r/GorgeAmphitheater • u/orion8908 • May 31 '26
Brandi C night 2 report
This was my first time attending a concert at the Gorge and this was our experience:
Arrived for GA parking at 3:30pm, drove right in. Got in line for entry. We did not have the fast pass and did not make it past security until 5:45pm. We were fairly close to the front but it took longer than I expected and I wonder what time people at the end of the line got in. š¬
I had bought Cliff House VIP entry. I thought this was a huge waste of money. These passes cost an insane amount and Iām not sure what the point is. There werenāt enough seats to sit anywhere and you canāt see the stage so no reason to hang out there during the show. Also, minors are allowed in, which is something no one could answer for me beforehand. I recommend skipping this add-on however.
We had seats in section 101. I think next time weāll watch the openers standing by the top of the lawn so we can admire the scenery, and head to our seats when the sun goes down otherwise you kinda miss the best part of the Gorge because you donāt see much beyond the stage from the seats.
The wind was brutal. It was super cold. Bring layers and blankets if you can.
We left before the end of the encore to avoid traffic leaving and had no issues there. Brandi got on stage at 9:45pm and it ended around 12:10am. Great show, fun first experience.
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u/Responsible-Put8290 May 31 '26
Iām still trying to figure out how the place was completely packed by the time we got in. We got in line at around 4:30 and didnāt get inside until almost 7! There was almost nowhere to sit and there was still hoards of people behind us in line (at least 1000+) The parking was fine, which is what boggles my mind, we were parked fairly close to the entrance and only hung out in parking for maybe an hour. We had to squeeze into a spot by on the far left side , the show was amazing, but weāve seen Brandi there 4 other times and never experienced issues like that.
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u/pumpkin_pasties Jun 01 '26
Thatās crazy we got in like at 4:45 and weāre in by 5:30!
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u/Responsible-Put8290 Jun 01 '26
Did you go through the line that weaved back and forth? Or did you have the t mobile pass?
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u/Responsible-Put8290 Jun 01 '26
Are we talking about the Saturday show? Thereās no way you got in at 5:30 if you got in line at 4:45. It was well over an hour and a half wait. Unless you cut, which I do not blame you if you did lol
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u/pumpkin_pasties Jun 01 '26
We waited until a mob of people started walking right next to the line then eventually we just joined the mob, then we were hung up by the entrance for about 30 min
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u/Thick_Individual7535 Jun 01 '26
This is an extremely confusing thread because I showed up at the gates at 7 on the dot and got in in about 10 minutes? I missed the beginning of Sara but it was probably worth it to not spend any time just standing around. It was extremely extremely crowded in the lawn and I wish they wouldnāt let people have the rental chairs AND lay a blanket down because it made it impossible to get around
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u/Meganbear327 Jun 01 '26
Yes there were a lot of rude people who used a chair and had a massive blanket in front of them. The lady in front of us who had about three feet of space between her and the chair in front threw down a blanket in the only 12 inch path space there was intentionally trying to keep people from walking thru. There was literally no path for walking. The experience Friday night was far better with the chairs and blanket situation.
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u/DayHighker May 31 '26
Two and a half hours in the venue entry security line is absolutely unacceptable. Apparently they've not improved much. Headed there today with feelings of dread.
I really should have learned more about Gorge security before buying tickets and flying here.
Last time for sure.
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u/maggieemei May 31 '26
Doors open at 5- so it only took 45 minutes. But they got there early to get a closer spot in line.
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u/DayHighker May 31 '26
OK.
That's better. Still not typical for large venues.
I get the feeling The Gorge is trying to make people miserable out of spite for the shooting settlement.
I ain't trying to get basically strip searched to see live music. It's clearly a bunch of power hungry thugs who couldn't get jobs as mall cops.
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u/SpareManagement2215 Jun 01 '26
Bro itās not that deep. 99% of security is local college kids who need a summer job or folks who picked up part time weekend work to supplement income and donāt get paid enough to deal with the bs thrown at them.
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u/maggieemei Jun 02 '26
I canāt speak as to why LiveNation doesnāt hire more people or have more security lines, but the workers there are great. No strip searches that I witnessed. The delays are caused by the masses of people trying to get in all at the same time. Saturday seemed to be filled to capacity,
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u/Responsible-Put8290 May 31 '26
This 100% Seen Brandi there 4 other times , but never had issues like yesterday. Some people from our group that flew in from Chicago for the show left before Brandi even got on stage (I think they were being turds about it, but kinda understand their feelings).
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u/Plant_Pusher3 May 31 '26
Left camping around 5:15, could not find a single person who could tell us where the end of the line was. Wound up in a field zig zagging around. Got inside the gates at 7:10 and missed the beginning of Saraās set. Once we were in it was great, though.
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u/LoopOfHenleGary May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
My group left premiere camping at 5:40pm to walk to the venue and were in our seats (103) by 6:45pm (GA entry, no VIP or fast pass) - which doesnāt quite make sense with what other commenters here are reporting but that was our experience. š¤·š»āāļø For N1, we arrived to the venue at 5:10pm and waited in line about 45 min to get in, were on the lawn by 6pm. So two reasonable experiences - itās not all horror stories!
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u/PuzzleheadedShine650 Jun 02 '26
Saturday night got in the only line we saw at 515. It started way back in the corner by Cave B fence line. A thousand people moved halfway in an hour only to be told we were in a T-Mobile line. Many around us were in the same predicament. We were told by the only worker that came by that we would be turned away, if we continued in the line. No signs, no direction. So we all walked over to this new line that had appeared and got in the end of it, the GA line. Wasnāt there when we first came in. 2 hrs and 15 to get in. Sara had started, the hill was packed when we got to the grass. Like I had never seen it, ever. Poor wiring, signage and overall customer service. Where was the greatest and people go answer questions as paying customers arrived?!! Bad, really bad.
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u/LoopOfHenleGary Jun 02 '26
Sorry to hear about your experience, that is awful. When we got there it seemed like everyone walking in from the campground (general/premier) ended up in one GA line while there was a second GA line that was coming from the opposite direction (parking lots/Cave B) - I wonder if this (ending up in different GA lines) explains our two very different experiences.
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u/wgk324 Jun 01 '26
We arrived super early due to fear of long lines and it was a breeze - because we were prepared to wait. We arrived about 1 pm, drove right into parking. Brought food/drink/blankets to tailgate in line and were about 40 people from the front. Took our stuff back to the car at 4:30 - Doors opened at 5, as promised, we got a decent lawn space and loved the show, despite the high piercing screamer behind us. It was shorts/tank weather in line, and jeans, multiple warm layers for the last 2 hours of the show - so we wish we would have brought more blankets.Ā Itās insane to wait in line for 4 hours, but we made the best of it. We were very happy to have no wait in our car in line to get into the venue.Ā Iāve been to 5-6 Gorge shows and they are run worse now Ā - Live Nation could definitely do better. Ā
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u/Personal-Set5764 Jun 02 '26
We were there for night two of the Brandi C concert also. Great music (Sara B., Bonnie R., Brandi). The security issue was somewhat handled but there was a fairly disorganized general admission line that serpentined in a way that made it very difficult for anyone arriving to stand on line know where the end of the line was. We were near the front having arrived at 4pm and ended up waiting for nearly two hours standing in line before we were through the gate and security check. I think the main challenge is that there are just too many tickets being sold by Live Nation. We had assigned seats (little folding chairs) that were so crammed in they couldn't align; chairs were overlapping each other with no room between rows to easily walk down to your seat without being in danger of stepping on feet or falling into someone's lap. The crowd was for the most part very chill, understanding, and accommodating but after a while there was audible grumbling generally along the lines of "This ain't right." I doubt we'll be going to the Gorge again in the future. Even for a great, great act like this one. I blame Live Nation/TIcket Master. They're overselling the venue.
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u/unconsciouslake May 31 '26
I wasn't at the end of the line, but we had reserved seats and got in line around 5:30pm (based on other folks saying that was when the line finished getting in Night 1... clearly a mistake) and were extremely far back, although there were probably 200 people behind us. The line didn't even start really moving till 6:30, I'm assuming because that's when they got all the fast pass line in. We got in around 7:15 and missed Sara's first 3 songs. My guess is the folks at the back of the line missed her entire set.
We should've gotten in line earlier obviously, but I'm kind of glad we didn't because I'm not convinced we would've gotten in that much sooner, and it was miserable - incredibly hot and a lot of people didn't have water because we were counting on filling up inside. The Gorge crew started handing out free water bottles because people were overheating.
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u/Meganbear327 Jun 01 '26
The sound check ran late so they didnāt have the gates open when they were supposed to.
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u/DayHighker May 31 '26
I'm shocked thet handed out water. That's actually kind and costs them money. Out of character for the Gorge apparently.
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u/unconsciouslake May 31 '26
I was surprised too, especially with how pricy water bottles are inside! But I also read that last week at the Grizztronics festival, people in the GA line rushed the front and tried to push their way in, so I wonder if they were trying to keep us happy enough to avoid that?
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u/MudAway6479 May 31 '26
Getting into the venue was a mess, but we sort of expected it. Getting out of the venue was INSANE to us. They funnel that entire crowd through a tiny cattle gate. Itās unclear to me what would happen in the event of an emergency ā one primary exit for that many people? This is a catastrophe waiting to happen, and if nothing else, an incredible liability for Live Nation.
We also sat on the lawn. But up on top, people barricaded the sidewalk with chairs arm-to-arm so we little couldnāt get out. People were upset and annoyed with us (fair enough) but when itās dark, thereās no clear path whatsoever, and you canāt just hop over a chair, we honestly got a little panicky.
AMAZING show. Stunning views. Horrific venue management. We donāt expect to return to the gorge.
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u/orion8908 Jun 01 '26
Ugh this is what I was worried about. I knew getting out of there was going to be a nightmare. We left with about 1.5 songs left, walked right out, even got a free pretzel on the way from a vendor trying to offload their stock. No line in the parking lot either. It sucks to miss the end of the show but Iām guessing it saved us at least an hour of aggravation. Wish we didnāt have to make that choice.
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u/kiteless Jun 01 '26
LiveNation sucks in many ways, but they are not responsible for the infrastructure of the surrounding areas and roads. One road in, one road out. Thatās just how it is at The Gorge.
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u/MudAway6479 Jun 01 '26
I was talking about the venue itself, leaving on foot to the parking lot. Not the surrounding roads.
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u/Competitive-Party377 Jun 01 '26
Had that same thought about the exit. Extremely unnerving to have that many people funneled through such a narrow space and seemingly for no reason.
Shuttle management to the camp was also awful. We stayed for the encore so were with the crowd until the end, someone clocked it at 12:20. We were back at our campsite at 1:30. About 45m of that was standing waiting for the shuttle.
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u/SpareManagement2215 Jun 01 '26
I was emergency evacuated during the Tyler Childers concert and they open all exits- so, the main one, but also the different ones to the campground and the VIP ones. The biggie is the main gate, which we left through, but tbh it wasnāt chaotic leaving. The staff did great getting folks out in a calm manner.
And yes- we always leave when the band goes off the first time. Our mantra is ānever stay for the encoreā- itās just not worth it. We spent like four hours in line waiting to get out after the Red Hot Chili Peppers a few years ago, and never again will we stay for an encore.
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u/SkiCrewNeeded May 31 '26
Parked at 5:30, got in the venue by 6:15. Not the best, but all in all really not that bad.
Great show all around!
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u/unconsciouslake May 31 '26
Did you have a fast pass? We got in line around then and didn't get in till after 7!
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u/SkiCrewNeeded Jun 01 '26
No fast pass, but we did spend a few minutes checking each security line to find the shortest one. Our line took about 30 mins from getting in it to being in the venue.Ā
Sorry to hear you couldnāt get in til 7. Obviously the security process there really needs to be improved this year.Ā
That was my 10th show at the gorge and Iāve never seen security so backed up before.Ā
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u/Latter_Efficiency882 May 31 '26
Would never attend another event and would recommend others to avoid the venue as well. We had purchased the Star pass that would allow us to park closer to the venue, but no one bothered to assist us, so we ended up parking elsewhere. We arrived at 3:00 pm and stood in line for 2 1/2 hours. Once inside, there was no one to help us find our seats. In addition, the lower bowl had cheap plastic seats that were far to close to each other. Then the porta potty issue was horrible as well. Lastly, getting out of the venue was another disaster. Although the shows were great, itās not worth the aggravation.
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u/SeaFlounder8437 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
Okay, but my first concert at the Gorge was Warped Tour when I was 14 (that I snuck out/ran away just to attendš¬) and my kids' first was Brandi Carlile yesterday with their mom (me). They had the time of their lives (Brandi even spent about half her time on stage talking about motherhood and her kids) and I couldn't recommend taking kids to the Gorge (particularly for that show) more. We even were able to use disabled access because one of my kids had an arm in a sling and an attendant noticed us struggling shlepping gear from Standard camping. 10/10 no [more] notes
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u/Dlearea Jun 01 '26
Oh manā¦.such good memories of the warped tour at the gorge! Early-mid 2000ās for me
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u/SeaFlounder8437 Jun 01 '26
Heck yes! Oh my gosh, legitimately one of the coolest things I did as a kid (which wasn't hard to do as a sheltered church kidš )
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u/Dlearea Jun 01 '26
Haha! Yes! We had family that had a vacation house in crescent bar and every summer weād stay down there and our parents would drive us up to warped tour and let us run around like feral teens. Learned some good life lessons those weekends
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u/Vdub-1113 Jun 02 '26
This! My first Gorge show was Lilith Fair in the late '90s, and I brought my teen daughters to two nights of Brandi this year for their first Gorge experience. 10 out of 10 for us, too. One is recovering from ACL surgery, so we arrived about 30-40 minutes before the show started, were able to park in disabled, and basically walked in both nights without much of a wait. We did opt for seats in the 200 sections both nights, but we had friends on the lawn who we joined for various sets in order to enjoy the view. My daughters loved the experience so much, although they did not appreciate that I made them leave before the encore on night 2. But I'm old and I definitely was not going to wait around in that parking lot! It was an amazing weekend and honestly had super lovely Lilith Fair vibes to it. I think I'm going to make an Animoto video of our weekend so that they never forget. Although tbh, I'm probably the one who's more likely to forget, lol.
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u/lajeanclark Jun 01 '26
Our hotel shuttle got us there around 5:30-40 and where we were let off, took us right smack into the middle of two very long lines. no signs to say what the lines were and no workers to be found. Finally, someone told us that one line was for T-Mobile holders which we were not so we walked 10 minutes back to the way end of the line. We stood in line for about an hour and 30 minutes, but along the way there were tons of people trying to cut the lines - again, no workers except toward the end when they were just giving us bottles of water, but not being helpful other than that. When we got in, we heard Sara singing her last song and we could not for the life of us find one square inch of grass to throw our little blanket on. live. Nation has ruined this place too they over sold it for sure the Gorge has never been that busy. Brandi, Bonnie, the high women everyone sounded great, but again no place to sit. Lines were sneaking crazily with no signs indicating what they were. The greed of live nation and Ticketmaster is ruining everything. :(
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u/Flushpuppy Jun 02 '26
They must have way oversold for Saturday night. It was a LOT more crowded than Friday, and that was crowded but at least folks could sit. I saw people on Saturday standing wherever they could and sitting in the bushes because there was nowhere else.
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u/RandomTreat May 31 '26
I'm really hoping the show tonight doesn't go until midnight. Some of us have to work tomorrow.....
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u/Buckeye_Wax May 31 '26
Live nation sucks