Club Zoo

For me Club Zoo is great. I have been going there for the past 2 years and I am a couple weeks away from 18. Club Zoo is fun if you make it. I love to dance so it’s cool for people like that, and they have events every now and then.

Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE for live music. I loved this place when it was Metropol, loved that the balcony was 21+. Now it should not be a concert venue, the last show I saw there was In This Moment and it was way too small and the balcony was all VIP. Yuck. Couldn’t even stay for the whole show I was so annoyed.

I really did not like Club Zoo at all! I went for the Asking Alexandria concert, with August Burns Red, We Came As Romans, Crown the Empire, and Born of Osiris opening acts. First off, Club Zoo is way too small! I don’t know why they’d book some concerts that are going to get bigger crowds, it is more for small shows and when it’s open just for the club. They didn’t have any seats available, unless you were going to sit at the bar or in the VIP section. Unless it was for a band I absolutely loved and needed to see, I wouldn’t go back to club zoo for a show.

Came here to see Steve Aoki last week. The venue is right next door to Static which was serving alcoholic drinks and had its own dj for the night. I felt bad for Steve Aoki and anyone else that gets booked here. The sound quality is awful, the dance space is minimal, and the whole thing needs a face lift. The layout makes it so you’re either in a narrow dance area or off to the side where you can barely see anything. Word to any future performers: ask if you can perform next door at Static instead where they actually give you room to dance and everyone can see the dj.
If you actually want to check this place out they only sell water and red bull ($ 2 for water not sure about red bull). Bring singles to tip the bathroom attendant. Place is 18+ (or at leas it was for Steve Aoki).

Note: This used to be the storied (infamous?) Metropol and was also called The World for a time. It is alternatively known as Zoo Entertainment Complex.
Man alive, would the Under-​21 dance set be plagued with nightmares by UK black metalists Cradle of Filth, a group that was supposed to perform here the other night, emphasis on «supposed to».
You don’t jerk metalheads around. You don’t keep them waiting around for 3 hours. They will burn stuff, bang on things, and break out into obscenity-​laced chants.
And here I thought the murder of crows flying overhead as dusk fell was so darkly apropos. Lady Kay, an even bigger CoF fan than I, disagreed.
«It’s a bad omen. Tonight’s gonna suck.»
My baby doll is a clairvoyant.
The doors finally opened around 9:30PM, and we were welcomed to an icy room with no light. People were using their cellphones to find the toilets. I could barely see the décor.
Why in the hell would any parent allow their teenage daughter to come down here for dancing?
A power outage hit the entire block (a transformer blew up so we were told), but the scared-​shitless staff wouldn’t dare announce that the show had officially been cancelled (none of the 4 bands slated to play went on). I only found out that there would be no show at all after nicely asking one of the bouncers so we could stop wasting time and head home. You bet your ass I called Ticketmaster the following morn.
A plastic Santa Claus was a hit with the impatient, disappointed, and bored throng, however. He crowd surfed, moshed, and each time someone shined a flashlight on him, cries of «ALL HAIL SANTA» broke out. See, the metal kids aren’t so bad.
Parking’s only $ 5 across the street, but ya think I’m coming back???
P. S. Making this all the more ironic and sad was that our plans for another black metal show (Immortal at Mr. Smalls) were buried under 9 feet of snow two nights prior. After almost wrecking the car twice en route to Millvale due to treacherous road conditions, we turned around, left the car in a public lot in Lawrenceville, and took two buses to a hotel in South Side where we spent the night. This complete disaster of a saga will be told in full over the next batch of Unilocal reviews. Stay tuned and be patient bunkies for my week has been hexed! Maybe the fundies were right about my interest in the Devil’s music!
P. P. S. The Cosmic Trickster denies all involvement.

Ug, Do I really have to give this place any stars? I really really passionately dislike this place! It’s SUCH an awful place to see a show. It’s even more maddening when people I actually like come here because I refuse to go here anymore
I think back in the day it was a concert venue, then a dance club and now it’s back to concert venue, and regrettably, an under age dance club. Ew. It obviously hasn’t been updated in like centuries. It needs help to be modernized or maybe even an attempt to make it a better place to see a show. But sadly no, it’s still just a crappy place.
You know the thing that really makes me mad? Some good bands and artists come here! I tried to go, I really did. I went and saw Dashboard Confessional back in the day and he was great, place was awful. Then I just went and saw Ben Folds. He was fabu, place was SO awful! I said to myself after that, NEVER AGAIN! I can’t do it.
Maybe I should explain why I hate this place and not ramble on about how, well, I hate this place. It’s just not conducive to seeing anything! The stage is super small with a wide flat floor beyond it. I think the worst thing is there’s a raised platforms on either side of the floor that runs the length of the place. The platform is zig zagged so if you’re on the platform you’d think you’d be able to see, but you can’t. Then if you’re on the floor, surprise, you REALLY can’t see! So… the acoustics are awful, the lighting is awful and well… that’s all I got.
Don’t see a show here unless you want to not see or hear anything! My only hope is that these bands start going to the new Stage AE. Let’s start hoping!