Terminal 5

Doesn't Recommend

Ash2431

Joined 2 years ago

Great Perfomance BUT horrible venue. I went and saw My Chemical Romance on Friday 4/22. Performance wise I give MCR 5 stars because yet again they were AMAZING the sixth time seeing them. However I was really bummed about the venue they were in. First, the line organization was absolutely HORRIBLE. I got there around 2:30 and people were lining up against a wall under a bridge across the venue. Then a guy came out and asked us to line up so that we would be taking up the width of the sidewalk to fit more people. Well doing that made people decide they could cut in line. Gets worse too. When they started letting us in group by group to cross the street people pushed and shoved their way in line. People I saw that came two hours later than I did ended up in front of me and that really sucked. Inside just gets worse too. They packed way too many people in this venue. I went to 5 other My Chem shows before this one, one being in a MUCH SMALLER place so I knew to expect that there would be a lot of pushing and shoving. But this was just insane. Because it was so tightly packed I could barely move. I couldn't even jump, sing, or put my hands up it was so tight.I stayed stuck in the same position for a good hour before I could finally move. Not only that I came out with a bruised cheek and chest pain the next day from being so squished. I also got my mouth bashed on the barricade because a person being pulled out hit me in the head. Of all concerts that I have been too, I have never come out that bad. Overall, Terminal 5 killed the experience of seeing my absolute favorite band. so it was just a major upset after I had been waiting 4 years to see them. Luckily I am seeing them in Boston next week.

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blgerson

Joined 3 years ago

Pretty Sick smaller venue. Saw Citizen Cope last night who sounds pretty sick live however never addressed the crowd. You could tell he just wanted to play and bounce back to his BK crib and spend time at home. He still plays great music.

The Terminal 5 venue is a great place to see a non main stream group. Yes you have to hang over the rail on the upper floors or you cant see anything, but if you can get a good spot you get a great view. Drinks were priced right which was pleasant and no one really minds if fools burn trees. I will keep this place on my radar and if anyone of interest ever plays there I will for sure roll back.

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BetsyBoots

Joined 3 years ago

Terminal 5 Show. I saw She & Him play here recently. Good show. Its a decent club, but no good way to see the bands on the 2nd or 3rd floors. I'm short so that doesn't help :(. BAnd was great, venue is huge, but unless your hanging over the rail you will never be able to see anything.

Doesn't Recommend

sbrhb

Joined 3 years ago

Pushy bald crossing guard‎‎. Went to Terminal 5 this weekend. I had no problems with the sound and cleanliness of the venue although the sight lines weren't always great. My problem was with one a-hole that was directing the crowds out front. I walked to what I thought was the end of the line and this guy suddenly grabs me by the arm and yanks me out of the line. I didn't notice the line continued across the street and when I explained this, he gives me some smart-ass remark like "what a surprise". If this old, bald f*ck was actually doing his job by directing people in the first place, instead of checking out 15 year old girls, there wouldn't have been a misunderstanding. But I guess I would have a pissy attitude too if I knew I could be replaced at any time by a piece of tape and a sheet of paper saying "End of line this way".‎

Doesn't Recommend

Superfox

Joined 3 years ago

The Terminator. It's going to take something major and unmissable to lure me back t this place. Terminal 5 is, without doubt, the worst major venue in NYC. It's so bad it almost even killed the joy of seeing the Arctic Monkeys. The sound quality is consistently dreadful. No-one seems to be able to overcome the cold, echo-ey dynamics of the place. Can't the venue do something to approve the acoustics? It's like listening to a boombox in an aircraft hanger. The atmosphere is . . . well, there isn't one. Put 3,000 people in a warehouse and you've got the idea. The sightlines are dreadful. Can't they rake the floor, elevate the stage or the very at least put in video screens so that those of us who are of average height can at least see something? The crowds are consistently the most obnoxious and worst behaved in New York -- it doesn't seem to matter who's playing (the Arctic Monkeys, Florence and the Machine, Gossip, The Decemberists . . . ), it's always the same. People seem to leave their good manners and respect for others at the door. To cap it all, the promoters are happy to sell tickets to more people than the place has room for. Every time I've been here, several hundred people have to try and watch the gig from the entrance way on the ground floor, where there's no sound system, not much more than a view of the lead singer's left ear and you struggle to hear anything over the sound of inebriated -- and sometimes aggressive -- "concertgoers" who seem to be more interested in talking than listening. I join Morat666 in wishing I could give this place not just no stars, but unstars.

Doesn't Recommend

Morat666

Joined 3 years ago

HORRIBLE VENUE!. TERMINAL 5, ABSOLUTELY BLOWS! I will never see a show there again. I've been going to NYC venues for over 25 years and this place is by far the worst. Wish I could give a negative rating. Ridiculous prices, shitty service and rude/abusive security topped it off. Also:

1) The sound quality sucks. Please read the other numerous and knowledgeable reviews that all agree about this.

2) The venue is way simply too crowded with everyone (not just up front) jam packed and on top of each other. No one can move unlike other shows. The same dicks stand on top of you like sardines all show long. I couldn't move my arms or shuffle my feet! Maybe the place is not deep enough like the Roseland or maybe its too large with too many people stuck on the floor? I think its in that in-between type size where its not "cozy" enough like a smaller club yet not big enough like an arena.

3) Crowd dispersal was pathetic. The exit was packed, it took 15 minutes to get out of the club on slippery floors with people pushing only to get outside and have more of the same. Why the hell is the street blocked off with metal gates!?! We were hearded down the sidewalk like cattle. Pathetic. Stay away from this place!

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EvanG

Joined 3 years ago

Julian Casablancas returns to NYC. They say that there is a fine line between genius and insanity, and that is one that Julian Casablancas toes with great acumen. When I first heard The Strokes lead’s solo release, Phrazes for the Young, I felt that it was what I imagined the Strokes would have sounded like if they were an 80’s band. Once I saw the stage setup and the first few songs of Thursday night’s show at Terminal 5, it dawned on me that my impression could not have been more wrong. A sound that had seemed so simple had really been created by dueling drummers, dueling keyboardists, drummers and keyboardists dueling on drums (and keyboards), even drummers and keyboardists dueling on guitars with guitarists. Basically, I need a Venn Diagram to best illustrate the action on stage.

Of course, unaffected by it all, was Casablancas, dressed head to toe in leather, a look he commented on by saying, “I’m glad to finally play a venue where I don’t feel that I’m dressed out of place.” Also not out of place was his signature tone, which was perfect for the T5 acoustics, and highlighted on “Left and Right in the Dark,” and “Glass,” among most of the rest of Phrazes.

Julian was clearly excited by the New York crowd that he had been absent from for an extended period and went on many expletive laden rants including that, although he wasn’t saying that he liked Alicia Keys, he was into her latest, “Let’s hear it for New York, concrete jungle… ok I gotta stop letting my internal monologue come out of my mouth.” I found this funny as it was the second straight concert (neither including Jay-Z nor Alicia Keys) that the NY anthem had made an appearance. A performance of “a song we made up backstage before the show” and a cover of Kings of Leon’s Velvet Snow ended the pre-encore part of the show. JC exited and reappeared almost as quickly with one keyboardist for a stripped down version of First Impression of Earth’s “You Only Live Once.” The entire band then rejoined for a finale of the powerful “4 Chords of the Apocolypse.”

Doesn't Recommend

RudyV

Joined 4 years ago

Disgusting Venue. Saw NIN on 8/26/09 and even though I'm a huge fan of the band the venue ruined the show for me. There was minimal ventilation which in it of itself is a problem but was made worse when the steam and sweat from the crowd caused enough condensation that actual drops of sweat and other junk started dripping from the ceiling of the balcony above us. It wasn't just one or two drops but you could have probably filled half-a-cup with what dripped on me. The lines of vision are also terrible for this place. Unless you're willing to stand in a hot,sweaty, and uncomfortable pit you're going to have something obstructing your view. For me it was partly the balconies as well as the columns supporting the poles. A testament of how bad the lines of vision are is the fact that venue provides flat-screen televisions on the upper floor. Why would anyone want to look at a tv? Unless NIN plays there again I don't envision myself going to this venue again.

Doesn't Recommend

jamallen80

Joined 4 years ago

horrrible sound, terrible venue. I've been to just about every major venue in NYC, and this one is by far the worst out of all of them. Terrible sound quality, poor construction inside (walls look like a bunch of college kids built them in a frat). The upstairs levels are terrible, as you can't see anything - that's why they installed the flatscreen TV's up there. If I want to watch a show on a flatscreen TV, I'll watch palladia at home!

Also, the sound is a complete wash - unless you are directly in front of the stage where you can semi hear what the band hears, it's trash. And good luck getting to the front unless you get there 3 hours before the show starts.

It's really unfortunate, because for some reason all the promoters are booking the best acts there - they must treat the musicians really well or something back stage, because this venue is terrible for FANS! I hope the musicians wise up and see that the fans write bad reviews of this place, and book more shows at Hammerstein, Bowery Ball Room, Music Hall of Williamsburg, etc. Those are excellent clubs, with great sound. Even Webster Hall is better.

Doesn't Recommend

jforsythe62

Joined 4 years ago

For everyone complaining about the sound..... It is true the sound here is not great, and something that should be noted is that Bowery Presents in all of its other venue's (webster, ballroom, music hall, mercury lounge) had chosen either EAW or Meyer Sound speaker rigs - basically the Ferrari and Porche of pro loud speakers. For some reason a JBL system was the choice here, which is sort of the Mercedes C-Class of the group..... fine for the layman, but you're not getting your hair tossed back.

I was there for the Bloc Party show on 3/24, and all of the criticism voiced on this board is pretty valid - the sight lines are not good (although not terrible), it is far away (but not that far.... whoever said it was a 15-20 minute walk from 53rd clearly is not walking fast enough), the sound is not great (but not offensive), the drinks are expensive (what did you expect?). It was all fine though, and the show was fun - I had a bigger problem with the people at the show than the venue, but that's me. I'll be avoiding it when possible, but if someone you've got to see is playing there..... well, what are you going to do?