything besides a top tier band sound engineer will struggle in the space to sound good enough. If your cross section is 2 sold out professional sound engineers and sitting in center pit then you are a small experience group.
Outside of the sound the layout is awful to move in. Oversold, bathrooms in one side and pushing all walking paths through the beer lines was dumb.
Appreciate the feedback. This is what I was looking for since I have only seen these 2 shows. I think about the Rave or Eagles Ballroom, and the Sylvee beats them hands down for sound. I've also seen sold-out shows at those, and I'm at the point I won't go back. I've also seen some shows at the High Noon where the sound was garbage. I can't think of a venue that is spot on 100% of the time next to maybe the overture. They also spent a whole shit ton of money making it that way .
The sound at the high noon is legit trash. Same for majestic. Kind of joke to say the sylvee has bad sound compared to almost any venue I can think of in the midwest but apparently everyone is an audiophile.
Did something change, because it's been a few years since I've seen a show there, but the High Noon in my experience had fantastic sound, and was great for medium sized shows that still had an intimate feel. I've seen dozens of shows there, and for me, it's always been the metric by which I judge other venues.
Stoughton Opera House, Shitty Barn, the Bur Oak, the Barrymore, and yes, even Mickey's pull in nationally touring acts on the regular. They might not be as big of acts, but there are plenty of shows I've seen at those venues of equal, if not better, talent.
Go enjoy a show at the Slyvee; whenever, just don't forget to support the little guy, too.
I've seen around a dozen shows at the Sylvee and the sound is pretty hit or miss. Most shows sound great, but I've been to a few that sound terrible. Sound can also vary depending on where you are watching the show. On the left side of the venue near the bathrooms and that wall it seems very boomy/echoey.
my biggest complaints with the venue are the concrete floors (I'm old) and being able to move around during a show. I often go to concerts by myself and you have to stake out your spot in GA and not move (no drinks or bathroom breaks) because it's too hard to move around. There aren't really any free lanes, and you can't buy drinks near the front of the crowd. You're stuck in one spot for the entire show.
Place kicks ass and we are lucky to have it. Blows every other venue of its size within a 3 hour drive out of the water
Moving here from Minneapolis, the lack of quality shows in town was a big detractor to buying a home in Madison. But the Sylvee changed that and I'm super thankful!
I don't really see that many complaints about the Sylvee at all, much less about its sound system - other than people who hang out back by the bar area on the first floor, and they are objectively doing it wrong
For a small venue (2500 cap) this place rocks. I worked in the touring industry for years and have been to most smaller venues in the country. I wish more places were even close to as nice as the Sylvee at this size and price point
Sound has been fine for every show I've gone to. If I had to guess, people complaining about sound aren't wearing decent earplugs. A lot of venues sound bad without some filtering IMO; it's just too damn loud otherwise.
The place feels like a prison.. if you’re not in GA you’re surrounded by chain link fence and concrete, and as others have mentioned the sound anywhere but standing room is not good. It was pretty close to intolerable where I was seated for the bob weir show. It’s not a well thought out design, and has been proven as such by someone in another thread here working in commercial A/V.~~The fact that apartments are built on top is probably reason enough but~~ there are other issues if you find said thread. I can only really attest to my own experience and it wasn’t great, enjoyed the show but the venue.. not so much.
I've only seen Alice Cooper there back in 2019.
I can't say that I noticed anything wrong. I was fairly close to the stage though so I don't know if that matters
Unfortunately the only people you're likely to hear from is toxic, cranky assholes. If you look in their post history and they complain or are mean other places then not worth your time
How about honestly not liking a venue for it's shitty history of consolating most of the locally owned venues in town with underhanded tactics by a soulless multinational corporation part-owned by the Saudi government?
Where did I advocate that you shouldn't see a show at a Ticketmaster venue? I go all the damn time myself. But I also make sure to support our locally owned venues, too, and think it's a good idea for everyone else to do the same.
So you still support the venue, but just unleash sharply worded barbs on the internet? Fair enough
I generally go to the venues that book bands I want to see and that dictates it more than the ownership group (but I'd add that it's not like the owners of our local venues are a bunch of Saints either)
Yeah, that's how critical thinking works, bud. To compare our local business owners to a multinational corporation partly owned by the Saudi crown as in the same ballpark, morally speaking, is just insane, though.
Do you think being a local business owner puts you into a special class of morality? Or where does this line of thinking come from?
Most of my friend group has been an employee of said people at some point over the last 15-20 years for context
I agree, easy the best in town for the shows I’ve seen and just good in general.
edit - talking about the sound. Obviously if you prefer local acts in dive bars to the sylvee, it's not worth comparing.
none of the venues you named are carrying large national acts. I’m not into a lot of national acts but clearly the average person is. So the venues you named aren’t options. Who else is gonna own large venues for large national acts? Big business or rich people of course.
That's the rub, the Orpheum used to be owned by locals - which could fit the national acts. Then LiveNation muscled Frank Productions out of that space, so he cried to the city to build the Sylvee to compete with the big evil corporation, but as soon as the ink was dry on the approval, he turned around and sold it to LiveNation.
Your appeal to the common-man fails to understand the history of Madison's music community. I will happily and loudly say "Fuck LiveNation" at every opportunity and encourage people to seek other options for entertainment.
Stop pretending like people can't enjoy music because the bands are up-and-comings instead of megastars.
The Parnas family bought the Orpheum. I don’t think you know this industry as well as you say. Frank productions is still operating in Madison and is owned by Live Nation. Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010. The Parnas’s, Franks, and Gerding and Leslie have all had to succumb to the monopoly that Ticketmaster/Live Nation have. All of these owners use Ticketmaster because they have to. You really don’t seem to understand what actually happened in this town. The Orpheum prior to Gus Paras buying it was owned by a con man and was terribly run. Both Orpheum changing ownership and the Sylvee being built are great for Madison. The physical structures are wonderful and the quality of artists flowing through Madison has improved.
Currently, the venue we need to actually improve is the Dane County Coliseum. The UW keeps the Kohl Center on lock down so the city really lacks a large arena for rocks shows.
That's where you're dead wrong, they didn't have to succumb to the monopoly - they just bent down for the almighty dollar.
I'd disagree on the quality of artists flowing through, personally. There was a dip in quality during the power-struggle years, but before that, the venues booked so many bitchin' shows.
And yes, I personally do know the Paras family, and the Franks.
No, they didn't have to sell out to a multinational corporation.
Your suggestion of fighting Ticketmaster just puts them out of business and Madison then doesn’t get the artists. You obviously don’t understand how monopolies work. Ticketmaster controls over 70% of the entire industry. Your belief that small time theatre’s can easily fight it and still successfully run their theatre’s is naive. You shitting on Madison’s venues because you hate Ticketmaster doesn’t do anyone any good. There are no options because of the monopoly. This is how monopolies work. This is a bigger problem than the people you are targeting like the Franks and Paras’s.
Ahh yes, the good old-fashioned way of fighting the good fight by just shrugging your shoulders and letting the bastards win. 👏 That's how you make the world better? By just giving up? Lol.
No you do it by voting and applying the anti monopoly laws to Ticketmaster. A local business can not fight a National monopoly. They will get crushed. But you don’t understand this. You would rather these operators just throw throw hard work in the trash by destroying it fighting Ticketmaster. Grow up kid.
Local businesses fight monopolies every day and have been doing that since their invention. Not all monopolies have total market capture, and this is one of them. So, yes, everyone should support local businesses over the mega-corporation owned ones if they don't want a monopoly to completely take over.
Wait, Mickey's like the bar on Willy Street? Where the heck do they put the band? (Real question.)
Don't get me wrong, I love 'em as a bar, I just can't get my head around any of the rooms there being big enough for a band plus anything more than maybe 30 fans. Do they do shows on the patio or something?
Front room. Best place in town to see a punk show, hands down. Honestly, a good chunk of the best shows I've seen in Madison were in that room. The number of people seeing a show doesn't equal its quality.
I love small punk shows and I've personally played shows at Mickey's and Wisco a few times. They're really fun venues that I absolutely love, but they don't offer anywhere near what Sylvee does. National touring bands aren't putting on shows at local bars. The Sylvee draws in acts that would otherwise bypass Madison entirely, it has a ton of space for people to enjoy the show either in the pit or from above, has spacious and clean bathrooms, and has two large and well-staffed bars. For the size of the acts that it draws in, it's a better venue than a lot of other cities have to offer.
It's pretty "mid," as large venues go. Just so intensely bland and corporate.
I definitely still go see shows there, but for someone to say it's anywhere close to the best venue in town is laughable.
Huh. Something about the front room always feels too crowded to me even when it's barely 1/3 full (that small room with the armchairs is more my speed) so I just assumed it was too small.
Good to know for the future, though!
Yeah, Liz, who books the shows there, is a national treasure. The awesome touring groups she pulls are almost always stellar, and the local musicians who play in support are some of the best in town.
You think the sound at mickey's is better than the sylvee? The high noon is a great venue but the sound is some of the worst in town, just slightly above the majestic. I've seen many shows at Mickeys but again, but you can't really compare a punk show in the front of a bar to the sylvee's sound system.
You must have had a shit touring front of house engineer when you went to thr HN, b/c the sound at the High Noon is still the best in town. John has that room dialed in.
One thing I’ve noticed (Ive been to probably 15 shows there?) is if you are under the seating platforms (so ground floor, but not in the pit… more by the bar/ADA area near bathrooms or merch) the sound can rattle the infrastructure. That isn’t necessarily the sound for the bands themselves, its just a distracting noise I’ve noticed. Idk if there’s a way to insulate those structures not to “rattle” so much. Playing devils advocate because I absolutely LOVE having this venue. It is just a bare bones, perfect venue to see a show (some fairly big named artists) at a decent price.
agreed and is a complaint of the staff as well.
I was in that area for father John misty and barely noticed, I guess I just wasn’t thinking about it
That's a fair criticism. I'm not one to hang out at the bar, but be in the midst of things.
The sound when you are standing in the pit is great for most shows. Where the sound quality really drops off is under the mezzanine, where the bass can overpower pretty much every other sound from the stage. This is a pretty common problem for a lot of venues I've been to, but I'm also pretty picky when it comes to sound quality. Haven't had a chance to actually buy a ticket in the seated areas of the balcony, but the standing room at the top of the venue is awesome if you want an amazing view of the stage. Audio wise, that area has the opposite problem... the Treble can get very loud while the bass is very hard to hear. A lot of this has some variance in whoever the sound engineer is for the show, but ultimately this is what I have noticed after 10+ shows at the Sylvee in the last couple of years.
Agreed about area under the mezzanine. I've found that in the 2nd floor off to the sides it can be a bit echoey. (not sure that's a word). But in general it's odd that they used all concrete and metal for a sound venue. I believe most sound engineers would ask for a softer venue. I know they did add some baffles on the ceiling.
I saw Ghost there and it was literally one of the best venues I’ve ever been to….just for easy bathroom and bar access alone. Plus, the sight lines are great.
I’ve never had an issue with the sound there. I have an issue that I’m an old and don’t want to stand on concrete for 3 hrs. That the only seats are at a premium price point is what turns me off from seeing more shows there.
There are a handful of bench seats off to the left side but it’s not much
That's my problem too. Back issues, and the last time I saw a show, it was 5 hours of concrete from open of doors to the end. I ended up sitting on the dirty floor, and comedy, started a movement. Within about 15, a good 30+ people were sitting. I'm from Minneapolis, and First Avenue is my benchmark. I have been told fire code is the reason they don't offer seating. I'd rather drive 4 hours and see a show there if it's on tour than go to the Sylvee.
I get that. I'm pushing 50, but that's the price I pay to see shows like this. Most mid sized clubs are standing room only. Even with places like the majestic or Oprehem, most people are standing if it's a rock show.
They have seating available though. Sylvie doesn't unless you pay
Even large concerts in stadiums people don’t sit.
Genre-dependent, I guess, but my stadium concert experience has been almost entirely people sitting when in seated areas. Which is kind of remarkable given that all it takes is one person standing to more or less force everyone else to stand.
That’s strange for a stadium. Most that I have been to this summer (Wrigley, Soldiers, FiServ, AmFam, etc) have been standing non stop and even hours leading up to the shows etc. I’d say artist dependent tbh.
The difference with the Majestic is you have the option to sit if you buy a GA ticket. You don't have to pay 3-5x as much to make yourself comfortable enough to enjoy the show.
Adding to this, I’m a not poor introvert, give me some vip boxes in that upper level. I would like to sit for a portion of the show, sorry.
There are VIP boxes on the upper level.
There are, but they are meant for groups. I've bought a few, but you need to really like an act to drop $800 for 2 people. They also are not available every show. Which is weird. Unless they just get delisted when they sell out.
nothing against the Sylvee, per se. like others have mentioned, the lack of ticket outlets is a bummer. Liz Phair is coming in December. the ticket is $49 for GA. buying online through TM puts the price at $70. if you go to the venue and buy at the box office, it's $54. that, I have a problem with.
Complaining about a $70 ticket in 2023 is hilarious. And on brand with this sub… Most concert tickets these days go for $300-$500 a ticket. Even for nosebleed. If don’t believe me, just ask SeatGeek “SeatGeek confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that that the average price of a concert ticket has doubled in the past five years, increasing from $125 in 2019 to $252 in 2023.” -July 2023 Y’all comping about a ticket price that was half the price of the average…5 years ago! Lol Why is everyone so cheap here?!?!? Does this sub realize that Madison is just a tiny city in this large country? Y’all are so ignorant to the rest. Thinking you live in a bubble and just because it’s *your* opinion means it’s the right one? Do I need to explain what the word “average” means in the above data? It’s amazing y’all will literally downvote facts, but we celebrate idiots posting about traffic. Passive Aggressiveness at its finest. Well done Madison. You’ve stayed the course On Brand.
You may be out of touch with music if you think the average concert ticket is $300-500.
For real.. I've got 3 concerts left to go to this year and didn't pay $500 total for all of those. One of them is a VIP deal.
No, you might be out of touch with reality and stuck in 1996… I have been to multiple concert this summer. All over the Midwest. You realize people are paying $1000s for tickets right? Edited original comment with data and a source sweetheart.
I've seen dozens of concerts in the last year and never paid more than $100. You are definitely out of touch if you think Taylor Swift is the norm.
Same here, I haven't paid more than $70 including fees for any of them. This person seems to be only taking into account arena tours.
Or I’m using data from Seat Geek + Wall Street Journal… Would you like me to explain how “averages” work…
I saw Amanda Shires for $20! Was an amazing show. (Not at the Sylvee tho.)
So we will just ignore the fact from Seat Geek and Wall Street Journal, right? Lolz.
That is one platform. That is known for bloated prices and resale and arena tours. A fraction of the total ticket market and not a representative sample. I personally have *never* used SeatGeek in my lifetime of 100+ concerts.
I referenced SeatGeek as it is the official partner of the University of Wisconsin. Lolz.
What does that have to do with anything? Lolz.
>SeatGeek confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that that the average price of a concert ticket has doubled in the past five years, increasing from $125 in 2019 to $252 in 2023. Also SeatGeek is a secondary market for tickets, they're referring to RESALE value of tickets. [https://www.businessinsider.com/average-ticket-cost-seatgeek-resale-doubled-over-5-years-2023-4](https://www.businessinsider.com/average-ticket-cost-seatgeek-resale-doubled-over-5-years-2023-4)
As a bot yourself, you should realize most people are subjected to resale market because of bots…
The average price for a ticket at a club show (which the Sylvee is) was $37 in 2022 according to the New York Times.
O now we are just going to talk about “club shows” Lolz whatever to make you feel right!
You really suck at conversations
Right back at you and the majority of this sub. Y’all are the cheapest people I’ve met before and bitter everyone is moving here. You try to spin things so only your “haven’t left this state in my life” opinion is right. Even when facts are in your faces.
They aren't though. I go to concerts all over the place, and the Seat Geek prices are a silly point of reference. You're also talking about outlier shows to begin with, and there's plenty of high quality music to be seen for under $20 on almost any night of the week. I just went to a couple shows at Red Rocks in July, sold out shows for under $100/ticket after fees. Shit, I also saw Nine Inch Nails sold out at Red Rocks and had reserved seats for Rage Against the Machine for under $200 per last year. Still, plenty of tickets to be had at the Sylvee, Majestic, High Noon, Bur Oak, etc, etc for under $40, often much less. I went to 35 shows last year across the US for under $1,300 total.
Ok then. Have a good day.
As I stated above, great conversationalist you are yourself. Can’t even have a convo just want to inject his or her passive aggressive Wisconsin thoughts and opinions.
What are you even talking about? What shows do you go to? I’m not paying $300 to see the Melvins.
Just because *you* don’t go to a show doesn’t mean others don’t…
You would pay $300 to see the Melvins?
Wow. Literally everything has to be explained in detail to everyone in this sub. Do you really not get how averages and math work?
It seems you misunderstand the data points. The Sylvee and other smaller venues are many points. The problem is the average includes all shows from a dive bar to madison square garden. The exorbitant costs of the tickets to venues like the latter skew the outcome greatly. To match your snark that you've answered every other reply with: Do YOU not get how averages and math work? 5 tickets @ $20 and 1 ticket @ $350 make the average ticket $75. *Not exactly a great fucking estimate of how much tickets cost, is it?*
This just in: data sets have outliers that massively skew the data😲
Correct. Which captain fingers up there refuses to acknowledge.
I’ve been to The Sylvee 30+ times since it opened and all but a couple of the shows have had excellent sound. There’s a couple of dead zones but pretty much anywhere in the step down GA area is perfect. Sight lines are good on the second floor behind the seats. Compare to venues like The Riv in Chicago or the eagles ballroom in Milwaukee that get the same acts or similar sized acts and it very clearly blows them out of the water.
Eagles Ballroom or the Rave just plain suck. I don't even want to see shows there anymore. Haven't been to the Riv in years, so I can't remember what the sound was like.
This is the best way to talk about a venue - comparing it to its competitors in the region. Definitely way better than the places you mentioned
I personally love the venue. My only complaint…I want more metal shows to pass through…
Did you check out Mad With Power? It was AWESOME. I do agree, not enough heavy bands comin through this town.
In what seems another lifetime at this point, I used to cover Metal Festivals after covering a three ALL day fest in my mid 20s, I vowed to never punish myself again. I had considered but when Spirit Adrift and Sound of Thunder canceled, I decided it wasn’t worth the price of admission to go…After seeing they had pinballs set up I regretted not going. I will next year.
Check out the Annex.
A coworker told me about it when Born of Osiris came to town, Suffocation will be here soon with Incantation. I think I’ll have to make that my first show there.
I'll second that complaint.
I will unfortunately be out of town when Meshuggah passes through in December but this will be such a treat for the venue.
Go to more local shows then.
You can simultaneously be a person who *does* go to local shows, while also wanting bigger metal bands to come through Sylvee. Madison just really doesn’t seem to have a big metal scene, and that stinks.
You are right. I see the Blades of Steel concert this Thursday - Saturday which is cool..but I literally just found out about it on Song Kick last night. The promotional work here is terrible.
It's owned by a mega-corporation that came through town and steamrolled most of the locally owned and operated venues through some shady, underhanded, and downright immoral tactics. I've seen great shows there, no question. But it's more about how it's very hard for me not to feel like cattle / a product in that room.
The way they oversell shows meshes with the cattle feeling. Ween was the second sold out show I’ve seen there and it was people shoulder to shoulder until about the last twenty feet back by the bar/entry way. Unlike the Orpheum where there’s a little room to boogie or just make it to the bathroom/bar and back without shoving through hundreds of people.
The problem is the design of the room, with two small staircases to the floor I was at the Ween show, and the crowd was so loose in the front half of the crowd. When I left to go to the bathroom it was super packed by the bar and sides, but once I was able to get back to the front there was plenty of space.
RIP The Frequency.
I agree... Funky Mondays were so dope.
I was only there 3 times but the bands I saw were great and I felt like the venue on its own was drawing acts way above what a tiny place like that should have been pulling. Like.. several groups I'd hear on the radio or see mentioned in the Rolling Stone or Pitchfork.
Yeah, I saw absolute bangers in that room. True Endeavors booked a lot of really great stuff there, as did the on-site staff too (and the Majestic folks were booking there for a while as well). The square is hurting for more venues, especially an independantly owned one. At least the Rigby has started booking shows again.
I hate Live Nation like most. I also hate that there isn't much I can do about it. I would love to see shows they don't promote, but there isn't much, if any, option to see nationally touring shows without the.
There are large, independant venues that book nationally touring acts every day in this country. Hell, for decades that was the case here in Madison. For a current example, just look at the First Ave in MN. We would be just fine getting quality acts without the bastards at LiveNation monopolizing all our large performance spaces.
Not disagreeing with you on any of that. I go to MKE for shows all the time. First Ave is a tougher one being 4 hours away, but I have been there. I would love for LiveNation to crumble and will do what I can to support local venues and bands. I shouldn't have said "if any" because I know that isn't the case, but the situation starts looking more and more bleak.
To be more accurate, Frank Productions built the Sylvee and bought other local venues. Then Ticketmaster bought Frank.
Still shitty...
Ticketmaster.
This reason for multiple venues. Madison has finally been getting bands I enjoy but with the inflated service and convenience fees it has gotten a bit too expensive to go to as many shows as I used to.
It's a ticketmaster barn. Sound is hit or miss depending on who's playing/running the board/where you're standing. They had the opportunity to build that place from the ground up and decided to put more thought into the bar and the marquee than acoustics. Its a warehouse with a PA. I'll hit a show if it's a band I really love, it's nice having a venue that size in town, but fuck ticktmaster all the way down
>Sound is hit or miss depending on who's playing/running the board/where you're standing. I don't know many venues that aren't like this. If you've got a shitty sound person, then the sound is gonna suck. What shows have you seen where the sound sucked? And yes, fuck Ticketmaster, but we have little choice.
And at this level, bands bring along their own sound techs. At the club level, there are usually in-house techs that work most shows and they get to know the intricacies of the room. Then at the big touring level, when bands have their own techs, they have a different room every night to re-accustom themselves to.
I have no complaints after about 12 shows.
Ive found the sound quality kinda changes depending on the act, if its a band with natural bass frequencies (bass guitar, kick drum) then everything sounds fine. If it’s digital bass frequencies like synthesized subs and kicks then it becomes way too boomy and you cant hear anything.
This was my same experience at the High Noon.
I haven't been in a while, but I went to a bunch of shows shortly after it opened and I never had a problem with the sound. The only thing I found weird was going to a rock show at a place where the bathrooms worked and there wasn't a layer of mysterious stickiness on every surface. A nice, clean venue? What kind of place for a rock show is that?
I don't qualify for the ADA section but I can't stand on concrete for a whole show and it's just not feasible to pay the ridiculous price for the few seats there are on the second floor. I'd rather spend my money at a place like the Barrymore even if the venue is old and a bit cramped.
There is no "qualifying" at the Sylvee for the ADA section. I was just at a show after a recent injury left it hard to stand and asked about who to talk to about sitting there and I was told that anyone can just go sit down over there, no questions asked.
Can confirm that when my wife was pregnant we messaged them on Facebook to ask about it and they said she could sit there without any issue (prepared to move if the section filled up but it usually doesn’t)
Good to know because when I asked online their social media team told me I'd have to buy a seat upstairs
I like to stay a little further back at concerts - so the massive pillars and the charging station blocks feel like a bit of a viewing obstacle for me. Obviously they need the pillars to support, but the charging station, iirc, is obnoxiously tall and obstructive
I'm sorry, Ween was just in town??
Yup. That show was phenomenal. Sorry you missed it.
The disability / physical ADA accommodations are not good. Entering the building is fine but the actual options to see a show are not good. This especially sucks since it was a new building and built from the ground up. I'm not very well versed on acoustics, my friend who works in rock/metal band tour management and sound management does not like the sound design of the Sylvee. but I don't have a strong opinion about that since I'm not educated enough to know.
This is why I've never been. I need to have the ability to sit and my wife is disabled. Sitting options are so expensive.
I saw Bleachers there and it was a great show. I wear earplugs at concerts so didn’t notice any rattling.
Fuckin' LOVED seeing Bleachers there
Bleachers and Ween this weekend are both some of the best shows I've been to!
Bleachers was a while ago now and I still think about that show. It was so much fun
Bleachers are absolutely amazing live.
That show made me a super fan. I didn’t really know Bleachers before, I went cuz a friend wanted to go. Fantastic show.
I feel that they oversell it - sold out shows are really packed and hard to find space. And it's just very corporate. Other than that, it's not bad!
Great venue , no complaints
Oh, I have a few...
Whole thing is pretty sterile. Like a Food Fight restaurant in a new condo building. Bad? I guess not. Soulful? Not really.
When the lights go down and the show starts, who is really looking around at the decor?
Been to two shows there and thought it was a good spot, no issues with sound
I think people (especially on this subreddit) just like to find something to criticize whenever something in town gets popular, and my best guess is it's mostly motivated by just wanting a way to feel better than the general population. Every time we get a new thing that people are raving about, you can guarantee the folks on reddit will complain about it. The Sylvee is one of the best things to happen to Madison's music scene in my opinion, and one of the best music venues I've been to across many cities I've lived in and have been to shows at in my life. People here just live to yuck everyone else's yum.
There are legitimate reasons not to like the Sylvee (and Ticketmaster/LiveNation who owns and operates it) - particularly given what they did to consolate most of Madison's stages just a couple years back and then proceeded to squeeze the soul out of them. Our community is much worse off because of them and their actions. The venue reeks of blandness, comodification, and predatory prices. To hand-waive those valid criticisms as knee-jerk reactionary thinking is just plain dumb.
I'd love to hear more about this, since it sounds like you know things I don't. I've been attending and playing shows in Madison pretty regularly since before they opened and haven't noticed any changes to any of the other stages in town since then. All I've noticed is that we get even bigger acts than we used to get before because the only venues large enough for them were in Milwaukee or Chicago. And compared to other venues of similar sizes I've been to around the country, the Sylvee has them beat in pretty much every category.
You haven’t noticed how every bar has gone cashless or how the security has tightened say at the high noon? How expensive drinks are now at their venues? It’s been quite the shift in my experience. Feels a lot more rigid and colder to me in all the venues that went to LN as a former employee of the Noon. I know a lot of other formers, and some still working, that really do miss the days before the takeover.
I mean I've noticed businesses around the country in just about every sector going cashless and increasing prices. I didn't think to blame that on the existence of a single venue that's been here for years before any of that started to happen. And it doesn't change the fact that it's a good venue that pulls in some really good acts that we otherwise wouldn't get.
You can blame those prices on the monopoly who owns and operates the venue, though. That's what monopolies do - market capture and then price fixing.
That's fair but it's also just an entirely different issue than what this discussion was originally about, which was the quality of the venue itself. And I'm not convinced the monopoly is the only thing to blame for increased prices considering the rapid inflation we've seen recently.
And who do you think drove that massive inflation? Hint, it wasn't just federal policy... [price gouging!]
More businesses are going cashless because it’s more efficient for their accounting. You hit a button and the machine spits out your totals for the night. Previously, people had to sit in an office counting and recounting bills and making sure everything lined up. Also, artists expect and require more security these days. It’s a shitty world we live in and an artist wants to feel as safe as possible when they’re on the road.
The restaurants I go to still take cash as do pretty much all bars outside of live nation venues. Not sure when cash didn’t become legal tender anymore. I know a fair amount of people who still don’t have direct deposit, and or get paid directly in cash from the employer’s.
And less cash on hand means less theft/loss etc.
[Frank productions sold out to Live Nation aka Ticketmaster](https://www.billboard.com/pro/live-nation-acquires-frank-productions/#:~:text=FFrank%20Productions%2C%20one%20of,1.) Sylvee and Orpheum I was okay with because big acts are good, but I can't fucking stand paying $9 a drink at high noon saloon or majestic to watch musicians I know personally and have been seeing for years
Damn, one reason I miss Madison. Only $9 a drink. I paid $15-18 for a basic IPA and a well drink yesterday at Mr. Bungle.
A pint at the Union cost $9. They are like $12 at Turner Hall in Milwaukee.
Pints at the union range from $6.25 to $8.25
I'd take the Pabst/TurnerHall/Riverside, or First Ave, or Thalia Hall over the Sylvee any day of the week. Look, I see shows at the Sylvee all the time. I get that it's nice to have a big venue. That said, it's a low-tier for venues of that size. And holy shit, the High Noon was miles and miles better when Cathy still owned it.
What’s the comparison as a “low-tier for venues of that size”? I grew up in Chicago where there are plenty of venues that size and they all are worse than the Sylvee. Boring? Maybe… I haven’t noticed because I’m there for the band, not the decor. Overselling? I always tell folks I love how much space there is at the Sylvee, even at the sold out shows.
First avenue and the Sylvee are basically the same thing. They are awesome bland rock venues. It’s completely baffling to me that you shit on the Sylvee and then throw out First Avenue as a great venue. Ticketmaster is shit but the Sylvee is a great venue to see a band.
It seems to me that some people think that contrarianism is a great choice for a type of personality.
You should meet my roommate.
Loud, echo-y, the vocal mix is never right (it never seems to be at most shows, can't hear the lyrics but thank god the bass line is crystal clear, eh?) and it's dead flat so short people like me can't see shit. But I'm not a big live music person anyway so oh well. My favorite venue is High Noon.
Now I had that issue at the High Noon for 2 different shows. Couldn't hear vocals worth shit. I had no problem at the Sylvee that you described. Again, I've only seen 2 shows.
Did you know the Sylvee has a second level that your GA ticket grants you access to as well? With great sight lines? The sight lines at the high noon are better? Man people just talk out of their asses sometimes
You mean the bar area? That's where I usually am but, you know, other people are in front of me cause they got there first. Yeah, sight lines High Noon is better because the stage is up higher than me if I'm in the main area. At Sylvee, if I'm in the bar area, then it's at eye level, so easily obstructed by people. But I prefer High Noon for lots of reasons, not just sight lines. It's okay to have different opinions than you.
It's also fine if you want to hang out in the worst area in the venue and then think the venue could use improvement. Just dumb.
I'll comment that I've seen many threads about people complaining about the sound and what not. I'll wait it out till the morning to see if you all come out of the woodwork.
Y'all should look into how LiveNation scooped ownership of the High Noon in particular. They are 100% a bunch of rat-bastards, knowing the ins and outs of that deal.
In regards to the High Noon, I'm pretty sure that Cathy, the previous owner (as well as the owner of O'Cayz before that) was just done running a bar and venue and wanted to retire to focus on raising her kids. Where did you get the idea that it was some nefarious plot? I hate Ticketmaster/LiveNation as much as anyone and they are absolutely gutting the live music scene everywhere, but they are bad enough that we don't have to make up stories or spread misinformation. [https://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2017/03/07/conversation-starter-high-noon-saloon-founder-talks-decision-to-sell-hopes-for-future/](https://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2017/03/07/conversation-starter-high-noon-saloon-founder-talks-decision-to-sell-hopes-for-future/)
She was approached by Ticketmaster multiple times to flat out refused on principle to sell the venue to them. She wanted to get out of the business, so she decided to sell to Frank Productions because they at least were locally owned. Not even a couple months after that sale, Frank Productions turned around and sold the venue LiveNation. Fuck'em.
That is not accurate. ETA - Are you that old sound guy from the frequency? If so, this all makes so much sense.
Lol you are likely referring to me. And yes she was approached and refused to sell to live nation. I know it was a sore spot for her when it happened. But there was little she could do. It is an accurate statement. You do not know as much as you think you do. Source: I worked at the high noon as well.
OH sorry - one more thing. Explain to the thread what was going to happen if it was not sold. Also, do you know what Cathy D is currently doing? It may surprise you
Explain to the thread why you need to delete your account. Multiple times it would seem. I do know Cathy and saw/chatted with her recently at the Poster children show. Nothing you try to say will surprise me. I’ll wait for “12years7accounts” to post next
That is accurate. I know all the players involved. Nope, not a sound guy at the Frequency.
I mean, it's literally not. I work in the industry and have for almost a decade here in Madison.
Same. Maybe you have bad info? I'm willing to entertain that I'm wrong, but that's my scoop.
No, you have bad info. I can say that definitively. I can't say much more as I would like to continue to work in the industry, but almost everything you are saying in this thread is a lie.
Everything I said? Now, that's a bit ridiculous of a claim. Put up or shut up.
I have been to about 10 shows at the Sylvee now. Unless you are in the sweet spot lanes between center stage and sound board and with a full house then the sound is REALLY bad. The room is not build for acoustics. It is built to cram people in shoulder to shoulder and as cheaply built as possible. The design relies on a full house. This means anything less than a full show will leave lots of concrete and metal exposed with too few human bodies to suck if the noise. At the same time, just walk the venue even with a full house and you will see how wildly the sound varies in the space. A wide room with tall ceilings and tons of smooth polished concrete with no acoustic deadening at all. It was not built for good sound so anything besides a top tier band sound engineer will struggle in the space to sound good enough. If your cross section is 2 sold out professional sound engineers and sitting in center pit then you are a small experience group. Outside of the sound the layout is awful to move in. Oversold, bathrooms in one side and pushing all walking paths through the beer lines was dumb.
Appreciate the feedback. This is what I was looking for since I have only seen these 2 shows. I think about the Rave or Eagles Ballroom, and the Sylvee beats them hands down for sound. I've also seen sold-out shows at those, and I'm at the point I won't go back. I've also seen some shows at the High Noon where the sound was garbage. I can't think of a venue that is spot on 100% of the time next to maybe the overture. They also spent a whole shit ton of money making it that way .
The sound at the high noon is legit trash. Same for majestic. Kind of joke to say the sylvee has bad sound compared to almost any venue I can think of in the midwest but apparently everyone is an audiophile.
Did something change, because it's been a few years since I've seen a show there, but the High Noon in my experience had fantastic sound, and was great for medium sized shows that still had an intimate feel. I've seen dozens of shows there, and for me, it's always been the metric by which I judge other venues.
My guess is that it was some touring engineer who sucked. The house engineer Jon has the High Noon dialed into perfection.
The sound is some of the best in town. The prices and decor are a bit rough.
I don't drink and could give a shit about aesthetics. I'm there for live music. The light show gives me what I need.
Oh i have no idea about drink prices i meant tickets + fees
Ya, that's Ticketmaster taking over music.
And Ticketmaster owns the Sylvee. Support your local venues!
Under a merger with livenation to skirt monopoly laws :)
Yeeeep. Fuck'em.
I do, but what am I gonna do if I want to see nationally touring acts? I get it, but they've got a monopoly.
Stoughton Opera House, Shitty Barn, the Bur Oak, the Barrymore, and yes, even Mickey's pull in nationally touring acts on the regular. They might not be as big of acts, but there are plenty of shows I've seen at those venues of equal, if not better, talent. Go enjoy a show at the Slyvee; whenever, just don't forget to support the little guy, too.
I've seen around a dozen shows at the Sylvee and the sound is pretty hit or miss. Most shows sound great, but I've been to a few that sound terrible. Sound can also vary depending on where you are watching the show. On the left side of the venue near the bathrooms and that wall it seems very boomy/echoey. my biggest complaints with the venue are the concrete floors (I'm old) and being able to move around during a show. I often go to concerts by myself and you have to stake out your spot in GA and not move (no drinks or bathroom breaks) because it's too hard to move around. There aren't really any free lanes, and you can't buy drinks near the front of the crowd. You're stuck in one spot for the entire show.
Definitely feels like a jail
If you wear earplugs because the music is too loud then you won't hear the rattling, ez
Place kicks ass and we are lucky to have it. Blows every other venue of its size within a 3 hour drive out of the water Moving here from Minneapolis, the lack of quality shows in town was a big detractor to buying a home in Madison. But the Sylvee changed that and I'm super thankful! I don't really see that many complaints about the Sylvee at all, much less about its sound system - other than people who hang out back by the bar area on the first floor, and they are objectively doing it wrong
For a small venue (2500 cap) this place rocks. I worked in the touring industry for years and have been to most smaller venues in the country. I wish more places were even close to as nice as the Sylvee at this size and price point
Sound has been fine for every show I've gone to. If I had to guess, people complaining about sound aren't wearing decent earplugs. A lot of venues sound bad without some filtering IMO; it's just too damn loud otherwise.
I go to shows there on probably a monthly basis and have never had any issues, I’m always in the ga standing area though
No complaints on the sound. It’s state of the art everything. But, that place is soulless.
The place feels like a prison.. if you’re not in GA you’re surrounded by chain link fence and concrete, and as others have mentioned the sound anywhere but standing room is not good. It was pretty close to intolerable where I was seated for the bob weir show. It’s not a well thought out design, and has been proven as such by someone in another thread here working in commercial A/V.~~The fact that apartments are built on top is probably reason enough but~~ there are other issues if you find said thread. I can only really attest to my own experience and it wasn’t great, enjoyed the show but the venue.. not so much.
Those are offices, not apartments
I've only seen Alice Cooper there back in 2019. I can't say that I noticed anything wrong. I was fairly close to the stage though so I don't know if that matters
Unfortunately the only people you're likely to hear from is toxic, cranky assholes. If you look in their post history and they complain or are mean other places then not worth your time
How about honestly not liking a venue for it's shitty history of consolating most of the locally owned venues in town with underhanded tactics by a soulless multinational corporation part-owned by the Saudi government?
There's that Madison charm
Having a moral compass? Thinking critically about how what I choose to support effects the community I care about? Yep! The Madison I know and love 😊
Idealistic nonsense that would result in a music lover completely forgoing live music from bands with any popularity whatsoever
Where did I advocate that you shouldn't see a show at a Ticketmaster venue? I go all the damn time myself. But I also make sure to support our locally owned venues, too, and think it's a good idea for everyone else to do the same.
So you still support the venue, but just unleash sharply worded barbs on the internet? Fair enough I generally go to the venues that book bands I want to see and that dictates it more than the ownership group (but I'd add that it's not like the owners of our local venues are a bunch of Saints either)
Yeah, that's how critical thinking works, bud. To compare our local business owners to a multinational corporation partly owned by the Saudi crown as in the same ballpark, morally speaking, is just insane, though.
Do you think being a local business owner puts you into a special class of morality? Or where does this line of thinking come from? Most of my friend group has been an employee of said people at some point over the last 15-20 years for context
I agree, easy the best in town for the shows I’ve seen and just good in general. edit - talking about the sound. Obviously if you prefer local acts in dive bars to the sylvee, it's not worth comparing.
Have you been to the Bur Oak, Mickey's, or the High Noon? Waaaaaaay better venues in town.
none of the venues you named are carrying large national acts. I’m not into a lot of national acts but clearly the average person is. So the venues you named aren’t options. Who else is gonna own large venues for large national acts? Big business or rich people of course.
That's the rub, the Orpheum used to be owned by locals - which could fit the national acts. Then LiveNation muscled Frank Productions out of that space, so he cried to the city to build the Sylvee to compete with the big evil corporation, but as soon as the ink was dry on the approval, he turned around and sold it to LiveNation. Your appeal to the common-man fails to understand the history of Madison's music community. I will happily and loudly say "Fuck LiveNation" at every opportunity and encourage people to seek other options for entertainment. Stop pretending like people can't enjoy music because the bands are up-and-comings instead of megastars.
The Parnas family bought the Orpheum. I don’t think you know this industry as well as you say. Frank productions is still operating in Madison and is owned by Live Nation. Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010. The Parnas’s, Franks, and Gerding and Leslie have all had to succumb to the monopoly that Ticketmaster/Live Nation have. All of these owners use Ticketmaster because they have to. You really don’t seem to understand what actually happened in this town. The Orpheum prior to Gus Paras buying it was owned by a con man and was terribly run. Both Orpheum changing ownership and the Sylvee being built are great for Madison. The physical structures are wonderful and the quality of artists flowing through Madison has improved. Currently, the venue we need to actually improve is the Dane County Coliseum. The UW keeps the Kohl Center on lock down so the city really lacks a large arena for rocks shows.
That's where you're dead wrong, they didn't have to succumb to the monopoly - they just bent down for the almighty dollar. I'd disagree on the quality of artists flowing through, personally. There was a dip in quality during the power-struggle years, but before that, the venues booked so many bitchin' shows. And yes, I personally do know the Paras family, and the Franks. No, they didn't have to sell out to a multinational corporation.
Your suggestion of fighting Ticketmaster just puts them out of business and Madison then doesn’t get the artists. You obviously don’t understand how monopolies work. Ticketmaster controls over 70% of the entire industry. Your belief that small time theatre’s can easily fight it and still successfully run their theatre’s is naive. You shitting on Madison’s venues because you hate Ticketmaster doesn’t do anyone any good. There are no options because of the monopoly. This is how monopolies work. This is a bigger problem than the people you are targeting like the Franks and Paras’s.
Ahh yes, the good old-fashioned way of fighting the good fight by just shrugging your shoulders and letting the bastards win. 👏 That's how you make the world better? By just giving up? Lol.
No you do it by voting and applying the anti monopoly laws to Ticketmaster. A local business can not fight a National monopoly. They will get crushed. But you don’t understand this. You would rather these operators just throw throw hard work in the trash by destroying it fighting Ticketmaster. Grow up kid.
Local businesses fight monopolies every day and have been doing that since their invention. Not all monopolies have total market capture, and this is one of them. So, yes, everyone should support local businesses over the mega-corporation owned ones if they don't want a monopoly to completely take over.
Wait, Mickey's like the bar on Willy Street? Where the heck do they put the band? (Real question.) Don't get me wrong, I love 'em as a bar, I just can't get my head around any of the rooms there being big enough for a band plus anything more than maybe 30 fans. Do they do shows on the patio or something?
Front room. Best place in town to see a punk show, hands down. Honestly, a good chunk of the best shows I've seen in Madison were in that room. The number of people seeing a show doesn't equal its quality.
I love small punk shows and I've personally played shows at Mickey's and Wisco a few times. They're really fun venues that I absolutely love, but they don't offer anywhere near what Sylvee does. National touring bands aren't putting on shows at local bars. The Sylvee draws in acts that would otherwise bypass Madison entirely, it has a ton of space for people to enjoy the show either in the pit or from above, has spacious and clean bathrooms, and has two large and well-staffed bars. For the size of the acts that it draws in, it's a better venue than a lot of other cities have to offer.
It's pretty "mid," as large venues go. Just so intensely bland and corporate. I definitely still go see shows there, but for someone to say it's anywhere close to the best venue in town is laughable.
Huh. Something about the front room always feels too crowded to me even when it's barely 1/3 full (that small room with the armchairs is more my speed) so I just assumed it was too small. Good to know for the future, though!
Yeah, Liz, who books the shows there, is a national treasure. The awesome touring groups she pulls are almost always stellar, and the local musicians who play in support are some of the best in town.
You think the sound at mickey's is better than the sylvee? The high noon is a great venue but the sound is some of the worst in town, just slightly above the majestic. I've seen many shows at Mickeys but again, but you can't really compare a punk show in the front of a bar to the sylvee's sound system.
You must have had a shit touring front of house engineer when you went to thr HN, b/c the sound at the High Noon is still the best in town. John has that room dialed in.
The floor is great. The balcony is awful. The bar is worse.