upstate concert hall

This is a great place to see a concert indoor in upstate ny. It's a huge standing only rock club. Sawdust on the floor kinda place. Plenty of free parking and easy off the highway. Mix drinks are a little over priced for the area but who cares if your at a concert.

This review and rating is my opinion on Upstate Concert Hall, not the overall concert.I have been here many times and the staff's professionalism is very inconsistent. Me and friends arrived at the Breaking Benjamin concert 5+ hours before the scheduled door opening time. We were only behind one person so we expected to be in the front row. The staff never made any attempt at organizing the front entrance beyond physically standing there. No gates were put off and nobody that budged us in line were told to go to the back of the line. When asked about this one of the staff members told me that one of the people that budged us was his brother and that he would be going in before any of us. My friends and I were very upset that people were allowed to budge in front of us when we were there 5+ hours before. None of the staff members showed any concern toward our frustration or understood our point. They all basically said the same thing which was "you're all going to get in". The point that was missed was that an iconic band (or any well known band) like Breaking Benjamin is going to draw a large passionate fanbase and if you don't get there first/early you're not going to get in the door first which means you won't get front row. We did end up being in the front row (no thanks to the staff) and really enjoyed Breaking Benjamin. In general the staff at UCH are a joke. Expect good value for your money, good sound quality, and some big names in Alternative Rock to come but don't ever expect professionalism from the staff.

After buying tickets to see a band in October of 2014 (Breaking Benjamin) with a concert START time of 7:00, I was looking forward to an entertaining evening and even to checking out the venue (I've lived in the general vicinity all of my life, back when the place was called Northern Lights, but I'd never been inside). Unfortunately, I was never able to even make it inside. People were lining up outside the doors long before 6:00 (normally, when a show starts at 7:00, expecting the doors to open around 6:00 is reasonable). When, at 7:00, the doors were still not open, people were beginning to get irritated. At around 7:10, one of the doors was opened (the band could be heard playing inside), but it was guarded and nobody was let inside. People were beginning to get somewhat irritated at this point. At 7:45...when the doors STILL weren't opened, people (including me) started to leave. The "concert hall" (large bar is more appropriate from what I could see while standing outside looking in) seemed about large enough to hold 200 people (150 or so comfortably) and there were well over 400 people waiting outside for access, so I actually wonder if this wasn't done intentionally to avoid violating maximum occupancy fire laws...to essentially allow the crowd to dwindle until a more acceptable number of people remained. From my single experience with the place, I found it to be poorly managed, and the few staff members who had the common courtesy to show their faces outside after making people wait as long as they did dismissive and rude. To anyone who contemplated attending this venue, I recommend, for your own sake, to save your money. Without question, the most disappointing concert experience I've EVER had.

So we were going to see Breaking Benjamin acoustic the show suppose to start at 7 the doors were not open when we left at 7:45 and no one even stepped foot in the place. while sitting in the parking lot you can hear the band play. No word on a delay or anything at all. I feel they breached the contract and should offer a refund people. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME GOING HERE. I believe they could probably hold 200 people legally. It looked like 400 people waiting to get in .... honestly I think they over sold tickets and didn't know what to do about it besides test peoples patience by making you wait for ever and let you hear the band play while no one is allowed inside.

It's pretty much a club in a strip mall!!! The name would make you think otherwise.Loads of parking, you need ID to get in and get a band to buy drinks, you're very close to the stage. I'm very short and there was a raised area where I could stand and see the band so was happy with that. Security staff were polite, helpful and the place felt safe. They will ask you to sign a disclaimer that if you mosh or crowd surf, you take responsibility for any injuries. We took our 11 yr old son with us to a Black Stone Cherry concert there and would go again.

Upstate Concert Hall is located in a strip mall which is really weird for a concert venue. Despite being small and in a weird location it manages to get pretty big names in Alternative Rock to come and perform. I have personally seen Trapt, Hinder, and Candlebox here as well as a lot of smaller bands. Seether and Adelitas Way are coming to this venue in a couple of days and I will be seeing both of them. The stage is very close to the general admission area so you get a really close experience with the performers.Ticket prices are very reasonable and range from $10 to $30. How do you beat seeing a big name band for $10? You can't. I'm sure if some of these bands played at larger venues they would easily run for $50.A good view of the stage and how close you want to be is all up to how early you decide to wait outside for the doors to open.There are no seats here so if you have a problem standing for a long period of time this may not be a good place for you. There is a bar with stools but it is not large and you would have a bad view of the stage with all the people ahead of you. I have not bought anything at the bar.If you have a favorite band this is coming here and you have the time to come early and wait for a good standing spot on the floor you should go!