I have an opportunity to pick up floor seats at the far left of the stage for an upcoming show.
Are there any obstructions on/or suspended above the stage that would block my view of Alex and the back of the stage?

rockphantom: I have an opportunity to pick up floor seats at the far left of the stage for an upcoming show. Are there any obstructions on/or suspended above the stage that would block my view of Alex and the back of the stage?

Each venue is probably going to be a little different. You recall the lighting trusses from the Kimmel performance, right? You can see the one over on Wolfie’s side in this shot.

At the “Portland” amphitheater, the stage is really wide, but they only use the middle part of it. Consequently, if you are on the outer half of the side sections (this place had 3 sections – left, middle and right) you were definitely blocked by the front lighting “arch”. We were in the middle of the section on Eddie’s side and we were still quite a bit to the side of the band. Anyone to our right had their view of Alex blocked.

Thank you for the feedback fellas!
I had feared that the view of the back of the stage and Alex would be obstructed from the far right and left floor seats.
The seats in question are roughly 50 feet from the stage and should be right below a large speaker stack.
At this stage of the game I am more interested in producing a high quality audio recording than actually seeing the band.
I’ll probably spend more time monitoring levels on my PCM-M10 than watching the show.
However, my friend may be unhappy with me for sticking him with an obstructed view seat.
I am the designated “ticket broker” for this gig.
On the positive side, these tickets are available for about HALF of what we wanted to spend per seat.
Decision time….

Thank goodness my seats are dead center. And I’m not bummed out in the least that I’m only going to have two cameramen in the pit blocking my view.

guitard: Thank goodness my seats are dead center.And I’m not bummed out in the least that I’m only going to have two cameramen in the pit blocking my view.

As long as RON isn’t standing in front of you.

My friend agreed that two 4th row floor seats for $215 was a deal, so I grabbed the floor section 5 row D seats for the Austin gig on September 21st. My main focus will be to produce a stellar live audio recording for the VH fan community. Being near speaker stacks should make this easy for me! http://austin360amphitheater.com/guest-info/seating-chart

mrmojohalen: As long as RON isn’t standing in front of you.

---

---

I think you meant The Rons.

mrmojohalen: As long as RON isn’t standing in front of you.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the people behind me were 6 foot plus, but it always seems to be some 5 foot nothing chick.

Ticketmaster should set something up so that I can say, “the person in front of the seat you have chosen is tall, you may want to select another seat”

Grand Rapids 2008 was the worst. I had a guy that was at least 6’6″ in front of me and throughout the entire show he was leaning down to talk with his friend.

A quick follow up on my original post…
My discounted floor tickets arrived today. Everything checks out.
Section to the farthest to the left of the stage, SEC 5.
Row D. 2 aisle seats at the very end of the row (farthest from the stage).
http://www.ticketmaster.com/van-halen-austin-texas-09-21-2015/event/3A004D92367361F9?artistid=772490&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1&tm_link=artist_msg-0_3A004D92367361F9&bba=0
I bought these tickets for 35% below face value.
Seats in sections 2-4 are selling for $450-$750 EACH.
I’ll be happy sitting in my discount seat and taping all night long.
I can’t complain all!

ron: It wouldn’t be so bad if the people behind me were 6 foot plus, but it always seems to be some 5 foot nothing chick.

Ticketmaster should set something up so that I can say, “the person in front of the seat you have chosen is tall, you may want to select another seat”

Next time, let her climb on your back.

rockphantom: aisle seats at the very end of the row (farthest from the stage).

---

Are you video taping or audio taping (or both)? The reason I ask is because there is a very high probability that a security guy will be posted at or near the entrance of that first row to make sure people who don’t have tickets for that section don’t try to sneak down there. It’s purely luck of the draw, but if you get a guy who’s a dick about video taping, he could be a pain because he’ll be standing with his back to the stage looking out over the audience and you are going to be right there in his cross hairs. I was in this exact situation a few years ago at a Bob Seger concert (I recently posted about it here somewhere in another thread). Just be careful and watchful for “that” guy.

I’ll only be taping audio.
I’m planning to use CAFS (Church Audio Freakin’ Small) micro mics along with the Church Audio Ugly 2 Pre-Amp, and Sony PCM-M10 recorder.
Last year a former co-worker of mine was moonlighting as an usher of the section I will be in for Van Halen (in 2014, I caught Lionel Richie from SEC 5 Row-A ). I am hoping he will be back this year. If he is, I’ll be in good hands.