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Lyric Theater
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
3 reviews for Lyric Theater
I think this may be my favorite venue in the DC/MD/VA area. Granted, I have only seen two shows here, but the acoustics were pretty much amazing. The first experience was Josh Groban's "Closer" tour in March of 2004. I had gone to the concert at DAR Constitution Hall the night before. Lyric Opera House pretty much kicked Constitution Hall's ass. It's a beautiful venue where you won't feel out of place if you got dressed to the nines or if you came in a baseball cap and flip flops.
"Duh, Sarah L," you say. "That hottie Josh Groban has a classically trained voice and sings opera/pop music. Of course he's going to sound good in an opera house!"
Well, folks, last night we went to see Eddie Vedder at the Lyric. While I am not sure if the opera house is good for rock concerts, it's lovely for acoustic sets. Eddie would just speak normally and you had absolutely no issues hearing him speak. The opening act was Liam Finn and he was pretty much a one-man band, playing on guitar and going insane on the drums. While I'm not a fan of Finn's, sound-wise it sounded fine.
We didn't know what seats we were getting, but thanks to the Ten Club (Pearl Jam fan club) we got really great seats, Row F 122/123, which is close enough to throw my bra at Eddie, if I was that type of girl.
The Orchestra seating is on a slight incline but there are really no bad seats. I was stuck behind a tall person but after I switched seats with Mr. Slygirl (himself a tall person) I could see stage just fine. The Left and Right Boxes looked like it would also be a good place to sit, as well. I read some reviews that the people in the balcony seats said the seats were not turned to the stage so they had to lean back in their seats to ensure that they weren't blocking the views of the people behind them. Exiting the venue, I saw that they have TVs throughout the theatre, so at least even if you have a seat in the back, at least you could view the stage through the television.
Security was strict as it was a "no cameras, no camera phones" show and throughout the concert they kept shining their flashlight down the row to catch people, which was annoying. You can purchase beverages at concessions but they won't let you take them into the theatre. Also at closing time they really usher you out, which was a pain as I couldn't txt my boyfriend to let him know where I was waiting, since my phone had a camera and I left it in the car.
There is a parking garage that is a short walk from the venue. It charges $11 and there are five levels. We had parked earlier in the day at the top level due to a symphony event. When we came back around 6pm, we moved the car to the third level, which turned out to be a mistake, as we were parked in such a way that we couldn't back out, and therefore had to wait as the fourth and fifth levels emptied out before we could leave the parking garage. So keep that in mind when you're trying to find a parking spot.
To sum it up, even Eddie Vedder himself couldn't get over the fact that he was playing in an opera house. This man has been all over the world and has played in all sorts of venues and thought the place was grand and beautiful. He shushed some hecklers that night: "Quiet, I'm trying to play in an opera house!" Really a wonderful place, can't recommend it highly enough.
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3.5 stars
The Lyric is one of the more spacious theaters you will find, with a massively open main auditorium area, comfortable seats, and a wide stage. While this format is extremely comfortable for the audience, and probably great for opera, this doesn't work as well with rock music. I came to see Spinal Tap: Unwigged and Unplugged and while the show was great, the boominess of the music was a little distracting. The bass in particular was difficult to hear. The experience here is great since it's pretty easy to get a good view of the entire stage, but if you're looking for a more intimate show experience you may want to go to the Hippodrome instead.
The lack of parking also annoyed me as street parking is virtually non-existent in the immediate area, and the parking garage across the street charges you $11. For an area that many might consider to be unsafe, it would be nice if they did more to make it a little more accessible and either provide complimentary parking, or charge less of a fee since you're already spending a good bit of money on your ticket. Maybe I'm just naive to complain about parking in a city?
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I saw Chris Rock here on Saturday night. It's a great venue -- though there is not a middle row, so the isles are very long and getting everyone seated is a bit of a challenge. The drinks might be cheaper here than any other similar venue in the area.
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