Guide to the Outdoor Amphitheaters of Los Angeles: Part I-The Hollywood Bowl

Guide to the Outdoor Amphitheaters of Los Angeles: Part I-The Hollywood Bowl 

From the quaint and cute, to the grand and gothic, Los Angeles has myriad performance venues. In this series of posts, I will be highlighting the outdoor amphitheaters, which so many of us know and love, dissecting the pros and cons, and divulging personal stories of mine from experiences at each venue. Drum roll please… Presenting the big daddy-- The Hollywood Bowl!  

Great things about the Bowl:

• Good seats are the way to go. Pay the price; it is completely worth it.
• BYOB (for LA Phil presents shows only)!  This is by far the best feature of this venue.
• Sound throughout the venue is fantastic. You can sit in the bleeders if you want a cheaper show, but anywhere you are, even in the parking lot, the sound is incredible.
• Food options; there are many. From the gourmet snack stands, to the sit down rooftop restaurant for pre show dinners, to box seat food service, there are food options for even the pickiest foodies.

 Not so great things about the Bowl:

• View from the upper half. The Bowl’s too big. If your seats are on the benches you might as well sit outside in the parking lot cause all you’re going be getting is great sound.
• No outdoor booze or beverages for leased events (all the best ones)!!!
• Hills. Don’t wear heels, ladies; you’re hiking (or riding the escalator) to your seats at this venue.
• Expensive! Parking, food, and drinks- it’s going to cost you your first and second born children.

The last show I saw at the Bowl was John Mayer. He is such a talented musician, with an all-star band to boot. However, at that show I had tickets in the bleeders. Tonight, I’m going to see The Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.  I just saw Elvis with the Imposters and Allan Toussaint at Jazz Fest New Orleans and that was a fantastic show, as is typically the case when it comes to Elvis!  I am extremely geared up to see The Police. Sting is getting old. They all are. It’s now or never I say, and so I scored myself a box seat, center stage, and it should be one for the books. 

Fast forward twenty-four hours…

After paying way to much to stack park, and concealing my JD mini’s in all the miniest places on and around me, I made it through security and began downing the mini’s on my way to the food line. Went to the Staccato snack stand. Met some cool folks in line, and shot the breeze while waiting for about forty-five minutes to order a rare roast beef spicy wrap and the California cheese platter.  Another twenty minutes later they called my number and I was on my way to my box seat. I took a seat and opened the to-go bag that my snacky meal had been concealed in, and quickly realized I’d been given the wrong entrée. It was my gain however because I got five dollars more of a meal than I paid for (and I secretly wanted fried chicken anyway).   

By this point I was out of booze. My mind was on Sangria. Elvis Costello opened, and after about the fifth song, I hustled back to the bar. To my utter dismay they ran out of Sangria three people before me.  And to top off my losses, I missed the closer for Elvis, which I hear was Alison, and was co-performed with Sting! In my self-doubting moment of weakness and disappointment, I opted for a bottle of Chardonnay, which was worth three times less what I paid. Here’s the real kicker- the entire bottle was poured sloppily in a thirty-two ounce plastic cup, lid slapped on and topped off, yes, with a straw. A straw! They didn’t even offer me a plastic wine glass to pour into from the makeshift decanter. Now that’s a classy joint right there, I tell ya! None-the-less I began to sip on my over priced and under aged wine.  

Lucky for us all, The Police put on a kicking show. High energy, great set list, almost flawless performance from all musicians, and it looked like they were having fun too. Sting made several goofy eyeball faces when he reached for some of those old high notes that are just a little too far to reach now. He even flubbed a few words on intros and chorus’. Not too many folks dancing or singing… kind of odd considering the Police never tour and hate each other and probably won’t ever tour again, so to not rock was just a waste.  I was easily the most involved member of the audience. If you have proof of otherwise, get in touch and we’ll duke it out.  

I’ll edit this blog and post the set list* once I find my ticket stub (scribbled everything down in the dark), so check back in a day or two.  I’ll have a link to a clip of Elvis’ set as well. Stay tuned for the Guide to the Outdoor Amphitheaters of Los Angeles: Part II – The Greek.  

Cheers and happy Humpday,

EB  

*Don't stand so close to me, Every little thing she does is magic, King of pain, Roxanne, Message in a bottle, Wrapped around your finger, De do do do De da da da, Invisible sun, So lonely, Next to you...

(There are several other songs but my memory fails me, and I couldn't read my writing... anyone else want to comment with the additional songs on the set list, be my guest)