Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

A older stage but put on quite a great EDM concert. Great energy, music, liveness

I went to Bill Graham for the first time this past weekend, and I was floored. The venue location, and the overall set up of the place is fantastic for large shows. I saw Steve Aoki and loved every moment of it. I think the place attracts a really good crowd, and getting in is seamless. I generally don’t like these huge venues, but I really would love to see another show here.

I love working here, there's so many concerts and different types of events going on, Tonight is Wobbleland it's a rave, there will be a couple of different vendors selling cool stuff

Loved this place and the concert I saw there as well. It has stadium seating on the top upper half and a big open stage on the bottom half. They served alcohol, food and clothing inside. I had an amazing time and it was my first time. Thank you for such an amazing experience. Also the line was huge to getting in but once the doors opened it was unbelievable fast to get in.

Good times. The venue manages the large crowd well. The acoustics seemed fine but I am not an audiophile. If I had to take issue with one thing, a better beer selection would have been nice. They had the basics and a few selections from Golden Road Brewing. Full cocktail bar. I refrained based on pricing and selection.

First time here for the Lany concert - A Beautiful Blur Tour! It was so much fun!!! Parking was simple at the civic center garage across from the civic auditorium so everything was easy to navigate. Nice thing about the garage is it's one flat rate during special event which was $30 for the concert. Anyways, I definitely love the auditorium its a nice size with 4 floors & lots of seating. I will definitely be coming back here for future concerts 🥰🥰🥰

Good venue for a show, it went above and beyond my expectations. Would recommend coming here to anyone that has not.

I love this venue. There's plenty of good parking in the garage. There's a nice park full of interesting folks to watch while we waited in line for 2 hours. It was a general admission show and I was with some people that are very serious about The 1975 so we got there early. I DON'T really care so I moved seats all over the place during the show and there really isn't a bad seat or bad sound. The singer actually saw an emergency near the front during the show and within minutes we watched the security wade in, scoop up the naked rolling-boy and sweep him up to the well-staffed first aid station. Kind of awe-inspiring considering how packed the floor was!

An older venue for concerts. It can seat the whole stadium of ppl. Good lightings, sounds systems. Chairs were old upstairs and bouncy. It's my first time at bill graham, there are so many famous bands and artists who performed there in the past. Not my fav venue but gets the job done for performances! Outside location is sketchy so be careful when you're walking at night or morning alone. Reco going to the area with a buddy for safety.

I reviewed the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium circa 2009, but my review got removed, according to Yelp, "because it is not relevant, specifically it deals with matters outside of the normal customer experience." I have since returned for at least two and probably three concerts. As a concert venue, it feels unfinished. And old. It didn't help that there weren't very many people in attendance when I saw Morrissey here in 2019, so it felt just cavernous and gaping. Honestly, it felt like . . . a convention center space, which is what it was used for when I had the experience that inspired my original review below. Funny how that works. Also in 2019, they added all those neon signs to the western wall (and possibly the southern and eastern walls?). As I predicted, many of them would stop working almost immediately, but it was interesting art as far as art goes, I guess. Hm, I'm still not sure how I feel about those, especially since the 21-Hayes bus no longer turns right onto Polk Street so that its riders can ponder those signs like I used to. I'm sad. I would definitely come to a concert here, but it wouldn't be my first choice for a venue. For starters (and enders), now that Ananda Fuara is long gone (RIP), it's a sketchy place to find food. There's plenty of food to be found, but you'll find a lot of other unwanted things nearby before you'll find food. Trust me. ORIGINAL REVIEW So I've never been to a concert here; have never felt good about myself by spending one day out of my life at Project Homeless Connect to "help" homeless people (although it would be much more effective and less holier than thou to work for funding for long-term services like housing, mental-health, and substance-abuse resources that actually help homeless people than volunteering here and at the same time supporting, whether actively or quietly, "tough on crime" measures like getting the homeless people out of sight so we don't have to think about them or get offended when they ask us for money we know they will use for booze or liquor as we're walking to a bar to get hammered); but I do have firsthand experience with the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. I came to what I thought was a focus group here. But instead of sitting around a table with a bunch of other San Francisco people and listening to a moderator who clearly isn't from San Francisco ask us to give our true feelings about some credit-card rebates program, my job was to look at new cars. That's right; I got to walk around this large venue and look at different cars that all looked very similar to me. As I walked from car to car, I was to fill out information on a hand-held electronic thingamajig. Now, this was before the ubiquity of iPod Touches, when people who used their tablet PDAs were thought of as the biggest dorks ever. So it was funny to be walking around and doing this. In addition to looking at the cars, I looked at the venue itself and wondered what it would be like to see a concert here. It's definitely big, but tweener big venues are often horrible places to see a show. Because dozens of people were doing this focus-group thing, I was surrounded by others, roughly my age, who were at different points in their new-vehicle-inspection walkabouts. One fetching woman caught my attention, and she had started just after I did, so I slowed down a little so that she could catch up. Being the weirdo that I am, I didn't say anything to her but simply went about my focus-group business. She passed me up and finished relatively quickly. As I was filling out the requested information on the final car, I wondered why I had found her so striking. She was attractive, but so were many of the other twentysomethings walking around these cars. Then I remembered that I had seen her on the 21 while we were both on our way to this place. Satisfied, I went home. Over the next three months or so, I saw the same woman at different places in the neighborhood. First, I saw her at Bean Bag. Then, she was waiting for the 24. I think I was on the same bus with her a few more times, and the last time I remember seeing her, she was talking on her phone while walking by Lilly's. So every time I saw her, I wanted to talk to her. Why didn't I? Well, the only thing we had in common was this odd car-examining experience for which we had both been paid in cash (I think). Beyond that, what else was there to discuss? I'm actually a pretty good conversationalist, but when it comes down to it, I get intimidated easily. So I don't know whether I'll ever see this attractive, strong-jawed woman again, but I will always remember her hair and her posture, and that's pretty amazing.

Hands down one of the best venues for raves that I've ever been to. I am from LA, and even in SoCal, we don't have a nice indoor venue like BG (the NOS center doesn't count because that's for the bigger festival and it's outdoor). The lasers are spectacular in there, and the venue is very spacious. There are 3 floors (basement, regular, and top floors), and there are bars outside of the stage area. They have multiple restrooms with water fountains. Visuals are great from both floors and the upstairs view, which is what I love about this venue. The security lines always moved quickly. I went there in the past to see several DJs like Said the Sky, Zedd, BTSM, Gryffin, and Hardwell with my friends. We always had a great time there. Today I went there again for Wobbleland, and let me tell you, the visuals and everything were UNFORGETTABLE. The bathroom is always clean there. I'm not sure about the staff because I didn't interact with them. Never tried their food, so I'm not sure (I don't even know if they sell food there, never paid attention to it since I always go there after dinner). Their drinks are overpriced like how it is in other venues and clubs. They have underground parking for $28, but it gets filled very quickly. So you have to come there early; otherwise, you will have to park somewhere else, and it is NOT easy to find street-safe parking in SF. My friends and I would get so excited whenever there's a rave there! Highly recommend this venue for a rave and I cannot wait to be back again next month for Excision!

My first time coming here was for a LANY concert and the security outside was pretty rude to the attendees :( Before the singer came out, there seemed to be smoke filling up the venue but there was no warning or any signs that we needed to evacuate. Venue had a lot of area to stand with plenty of space to see the singer up close.

I love this space! I've been here for high school graduations eons ago, but my first time attending an energy packed concert: Jackson Wang. General floor admission and expect to stand for the duration of the event, but as mentioned in the pictures we were in a good spot to see everything...close enough to touch him. lol Bartenders are nice, very patient! Stiff drinks! Concession area had pizza, nachos, chicken strips & fries...pretty standard to fill your belly-filled-ETOH. There's cool lounge area, and several areas for restrooms on each floor that don't have a 20min wait. Bill Graham is in the heart of the city, so there are bunch of places to grab food and snacks. Just be weary of your surroundings...it's still looking rough on market, the city looks like they're attempting to clean up some parts of it. I still love the city...Thanks SF...you'll always be my first home!

Bill Graham was like The Fillmore. Old times in the counterculture. Now it has featured electronic music and indie rock. It's a bigger venue. It has an upstairs seating area. It has space to roam around. These younger kids and adults that never grow up and still think of Radiohead. It's a legendary venue near City Hall. Maybe it was my first time today to LCD Soundsystem and with all rights to freedom of expression the Teaches of Peaches. That's right. New Year's at Bill Graham. I'd say it was worth it. I had some appetizers like egg rolls...one free coke and another coke to pay for. They have some concert photos framed. I tried VIP and a sitting area. Maybe I missed the toast. There were posters that were okay but not even Fillmore. That was the adventure this year. Happy New Year 2024.

Tucked away in the great city of San Francisco, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium arguably hosts the best raves and concerts in the world. The sound system, lighting, and open seating contributes to an amazing atmosphere to hear live music. I love the open floor concept on the first floor. It's more spacious than a cramped nightclub dance floor or assigned seating at other music venues. I've jumped, danced, and even mosh pitted down there. There's nothing else like the first floor of Bill Graham. If you want to sit and rest your legs, just take the stairs, escalator, or elevator up to the second floor. The first come, first serve seating arrangement on the second floor allows you to not worry about finding a specific seat row and number unlike other Bay Area event venues like Chase Center or SAP Center in San Jose. Bill Graham Civic Auditorium has two paid coat checks and plenty of bars employed by amazing bartenders that have HEAVY pours for any attendees that consume shots or cocktails. They want you to have a good time and you honestly get your money's worth. Don't forget to tip the employees here! But as much fun as Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is, when it's a full house, the amount of people here is suffocating. The stress of not finding an open parking spot, waiting in line to get inside, push through people to get to a good spot on the floor, and go to the bathroom isn't fun. As other Yelp reviewers have stated, the parking situation around the venue is awful unless you get there at least an hour before the scheduled event time. My group usually parked at the nearby paid parking lots or garages and walked over with no problem. You can also take public transportation options, like BART or MUNI. The bathroom lines can get long but the second and third floors generally have less people there.

I've never had a bad time here! Security lines move quickly considering the size of the crowd, and bathrooms are always clean. Pro tip: use the upstairs bathrooms, lines are MUCH shorter.

This venue is way bigger than I expected! It took us an hour to get through a crazy winding line to even get through the open doors but finally did and we're surprised but the venue. Hug open floor space, a cocktail area with couches, several merchandise stands. The staff was helpful and it was pretty easy to Uber in and out of. My one complaint was the lack of hot food. There was one place in the auditorium where you could get basic items like hot dogs, slices of pizza, nachos etc and the line was huge. The food was pretty meh to be honest, but I enjoyed the show. We will be back for another show in August.

I drove teen here as her 1 of 2 kpop shows trip was here. Memories. Seeing the outside I saw a metal show or two in my teen/20s days. 1994. Saw frikking Pantera/Crowbar/Excel here. One of the two night shows. My buddies carpooled as a gang from Chico. Amazing. Craziest pit and slam dancing ever. Was sore for days and my leg was landed on which wasn't fun. I did shove a few that fell over and hit wood. Lmao. Pantera with Dimebag (RIP). Best ever. Dropoff. Pulled into a spot. Dropped off and got the hell out. Clusterfk. Pickup was ridiculous. Not fun.

We went here to see a concert and we're very underwhelmed with the venue as well as the line to get in. I have never seen a more ridiculous line zig zagging through the courtyard. I have no idea how this line became a thing, but it made no sense. Once inside the venue is nothing special, the acoustics aren't even that great and the seats all looked pretty gross. May be time to update the place a bit....

If you never been to this venue, let me give you a few tips, that I wish someone would had share with me , because it would've help me. SF is a busy city, if you are lucky there's parking in the streets near by, or right across from the city hall, there's an underground parking, (I didn't see it and no one mentioned it to me so pay attention), it has a little sign that says even parking , then you'll see the underground entrance. The venue sales GENERAL ADMISSION tickets, when I bought them I was under the impression that we were all going to be standing, however as soon as you walk in the venue there's stairs, if you go upstairs, there's a seating area. The bathrooms are big and clean, in the upstairs bathroom when you go in at first glimpse looks lil there's only 3, but passed the sinks, there's like 15 behind, im sharing this so you don't wait long for the first 3. The upstairs and downstairs both have bars, where they sale drinks, and nachos. (Between me and you if you wait to eat outside, they have several hot dogs, mini pancakes ,tacos vendors, and guys selling drinks , including tequila shots lol). The employees are very friendly, security is on top of things checking purses, and you do go through a metal detector. The venue is small, you will love it, because no matter where you are seated, you'll be able to enjoy.

It's really wild to me that Bill Graham has been around since the 1910s and has become what is essentially a ratchet rave hub to bay area ABGs LOL. All types of performances are held here, but to me, this will always be an EDM venue in my heart :') Parking is best in the paid lot beneath Civic Center plaza. Entry to the actual venue has been streamlined over the years. Their security checkpoint/ticket check system has always been fast (except on the rare occasion people start bumrushing the front -_-), and the staff are pretty chill. The venue is spacious and layout lends to effective foot traffic paths. Two coat checks available at a small fee, and bathrooms on all levels (upper floor has way less wait, y'all). There's concession stands on the first and second levels that sell typical event food (nachos, cookies) and very ok drinks. Depending on event, GA can get crowded/stuffy, and as I've gotten older (and wearier...), I've grown to appreciate the seating in the mezzanine lol. Fortunately the incredible sound system and lighting make for a good time anywhere in the venue.

Extremely unprofessional and rude staff. Barking commands to certain patrons while many other patrons are doing the same thing and unbothered. When asked why there was no answer given. They won't let you enter back the venue when there is a song playing but they let people can go out at anytime and they won't let you enter while the door is open with people exiting. Also there was an employee there saying merch will be available after the show and there is no way it will sell out. Promises should not be made unless you know the facts. Items did in fact sell out before the show even started. The venue is hot! Where is the airflow? This is the worst venue I have ever been to and I hope I never have to set foot here again. All it takes are rude interactions to really ruin your entire night.

First time visiting the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium the other day for the LANY gg bb xx tour in SF! The auditorium houses a decent number of people and is easily accessible if you take the Bart from Berkeley to SF (about a short 5-minute walk from the Bart station). It's also located around several food establishments -- perfect for post-concert replenishments. Because of the pandemic, they screen for vaccination cards prior to the security check. They were super efficient with checking -- you either need a picture of your vax card along with ID, or you can get approval on the Clear app. The security check was pretty smooth, but be sure to check online if there are any bag restrictions. Overall a pleasant experience and a decent concert venue! Will be coming back next week for another concert :)

Coming from SoCal, I have to say the Bill Graham is better than LA's Shrine Expo Hall & Hollywood Palladium. My first time here was for KASKADE NYE 2016 going to 2017 and wow. Other than the LOOOONG LOOONGGGGG LINE outside, to be expected since its NYE. My group and I had an amazing time. The place was huge, definitely the biggest indoor music venue we've been to. Sound and visual was amazing. Not crowded and had plenty of space to breathe and dance. They also have a 21+ lounge! It's away from the dance floor and it's a perfect place to chill and relax. There's a bunch of bars, so you barely have to wait to get drinks. Also, I don't think I ever waited more than 10 minutes for the restroom room. I've been here a few more times since then and I never had a bad time. So apparently SF has a curfew. NYE (2016,2017,2018), it ended at 2-3AM, but for CRUSHSF (1AM) and REZZ (midnight). Bummer, cuz that's so early, usually the party ends around 2-3AM lol.

I visited recently for LANY's ggbbxx tour and Illenium's Fallen Embers set in November 2021. I noticed that parking has been awfully packed before the event starts so I recommend getting to the venue a few hours or even right when it begins if you want a good parking spot. I would recommend going to the balcony if you want to sit down and enjoy the event! Note: Drinks are pretty pricey here! I got a single shot for $14.

Security was good. They had rails all around the entrance which helped to direct us inside. There was plenty of medical staff to hand out things like bandaids or ear plugs. There's lot of seating upstairs and standing room on the floor. There are many stations for purchasing alcohol (expensive $26 for a double shot vodka soda) There are bathrooms on all the floors. If you want a good seat, go early.

-- Great venue for concerts, shows, and raves! Great sound system and acoustics with lots of room for artists and DJs to bring their own stages and lighting. Bill Graham is pretty simple - Downstairs is a large open floor for dancing. Upstairs there's stadium seating for those who want to relax and enjoy the show with a great view. To the side, there's a nice lounge to relax and enjoy a drink. And that's it! Food is available in the far right side, outside of the stage. Alcohol selection is poor and expensive, as you'd expect. Expect to spend $13 for a single shot of whiskey with Coke, $26 for a double. Waters are $5 and are in reusable aluminum bottles, which is nice. Security is generally fast and friendly, but occasionally backs up down the street and around the corner. Not sure why it's so bad sometimes. Most of the time plan on about 15 minutes to get inside. Lots of bathrooms are available on the top floor and in the basement. Generally fairly clean. My biggest complaint is that most shows end right at midnight. For New Year's Eve, they extend it to 1:00am, but every other show here ends right before midnight :( -- Pro Tip: Go to the 4th floor for bathrooms as they're generally empty compared to the 1st floor and basement. I have a YouTube video for tips and tricks if you're interested also! Search "gillynova" and you should find it!

Bill Graham is a solid venue, especially for raves, because of how big it is. It can be hard to open parking garages nearby as you get closer to the time that your event starts but it's definitely possible. Security is pretty good. There's always a line for the bathroom but there's multiple stalls so it moves. While it has a large floor, as you get closer to the front, it can get stuffy (as with pretty much any concert venue). Tickets tend to be cheap, at least for GA floor, and they have a good variety of performers.

Went here for the Melanie Martinez concert in June and this place was BY FAR much better than I remembered it being. They did some work in the front of the venue which I'm REALLY happy about because it was a huge mess before. Me and my friend went and staff were patient and nice and so were other fans. The background video quality also has had a major upgrade, since I remember when I visited back in December it was glitchy and inadequate. They also had seats upstairs which can be helpful if you cannot stand moshpits. FYI: PRO TIP If you have sensitive ears like me GET EARBUDS. They have a few tables at the front when you enter that have pairs of them and they were SO helpful since i got to hear Melanie perfectly and a lot of the crowd noise was drowned out around me.

The staff are wonderful! So nice and helpful! The place is super easy to get around. There's no parking other than typical San Francisco street parking, so keep that in mind when attending a show. The venue is situated between Civic Center and Van Ness Muni stations with just a small 5 minute walk. Food options aren't all that - think light fare, so eat before arriving.

The overall experience was nice. I went to see Melanie Martinez in early June and the show was amazing. Her crew did such an amazing job with the set and the visuals. The event staff afterwards however, could NOT identify lines and it made things super confusing to find the merchandise lines after the show ended and everyone was crowding. The staff couldn't tell you where the lines were or where they ended so I hope they improve on that.

visited it for a concept, Steve Aoki's one in March, and it was a gteay venue. what's important, there are water filling stations so you don't have to buy expensive water bottles like other venues make you do. we had floor tickets because we wanted to dance but if you'd like to avoid crowds, the balcony seats seems quite good too will be coming back for another concert in August!

I came here to see Kali Uchis on may 26th! I do have to say the staff handled the large crowd amazingly and took safety precautions so no one could get trampled. As for the crowd it could have been better, there was a girl who urinated in a cup and then split it all over the floor which was pretty nasty. It was a little hard finding where the merch line started because it was hard to find the ropes were to enter. I definitely feel safe in this venue and overall 8/10 experience!!

Easy to get free ticket one night only where Jim Irsay was nice enough to include San Francisco to display has private collection of historical and memorabilia of great variety and treated people to a concert in the evening. James Irsay is principal owner, chairman and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). I am glad I was determined to go despite the rain. It was more than i expected! I didn't expect to learn about American History with JKF's dinner ticket and Stetson hat he was supposed to get the day he was assassinated. Boxing memorabilia from Muhammad Ali and Rocky! Then the famous guitars, Elton John Piano and a handful of Beatles. Some classic first editions books and letters. If it comes to your town, be sure to go. I just came for the exhibit and not the music concert. Boy were lines long and kept growing! Good thing I got there early! I wonder if everyone fit inside. From the news clips looks like people had. A great time at concert with the old time singers,

Came here 9/16 for the Jack Harlow concert and had a great time! The facility was clean, security was friendly and good at their job, and ID check was easy and readily accessible. The bar was also well tended! For general admission tickets we had free roam of where we wanted to stand or if we wanted to go upstairs and find seating. This helped it not feel so crowded! I would love to come here again for another show.

I called afraid of what is going on the world and the fact that my daughter and son in law are not saved. I felt like what I heard was a transcript Ed prayer. I was not allowed to ask a question. this is a SCAM

Been raving here since 2018!! Amazing venue lots of space and a balcony seating if you get tired. Ppl here are always really nice and security is fast. Parking is paid and underground so pretty secure too. I've gone to so many events here i've lost count!

I went there to see Radiohead. The sound was much better than when i saw Janet Jackson several years back. The lounges are upscale. There's a line bacon wrapped hit dog vendors outside after the show.

I love live music. Saw Gojira and Deftones here the other night. First time at this venue. Tickets were only$60 for general admission. Stage was close and you could access the seats above if you wanted and still see the band super close. Security was chill, crowd was mellow for a Metal crowd. Concessions were nice and spread out though prices high as usual. Nice part of SF near City Hall. Definitely coming back to see more Shows!

Came here for Lane 8 and it was much better than the last time I remembered it pre-Covid. The workers were really friendly at the entrance and security lines which was a great vibe to start off the event. We came a bit earlier which was nice bc the lines to get in were shorter and it was so fast. Prob took less than 5 mins from the ID checking person to going through security. Felt safe even tho it was Sept 11th. Inside is very spacious with the main auditorium and open seating at the top if u get tired of standing. There r bars that are well lit on both sides of the main auditorium that provide snacks and water as well. There was hot food available at the right side. Had an enjoyable time and was not hard to get to the front in the crowd. Would def be back if another event i'm interested in comes along.

I was totally disappointed with the way the Bill Graham handled security and safety last night. -Where I was, an entire group of like 6+ sat on the stairs in the balcony area. At every single concert I've ever been to, security immediately tells people (including previously at this venue) to get off the stairs (because it's a fire hazard). Security was nowhere to be found and the group sat on stairs for the second half of the show which made me anxious because they were blocking me in to my seat. If there was an emergency, it would be terrible to have the stairs blocked. -there was a solid five minutes during the encore where people on the floor in GA were trying to get the attention of security because someone was on the floor collapsed, and they were shining their lights backwards and illuminating things and pointing to the area, not only did staff not notice until people in the crowd went to go get someone, but the artist didn't bring any attention to it, maybe she couldn't see it, I don't know. But she was singing a song about a cry for help, which was ironic. -getting out was a nightmare, the merch floor was absolutely insane after the show and made it confusing to get out, security was less than helpful directing, most didn't even know where to go to get out. They told us to go in the direction of the merch chaos, where there were no exits. They overall seemed very incompetent and most weren't even addressing us as if we were people which was disgusting, just barking the same phrase repeatedly. It was honestly a mess and so unpleasant. I've been to this venue before and never felt like this. I almost had a panic attack honestly feel like if I had there wouldnt have been any resources for me. I don't know if I'd ever come here again if this is how shows are handled now. Sad to see the decline of one of the best venues. Was in fear of my safety for more than half the show.

It was my first time here and it's not so bad. Entering was quick and easy, and not super pack because my friend suggested we get there early for better seating.( that's if you don't wanna be on the floor) And I agree!! We went straight to 2nd floor and sat in the middle to save our seats. ( best light view) Basically, didn't matter where you sit as long you grab your seats early. Anywho, my partner and I went roaming around the auditorium... they did set up some drink, bar, food areas which was nice because it was convenient. I enjoyed my newyears with kaskade!!

FKJ (French kiwi juice) had a fantastic show at this venue on October 7th. We had a blast and the location is great, right smack dab next to City Hall.

I love Bill Graham! I would even call it my second home. My first experience at Bill Graham was with my pbros at Omega 3 Fish Oil Apple Pie. It is very spacious to move around the crowds during an event to find the girl of the night.

Great venue for concerts, shows, and raves! Great sound system and acoustics with lots of room for artists and DJs to bring their own stages and lighting. Bill Graham is pretty simple - Downstairs is a large open floor for dancing. Upstairs there's stadium seating for those who want to relax and enjoy the show with a great view. To the side, there's a nice lounge to relax and enjoy a drink. And that's it! No food is available generally. Alcohol selection is poor and expensive, as you'd expect. Expect to spend $13 for a single shot of whiskey with Coke, $26 for a double. Waters are $4 and are in reusable aluminum bottles, which is nice. Security is generally fast and friendly, but occasionally backs up down the street and around the corner. Not sure why it's so bad sometimes. Most of the time plan on about 15 minutes to get inside. Lots of bathrooms are available on the top floor and in the basement. Generally fairly clean. My biggest complaint is that most shows end right at midnight. For New Year's Eve, they extend it to 1:00am, but every other show here ends right before midnight :(

Saw the alt-J and Portugal the man show last night. The sound was the most bass heavy and distorted mess I have ever ever heard at a live show. Tried both the main floor and the balconies. No escape from the distorted mess. Portugal was completely obliterated by the distorted low end, guitar and vocals only peering out when the bass player stopped for a bar or two. I have some experience doing live sound (not at this level though). I do rarely go to big shows these days, as I will usually just go to smaller shows. Is the venue always like this? Or did I just get very unlucky?

Such an iconic music venue! Lots of events throughout the year, highly recommend coming here and checking out a show from a wide variety of music. Easy to get to through public transportation - Bart. Parking garage accessible, although you have to pay but worth it for security. If not worried, you can park on the street. Kinda easy finding parking on the weekend although you have to walk but hey it's free. Not sure about weeknight, But I'm guessing it's busy. Overall, if your favorite artist is in town and playing at this venue. Worth checking out!

best night of my life bruh seeing txt in person omg such an amazing experience. The sets were amazing and overall the best experience so far

This year at Bill Graham was much better, and after travelling the country I feel like I can form a better opinion on this place now that I got a good number of venues to compare this place to. In terms of interior rave scenes, Wobbleland feels BIG for an indoors venue. Had a better Wobbleland this year, and I guess sits mainly cause the crowd was just so more into it than last years. Yes, the area outside Bill Graham is still sketchy as ever. But now I see it as a more convenient place to have fun and I'm more about the positives nowadays, so after travelling all around the country trying out different venues, there's a convenience and fun factor about Bill Graham that got me to return again. Compared to other venues, Bill Graham has a big open interior feels spacious compared to San Jose's Civic Center, better sound compared to LA's Hollywood Palladium, and more open than Fresno's Ballroom. For indoor raves in the West coast, I think other than Seattle's Thunderdome, San Fran's Civic center feels like the largest while still not feeling too cramped. Feeling tired? Sit up at the nosebleeds. Want to vibe? Back of the main stage is where it's at. I felt like everyone was vibing well and definitely felt it was way better last year. The other good part is that this place is close to two hotels that you can stay at that's literally a block away. Whitcomb (wasn't a bad hotel to stay at) and BEI (More expensive, we stayed there last year when it was the Holiday Inn Civic), but both hotels are good options if you want a place close by without uber. Only 2 issues popped up. 1 was that a friend got his phone pickpocketed, so always bring a fanny pack to keep your phone safe. 2nd is that outside was full of homeless people with needles everywhere, so don't come with sandals. It's a sad state of affairs outside the venues, but I felt it was worse last year because San Fran had a Burger King open outside that definitely attracted that sort of crowd late night. Overall, my opinion of BG has changed for the better this yearm let's hope another year will go well here.

Underground parking garage. Auditorium has théâtre rise seating so even on the 2nd and third levels you feel up close to stage. Equipped to provide food and beverage refreshments and hot dog vendors outisde before and after the show. Across the street from the auditorium above the garage is a large open plaza/courtyard area with a small sectioned playground for families and their little ones.

The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is vast and spacious, just how I like my venues! With any venue it also depends on what type of concert/show you're seeing. I should mention that I've only ever been to this venue for electronic dance music (EDM) shows, but with every event that we've attended, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium hasn't let us down. As far as parking goes, I unfortunately won't be much help on this review. Most, if not 100% of the time, my friends and I choose to Uber or walk there. It just all depends on how far our hotel is from the venue. The bathrooms on the bottom floor seem to always be packed and crowded. But after reading another review, apparently the bathrooms on the 4th floor are less congested. I'll have to see for myself, but that's good to know. The main dance floor is huge and, for the most part, spacious. But with any concert, especially EDM shows, the dance floor can get packed. If that ever is the case, and you want to separate yourself from the crowd, you could head up to the balcony for a nice overview of the whole stage. It's a great place to sit and chill while still enjoying the show. I'm sure that there are tons of venues that blow The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium out of the park, but for me, this venue is pretty solid. As I said before, this venue offers a generously vast dance floor and has seating up on the balcony. The show is what you make of it and the venue definitely plays a factor in it. How I see it, having a lot of space on the main floor also gives more room for bigger stage productions (lights, lasers, etc.) which makes for a better show experience.

Fist time to Bill Graham was confusing. Finding parking was very hectic. On the second floor you had to go up another set of stairs in order to find seats. Once my wife and I figured out how to find the seats it was a breeze. I was surprise how big this place was.

One of the WORST music venues in SF. Sound tends to be muddy, space is not comfortable, bathrooms very dated, and bar is odd. And the venue is FREEZING. I have never needed a jacket inside a venue before when standing in general admission in the center near the stage. I was knee deep in the crowd! Thom Yorke complained about it three times during The Smile on Dec. 18th. House Manager Patrick said I was "wrong" for pointing it out even though he wasn't inside where the music was being performed. What a jerk.

Honestly of one the most dope venues in the Bay Area. You got ALL of your famous celebrities/bands rolling through here when they're in SF Bay. It's the only venue that can host thousands of people indoors with the top-notch tech and media. Kaskade-- seen him TWICE here for New Year's Eve ;) the actual 12/31 (none of that 12/30 ish!). And he stepped it each time in putting on an amazing performance. For any EDM concert, just expect lots of smoke, vape, and weed wafting around. It was gross to say the least but with some alcohol in your system, you might be alright ;) they sell drinks there at the venue (slightly overpriced). The venue is spacious with a downstairs floor/mosh pit and a seated upstairs 2nd floor. The line isn't insanely long if you come LATER. Typically, who goes on time to dance concerts anyway?! ;) main DJ comes on later. Fun every single time! Can't wait to go to more events here. I know Fall Out Boy and Arctic Monkeys will roll through here too #STOKED

Recently saw a concert here. My first time going to this venue. The flow of getting in was good. The VIP experience of the show was terrible. The security is a joke. So many things going on that people look the other way at. I saw multiple ppl high in different substances and most of them took some kind of fall down stairs or over balcony seats. Be cautious when you attend shows here.

Had to put this here before I forgot - Came here last night for Excision (this year's poor girl's coachella lol) and had to put this tip here: The line is always insane here, especially for sold out shows. If you can, wait in the box office line (either to purchase another ticket for a show at BGC you want to go to another time, or to pick up your show tickets at will call) because the line will ABSOLUTELY be shorter - and then they will escort you to the main line where you'll skip the entire line that rounds the corner on the street (you'll literally be automatically 10 people from the metal detector). Also if first floor bathrooms are wacked out pack, take extra flights of stairs upstairs to avoid drunk people and experience clean toilets.

Happy New Year! My friend and I came here for Kaskade NYE 2018 and it was my first EDM concert. The exterior of this building was nothing special and it was diagonally across from the San Francisco City Hall. The BART station was walking distances to this place and probably one of the better ways to get here because parking sucked around here. There were a lot of people who also took Uber/Lyft so that was an alternative. The interior was dark but it really depended on the event being hosted. The lighting of the actual show was awesome and Kaskade NYE 2018 was awesome as well. I haven't been to a lot of venues in San Francisco, but this was the biggest one in the city. There were plenty of bathrooms and they were okay. The coat check was on the floor below the ground floor and there was a $3 charge for that (cash only). All of the staff I interacted with at the food/lounge area were friendly. The seats in the balcony area were okay (not the best or the worst). Again, it probably depended on the concert but the seats to the side of the stage would probably be blocked by something. I thought the venue was good and I wouldn't mind seeing another concert at this location in the future.

Lol, I have been here maybe almost 50 times by now! This is my favorite indoor venue in the bay area. They have their stuff down. If you've been to Shrine in LA, Bill Graham is better!! Lines can get long at peak times and snake through the park/plaza across the street. There is security at the traffic lights to keep the lines orderly. The entrance is usually only on the right side (facing the venue), since the left side is the box office. If you arrive late there is often no line and you can go straight to ID check + security. Once I forgot my ID and showed a picture of my license from my phone and they let me in. It was only an 18+ show though. Alcohol ID check is definitely much stricter!! (P.S. You have to get a wristband from ID check near the bars before any bartenders will make you a drink.) If you want a photo with the marquee, I recommend taking it BEFORE you go in (rather than after the show) so that (1) maybe not as dark outside and (2) you don't look like a sweaty mess. You will have to walk past a metal detector to enter the venue. Empty water bottles are accepted. So is food actually. Like pretzels. I've never tried anything larger. Anyway, the venue is nice, big, and airy. Obviously if you are in the center of the floor & all the action it won't be that "airy". The view is great from essentially all the angles. My friends and I love standing at the "side front", because the center of the floor can get very squishy. I don't enjoy people too close in my personal bubble. My least favorite thing is when other people's skins rub up on me I feel their sweat coming off on me. Anyway..... ADA section is toward the right middle/back right of the floor. Balcony views are great as well. Never had an issue with the sound at Bill Graham. Often times they shoot confetti in the air at the end of shows. Bathroom lines can get long. Tip - there are more bathrooms on the 4th floor if you can figure out how to get up there. There are bars both on the first floor and on the second floor. Lines move pretty fast, so be patient! Your typical concert venue drinks, but I've seen seasonal menus pop up before where I could order a holiday drink that came with Santa straws. Coat check is downstairs. Merch table is always on the right side of the venue before you go into the main room. PARKING - There is the Civic center lot right across the street but once it was full and then I had to go park in the Tenderloin. I think Bill Graham shares that parking garage with City Hall, Asian Art Museum, etc. so if there are other events going on that night it could fill up. There are a lot of other parking garages in the area if you look them up. Bill Graham shows always end before 12am unless otherwise stated. I've gone to events that will explicitly call out a 1am end time (which is rare). 12am is perfect because the last BART comes around 12:20-12:30am so you have plenty of time to catch that last BART. On weekday nights, Bill Graham shows end before 11pm. Plenty of dirty dogs will be outside after the show, if that interests you. I will probably be back at Bill Graham another 50 times.