08/29/08

Spider One Pavilion!

by Sugaree423

Hey great new name for this place, KimStevenson - Spider One Pavilion! That's right on the money, cause there are spiders everywhere at this venue -- really big ones, too. I was surprised by the super-expensive beer; $10 was excessive since they were only offering Bud/Bud Light/Heineken/Corona. Where are Chicago's great brews like Goose Island? I would have gladly paid the $10 for a Goose Island I.P.A.! Other than that, I think this venue is really pretty neat. I like the small capacity, the great view of the lake from the bleachers with the beautiful skyline on the other side, the breeze from the lakeshore, the accessibility & trolley shuttle from Soldier Field & the bathrooms were spotless all night. Maybe our crowd was a little more well-behaved than some of these other reviewers experienced... We saw Ratdog & Allman Brothers - had no trouble with crowd control, etc. A really mellow time in a beautiful setting. Great Experience - would gladly return to Charter One. (Spider One!)

• Pros: Scenery! Breeze fron the Lake, Access to the Beach, Clean Bathrooms, Nice Trolley Shuttle, Security/Staff Very Friendly!
• Cons: Spiders! High price for bad beer, sound quality not great, no lot scene at all.

08/25/08

Great music

by KIMSTEVENSON

We saw 3rd Day and the music was great. We had been to Charter One 3 previous times but after this experience we may re consider. As soon as dark came the name should have been changed to Spider One Pavillion. There were spiders crawling on everyone to a point where no one would sit down. They were every where. It was absolutely disgusting and creepy.

They really need to clean the place up. This is an experience that turned a lot of people away.

Maybe they should invest in an exterminator especially under the bleachers.

Spend some of the money improving the conditions not making it worse every year.

• Pros: Nice setting
• Cons: Poorly Run

07/25/08

Most disgusting place ever!!

by rachael87

I went to a concert there for the first time last night and it was absoutely disgusting. I have never been so upset with a concert before. It was extremely unorganized, dirty, and crowded. Their was fights in the SRO and people just peeing all over the place. Teenagers getting drunk and falling all over the place, it was horrible. I understand it's a concert and underage drinking goes on, but their was absoutely NO crowd control. The bathrooms were absoutely unsanitary. Half of the toilets didn't flush and were overflowing with urine and the counters and sinks were filled with nats and mosiqutos. I am very disgusted with this venue and I will never go and see a concert there again and I have no problem letting everyone else know that this place is not worth it.

• Cons: everything

07/23/08

Terrbile Venue

by Rossr61

I saw John Mellancamp last night. The show was fantastic. But the venue sucked! The sound quality was substandard. The seats were uncomfortable and placed to close together. The crowd control was unable to keep people from coming up front. But worst of all, the shuttles were completely ineffective. The traffic was so horrible, It took us 50 minutes once in the shuttle to get to the parking lot in Soldiers Field. Apparently they scheduled construction on the this road during the concert. It is in a nice place but it is not designed to handle the movement of a large crowd after the concert.

• Pros: Beautiful Placement
• Cons: Bad sound and terrible traffic

08/28/07

Avoid This Venue @ All Costs!

by syrhen25

Went to see the much hyped and difficult to obtain tickets to the ROCK THE BELLS FESTIVAL on Sun. 08/26/07. This Venue was the worst I've ever experienced and made a day long (from 1:30pm to 11:00pm) hip-hop concert with some of the best acts in the genre a horrible experience. The seats were filthy with spider webs and spiders covering all available surfaces, preventing anyone from sitting comfortably without having spiders crawling all over body parts. The food and beverages were over priced. Sadly the best thing about the venue were the restrooms. The concert itself was okay, and everyone gave a very energetic and enthusiastic performance but there were too many long delays between acts, and although I enjoyed everyone that took the stage, the intermission music was overly redundant and annoying after the fourth time being played. The actual music of the peformers was a bit loud, often louder than the performer.

The sun was blaring all day and I received a sunburn as a result. The VIP was a serious JOKE and a part of the VIP package was to receive official concert merchandise and meet and greet the Wu-Tang clan which was something no venue employee or even VIP staff was aware of. I was talked to in a rude manner whenever I inquired about the free merchandise or either was given a simple response of "I Don't Know" by VIP staff. I basically paid close to $200 for a nice bright yellow wristband saying VIP. I wasn't expecting to actually meet and greet the Wu-Tang personally but I at least wanted an autograph and the free merchandise I was promised when I purchased my tickets. I will never visit the Charter One Pavilion again no matter who is going to be performing. The promoters and organizers for this Rock the Bells Fesitval have a lot of work to do to make the concert more organized. I feel cheated by the false advertising of the VIP package and I feel that I am not the only one who paid VIP money to get a VIP experience but left feeling VIP cheated.

11/17/06

Nice to be on the Lake

by ppeter54

Went to see Damion Marley here. It is nice to be on the Lake. Music was good. Convient to get to through from the bus or train.

08/21/06

No Lake or City view terribly loud sound mix

by geoart

Went to see John Fogerty / Willie Nelson.

Willie was fine but when Fogerty took the stage it became unlistenable.

The bass drum was mixed so loud my chest still hurts. (Collapsed Lung syndrome from excessive bass?)

Lots of people were leaving after 5 songs because of it. Could still clearly hear the concert past the Shedd Aquarium.

Ruined what could have been an enjoyable night.

Can't see the lake or really the city skyline.

Basically sitting on cheap plastic lawn chairs on an old runway.

Really a terrible place, felt like I was at a music festival in Gary.

• Pros: Small setting, easy bathrooms
• Cons: Sound mix unbelievably loud, crappy seats on old Meigs runway

This 7,500-seat outdoor concert venue on the former site of Meigs Field boasts sweeping views of the city and Lake Michigan.

by Contributor

In Short
Made from mostly temporary structures that will host concerts in the summer and come down in the fall, Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island is designed to raise revenue so the site can be turned into parkland down the road. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, the pavilion affords great views of the Museum Campus, Soldier Field and the Chicago skyline. Concession stands and bathroom facilities are available.