[El Puma]

Opening night at a nice new concert venue! What made my visit possible were unheard of $25 tickets! (I refuse to pay the $70-90 which most venues charge by the time you get done subsidizing Ticketmaster). If you come from the N, DON'T follow the website instructions. They lead you on a bit of a goose chase up 169 past Black Diamond before coming back west. Take 167 to Auburn, 18 to 164 South...much faster. Also there is a free shuttle from the Supermall; a great option to get there, however, the lines of people waiting for the departure shuttles were tremendous! Arrival (even 45 min before concert start) was very painless and well organized. Parking is free and about a 5-10-min walk from the entrance.You basically have to carry jackets/blankets/sealed H2O bottles under your arm as no packs of any kind will be tolerated, and they do not make exceptions. Plenty of concessions, though most are the standard hamburger/hot dog fare. A BBQ shack on the NE-loop made outstanding BBQ pork on rice or in sandwich format. Their meals are good-sized, and at $6 comparable to all else. Large microbrew $7 (looks about 18oz). Many stairs leading to the seating area eliminate crowding problems, even when exiting. You can go up the reserved seating stairs and get to the lawn faster if the lawn stairs should get tight, or if you're in a hurry to scope a good spot (though there are many). Grass seating gives great views, even from way back (don't forget binocs). Well-designed slope. Grass was a bit long and pretty wet (even more so after sunset), so bring appropriate ground cover. A tarp to sit on and one to put over you would be necessary during rain. Good acoustics, though as you get further away, the higher frequencies somewhat overpower the rest - though that may depend on the individual sound setup too. Good video screens visible from everywhere. Don't know if they did this on purpose, but the evening sun provided a perfect illumination of the stage for a long time! Of course the video on the screens was invisible... An interesting acoustic note: While getting chow, the warmup band started to play and since you're behind the stage, you hear absolutely NOTHING of that...I had no idea they were playing! Exit: If you're parked in the SW-lots, stay on the grass and walk all the way to the right; there are stairs leading straight out and avoiding all the interior loop traffic. Here is the low-point of the design: Not enough access roads. Traffic was pretty much at a standstill in the entire parking lot for 15 min. Things were marginally under control while there were defined lanes between parked vehicles. But once everyone got caught up and into their cars the whole steel avalanche was crawling all at once. They have 3 lanes leading to 164, the paved ones eventually angling more north and providing the ONLY opportunity to turn N on 164. (We were on the gravel, which moved faster, were forced to turn E on 400th, did a quick U-turn and then a right back onto 164 to get out of there. Definitely something they have to work on. And this was a non-sold-out show as well. Wait until Cher shows up! I'd be very tempted to bring a cooler and a Hibachi and tailgate it until everyone is outta there. All in all a pleasant experience, nice venue with nice views. Hope you get to go see a show - there is a pretty good lineup this year. Schedule BTW, Heart rocked. An incredibly tight band, and Anns voice has gotten nothing if not stronger over the years. Very impressive harmony between the sisters. 30+ yrs of experience were very evident!

[MooseAndSquirrel]

Thanks for your in-depth review of the venue, El Puma. Don't know about the "pretty good lineup" they have scheduled this year! That's always debatable of course. Lots of old-geezer bands from our long ago youth , and at a premium price ($35-60 for Boston?!!). It would be kinda cool if the Muckleshoots have a fest there featuring Native American artists/music. There's a wide variety of it out there in the different genres of rock,blues,world music, etc. Here's the Seattle Times review of the opening night at White River as well.

[Allison]

Another venue with non-union stage labor, along with the Gorge and the Tacoma Dome.

[iconoclast]

[Allison]

[Penny Pincher]

My opinion is that there are alot of people out there making too little, from the farm hands picking apples to those working in the food service industry. Should a professional make 12 times more than the person who picks the food that he eats?

[iconoclast]

oh I wasn't complaining I just wanted to know if the stage hands had a valid point. I've worked with my grandparents sign company and whatever union they deal with is an absolute joke. I feel the same way about the tabacco and food handlers and the auto workers portion that deals with smaller suppliers(usually open shop.) On the other hand I've been a union Laborer(#440) in the Seattle area off and on for a few years and both the wages and training are great. I also feel I offer a general contractor much more than some untrained hillbilly or foreigner. That was a great thread on walmart The fact that they are even open still shows how many people there are that don't have high enough life standards. How is Ballard the Paris of the west? PP-Yes a professional deserves to make more than a person at an unskilled job. Anyone can do the easy job, whereas not everyone could do the professionals job. No one just ends stuck at the 7-11, they chose to not educate themselves and will suffer the consequences their entire life. Should some pratt with a business degree make off with heaps more than, say someone who chose to be a marine biologist who studies/solves the oceans problems? I do disagree with that.