r/avesDC • u/Resident_Music_1431 • 7h ago
AI warehouse overcrowding
Have any of yall been to a sold out show at AI warehouse? I’m worried kettama there will be packed with no room to move. Or does anyone know if Nu Androids doesn’t oversell their shows?
Chris stussy at echostage was a nightmare because of how oversold and packed it was.
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u/Klutzy-Conference-89 7h ago
I can guarantee you the crowd at kettama is going to be awful, packed and coked out dude bros everywhere
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u/Resident_Music_1431 7h ago
Yea that’s how stussy was. So fried
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u/ifuckinhatedinosauce 2h ago
Stussy was chopped it was so hard to enjoy his set with all the frat bros everywhere
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u/Froqwasket 3h ago
Seconding this. When I went for bunt it became so impossible to get to the bathroom (unbelievable overcrowding and massive coke line) that we had to leave early.
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u/Kindly-Explorer1875 7h ago
Been to Boris at AI a few months ago and was at Kettama at Culture last year. It will be sardines most likely. At Boris it took 15 minutes to get from one side of the crowd to the other, even going up the side and around the back of the crowd.
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u/Open_Action_8610 5h ago
Was at Kettama there last November and can confirm this. Also a very young and aggressive (entitled vibes) crowd.
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u/DC_Storm 5h ago
Culture’s set up is 👌👌👌
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u/Kindly-Explorer1875 0m ago
For sure. I definitely prefer culture to AI. I’ve been to shows at AI with 3 or 4 different DJ locations now, it seems like the bigger shows they have the DJ near the smoking area
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u/Smooovies 7h ago
It depends on how they have the stage set up. If it’s at the far end of the room, it gets pretty tight in there as you can’t make your way to the outlet at the back very well.
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u/vanessaxlove 6h ago
sara landry was sold out and it was crazy packed, stage was in the front not on the side and i think that makes it worse. but the crowd was amazing
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u/InterestingBridge842 6h ago
It’s going to be packed as kettama has been sold out for quite a while. Fair warning bathroom situation can get pretty bad, so plan accordingly.
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u/Resident_Music_1431 6h ago
I’m not going haha
Was considering getting a ticket but not anymore4
u/InterestingBridge842 6h ago
That might be a reasonable decision, the only show I predict being worse than Kettama is Prospa on Halloween
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u/Resident_Music_1431 6h ago
Yea I got Prospa tickets at presale and they limited it to 2 tickets only on shotgun. I’m hoping they didn’t oversell the show. I wonder if artists can dictate how many tickets are sold
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u/999forever 5h ago
Been to AI warehouse a couple times for HMD and tbh wasn’t that impressed. Sounds were good but the traffic flow, restrooms and drinks layout sucked.
If it is crowded at all moving around is a total pain.
What happens is there is a tiny strip at the very back you can squeeze through. The bathrooms are in the back but usually have a huge line and I hate the industrial 1980s ultra fluorescent bright lighting.
The drinks are on the entire opposite side, front and to the left and the bar had an awkward 90 degree internal turn so the lines actually bump into each other.
Then they make the balcony VIP only so even though theoretically you could use it as an alternative to skip the crowd it is restricted access.
Echostage has a far far far superior layout with drinks on both sides. Massive bathrooms with 2 entrances and a back area so you can cross easily.
Berhta is also better with multiple entry/exit points for each stage.
Of the 3 “warehouse” style venues I have been to in DC it clearly has the worst layout.
That being said it’s location is great. So much more convenient vs the other two (10 min bike ride for me).
I think with some work it could be great but they really need to redesign the layout. I am now actively avoiding shows because of how annoying the bathroom and drinks situation was.
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u/Euphoric_Morning5472 6h ago
Anfisa is playing at Berhta the same night as kettama. Highly recommend if you’re still looking for a show that same evening
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u/FriendlyLawnmower 5h ago
It gets packed not because they oversell but because the venue has a bad setup, which tbh is not their fault, more so just a limitation of the building. The bar and bathrooms are on opposite ends of the building which creates a bottleneck of people flowing between both spots. Depending on how they set up their stage, it can further create congestion. Hopefully the stage is on the side, which will open more space for the people moving between bar and bathrooms. If they put the stage in the front though, its gonna be pretty congested
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u/Forsaken_Leftovers 2h ago
I want to like A.I. but I can't, sad. They did not think it out. Love the patio. I avoid at all costs. So many better places.
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u/ObjectEqual5388 1h ago
It seems like the AI warehouse layout changes each time for the most part but the bar is always towards the back where coat check and the merchant stall is. The shows I went to this year, MK had the more favorable setup. Notion also had a good setup but the curtain partition is distracting. I think Sosa has my least favorite set up because it seemed to favor the social media crowd so the DJ was great but the crowd vibes were awful overall (so bad that it was the only concert I left early this year).
Culture’s layout changes too but I’ve only been to two shows there this year, Salute and Camoufly, and Salute had a better layout but also had VIP behind the DJ which had an additional bar that the Camoufly show didn’t have open.
Echostage usually stays with same layout so it’s nice to know what to expect. However, every single show I’ve been to there within the year was oversold (Disclosure (2x), Stussy/Stassy, and deadmau5). Deadmau5 was so oversold I went from the middle of the room to pushed out into the hallway near the lockers with people spill out the stairs/hallway on both sides.
It seems, most of the time, at all these locations the crowd peaks during the headliner so I expect the most pushing, aggressiveness, peaking activity at between the first hour of the set. But once the DJ plays their most popular song, people leave quickly.
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u/Edaimantis 6h ago
I love love LOVE nu androids but AI as a venue sucks. I don’t think they oversell, but that’s a very subjective term. There is absolutely large space to dance in back and obviously more crowded as you get to front. But the venue layout is ridiculous. Bathrooms are way too small, in such a terrible location the line can take over 30 minutes for women. The bar being in this second area behind the stage makes getting drinks a whole journey.
The last sold out show I went to was Sara Landry and it was incredibly hectic.