Phish at Charter One Pavilion

[webephishin]

Soooo, i'm gettin pumped for tour.  Any of you guys hitting up this Chicago run?  I'll be there and it'll be my first show at this venue, so I got a couple questions for ya'll.  Got lucky in the lotto and will be in GA Floor all 3 nights.

What's the scoop for the lot scene- is there one?  How much to park?  I'm dumb and waited til last minute to search for hotels, so everything within 10mi of the venue is over $250/night which is too rich for my blood.  I might resort to a hotel further away and taking public transportation- anyone have any suggestions/bus lines/shuttles for this?

[webephishin]

just came across this too...should be interesting....  http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-0701-jimmy-buffett-review-20130701,0,1962530.story

"In theory, it made perfect sense for Jimmy Buffett, the ultimate beach party musician, to perform the first full-capacity concert at FirstMerit Bank Pavilion, the recently renovated, expanded and renamed concert venue on Northerly Island.

Buffett delivered the goods during his agreeable two-hour show, but in many ways the venue turned out to be unsuited and unprepared for the large crowd he drew.

First opened in 2005 and known as Charter One Pavilion until Thursday, the summertime concert venue got a makeover this spring, with the addition of a six-acre lawn that can expand the pavilion's capacity from 9,000 to 30,000 for select shows, Buffett being the first. (The other big crowd shows scheduled there for this season include three nights of Phish).


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Jimmy Buffett plays at new Northerly Island Pavillion
Jimmy Buffett performs at FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago on Saturday.
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Northerly Island – in truth, a peninsula, extending south from the city's lakefront Museum Campus –is Chicago Park District property. The concert promoter LiveNation has operated the pavilion since it opened. In addition to adding the lawn, LiveNation erected a new, larger stage and improved the large LED screens on either side of it as part of the company's new arrangement with the Park District.

The expanded performance space easily accommodated Buffett's 11-person Coral Reefer Band, which added bright embellishments on everything from trumpet to steel drums as the music breezed over a variety of tropical rhythms. Tan (of course) and muscular, the extremely healthy-looking 66-year-old Buffett sang in a strong, lightly drawling voice and was joined early in the show by Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, who came onstage carrying the Stanley Cup.

While Buffett previewed "Songs from St. Somewhere," his forthcoming new record, with a biker-rock tune, "Too Drunk To Karaoke," most of his set could have come from at least 20 years ago, as he offered a repast of Parrothead favorites, including "Son of a Son of a Sailor," "Come Monday" and the inevitable finale, "Margaritaville," which featured a cameo by curvy Columbian singer Fanny Lu'.

Compared to other outdoor concert facilities, the sound in the pavilion is far better than that of First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre but a few notches below Ravinia and Millennium Park, clear and not too loud near the stage but a bit pinched near the back of the seating area.

That section and the lawn are separated by a gate, and unlike those other outdoor venues, audience members in the seated section aren't allowed to enter the lawn, which prevents them from potentially mingling with friends there.

The 12-foot slope of the lawn is supposed to provide clear sight lines, but some crowd members on the lawn couldn't see the stage. However, the stage's video screens were visible, as were additional screens on the lawn. In addition, the sorry state of the lawn itself prompted multiple complaints.

"It's a mud bath. I just walked across it, and there was mud everywhere," said Dean Young of Aurora. "I wish you had a hill (on the lawn). Without a hill, you have to look over people."

On the other hand, the lawn and back of the seated area offer glorious views of the city skyline framing both sides of the stage, which aren't visible closer to the performers. "It's awesome, Chicago on the left, the lake on the right," said Tom Koelzer of Barrington, who was at the show with his father, Tom Sr.

LiveNation has put on past Buffett shows, so it's surprising that the pavilion clearly was unprepared for the size of the crowd in some ways. At least one of the concession stands didn't have several items on the posted menu, and a popular brand of beer only was available warm.

An utter lack of pedestrian traffic control at the end of the show led to the Chicago public safety officials ordering that cars not be allowed to exit a $49-per-vehicle VIP parking lot for nearly half an hour while the exiting crowd flooded the roads leading to the pavilion, and even after the lot was opened, traffic remained backed up for another 20 minutes. Similar problems seem inevitable at future large shows unless LiveNation commits the resources to steer and keep foot traffic on the sidewalks."

[Stecks]

Soooo, i'm gettin pumped for tour.  Any of you guys hitting up this Chicago run?  I'll be there and it'll be my first show at this venue, so I got a couple questions for ya'll.  Got lucky in the lotto and will be in GA Floor all 3 nights.

What's the scoop for the lot scene- is there one?  How much to park?  I'm dumb and waited til last minute to search for hotels, so everything within 10mi of the venue is over $250/night which is too rich for my blood.  I might resort to a hotel further away and taking public transportation- anyone have any suggestions/bus lines/shuttles for this?

Well.. if I end up going, you might be able to stay with me?