Chris V.
Yelp
I wish that I could review the Capital Cities concert itself. That was quite something. But I'm going to have to review the venue instead.
This event was the first concert of the new Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. Owner Derek Stevens went on stage (twice) to tell the crowd about how he bought an old courthouse, had it torn down, and got the place up and running in about a year's time. The DLV Events Center (that seems to be the official abbreviation) is an entirely outdoor venue that takes up the entire city block bounded by Casino Center Blvd,, Bridger, 3rd St, and Carson (the latter two streets being the intersection of the entrance gate). As such, you can definitely hear and even see concerts from the sidewalk outside the fence.
The DLV Events Center is basically a fenced-in parking lot with tents for concessions and a stage, so it's not surprising how quickly it was built. However, that description is definitely a bit of an understatement. They also have an elevated VIP area with seating to the right of the stage, as well as raised circular tables in the back of the general admission area for people to stand around. Creative concertgoers actually lifted and relocated the tables as they pleased tonight, but this probably won't happen at more crowded events.
The highlight really is the stage. It doesn't lack for colorful rotating lights, swirling smoke, But the first and most prominent thing that you'll see is the extremely bright screen, perhaps 25 feet diagonally, definitely visible to passers-by, and a very difficult thing to shoot photos of (hint: adjust your camera's metering). You'll see the screen displaying various camera angles of the onstage acts, gratuitous panning shots of the audience members near the stage, the venue's logo during downtime, or even just a band's logo before they come on stage and after rain threatens to ruin the video cameras.
Oh yes, it rained during the first night. It rained pretty strongly toward the end of the concert. And it seemed that the stage crew was either prepared to handle it or was able to improvise. They had stuff to cover the band's equipment and towels to help soak up water on the stage. They shut down all the cameras for safety purposes. The sound system didn't fail though. Actually, considering that this was the first concert, I thought that they did a great job. The sound seemed quite clear and balanced, and the volume wasn't deafeningly loud.
Crowd, by the way, is a relative term. I'm sure there were hundreds of music fans there, but there's reportedly a 15,000 person capacity. I don't disbelieve that figure seeing how much space there was. Event employees actually walked around to tell general admission wristband wearers that, for the headlining band, they were welcome to walk into the very front area, which would normally be reserved for VIPs (and those VIPs already had the best front and center spots anyway, I'm sure). Definite highlight of the night.
One more pleasant surprise came at the end after Capital Cities had finally said good night. As people turned to leave, all of a sudden, perimeter lights and pole lights were flipped on. It was a great convenience for sure, but it will be even more helpful when larger crowds arrive, along with their trash and debris.
Overall, I like this place. I think it's a great addition to Downtown Las Vegas. I'll be happy to come back and trust that they'll put on an equally good production the next time. I only worry somewhat about how bad parking might get for the really huge events, but time will surely tell.