So! I guess this is THEE place for EDM concerts in Montreal, huh? They definitely know how to herd people around! (in a good way)
After knowing NOTHING about this venue, I was even surprised to find it in the middle of the night when going to see Steve Aoki perform. They posted that his start time wasn't until 1:30am, so I decided to make my way over from the hotel around 11:30pm, in hopes to get a drink and get settled in. I WILL say that I was impressed on the overall theming of the place, the expertise of the security/staff that were there that made me feel welcome (and kicked the underaged drunk teenagers out), but i was MOST IMPRESSED by the wide, labyrinth-style hallways leading into the place that insured steady for of THOUSANDS of people to and from the concert. It was a real adventure.
They led us up the stairs to scan our ticket, down the stairs to the coat room, down the hall for the first bar, UP the stairs to the venue! I've gotta say - it made the most sense and got me to spend a little more on the way to take care of my coat (rather than be the cold ladies wearing nothing, still not realizing that it's frickin winter outside!)
While I was very impressed with the venue itself (dance hall, traffic flow), I was upset about the drinks. $9 for a beer?!?!? I understand Supply and Demand, but I was two drinks in and out $20! that's not worthy of getting buzzed with! (I also got a shot of Jaeger, but that was $7, so i'm not counting that - that's fine)
I will also say that standing in general admission sucks by yourself. Unless you have like 5 friends with you that you can latch on to, it's really hard to have a good time while unintentionally bumping into people you just don't know. So for most of the show, i had my back up against the sound booth, "watching and enjoying"...
...and also, since when did 6 foot college boys like EDM? When did they freakin grow so tall that i can't see the stage? blows my mind...
All-in-all, great sound system, probably have a better time in VIP (so upgrade!), drinks were a little pricey, THANK GOODNESS FOR COAT CHECK, and the staff was not intimidating (thank goodness)