by Euna Felberbaum on I'm adding to the 3 star parade. Avalon rates 4 stars as a concert venue and 2 stars as a club venue. As a concert venue, Avalon is great for intimate shows. I saw KT Tunstall here, and I thought the sound was fabulous. It was just KT with her guitar, a drummer, and 2 back-up singers, and she sounded amazing. Even if you're a short gal standing on the floor, you can still get a decent view of the stage. As a club, Avalon is mediocre to borderline crappy. On the plus side: they land fantastic DJs on saturday nights, and they have a GREAT sound system. We mostly stay in the front, and I haven't sustained hearing damage so far. I don't know if the go-go dancers work for Avalon or for the particular DJs, but they've always been money. The stage set-up is hit or miss. With Stanton Warriors, they set up the stage on a high level. If you were standing in the front like we were, you stared at a wall all night. With Satoshi Tomiie, the deck was set lower so we could see him nodding his head like a Bobblehead doll. By the way both nights were fantastic. On the minus side, I hate that they turn on the lights for brief moments. Sometimes they turn the lights all the way up for no reason. I just want to enjoy the music. I don't want to see the crackheads dancing right next to me. If I can see dilated pupils, it's too damn bright. I also don't like how cold it can get in there. It's nice that you're not sweating to death, but the area near the front is too cold. Do I really need to bring a sweater next time? Drinks are expensive, and you have to take your chances. Sometimes you get a weak drink; sometimes you get a "holy crap!" drink. Parking is a ridiculous $30. Park for $15 in their "other" lot which is literally around the corner. The Avalon isn't a great venue, but it's not terrible either. The night really depends on the band or DJ.
by Stephan W. on Supperclub has grown on me. The first time I went there, my reaction was along the lines of: "Interesting: they're serving food and drinks in an Apple store." But as I've gone back several times, I find that now I'm much more amused by the excellent people watching that can always be found there late at night. (viz: "Captain Top 40 - the man who can do every single cheezy dance move ever seen on MTV - and often, all of them in just *one* song!) If I could give 1/2 stars, this would be a 3.5 star place -- but oompa-loompas dancing to Ursula 1000 are at least a .5 star kick :). So supperclub stays on my list of places to go - but every so often -- I still get that odd feeling that someone wants to sell me an iPod.
