Belly G.
Yelp
Note that this review is for RESERVED SEATING only. I have no experience sitting in the lawn section.
Came here to see Muse and 30 Seconds to Mars. Wasn't really sure what to expect since I'd never been here before. When one of my friends told me that this Amphitheater is located in the same complex that houses the F1 track, I got kind of excited because, Formula ONE!
My main concern about coming here was parking. I was tempted to get VIP parking because it seemed like all the other parking lots would require you to walk a good distance to the entrance. To my surprise, however, there were plenty of shuttles that would take you from the parking lots to the main entrance.
As I was walking from my car toward the shuttle stop, I saw people getting on the shuttle and that it was getting full. By the time I got there, the shuttle was full and I had to wait for another one. I thought it was going to be a little while until the next shuttle came but this wasn't the case; not even two minutes later, another shuttle showed up. And as people were boarding the shuttle, I could see another shuttle approaching.
If you're thinking about getting VIP parking, save your money and just park in the regular parking lots and take the shuttle.
There was a line going to get inside the venue. They WILL PAT YOU DOWN! Which is about the only thing I'm not okay with. I'm okay with the metal detector, I'm okay with you waving your wand at me. I'm not okay with you touching me, my butt, etc. This is not the airport and if you want to grab my butt, at least buy me a drink first!
Walking toward the amphitheater, there's a food truck area inside the venue although during this particular event, there wasn't that many. There's also a designated area to sit down and enjoy your meals. Pay attention to beer pricing. If I recall correctly, the beer pricing at the concession stands was higher than if you were to get one from one of those beer stands. I think domestic beer pricing was $12 vs. $8 or something like that. I didn't take pictures of the prices, but I do remember talking to my friend about the pricing.
Now let's talk about the amphitheater. It's all open space which means:
(1) If it rains, you will get wet.
(2) People will be smoking. And not just cigarettes, if you know what I mean.
(3) When the sun is shining hot, you will sweat! Dress comfortably.
Now, with that said. If general admission (standing room) is an option, I highly suggest you go and do that. I had a reserved seat, and even though it was in the 4th row, I still had a hard time seeing the stage because people in front of me were always standing up. And they were bigger/taller people as well. And since there were also people to my left and right, I was pretty much stuck having to see somebody else's backside. NOT COOL.
The sound system was pretty good for someone sitting in the 4th row. Not sure how the sound system would fare toward the back in the lawn section. But to compare this to The Woodland's Cynthia Mitchell Pavilion, the Austin360's sound system is, in my opinion, far superior
Once the concert was over, I opted to walk back to my car although the shuttles were still out in full forces. However, since there were thousands of people leaving at the same time (vs.people coming in at different times at the beginning), I opted to walk back to my car. It took about 10 minutes from the venue back to my car, and another 5-10 minutes until I was back on the road. Again, I was plenty surprised at how easy it was to leave.
If there's another band that I want to see and they decide not to make a stop in Houston but here at Austin360 amphitheater instead, I wouldn't hesitate to come back. STANDING ROOM ONLY!