Orpheum Presents

Just saw Buckethead here tonight. Nice club! Standing area up front and plenty of seating available toward the back. Good selection of craft beers at good prices. I’d come again!

This venue could be so much better, there is so much potential. The venue location and stage set up is all good (seating vs. standing by the stage). The sound system is not great and really when you come to see a performance you expect a great sound system.
Came to see Ryan Bingham — November 2015 and during the show you can tell one of the speakers blew out. The sound system was horrible. I know the night before he was at the Belly up in Solana Beach and I’m sure there was no comparison.
The bar area was a total disaster. Only 2 – 3 bartenders, the line to the bar was a good 20 – 30 minute wait. So… ridiculous. Please note the bartenders were friendly and at the end of the evening overwhelm. So that is all on the management of Orpheum.
Parking is very challenging. There is no valet or anyplace close to park. Unless you live in Flagstaff and know where to park it was not easy.
For the ticket price I paid to see Ryan Bingham and the $$ spent to come from Phx to Flagstaff… you will not see me back at the Orpheum. I feel sorry for the Flagstaff peeps that do not have that many options for concert venue when the Orpheum really has quite a bit potential. My opinion they need… New Management!

Cool venue. We saw a band this week and I really liked the place. Good beer selection, staff was cool, bathroom clean. Only going 4 stars because of the acoustics, though. They weren’t bad but they ain’t great either. Overall I like the place. I’ll be back.

Better than prior reviews make it out to be. Saw a great show with Greensky Bluegrass, in a cool environment, very laid back, and no bad seat in he house. For around $ 20, I thinks some of these reviewers are expecting too much. If you get more than what u pay for be happy.

Didn’t realize my nephew and niece would need ID when with their legal guardian, asked security if there’s any way they can get in they tell me to wait for a manager. While waiting all three security members allow two young girls about the same age as my nephew and niece through without ID. Manager gets there and refuses us entry. Thanks for teaching my nephew and niece that doing the right thing gets them nowhere! Once my wife and I got back from dropping them off at home we made it just in time for the show. Ratatat was amazing and hot sugar (opening act) was pretty cool too. The whole beginning to the night kinda ruined it though. I’ll try again at some point and hopefully have a better review.
— edit– Although the night kinda sucked they refunded all four tickets instead of just two which was nice.

Bad sound, next to no air conditioning, watered down overpriced drinks, shitty security and for some odd reason you can smoke in the smoking section, but you can’t vape? I’d rather get AIDS than ever come back to this place for a show. I’ve lived in several states and have been to tons if shows and this place just plain sucks.

If you’re allergic to cigarette smoke or just don’t want to breathe it because it causes cancer and other health issues, don’t sit on the right side of the theater. They leave the smoking patio door open so all the smoke comes into the theater! Ass hats. Wtf?

The Orpheum Theater is a historical landmark located in the heart of downtown Flagstaff and is incredibly convenient for locals and out-​of-​towners. I love the intimate community feel that the theater brings. Best music/​entertainment venue in Northern Arizona hands down!

Anyone know why the lead singer of Blue October was the same lead singer as the group prior the main event? Confused!!!

Perfectly acceptable venue with a MAJOR asshole bartender. Some jerk in a fedora who ignored two customers waiting while he sent a text??? And then ignored my boyfriend’s request because we were «killing the line» (about 2 min after he raised his eyebrows at us from 8 feet away, which apparently was his way of inquiring about our order).
When one bartender is enough to pull two stars off a rating, maybe you need to consider a change of employees, Orpheum.

If you actually want to listen to music and the performers, forget about it at the Orpheum. The business has tolerated and indulged the awful behavior of attendees since first opening its doors years ago. Nothing but loud and obnoxious talkers, who, quite literally, talk during entire performances in the bar and rail area, and in any standing area. If you are sitting in an actual seat you will hear the noise. No escape from chatter in this venue.
At the recent Todd Snider show, after close to half an hour of people talking nonstop behind me, I finally asked them to move their conversation elsewhere. They were shocked that I said such a thing to them, but moved nonetheless. The man talking to the woman returned to his seat in the front row! A seat that until then could have been used by someone else! The people next to me had come from Prescott for the show and bought me a beer to say thank you for asking the talkers to move. They were astounded at how bad the venue was for people who actually wanted to hear the show and were amazed at how many people were just talking.
I’ve witnessed performers (specifically, the late JJ Cale) react to the noise here unfavorably and with my similar amazement but also annoyance that their show is being treated like that of a coffeehouse performance where people, couldn’t care less. Remember the scene in Annie Hall, where she is singing and all of the noise happening around her? This is what a show is like at the Orpheum.
The business does not like criticism. Unfavorable things said on their Facebook page are deleted and blocking occurs, and therefore exclusion from ticket giveaways and from posting anything. Another very bad business practice that demonstrates pettiness and lack of ethics.
I used to be able to tolerate it, now I dread any show that comes here that I really want to see because it’s a huge waste of money trying to actually listen and hear nothing but the noise from the bar and the talkers who have spent their money on a ticket that turns into social hour. I am a huge supporter of local businesses, but this venue is garbage for serious music lovers. I’m so glad that there are other options in the area.

Although the venue seems to be beautiful that doesn’t at all speak for the poor customer service given out by the management team. I really believe customer service is key in a business. This particular venue just didn’t hit that expectation.
I’ll explain
I would have loved to order a round of drinks for some friends in a band performing at this specific venue tonight. First night on tour and thought thats the least I could do. Not being able to attend the out of state event. I called early AM and spoke to one manager who had advised me to call back once the venue opens. Come the evening and I call back to be told by another manager that she doesn’t have time for that. An if I could coordinate it with someone from the band. The voice in my head went off «Excuse me» the point was to be a surprise. I remained professional said thank you and hung up. First impressions count in every way.

I hate to say this but if you want good live music and entertainment, then for the most part, I do not recommend you go to Flagstaff. You are better off making the 2 hour trek to Phoenix. The Orpheum is notable for two things, its a beautiful old building, and it has a rich history. However the acoustics were horrible, the service was horrible, and you can’t use your credit card for concessions (however you can use it at the bar). The seating was ok and the remodel looks great, but carry cash if you want concessions. Overall, I would only come back here if I get some very cheap or free tickets to come here to see a show. Props for the nice remodel though.

Reminds me of my favorite places in Chicago. Even better, it has plenty of standing room up front as well as theater-​style seating in the middle and a bountiful bar in the back that offers a great view of the stage. My favorite thing about this place is the lighting and ambient music during shows. Not too loud, not too dark. You can have a conversation and know who you’re talking to at the same time. The sound system is pretty superb as well. I just wish it would earn that 5^th star by inviting more renowned artists instead of just small bands from Flagstaff.

I’m a bike commuter and they door man would not allow me to bring my *small* commuter backpack into the venue, because it was a ‘backpack’. There were women with shoulder bags/​purses bigger inside the show. They do not offer a secure bag check, I offered to let the guy go through my bag to no avail. Very disappointing. Especially if you don’t drive a car. Not very sustainable Orpheum.

great show by black uhuru!

Elevation Fest was help at the Orpheum this past weekend; I’d never been there, but I was hired to photograph the music festival so we drove up for the weekend. This is the historic playhouse in the city, so you expect some things to be out of date. The outside looked great, and then I went in. The front had a large standing only area with lots of rows of theatre seats behind it. Then an area behind it where there were tables and chairs to get drinks and the bars or eat. I was immediately impressed by this place and loved it. (There’s also a mezzanine, but it was closed for my event).
There’s lots of room for people to move about and enjoy the shows, but we had a credit card on file and we overcharged. They didn’t want to hear it when we explained it, though. $ 6.00 for a beer I know is half that price down at Albertson’s sucks. Anyway, back to the venue.
The sound wasn’t great. Three early bands sounded ok, but if you talked to a friend in the audience EVERYONE could hear. Then the fourth band sounded terrible. The lead vocals were way too loud, and I am not a sound snob. It hurt my ears to listen.
Later bands sounded ok. Overall I liked the place and security took care of the people who were drunken idiots and let the people running the show do their job. There doesn’t seem to be an AC (it was in the 70s and all the doors were open; it had rained and was quite muggy). Enjoyed myself overall though.

Some really good bands are booked here and the venue could be great, but the acoustics or the sound system or both are not up to par.
Still it’s the only game in town and we always have fun, just don’t expect a great concert experience. They need to do better by the acts they book.

The Orpheum is the place to go for shows in Flagstaff. The atmosphere is so cool– it’s a real old-​timey theater! Velvet curtains and all! They have theater style seats, a front area to stand and dance, and bar seating and tables. Yes, they do have a bar, and it’s not that expensive!
I have seen a weird variety of acts here– from Drag to Flag (Flag’s amazingly fun drag show) and Rocky Horror to great musicians like Dr. Dog!
The Orpheum is an essential Flagstaff place, go check out any show and enjoy the atmosphere!

I love the overall ambience of the Orpheum and the sound for music venues is overall pretty good. I LOVE the bar area!
There are a few details that should be addressed to improve the overall experience for guests:
#1: The bathrooms in the front lobby can be overwhelming when you first walk in [especially if they’ve been used pretty hard for the evening] the toilet fresheners don’t really help. The bathrooms didn’t seem to get much attention throughout the night.
#2: The layout under-​serves the venue. Although theatre seats seem to make the most sense, I feel you could update things without losing the vintage appeal the theatre offers by removing the movie viewing style seats and replacing them with retro style couches, chairs and tables in deep reds, purples… I particularly noticed that during music venues a great portion of the theatre style seats [in the middle rows] were avoided… people sat in more of a donut shape, access was awkward and not conducive to use. I think you might gain more customers by changing that :)
#3 What is with the balcony? Such a cool space but doesn’t seem utilized.