Concertgoing Strategy

September 28, 2010 10:59 AM

Bay Area concertgoers: How early should I get to the Greek Theatre on Sunday for the Arcade Fire show?

I've never ventured to the Greek Theatre in Berkeley before, but heading there on Sunday to see Arcade Fire.

Looking to strike a balance: on one hand, no real interest in doing something crazy like camping out for twelve hours to be the third person in line; on the other, I'd like to be in the pit and reasonably close to the stage. Rock concerts, for me, are no fun if you need binoculars to see more than blips in the distance.

According to my ticket, showtime's 7 pm. When would/will you arrive?

posted by eugenen to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

There's no seat at the Greek that is far away from the stage. It's very small. However, if you don't get there on time, you will have to stand, which sucks. I've only been there a couple of times, so hopefully someone more in the know can give you a concrete answer about wait times. I personally would show up about an hour before concert time.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 11:09 AM on September 28, 2010

The most important thing to know here is that unlike shows at most clubs in the Bay Area, shows that Another Planet Entertainment promotes at the Greek Theater generally start on time. This means that the opening act is likely to actually start playing shortly after 7pm.

Based on your specifications -- close enough to get a good view from the pit, but not necessarily front row -- I'd probably get there shortly after 6.

I do disagree with The Light Fantastic -- the Greek at UC Berkeley is a fairly large venue. Sitting in the grass above the benches doesn't yield you a very close view of the goings-on whatsoever. It's not the Candlestick or the Coliseum, but it's certainly not the Cafe du Nord either.
posted by eschatfische at 11:20 AM on September 28, 2010

When I was in grad school, my office window looked out on the main entry to the Greek, and I'd sit up there with a beer until the line got to be long enough to be worth getting a place in.

Without the handy perch for crowd-monitoring, I think I'd probably plan on 5 or 5:30, rather than 6, for a show like Arcade Fire.
posted by janell at 11:39 AM on September 28, 2010

Where are you driving from?
posted by LuckySeven~ at 11:41 AM on September 28, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for the responses; very helpful.

LuckySeven~: I'm going to take BART to downtown Berkeley and then just hike over to the Greek with a stop for some food.
posted by eugenen at 11:59 AM on September 28, 2010

I'm going to take BART to downtown Berkeley and then just hike over to the Greek with a stop for some food.

Give yourself at least an hour for getting food and the walk, especially if you're unfamiliar with the area. The distance and terrain is comparable to walking from Powell Street Station to North Beach via Chinatown.
posted by clorox at 2:29 PM on September 28, 2010

The distance and terrain is comparable to walking from Powell Street Station to North Beach via Chinatown.

It's less than a mile from Berkeley BART to the Greek, more like a mile and a half from Powell to NB. Walking through campus is usually the way I go. I would try to arrive downtown at five at the latest.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:37 PM on September 28, 2010