Wonder Ballroom
Category: Music Venues [Edit]
Neighborhood: Northeast Portland128 NE Russell
Portland, OR 97212 (503) 284-8686
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Happy Hour: No
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
17 Reviews for Wonder Ballroom
Great place for shows - it reminds me of the old 10th St. Hall or the Swedish-American Hall in SF. The sound is decent by Portland standards. Parking sucks. I'll take this over the Crystal, Dante's, Berbati's or just about any other place in town.
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Can I just say how much I love this place? Non-smoking, great people working the place, and usually wonderful, wonderful music. I've been here a few times and have always had a good experience.
I tend to be the stand-in-front-of-the-stage-and-dance-all-night kind of concert goer so the fact that the only real seating is upstairs has no bearring on how much I love the show. However, the bar upstairs is usually the best one to hit. The bartender was fabulous, pouring some powerful drinks. A little spendy but one was enough to get me through the night.
The parking is a little dicey but I lucked out and got a spot less than a block away....can't say that often about some of the spots on the West side. I'll take this venue over pretty much any of them over there.
Great place to see a live band! 21 and older crowd. The stage is set at the perfect height so even if you have someone standing in front of you the view isn't terribly blocked.....well unless the person standing on the stage is 5 feet tall. Oops!
There is some seating along one side of the floor but most people were standing close to the stage.
Anyway, the sound is great and I love the hardwood floors. When I was in there I could feel all the history of the place and wondered to myself what great dance bands might have played there back in the day.
There is a balcony with seating that has a full bar including a water station. They also set up a bar downstairs on the main floor. 5 dollar drinks! Can't beat that and they aren't watered down either! Only drawback- the bar is CASH only so bring some! But there is an ATM machine in the lobby in case you run out.
So check out this little venue, I think that it holds 500. If you want an intimate close look at the band you are seeing as well as taking a step back in time to another era this is the place to go! I can't wait to go back in Sept to see Squeeze!
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Came to see The Raconteurs here, never been before. I love the neighborhood and parking was easy. Large open room, high ceilings and the sound was nice. Like a school auditorium kind of. I like it a lot. Stage could be higher maybe for the shorty's but I found it good. Smoke free which is nice. Clean bathrooms. Great handicap stalls for herbal retreats. Heard the food is good but didn't partake.
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Interesting venue to see a show and smoke free! My first impression of this place reminded me of an elementary school auditorium..essentially a long rectangular hall with a vaulted wooden roof.
It is a lot smaller than the Crystal Ballroom and definitely seems like a more low key place to see a show. This makes it a more intimate venue. Like the Crystal Ballroom, the floor in front of the stage was divided into two sections: 1\3 of the room over 21 and 2\3 of the room under 21 section (all standing, no seats). This seemed to work pretty well and the stage is elevated enough so it is not hard to see even with everyone standing up. There is a small seating section for over 21 in the far back of the room, just like Crystal Ballroom.
One major con was the amount of people congregating and talking around the bar which was a major distraction during the show. The bar is in the middle of the hall and you can constantly hear glasses clinking, ice being scooped, and people talking. Even the performers were commenting on how loud it was with so many people not paying attention and talking.
I saw a great show here: The Hotel Cafe Tour 2008 with Ingrid Michaelson and others.
Also, check out the Wonder Ballroom Cafe downstairs for a good place for drinks and food before a show.
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Oh HAI there, Wonder Ballroom! I think I like 'chu!
It's been a huge love-hate relationship between me and pretty much all of the music venues I've been to in Portland. You wanna see me fired up? Just tell me how much you LOOOOOOVE the Crystal. I dare ya.
Okay, so I'll be honest: I've only been there once. For the Eels concert. And normally during concerts, I'm standing up and somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm wondering, when is it gonna end...my feet hurt. I didn't feel like that when I was there. I suppose I owe that partially to the performers...I mean, come on...it's Eels! But I do owe a great deal of it to the Wonder Ballroom.
For some reason, they had almost an auditorium set-up with lots of chairs, but I stood in the center lane, almost right in front of the stage. And THANK GOD the Wonder knows when a General Admissions concert is sold out (*cough* not like the Crystal, who packs 'em in like sardines *cough, cough*). I felt relatively comfortable the entire evening. I mean, it was annoying that the girl who was two feet from me kept swinging her hair at me in a Marcia Brady fashion, but I didn't feel claustrophobic! Yay! Music and space! Woo-hoo!
And...it was the easiest venue to leave from since...I dunno when.
All I know is that I liked it, the staff was friendly, and it's within stumbling distance from Toro Bravo, some barbeque place, and Echo. What more? What more?!
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OK, well first off....anyplace that allows me to spend an evening in the presence of Mr Jack White immediately gets ten thousand stars in my book. I mean, come on, could he be any hotter? But, the Wonder Ballroom was just an OK experience for me otherwise. Probably 3 stars but I am upping one because I am more than willing to give it another try and the folks that work there are super nice.
Here are my issues: it was about 8000 degrees in there, the stage is too low making it difficult to see Jack, which is a problem folks! Plus, the way the lights were angled towards the audience made it a bit harsh to stare at Jack. But, the sound quality was great and the show rocked the howz so, four stars it is.
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I love Wonder Ballroom. It's a great smaller, cozy venue for music and events. My old yoga teacher even had her "last class" here when she moved on from Portland.
It's next to Noble Rot, a hip little Spanish joint that I haven't check out but appears to be pretty popular.
I also have a friend who works the ticket booth and she recommends the bar/restaurant below the ballroom for pre-show food and drink.
Loses a star because I did go to event that they literally had about 12 chairs out. All these young people and got there and grabbed their spots (rightfully so) but that left a group of elders standing rather uncomfortably. They should probably spring for some more chairs. Or you should just plan on getting there early if you want one!
The upstairs bar is the best, in my opinion. Nice little balcony view and window bay seats to sit, sip and talk.
Go!
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This is such a great Northwesty venue, I personally love it--the intimacy and warmth makes any show seem special. Added bonus is the fat and tasty burger down in the Wonder Cafe, along with some killer fries, and a drinkie..(full bar)...if so inclined... A truly nice addition to the Eliot 'hood, Wonder is housed in an old historic Hibernian hall (your history, here http://wonderballroom....). I like the wood floors, high ceilings, darkish paint, and cool vibe. Nice dance floor, and bars below and above in the balcony (makes for a weird little crowded area up there, but still fun). No smoking.
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I Heart Indie Holidays loves the Wonder Ballroom! We had our 2nd Holiday show there in December during the most hellish weather ever, and people came out in droves to support our show! We love Portland and Howie at the Wonder Ballroom for making it all worthwhile!
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Went to the Wonder Ballroom to see my cousin play in The School of Rock - Best of the Northwest. What a cool venue this place is. Its a nice space to rent out for all types of parties. Parking can be a little difficult, but I really enjoyed my time here and the bartenders were very friendly.
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A recently renovated club. The new coat or paint and new art on the walls is a refreshing touch for a music venue. I've come to expect run down dingy clubs, one that's nice and new throws me off my game. The acoustics are great and the balcony is nice, but much to far away and small. The sound system was new and had some thump. The back of the hall is a little too far away, leading to disappointing views from the rear and balcony. Overall I'm excited to see some more shows there.
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Fun, smokeless place to watch a show
This is a great place to catch a show. It reminds me a lot of the Crystal Ballroom except for two major differences --- it actually has parking and is non-smoking! I love 80's night at the Crystal but the after smoke smell reeks.
Although they host some weekly events like DJ night, the rest of the calendar is full of diverse groups for every music taste. There's two good size bars, which cut down on having to wait too long in one line. There's one that serves primarily hard stuff, whereas the other serves a good variety on tap. They also have a caf right downstairs, which can soften a possible would-be hangover the next morning.
Tip: Save money and buy your show tickets in advance at the box office. Although phone reservations are handy, there are extra costs tacked on.
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The Wonder is small but attracts great shows, so it's often sold out and packed full. The balcony is often the best place to stand, but the sound can be iffy and the bar wedged in makes it a high traffic area.
At its best the wonder if full of people dancing, and it often has great shows that are dance worthy. It's lots of fun for all ages crowd, so be prepared to either dance with some teenagers (pretty fun, actually) or show your ID and mingle with the adults in a roped off section. Get there early if you want to get towards the front, and head downstairs to the bar for drinks at Cafe Wonder after the shows. The musicians from upstairs will probably wander through for a drink at some point, so hang around if you want to make friends.
A great venue in Portland... not that I'm an expert on Portland venues but the last two times I've come to Portland I've seen great shows in venues that are a breath of fresh air from the crowded and sold-out venues of San Francisco.
This time I got to see Matt Costa along with the Watson Twins and The 88. I thought the sound was great, the space was large but it felt warm and like a small independent venue.
There is a great cafe below that serves an amazing steak.
Loved it!
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I've only been here once recently to see Sparklehorse. I was warned about the sound quality and acoustics. Both warnings turned out to be accurate. A little work on padding down the echo would go a long way. Poor Mr. Linkous had to contend with a hurried mic job...causing the first song to nearly implode due to unintentional muted distortion. The opening band, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, had to contend with some white noise in the left channel. The bar setup was less than organized causing a number of human traffic jams. So why do I give this place 3-stars? Potential. The staff was very friendly. Parking and entry was accessible and easy. It attracted a mostly cool crowd of people. I really wanted to give Wonder Ballroom 4 or 5 stars. It has a 4-star heart, a 5-star staff, but lackluster sound. Which, for a concert venue, is near tantamount to heresy. Still...I really would encourage folks to go check it out, as I will be soon since it appears to be the venue of choice for some bands I'm interested in seeing soon.
Keep up the good work Wonder Ballroom...a little work and you're nearly THERE!
EDITED 11/.14/07
Wonder Ballroom is mostly THERE. They've corrected most of the above misgivings...the only thing lacking anymore is proper padding to accommodate the crappy acoustics...disagree if you must but something is still a bit wrong. Wonder Ballroom is pretty much a 4.5 star venue now...I actively look forward to seeing shows here after having substantially better experiences since last February. The staff continues to be awesome and the drink lines have become more manageable with addition of a new station. The bartenders are amongst the most down to earth I've been around during a concert. Is it just me or do most venues choose concerts for hiring their back-up asshole staff? Between Wonder Ballroom and Crystal Ballroom...I really don't get why so many bands choose Roseland...blecchh...still me no likey that place.
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Some of the same problems as the crystal, but overall a good place to see a show.
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