Brooklyn Masonic Temple

I hate to be a downer, but this was honestly the worst venue I have ever been to and I was a hardcore kid in the 90’s who also went to outlaw raves. The sound was awful unless you were in direct line of the stage and within 100ft. This show was in the winter and it was freezing throughout the venue (we literally kept our coats on and stood against the heaters the entire show) and the bathrooms clogged very quickly and were kept pretty disgusting the entire night. The place has charm, but is not maintained as a venue for any sort of crowd.

This is the worst venue I’ve ever been to ever. I’ve been to a lot of shows and I’ve never felt such a need to write a review (I’ve never written one before this).
Went here to see Death Grips, my most anticipated show of the year. First the entrance to the show was a mess. The line was a half hour wait, wrapping around the block… For a concert. Walking in the staff was rude, but I didn’t expect what was to come.
The room is a giant unventilated ballroom. The venue was pretty packed and hot, but as the band got on and people started to move it became a hell box. The crowd was one of the rowdiest I’ve seen but quickly, after one or two songs, their energy was drained as their testosterone was no match for the boiling, airless box. I literally was gasping for air. I saw people that looked like huge fans sitting in the hallway in pools of sweat, trying to muster up energy to go back inside, only to see them again outside. These are pretty devoted fans, and it was physically UNBEARABLE. There were many people wearing death grips tshirts who had just given up, like myself, sitting completely outside disappointed. The casual viewers on the side emptied out pretty quickly, in the early middle stage of the show. EVERYONE looked liked they had just come out of a shower, shirts stuck up against their chest. I mean jump in pool, wring out your tshirt and it’s still soaked, soaked in sweat.
A significant percentage of the people had their shirts off, and there was this one staff member going around yelling at TONS of people, approaching them individually for not wearing their soaked shirts. He hunted me down following me into the bathroom to reprimand me. In the bathroom there’s an empty sitting area, where I was sitting with my friend in a corner, drained. A staff member noticed, yelled at me and quickly, as I said I’d get up, brought a security guard standing nearby and yelled «HEY JOHN THESE TWO GUYS ARE SITTING DOWN!!!» OH MY, GOD FORBID I SHOULD SIT DOWN. The people taking breaks in the lobby area hallway were also cleared out and reprimanded for sitting down despite the fact that they were kindly sitting up against the walls of the decently sized room leaving causing no hinderance to a large walkway.
Now the most disappointing part was the sound was awful. You couldn’t hear the instrumentals, despite the fact that it was blaring. When I say blaring I mean it. I woke up with my ears still ringing in pain. Possibly the worst speaker system I ever heard, it sounded like listening to music underwater.
There are more details of the staff being dicks but I’ll spare you as Im done writing this.

Terrible acoustics.
Bad sound guy.
Flooded bathroom.
Asshole security guards who treat you like children and rub your genitals with a magnetic wand for 5 minutes «looking for weapons.»
No ventilation — felt like 120 degrees inside. Drenched in sweat head to toe.
No water fountain. Water bottle costs $ 3 and they try to keep the cap so you don’t «throw the bottle at the band.»
THIS IS HAZARDOUS TO PEOPLES’ HEALTH. You people are extremely lucky nobody got sick or hurt.
No ATM. Cash only. Nothing posted about this prior to event so many people didn’t even have the cash for water.
Luckily Death Grips are so fucking raw they were able to propel most of the audience above the bullshit. Only the strong survive.
Masons — if you’re so good at building shit, how about a ventilation shaft? Fuck you. LPR — do not hold anymore concerts at this venue.

Just saw one of the sweatiest, most unrelenting and punishing shows I’ve ever seen. And every bouncer in here was nice and polite and smiled. Many kudos to the security being so pleasant and accommodating. It’s very rare, especially at a show like Death Grips.

Big, Beautiful, and Brooklyn Based. What can go wrong?
Ehhh a few things…
I attended BAMCinemafest’s opening party at Brooklyn Masonic Temple, after the screening of The End of the Tour (Amazing film, by the way). Years prior the after party One Hanson Place, and it was always a huge hit.
Maybe having been to the parties at One Hanson place, I was expecting a lot. This place just didn’t deliver what I was expecting. The outside façade is beautiful, however once you’re inside it’s not quite as glorious. The bathrooms are disgusting, and some of the seating needs to be renovated.
The party itself was a bit different from how it was in prior years, but still a fun time. No hard liquor this time around, but lots of beer, wine, and everyone’s favorite gin flavored snow cones. The snow cones were hidden in the balcony, but I found them.
The food setup was different as well. They had servers walk around with trays of giant corn dogs, that were delicious. Up on the stage, you could grab some scrumptious frito pies. They also had some caramel popcorn, brownies, and cookies. They also came out with some ice cream sandwiches that hit the spot to conclude the night. I think the food options were better this year, but there were less options.
Another concern for the actual party, was the fact it wasn’t as spacious. One Hanson Place had lots of more room to move about. Here, people were crowding certain spots, leaving little room to breathe. It was also chaos getting up on stage to get some food, or to go back down. Some people just stood at the top of the stage to eat, instead of coming back down.
In the end it’s a beautiful building that can host events, but it does need some renovation and maybe some better staffing to help facilitate larger parties.

Had never heard of this place until I was invited out to see some boxing matches. Had a great time. The place looks like a school from the outside. On the inside where they have events looks like a big school auditorium. I liked the balcony seats all around the stage. Looks as though they’ve had some prior events. They have a big lounge/​powder room by the ladies room. Thought that was cool. But those bathrooms are horrible/​unclean/​small/​and outdated. However, I had a wonderful time and liked that it’s a block away from the subway. Finding parking looks like a problem around that neighborhood.

I went here to see Kishi Bashi in February. A pipe burst (I’m not trying to blame anyone for that) and they kind of didn’t tell anyone in the audience for a while. The show started over an hour late. And the venue was super cold and drafty and it was all seated. And we had to wait outside in freezing weather forever to get in. I really WANT to like this venue because it seems and looks pretty cool, but the logistics were not really well done and it make the concert-​going experience not super enjoyable…

Landmark building 1907
under new managent in process of renovations to bathrooms heating system and AC being installed in April 2015
unfortunatly when its 7 – 10 degrees outsisde pipes freeze and break
but the show goes on with min delay
great for weddings Dances sweet sixteens etc
come judge for yourself
best prices for space in town but you have to book or it will get filled up
guess they didnt have problems since they booked
i had three eents there and no problems
transportation close by G, C and A
also B44 B38 bus
close to downtown and manhattan

This place is the worst.
Saw Kishi Bashi here on ²⁄₂₀. Someone heard from a security guard that they had only turned on the heat just as they were letting people in the building (8pm for a 9pm show). Everyone had their winter coats on for the duration of the show because it was THAT cold. INSIDE.
Not to mention that the show was delayed about an hour because a pipe burst next to the stage. Also, the women’s bathrooms are absolutely disgusting and terrifying.
The sad part is, it would be a great venue if it was actually cared for. In NO way does it make sense to turn the heat on an hour before a concert. Kishi Bashi even mentioned that their soundcheck was terrible — trying to play a violin in a (literally) frozen building.
Don’t ever waste your money to go here.

This place sucks. They don’t have heat, so a water pipe burst which delayed the show about an hour.
Then the artist gets on (kishi bashi) and says that sound check was a disaster, freezing cold, I guess it’s hard to play violin in 45-​degree temperature. The whole audience was just nodding as we all still had on our winter clothes.
Anyway, this place is cursed. It caused Kishi Bashi to get wasted, and the show was a train wreck. I blame the temple.

Went here on 11/​28/​2014 to see oldie R & B SHOW SAUDRA TAYLOR, & THE PRESUADERS AKA THE REVIEW. WHEN WE walked in people were telling me keep your coat on no heat ok we sit down yes its cold show starts we party this place is historic has stage and balcony is fierce, found out they had no heat past 3 weeks. Need put more money in place bathroom out dated .Will go back wen heat is put on.

Saw The Antlers play here, and left during the set cause the sound sucked. $ 45 dollar tickets

This place is pretty weird. Weird venue. The third star is for the balcony which is pretty cool. The second star is for the women’s pre-​bathroom lounge which is also pretty cool and spacious and luxurious for a gross party venue. Weird layout, weird part of Brooklyn. Weird place overall.

I was wondering how a music/​performance venue has such poor ratings, but after one time at the Masonic Temple, it’s pretty clear. Imagine a public school auditorium. Now rip out the seats. Also, don’t upgrade the sound system, and bam, you have the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. The sound guys were basically asleep at their job all night. Missing cues and walking away from their «booth» (which is just a table in the back). It got the point where the performers started cursing them out. They also sell beer and wine in the back (cash only).

The short version: Save your money. Staff are rude and not professional whatsoever don’t let the suits full ya. A lot of parts of the facility are in poor condition and non sanitary. I even have some footage to prove it but can’t upload it in this comment. (wish I could to show you). Bottom line: AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS.

We snuck in to use the restroom, met some choir ladies, and then were promptly shooshed out by a security guard. I’m still not sure what goes on inside.

I think I might hate this place as much as Terminal 5, and that is saying a lot, because I’d like to bomb T5 into the dark ages.
The sound at the Todd Terje/​Lindstrom DJ show a couple weeks ago was the WORST I have ever heard. It was like listening to music from the bottom of a pool. A pool full of styrofoam peanuts.
People were just standing around aimlessly because they couldn’t hear the music. I only recognized one Whitney Houston song, as her pipes are pretty unmistakable. Most of the patrons were outside smoking and complaining about the sound quality.
Unless you were waiting in line to buy drink tickets, so you could then push your way across the crowded non-​dancing floor to get drinks at the bar. Why do they have drink tickets? Probably so you get frustrated and don’t end up using them, thus throwing away your money.
I had another poor concert experience here for Amon Tobin, but this past Terje show pushed me over the edge. Never going back!

The short version: I have never seen a show here that is above mediocre. The long version: The sounds guys are deaf. The sound system blows. If you want eyeball-​shaking bass that renders the rest of a song literally inaudible; then this place is your scene. How about some creepy vibes and terrible architecture to go with your headache? Or maybe you would like a lot of douchey security to sneer at you? Come here. I know I’ve been coming to shows here for years. They’ve all disappointed. But now I’ve experienced such a bad show here, that it was time to review.

Poor
Old white
Men in the
Portraits watching
Us buying drink tickets and not dancing.

I was excited when I first walked into this place. The Temple’s not big, and I felt like I was in for one of those intimate shows where you can hear every nuance of every song; where you can get rocked by a band you were lucky enough to catch in a small venue before they blew up.
There are no bad spots to be in, because it’s too small a place. They even have an upper level that is evidently VIP only. I chatted up the guy assigned to exclude the riff-​raff (read: me), and he said that you could only go upstairs if you were a passholder. I thought he said a**hole, he said, «Yeah, that too,» and we shared a good laugh.
There was a table where people handed out free t-​shirts. It goes against every fiber of my being to refuse a free shirt, but I came very close. They were of poor quality, and they only had smalls. It’s like the exact opposite of a hip-​hop show where they only have XXLs. Oh, hipsters.
I got myself a $ 5 Sierra Nevada or four, and hung out with my friends for the hour or so that the opening band decided was fashionable.
Other than wanting to kick the hippie who thought it was cool to sit down and take up a lot more room than everyone else around him, I was feeling good. I was feeling that pre-​show anticipatory glee.
And then the show started.
The sound quality was ABYSMAL. I was fifteen feet from the stage, directly in the center, and it sounded as though I was listening to a concert happening in another room. The vocals were muffled, and the drummer — who was clearly the best part of the opening band — was marginalized by the poor sound setup.
The most frustrating thing about this place is that it seems like it SHOULD be a great venue. But unless the Beatles have a reunion show (with the whole band), I probably won’t be coming back.