What's the PIT like at a rock concert in Camden, NJ? (Susquehanna Bank Center)

July 31, 2009 2:55 PM

Will I like PIT area tickets for a rock concert at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ?

Thinking about attending a rock concert at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ. I am considering purchasing tickets in the PIT area dead center in front of the stage.

Will I like these tickets? I'm an averaged size guy so I can take a little shoving but I want to watch the concert and enjoy it.

Here's a pic of the seating chart. The PIT is orange, smack dab in front of the stage:

http://www.indux.com/map/131_TweeterCenter_EndStage_tn.jpg

Have any of you MeFites attended a concert there? Can you speak to the experience of the PIT in front of the stage? Will my neck be craned the whole time (is the PIT way below the stage?). Will I get moshed into oblivion. Are there seats or standing only? Can I move around within the entire PIT area or are there "front PIT tickets", "back PIT tickets" etc?

I've been to a concert there on the Lawn back when it was the "Tweeter Center" (note: Camden, not Boston). But the lawn was wayyyy back from the stage and I don't remember if I saw the PIT.

Please let me know you experiences. Details are a plus, please elaborate!

posted by thankyoumuchly to sports, hobbies, & recreation (4 comments total)

I would always get Pit tickets. The legal limits for how tightly people can be packed are FAR below what actually happens at a concert. And the big venues play by the rules in how many tickets they sell. So any pit area is inevitably half full during the performance, and there is plenty of space in the back. No seats, but as long as you can stand the view is better than any of the other seats. Or you can sit on the floor if you are desperate.

is the PIT way below the stage?

Usually at this kind of venue, the pit is just where the first 10 rows or so of seats would be. For less "rocking" shows, they install the seats and sell them that way. (That's why some venues have AA-FF rows in front of the A row.)
posted by smackfu at 3:09 PM on July 31

I can't comment specifically on your Tweeter Center, but I think it depends heavily on the band. I was in the "PIT" at a similar venue for Dave Matthews Band. Not much body contact with other goers except to catch the spliff pass. On the other hand, in the "PIT" at another like venue for Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth, there was massive crown crush, and I was happily bruised, teats to toes (remember: never above the neck). Who are you seeing play?
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 4:24 PM on July 31

My law school graduation was held there and in my time in Camden I went to a handful of things there. It's a close, low vantage point. I wouldn't really like that view but I'm sort of a hands off concertgoer and I generally prefer not to be looking up a performer's nose. Again, just my preference.
posted by greekphilosophy at 2:21 PM on August 1

Got PIT tickets & went to the concert.

Here is my recap of the experience (from a functional perspective, not really related to the band):

There were no chairs in the PIT. It was probably a 20 feet deep, 200 feet wide area. People with PIT tickets were free to roam around this area (it was surrounded by a sturdy, waist high fence, sans exits which were guarded by ticket checkers). Bouncers stood in between the stage and the front PIT fence (mainly to stop people from climbing over/help down crowd surfers (who you do NOT see coming and kick you in the head a LOT)).

It got real crowded about halfway through the show (I guess everyone was out drinking until this point or hopping the back PIT fence from the front rows of seats?). It was harder to move around, and there was no chance of breaking through the 2, maybe 3 person deep "wall" that lined the front PIT fence. These were mostly die hard fans who were literally holding each other/the fence so they wouldn't loose their spot as the closest people to the band in the whole area. I guess you have to get there as soon as the gates open and go straight to the PIT and hold the front fence to get that spot.

Another thing of note, these people in the front of the PIT all had backpacks, and seemed really *out* of it. Now, I've been to this stadium/venue before and the first (a year ago?) time they didn't check my bag or pat me down when I entered the ticket turn style. For this concert they did both, THOROUGHLY. So I don't know how these guys got so *out* of it (maybe they got drunk/messed up before the show) but they didn't go for their backpacks once (at least not the 15-20 people in front of me, and by in front i mean withing 3 feet, since I was in the 4th or 5th row of this "wall" that lined the front PIT fence). So they have the bags, don't open them, and remain "hammered" the entire concert without moving from that spot, so you know what kind of people you're dealing with). Come to think of it, they had damn good grips on that fence for being under the influence of something.

No fights broke out where I was, but I turned around to look back at the lawn (at least 50-100 rows behind me) and it was 1 big mosh pit.

I brought 35 DB ear plugs I got from Lowes (otherwise I would have been deaf) and my ears *still* rang the next day, but nothing worse than seeing a local band at a restuarant/bar.

Stage was about 10 feet high, so looking up wasn't that annoying, but I couldn't get a wide view of the stage effects (pyro/props/etc.). I didn't mind though, but I'm hoping this might help future mefi's make decisions if they want to see the set up the band has.

All-in-all, I won't be buying pit tickets again. It was a great experience, but a 1 time thing for me. Maybe if I had a group of 10 friends (so I was constantly getting sweated on and pushed into them by the crowd). But I only went with a few friends and we got separated, some chose to hang in the back of the PIT when the "wall" up front got a little pushy, some had to go to the bathroom 15 times, some left to get drinks 15 times, etc.

The PIT is the place to be if you can take a little abuse, don't care about the stage props/fireworks, have ear plugs, and can hold your bladder for a few hours. Actually, that doesn't sound that appealing to me at all now that I wrote it. But what the heck, I had fun :)

P.S. - The best place to buy tickets in this stadium/venue is the 103 or 104 sections. The seats are arranged alphabetically, with A being closet to the stage (A seats border the back fence of the PIT) and Z being far away. I don't know the inter-row numbering (sorry!) but if you can find out which seats are closest to the aisles, those are the best place to be, especially if you're in the aisle by the exits, because section 104's aisle exits are entrances into the snack bar/merchandise area/bathrooms. I mentioned section 103 because it is only a third of the seats wide as section 104, which may mean having a seat in the middle of the row is only 5 seats from an aisle on either side. Hope this helps!
posted by thankyoumuchly at 8:28 AM on September 3