The Venue

They get good acts to perform here so it can be a good time still but the venue is absolute garbage. Every performer I’ve seen here makes the joke that they are in an aircraft hanger. The casino figures people will pay anyways so why bother with giving them a good experience. I find a lot of time I watch the performers on the video screen not because I want to but because the setup draws me to them. Oh and they charge 9 bucks for a beer. Ridiculous.

I wrote a long, rambly review over at the River Cree’s Unilocal page (
) before I realised The Venue had it’s own page.
I won’t bother reiterating everything again here, so here is a quick list of pros & cons:
Pros:
1. It attracts great artists.
2. Free parking.
3. Decent sound system.
4. Very friendly staff
Cons:
1. Have to enter through the casino, then walk down a long hallway and OUTSIDE to get to the venue (ps. Coat check is inside the casino, not the venue. So if you use the coat check, just pray there isn’t a line up outside the venue in the winter!
2. Drink prices are attrocious ($ 9.00 each for a standard sized highball)
3. Folding chairs that are strapped together and pushed flush up against each other (you are guaranteed to be touching the person next to you)
4. Restrooms are located back in the hockey rink area, so you have to go back outside to get there.
5. ONLY ONE EXIT FOR 2100 PEOPLE!
6. All seating is on the same level, so if you’re too far towards the back, you probably don’t see much.
I’ll be back because that’s where the great comedy shows are. But I hope Jeff is right about the new venue going up on the west end in 2017!

In my original review of The Venue I called them out on their lack of accessibility getting in and out of the place. There were only two narrow doors located at the rear of the tent (yes, it’s a tent) to herd people in and out. These doors led to a tiny hallway which took you back into the casino.
Oddly enough, a few weeks after I wrote that review River Cree «voluntarily» closed this facility due to its not meeting safety codes.
They have now put up a new temporary entertainment venue set up which is just another white tent that looks a lot like the old one. The difference is that this one has several emergency exits on either side and there is substantially more room to move at the main entrance/​exit at the back (those two narrow doors I spoke of). Why it took them seven months to decide to just put up another tent is beyond me but that’s what they did.
They still have metal folding chairs tied together for their seating arrangements. So if you weigh more than 120 pounds you’re going to be uncomfortable sitting in there.
Everything about River Cree’s concert venue just screams out «cheap, cheap, cheap.» And by cheap, I don’t mean affordable. River Cree’s concert productions are a gaudy, transparent attempt to pack you in and get your money. Both of their concert halls have been lame-​ass tents filled with the cheapest chairs money can buy and crammed literally as close together as they can get them. I would be embarrassed to stage concerts at this place with such quality venues as the Northern Jubilee Auditorium and The Winspear Centre in the city.
For most of River Cree’s concerts you can also purchase what they call a Fanatics Package for $ 100 which consists of a front row seat and a rushed photo op. No autographs are allowed. They always claim that it is the band that refuses to sign them but that’s BS because I’ve caught up with a few performers after their show here and they’re always happy to sign their merch for you. Lou Gramm, Queensrÿche, and members Grand Funk Railroad to name a few. I suspect that River Cree don’t allow autographs during these Fanatic events because there’s no money in it for them. I tweeted Queensrÿche about this issue and they said it was the venue/​promoter who made that rule and that they would take care of me if I saw them after the concert. At the back entrance to the casino there are several posters on display autographed by performers who have played at The Venue over the years so obviously River Cree have no issues with being autograph hounds themselves.
In order to get your photo you have to return to the casino at a later date and pick it up at the Players Club desk. Here’s what they DON’T tell you in their literature – the photo is a mere 5×7 with NO digital version available. This is just further case-​in-​point to the fact that River Cree are living in a different century. Everything is about bringing you back into the casino to spend money. If they had any marketing sense they would include a digital version of the photo with the «Fanatics Package» and encourage people to share it on social media with a promotional hash tag to maximize their exposure as a happening music venue.
They also oversell on how «professional» the photo is. During the Queensrÿche photo op the band weren’t even centred on the backdrop. The drummer spoke up and pointed out that we all had to move down to the left because the guitarist was being pushed up against the wall. The photographer just ignored him and kept snapping away. The drummer just gave up and griped that he wasn’t even listening to him. So in addition to being blind, the photographer is also deaf. (It’s the same photographer every time, btw.)
The casino is currently constructing a new entertainment facility out back behind their hockey rink. This one is an actual hard structure and not a tent. River Cree are promising two levels of seating and comfy chairs for this one. Rumour has it that there’s going to be a new 4,100-person venue for live music, comedy, trade shows, and sporting events opening in west Edmonton in 2017 which could be serious competition for River Cree so the casino is probably upping their game for this reason. They should also update their Fanatics Packages to be more competitive with similar products being offered in this century.
I’ll be back with my third review of The Venue when it opens in a few months.

Over the years I have attended a number of (pre) 80s flashback shows (Rick Springfield, Air Supply, Beach Boys, Cheech and Chong, and The Spazmatics 80s cover band) at The Venue. It is a large white tent just outside of River Cree resort. If it’s cold out, you will feel it as you have to walk from inside the casino to the tent.
For concerts, they will set up the venue with rows of chairs in 3 sections. For concerts, I like to sit in the middle section. However, the chairs are stuck together with cable ties and they are so close together you could be rubbing legs with strangers on both sides. The chairs aren’t so comfortable if you have to sit there longer than a few hours so good idea to get up for a drink or use the washroom in the casino. Other events, they will sometimes set it up with tables and 8 chairs around while leaving the dance floor empty. This is great as there’s lots of room for dancing and it’s not too crowded.
The sound quality is not bad for an outside tent venue. Not the most comfortable setting for a concert or show but ok for a casino venue. If you are going to catch a show and want to do dinner before, I recommend you are there at least 2 hours before the show to ensure you get a table and have time to eat. You can also get your hand stamped early to avoid the line ups close to show time.

I recently saw Joe Rogan at The Venue (located at the River Cree Casino). Joe Rogan was hilarious! I honestly wasn’t expecting much but he definitely put on a great show. The Venue is like a «military tent» according to Joe. It was very warm inside considering it was a huge tent and it was surprisingly comfortable. The chairs were great and the rows had enough leg room that you weren’t squirming and fidgeting the whole show. There were two bars located at the entrance of The Venue (the back of the tent) which got extremely busy at times. There were numerous bartenders at each bar though so the lines moved at a pretty good pace. I had a great experience at The Venue and I had a great time with Joe Rogan — I will be buying tickets for his next show in Edmonton!