Steff D.
Yelp
PLEASE NOTE: This is a review for concerts held by the State Theater only.
Thompson's Point is our official outdoor music venue...
The pros:
+ the amount of bartenders!
+ the plentiful food options!
+ the abundance of bathrooms!
+ the water bottle refill stations!
The cons:
- The physical space. Thompson's Point is completely flat. And it's all General Admission so you have two options to see the concert: 1) you can bring low beach chairs and sit all the way in the back of the field behind the enormous sound engineer's tent and some steel crowd control metal barricades (which is great if you only kind of like the band you're "seeing" [cause you won't really be seeing them, but you will kind of hear them], and are more there for a night out or to be social), 2) you can stand sardine style in front of the engineer's tent (which is great if you love the band you're seeing, but don't care about personal space, are over six feet tall, and never want a drink, food, or to go to the bathroom for six hours). At 5'2, I'm screwed either way.
- The parking. Absolutely, without a doubt, the worst parking situation I've ever dealt with in Portland in all my years living here. Do not park here for a concert. Louder for the people in the back (who, again, may or may not be able to hear): DO NOT PARK HERE FOR A CONCERT. Do not pay for their $25 on-site parking. It took us over an hour to get out of the parking lot, and literal fights were breaking out between people trying to get out (seriously, we had a woman repeatedly punch our car for not pulling up six inches). Your best option? Park (legally) on a neighboring street and walk in. Or park *anywhere* in Portland and Uber to the mouth of Thompson's Point road and walk in (which will be cheaper than on site parking anyway).
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PLEASE NOTE, PART 2: The outdoor venue at Thompson's Point is actually great (and better managed) for super local, much smaller stuff. Summer Sunsets Live (the Thursday and Friday gatherings during warm weather of food trucks, cold drinks, live music, lawn games, and incredible sunsets), for example. It's fantastic! As more events start to happen, I hope more organizers use this incredible space.