Riverside Theater Sections and Seating Areas | What's The Best?

The Riverside Theater has been around for decades. It survived a major fire, the television revolution, and the demolition ball. The best place to sit at the Riverside Theater depends on what you are viewing.

The Riverside Theater has four sections on the main floor. The balcony also has four sections, and there are 16 box seats in the wings.

The Best Place to Sit at the Riverside Theater

For a concert or comedy, sit past row J, as the venue floor starts to elevate there. Another great spot is the first couple of rows in the balcony. The balcony hangs over around row s on the main floor, so if you are in the first few rows, it’s as if you are sitting around 17 rows from the stage, but elevated.

The box seats in the wings can be nice sometimes, but I don’t like those seats during theatrical performances. Those seats allow you to see the wings of the stage, which can ruin the fantasy of a theatrical production when you see the actors waiting to enter or exit. For concerts, the sound is not the best in those sections, but you do get an unobstructed view of the stage from there.

The orchestra sections to the far left and right at the Riverside Theater do provide adequate views of the stage, but beware of pillars, or obstructions. I enjoyed the sound of a concert when I sat one seat from the right end, in row x.

The balcony extends all the way to row BB, and that can make you feel quite far from the stage. I would rather sit far right or left on the Orchestra level, than find myself in rows W through BB in the center balcony.

Years ago, I sat in the orchestra pit at the Riverside. I don’t know if they still have pit seating, as I haven’t seen it set up in many years. The pit seating is as close as you can get to the stage, but the sound from that area is not so good. You are too close to the stage to hear the p.a. system, and so you may only hear the stage mix. That’s the sound the performers hear, and that may not be optimal for the fan.

Anthony Bourdain comes to the Riverside Theater Milwaukee

On January 22nd, Anthony Bourdain comes to the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. I know this is not music related, but I have to give a heads up to his fans. I have no idea what he will be doing on stage. Perhaps he will speak from his books, perhaps he will cook for the crowd. Either way, I'll be there.

Heading across the border to see Bob

In my last post, I mentioned that Dylan is coming to Milwaukee. After two pre-sales, and the early "on-sale," he sold out. Someone crying about not getting tickets made a big enough impression on the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel that they featured her plight in print. The problem I have with that story is at the very end of the article. She has hopes that some kind ticket broker will sell her some tickets at face value, so she can go to the show.

There is a problem with that. The venue he's playing in Milwaukee hates brokers. If a broker sold her tickets at face value, the venue manager would be waiting for her to show up so he could kick her out of her seats, and keep her from seeing the show.

I doubt that the Journal/Sentinel would report that part of the story, but it's the sad truth.

That's why I'm heading across the border to get Northrop Auditorium tickets for the show. They don't have some rabid stage manager that wants to keep devoted fans out of the venue. Once a show is sold out, I don't understand why someone would try to keep people from reselling their tickets. Believe it or not, some people actually have to change their plans the night of a show. Sometimes a person will buy a four-pack of tickets only to have two friends back out, leaving someone holding the bag. Putting the tickets up on Craigslist will just get you a hornets nest of trouble.

I'm not going to say more than that. I'll just give my money to another venue.

B52's coming to the Riverside Theater

The B52's played The Palms back in the 1970's. That was an old movie theater-turned club. I was too young to go to that show, but I heard that people were dancing everywhere. Although some of their later works seem to be more like a parody of themselves, they are certainly worthy of a mention.

I found their early works to be like siren songs. I couldn't stop listening to them. They spoke directly to me. At least the cuts on Wild Planet did. The singer in my band loves them too. She will do a karaoke marathon of B52's if given half a chance.

If the band plays the classics, I suggest that you get yourself a ticket and go see this band before it's too late. No, they are not that aged, but you never know who will get sick of it all and walk away from music before too long. They play on October 18th. It's coming up fast.

Cake on New Year's Eve anyone

It's the Cake party at The Riverside Theater on New Year's Eve. Cake put out a their first album, Motorcade of Generosity back in the 1990's. The have never looked back since that first CD. Later in their musical life, they signed on with Columbia Records. They were one of those bands that appealed to the fans across the Atlantic before they made a splash here in the United States.

There have been numerous line-up changes over the years, six to be exact, but John McCrea still sings, plays a little guitar, an organ and vibraslap. What would the band be without the big personality of John.

One day, John may start living the farm life. For now, he is still touring with the band.

There will be more than just music on that night. I suspect that there will be a Midnight balloon drop.

Get your Riverside Theater tickets sooner, rather than later. This is one fun place to be on New Year's Eve.

Alice Cooper is back

Alice Cooper, the one and only, comes back to the Riverside Theater on Friday, August 8th. My co-workers went to the last Cooper show and really loved it. It was one of the loudest shows that they had ever been to. I wonder if those Db's did anything to the old Riverside Theater.

Alice is known for the famous song "School's Out" and many others. Cooper loves to golf. He's a republican. And that goes to show you that just because you love to perform the rock, you can still be a conservative dunce.

Catch him before he's too old to impress.

Flight of the Conchords took off nicely

For those of you who don't know Jemaine and Bret, check out a youtube video of Flight of the Conchords. The Riverside show was sold out. It ran just over two hours, and my face was sore from smiling and laughing. The opening act was great, and Flight came out for two encores. Is it just me, or has the Riverside theater gotten even nicer? I sat in the 11th row for the show, and that is just about the best row. You get the riser action, so you can see above heads if you sit in your chair. You can still see the facial expressions from that distance too. HBO was right to secure a second season of Flight. I look forward to their new material.

Spring shows or sports?

It's hard to think about going to a show this summer. It's hard to think that the weather will be warm enough to hang out along the Milwaukee River, after seeing a show at The Riverside Theater. With the snow piled high, it's hard to think that the Milwaukee Brewers will be playing baseball with the roof wide open. We made it to the top four most snowy winters in Milwaukee history. The snow kept me out of the clubs for the past two weeks, save for one benefit show in Racine. Spring will explode into form, seeing that March is 10 days in and the winter has an iron grip. Lastly, it looks like Van Halen may be rescheduled. It's not official, but that is the rumor.

What's up with Turner Hall?

Turner Hall's Ballroom has settled into its own now. Funny thing, I don't know ANY of the bands coming through the venue. I must be getting old. Ok, perhaps I know a couple of the names on the website, but not many. That means nothing really. Just because I don't know who the bands are at Turner Ballroom, doesn't mean that they aren't popular acts. As long as they bands keep coming, I'm sure to find a reason to go to a show at Tuner Hall Ballroom. They have the same booking manager as The Riverside and Pabst Theater. That's a plus. The Riverside management has access to touring acts that just don't fit in the larger venues, but would be a perfect match for Turner Hall.

Rain at The Riverside Theater

Sunday, March 2nd @ 8pm The Riverside Theater you will find the show Rain. As I write this post, The Beatles are playing on the radio. Ok, I don't want to seem jaded, but here goes: If you put on mop top wigs you are not The Beatles. If you put on marching band uniforms and round wire rim glasses, you are not The Beatles. If you play their songs note for note, broadcast video footage, have pretty lights, etc...you are still not The Beatles. I'm not a huge nostalgia fan. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing old bands. They have to be the real thing though. I have seen Gary Numan play many times. His only hit in America was back in 1981. Still, I'm watching Gary Numan, not some guy dressed up like Gary Numan. Same goes for Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. When the band "3" played at Billy's Old Mill, I was watching Keith Emerson, and Carl Palmer. Sorry you Beatles fans, I just can't accept this event. Once you put fakes up on a stage, you have lost me. To quote Mark Lewis of Rain " The five members of Rain, each a huge Beatle fan himself, use the Beatles' albums like textbooks, constantly referring to them to ensure the songs performed live include every harmony, vocal tone, chord inversion, hand clap, cowbell, string arrangement - even possible good. That's why Rain's music meets the expectations of audiences who know the Beatles' music subconsciously." If the members of Rain were good enough to impress Beatles fans with their renditions of the real Beatles without the wigs and lights, then I would give them their due. If the musicians were actually themselves, not dressed up as a look-alike AND sound-alike band, I would have no problem with Rain. This picture isn't Rain, but you get my point. Looking back is fine. Living in the past is not fine.

Feist the band

I picked up the Feist disk, The Reminder. Yes, the Ipod Commercial got to me. The hit song (in my opinion 1,2,3,4) is buried down half-way into the disk. You gotta love the Bacharach style horns in that tune. I don't quite understand how the label picked the order of the songs. Song #1 is pretty dark, then it picks up for a while. What's up with the experimental vocal mixes? Some of those vocal mixes took away from Feist's power. The drum mixes were solid. The kick drum was pulsing through my truck. If Feist makes it to the Pabst Theater or Riverside Theater, I'll consider making a go at attending.

Ghost town in Milwaukee next Thursday

My boss has to entertain friends this coming Thursday. He asked me to search all the larger local venues for something to do. I started with The Pabst Theater and worked my way down to Shank Hall. Nothing. If he was talking about a Friday night, there are plenty of things to do. They Might Be Giants are in town. The Music of Led Zeppelin performed by the MSO on Friday and The Wallflowers are in town on Saturday night. If you are touring the country, I guess Milwaukee is the last place you want to be on a Thursday night. Speaking as a touring musician (over the years), I wanted to be in large cities on those off nights. That increased your chances of a good crowd. Ok, I found something to do on Thursday. Get a Milwaukee Admirals ticket. They actually play Houston on Thursday.

Another local venue, Turner Hall

Milwaukee Turner Hall is now booking shows. The same guy who runs the Riverside theater is running Turner Hall. I suspect he's trying to compete with the Rave market. Turner Hall is not huge. At least this venue is in a good location. Don't get me wrong, The Rave is a cool place visually, but it's an echo chamber and (in my opinion) a fire trap. Here's to you Turner Hall. I hope some great bands take advantage of the new venue.

Best shows of 2007...so far

Of the shows I have seen this year which one rates as the best? It's not really a tough call. I was thinking about how close I came to missing this show. At the last minute, my singer, my old guitar player's wife and my wife all said that they wanted to go. I already had tickets to the Riverside theater for this show, it was just a case of pulling the trigger. The mix was perfect at this show. I didn't have to wear earplugs, the seats were good, the crowd loved this band. And the best show for 2007 as of now is......Morrissey

Favorite Venue in Milwaukee for shows

For those of you who have been to most of the larger venues in Milwaukee and S.E. Wisconsin, I present to you my list of venues and opinions.

Riverside Theater: I have sat all over that place and my favorite spots are center section, past the first six rows, and the first four rows in the balcony. Side sections ruin the show for me because you can see into the wings.

Milwaukee Theater: The first three sections in the center are great. The whole place is great!

Marcus Amphitheater: Trust me, move back beyond row N in the center and you will hear a better show. Side sections can be awful. Beyond the lawn, at the top can be cool too. Beer stands are up there.

Bradley Center: Skip that place unless you MUST see your all-time favorite band when they come to town. Can you say echo chamber?

Alpine Valley: Huge, it's huge, it's huge! But, if the weather is nice, the lawn can be just that. Sleep off the beers while everyone escapes the parking lot, and the show is much more fun.

The Rave: I haven't been there since 1998. I hope I never have to go there again. I used to play in that venue quite a bit, but as a paying customer, forget it. It's a trash bin.

Pabst Theater: Classy, old, but nice. I'd go there anytime for any show.

Wisconsin Music Man out.

Weird Al Yankovic at The Riverside

09/27/07 Weird Al Yankovic plays all the "hits" at The Riverside Theater. Weird Al is all good in my mind. I have never seen his band, but I have heard that they are tight. I do have a cassette from the 80's with a few funny songs. Some of the stuff he's covered is not all that great, but he seems to come back around and crush it once in a while. White and Nerdy is a song I love. He hit it out of the park on that one.

Alice Cooper at The Riverside Theater

Poor Alice Cooper. I really liked his theatrical shows. I admired his ability to get off the drugs and alcohol. While surfing for news about Alice Cooper, I came upon this blog interview from a few years back. Sad to say, his interview with Chrenkoff shows that Alice is peering through the looking glass when it comes to the Iraq war. " INTERVIEWER: It doesn't worry you, the false connection that was made between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein, all that stuff that's been shown? ALICE COOPER: No. It doesn't bother me because I honestly think it's all connected." Poor Alice is blind. No, not blind drunk, but as politically blind as a newborn puppy. None the less, he's coming to Milwaukee, and playing the Riverside theater on August 21st.

Fall Out Boy plays to half the house

My sources tell me that Fall Out Boy at The Bradley Center was half-full. They closed off the entire 400 level, and still there were seats available in the lower reserved. What's up with the huge number of opening acts? That source I mentioned said she "waited a lifetime"for Fall Out Bot to start playing their set. Who could fill the Bradley Center today? Roger Waters, The Police, possibly Jimmy Buffett, but a modern show, I doubt anyone could manage that feat.

My guess is that Fall Out Boy will be playing The Riverside Theater next year. The fans are growing up fast.

Allman Brothers at Pabst Theater

Allman Brothers play Milwaukee at the Riverside Theater on Aug 26 2007. That band has some long-time fans for sure. On the website AllButForgotton.com you will find two of their big hits: Ramblin Man, and Midnight Rider. The picture here shows that at least two of these guys look like Jesus of Nazareth.

I'll bet they don't look like Jesus anymore.

Morrissey coming to Milwaukee

The legend that is Morrissey will be at The Riverside Theater May 12th. I have to see this show. My friends have seen him perform and they all tell me it's high time I join them in an evening of angst, love, lust, and intrigue. The show is general admission and you know what that means, a push to the front of the stage the second that the doors open up. If I could recommend any Morrissey cd, it would be You Are The Quarry.