Eric P.
Yelp
Since I hadn't been to the Beacham in a while, I thought I'd give an update. It's a long time to leave a scathing review when a venue does have an opportunity to improve and change and be recognized for those changes.
First off, the sound/acoustic of the venue: It's really hard to give a fair judgment here because there's so much variation. The setup of the band, the type of performance and what type of venue works best (bass or reverb heavy and washed out vs needing to be clear and precise in treble and timbre), where you're standing in the venue, and whoever is working the sound board that night all have an impact. I'd need to go to a diverse sampling of different artists to just this fairly. However, I saw Godspeed You! Black Emperor there recently, which I think is likely an extremely difficult band to do justice live in that there are string instruments that need to be heard within the space of multiple blaring electric guitars, distorted feedback, and double drumming. And while the instruments were understandably muddled together during the loudest moments, there were song moments of lesser intensity when all instrumentation was allowed to shine reasonably well. And despite the size of the venue, it does get satisfyingly loud (ear plugs recommended to avoid tinnitus). Like I said, I'm not sure if they've made improvements to the venue's sound system or acoustics in the last few years. It's better than I remember, but it's such a subjective thing that it's hard to determine. Long story short, I'll give a pass here. It seems POSSIBLE to have a good show here, but based on others' reviews of recent events, it seems highly variable and up to how effectively they set everything up.
On the downside, it's still very much a club atmosphere. It definitely takes away from the experience of seeing a serious band when you've got the Martell Cognac booth and something called the Men's Closet all lit up and in your face. I get it - they're maximizing the space's use and profitability, and its consistent draw is likely what happens late in the evening with its private booths and bottle service. But that comes at a cost, and that cost is the atmosphere of the venue is worsened. Honestly, there's got to be a better way to balance the space to make it more versatile and open-ended to different moods and events. Still a negative here.
As far as the drinks are concerned... It's whatever. The selection is a bit better these days, but still light on the craft beer. Once again, the selection is catered to its late night. It's a nightclub more than a rock venue, and the drink selection reflects that. Also, when I went, they wouldn't let me start a tab for some reason. I'm not quite sure why - seems strange. Had to do each transaction separately. Bizarre at a venue like this, but there may be a rationale here that I'm not aware.
I can also tell they're probably on a timetable. They want the band in and out so they can turn into Tabu Nightclub. Once again, I get it, but it definitely makes the show feel like second fiddle to the main act, which is embarrassing because they have bring some incredible artists to the space. A band that likes to do an extended encore or something wouldn't get a chance to jam for a while, I don't think.
It's still frustrating because it's one of the only optimally sized venues in the city that volume-wise sits in-between The Social and House of Blues / Hard Rock. There's just not much else in town, and they capitalize on that by using the venue as both a club space *and* a concert space. But the investments in the space seem more focused on the former, and as a patron of the latter, I feel like it's reasonable to call that out and be disappointed by it. My recommendations would be to: give the space a less branded facelift, and finds ways to transform the venue through more versatile measures like lighting and projection. Add more local craft brews to the beer selection -- there's so many great choices these days but the menu seems stuck in 2005 for some reason (with the exception of Hard Selterz which unsurprisingly they've embraced). Continue to invest in great sound tech and personnel to make every show--no matter what the genre--a great experience. And when you bring incredible talent to the venue, treat them with the highest respect, even if it means allowing the show to go as late as they'd like.