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Alrosa Villa
Categories: Restaurants Arts & Entertainment Music Venues Nightlife Music Venues Restaurants, Music Venues [Edit]
5055 Sinclair RdColumbus, OH 43229
Neighborhood: Northland
(614) 885-9125
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- Live
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- Yes
6 reviews for Alrosa Villa
6 reviews in English
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Review from Matt G.
Columbus, OH
9/19/2011
Okay so Alrosa gets a bad rap sometimes, because Dimebag got shot here back in 2004. However, this is a pretty awesome concert venue! Security has stepped up aka you will get patted down. It is dark and kinda dingy, but it's no worse than the Newport or Bogart's. There is a sitting area and there are also TVs around the venue. They actually put the OSU (Vs Miami) game on during the show.
The band's really have a great time and you will see big names as well as local stuff. We saw 10 Years here on 9/17 and it was awesome! Tickets are always reasonably priced and the booze isn't too overly priced (for a venue). Twenty ounce draught beers are $6.50. Killians, Miller Lite and Bud Lite are on tap. P.S. they do not accept credit cards at the bar. There is an ATM, but BRING CASH!!!
Overall, Alrosa is an experience. Inexpensive tickets, reasonable booze prices, wide arrange of bands (that usually come greet the crowd afterwards), and a historic landmark are all-in-one place. There's nowhere like Alrosa Villa! -
Review from Amy B.
Reynoldsburg, OH
9/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
The last time I went to the Alrosa Villa was 22 yrs ago. Nothing has changed. When you own a business you have to put $$ back into it. It looked abandoned. The outside had grass that hadn't been mowed all summer. The inside was a little too dark for me. Their website looks like a kid put it together. Very obvious no $$ is being put back into the business to make it look and be the professional venue it has the potential of being. As of right now...it just isn't what it COULD be with a little $$ put back in the business & building.
On a more positive note, its a great place for young bands to be seen & get recognised. If the building was kept up, lawn mowed & a professional website...I think these young band members would get a lot more exposure & the establishment would get a lot more business.
The website says something like, "We've been here for 20 some years! We must be doing something right!" made it an even bigger let down when I got there...REALLY?! LOL.
I don't like the fact the building is not handicapped accessible. Again...put some $$ back into your business. They're charging to get in, they make good $ on the drinks so in my opinion they should clean the place & make it more appealing & accessible to people with disabilities. It's 2011 and no...you're not doing a whole lot of things right. -
Review from Caz M.
Columbus, OH
8/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
I used to love Al Rosa as a teen & early 20 something. Now I don't really have patience for the lack of parking, the frisk & purse dumping at the door (and then there being no other security!). The absence of an ATM and fact that the bar doesn't take credit cards makes no sense. The place is an inferno all year round and the bathrooms are unbearable.
There is a good show maybe once or twice a year, other than that it's usually one hit wonders like Mr. Big or just bands nobody has ever even heard of. -
Review from Stephanie B.
1/31/2009 1 photo
I think it's kind of a shame that the Alrosa Villa has such a bad rap. Anybody who ever hears about it thinks of when Dimebag, a former guitarist from Pantera, was shot and killed here a few years back. I mean, I guess that was a pretty big deal, but I think it's sad that that's this venue's claim to fame. It's also weird to think about a nationally known musician coming to Columbus and someone shooting him while performing on stage. I'm not a Pantera fan, but I know a lot of people who are still really upset about that whole incident.
I guess there's really something to be said for security at concert venues. But if you think about it, other places in the city don't always do any security checks. The Newport doesn't and LC Pavilion usually doesn't. The Alrosa didn't because it was such a small venue, but it's changed. I came here to watch my friend's band perform and they have definitely upped the security. There are police officers and you will get searched when you enter the building. I don't mind it, and I guess it's kind of nice to see that they are taking such precautions. Something like that happening twice in this place would shut it down for sure. I'm not sure that the one incident has stopped the people from coming, but I know some people have said that they are nervous about seeing a show here. My response is that Alrosa probably has the best security out of any venue in the city now.
Alrosa Villa is sort of out in the middle of nowhere. It's north of Morse Rd. but still inside 270. I don't even remember how to get there. But there isn't much around it, and it doesn't look like much from the outside. It's small and dingy and I'd never give it a second though driving past it if I hadn't heard of it before. Very popular bands do not play here. It's just not big enough for a large crowd. But sometimes they do feature bands that you may have heard of, like Cold or Taproot. But what I think is cool about this place is that local and struggling bands typically play here. Like my friend's band. It gives them a chance to play in front of an audience and be heard. And it was really nice to see my friend perform onstage and be so close. I've never seen any other show here but his, and that's because Alrosa, from what I've heard, mostly features metal bands. I'm not exactly into that sort of thing, but if you were, you'd probably love it here.
The night we went to my friend's show, we found our way out here and the parking lot was covered in snow. We found a spot but no one could see where the lines marking each spot were, so we had to guess like everyone else. When we went inside we had to show our tickets at the door (our friend had given them to us) and go through security, which consisted of a pat down and a quick look through our purses. They also checked our IDs and gave us bracelets. Then we were in. And man, this place is kinda scary. It's dark and dirty and small. The front area where you walk in has the bar to the left and a seating area to the right with tables and chairs. Straight ahead was the stage and a big open floor for the audience in front of that. It was really dark in there, but it was lit up more towards the front.
We went around talking to friends since most of the people there were people we knew, and decided to grab a few drinks at the bar. But my friend that was driving was a bit nervous about getting anything to drink since those cops were right there, so he limited himself to one. But as it turned out, the rest of us did too, because the drinks were not cheap. I supposed they were typical of any concert hall, but still, we decided to go out somewhere else later instead of blow all our money there.
My friend's band was playing after a few other bands, but I didn't really feel like going down towards the stage and watching them. They were all heavy metal bands and people were moshing and getting all crazy by the stage. And there weren't that many people there. Maybe 40 or 50. It looked sort of silly seeing such a small crowd of maybe 6 or 7 try to start a mosh pit. I don't know if that's what it's like at most shows here, but I don't like that kind of environment. I don't understand. You come to a live show to see a band and enjoy the music, not to thrash around and hit other people, right? I guess that's exactly why some people go to concerts, but for me, it makes my experience quite a bit less enjoyable when I'm trying to watch a show.
And when my friend's band came on stage, that's sort of what happened. We got right up to the stage since the crowd was so small, and my sister and I were taking pictures of him onstage so he could see them later. Yes, they did let us bring our cameras into Alrosa. And then you had these crazy people moshing, screaming and thrashing all over the place. Several times I was bumped or hit and almost dropped my digital camera. And if it was that bad with a crowd so small, imagine with a big crowd! It was a good show, but not really my style. -
Review from M Michelle D.
Columbus, OH
2/24/2010
I go here for all the Roots reggae concerts. I was a little hesitient when I learned of a shooting that happened her a few years back but I love it. I like the fact that there is a section for people to mingle and dance. Drink prices could be cheaper though : (
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Review from Peter C.
Columbus, OH
8/10/2008
In all fairness, The Al Rosa Villa is not half as bad as it's cracked up to be. The security here is lax enough that they look the other way when you and your buddies start bonging PBR tallboys in the parking lot a good four hours before showtime, which has to be worth something. Unfortunately, The Al Rosa is not warmly known as the place that lets you get wasted in the parking lot on their watch. It's simply known as "That place where Dimebag Darrel [former lead guitarist of Pantera] got shot by some crazed ex-marine for no reason whatsoever." I'm not gonna lie: the clientele that the shows here attract definitely skew towards the "extreme" side of the social barometer, and the inside looks more like a murky Daytona Beach strip club than it does a rock venue, but I had one of the most righteously unforgettable evenings of rockin' when I saw Guided By Voices play their final Columbus show here, and for that I am eternally grateful. By common rock club standards, everything that made that show awesome (besides the drunken rockstar antics that made GBV one of the greatest indie bands of my time) was courtesy of the people running the show: the sound was skillfully mixed and made each guitar solo shine like a beacon in the shroud Bob Pollard's boozy fog, the bartender was quick and skilled in the art of draft pulling, and the stage couldn't have been construct more perfectly. And yes, the security guards could not have given two shits about the balls-to-the-wall behavior of my friends and I as we showed up a good three hours before the show to get in "the zone" for what we anticipated to be one of our finest moments in rock fandom. It's unfortunate that all this place can book these days is crappy nu-metal groups and whatever reggae band is hot on CD101's "Island Riddims with DJ Trevor" at the time. At least I have my memories, I suppose.
