Berklee Performance Center

The Berklee Performance Center staff is amazing! They do their best to help with their best abilities. They are kind and the theatre is clean and sounds great! Love this venue !!!

I never expect much from a theater; I’m already in a begrudged relationship with a place that sells its tickets through sleazy sites that charge a 4-​dollar «convenience» fee to print your own stupid tickets. Whatever. That’s the nature of the beast.
I can imagine that this is a pretty good spot for student performances, but they don’t seem to know how to manage a sold-​out show for the general public. Security does bag checks, but on the night I went to see Tim and Eric, they let in two slobbering, stumbling, unbelievably drunk goblins who, of course, were seated right behind me. Most theaters worth their salt would kick these slobs out before they even wobbled through the security line, but here, they were free to come in and talk over the whole show. It’s hard to listen to a comedian when all you can hear is slurred warbling behind you. Of course they don’t shut up when you ask them to, and getting people kicked out of a venue means you’re going to miss a good chunk of the show while you go tattle. You can’t win.
So I guess this comes down to the fundamental purpose of a bag check. You don’t want people smuggling-​in booze and other no-​no stuff to get fucked up on while paying customers are just trying to enjoy the show. What about people that come with empty bags, but a brain soaked in liquor? Show them the door. No, not the one to the seats. The exit. I meant the exit. Come on guys.
Would I go back? Maybe. I hope this was an isolated event. Though it can’t escape one of my trademark rants, it certainly deserves more than one star. That said, the theater is way too narrow, making the acoustics in the back half of the first floor kinda wonky. The incline of the floor is pretty shallow, so god help you seeing anything if you get seated behind a big fella.
Buyer take heed, though don’t go running to the hills. You could get lucky and have nothing bad happen. I was not lucky, but what I had to deal with was something that could have been avoided entirely with a more diligent staff.

I was so excited to see James Blake last night @ Berklee. His performance was incredible. The venue, however, is pretty stuffy. Blake even mentioned a couple of times that it it was a bit odd that the audience would not stand up. I’m sure the experience was incredibly awkward for him. A girl in front of us was sworn at, scolded by a fellow patron and then kicked out for cheering and dancing… at a concert! Two other girls were told to sit down later in the evening, when dancing to a song.
Photos and videos were not allowed during the performance, which I can understand, but I found in incredibly distracting to see ushers literally running around a theater to instruct patrons to stop. Isn’t it a bit more distracting (to the performer and patrons) to see people literally running through aisles throughout an entire performance?
If dancing and cheering during a concert is not allowed, then rename the theater Bomont Theatre. It was like Footloose (pre Kevin Bacon). I will never come to this venue again.

Great venue within Berklee College of Music. Accoustically fantastic and equipped with the comforts of a 21 century theater, it’s a great place to see any of the spectacular performances coordinated by Berklee.
I’m as inspired by the students themselve as I am by the performances hosted here.

For not offering any beverages, not even water. I give the venue 2 stars. We are here for Blood Sweat and Tears. There are plenty of venues that people can enjoy with a beverage or two we don’t need this.

With my girlfriend to our favorite group’s concert !! Love the music they make and can’t wait to see them perform!
Check them out!
Piano guys !!

The sound is perfect from every seat. Comfortable seats (unless you are in the last couple of rows which frequently have folding chairs set up to accommodate more guests. And the view is great from most seats as well.
I will continue to frequent Berklee Performance Center when musicians I like will be there.

Fantastic accoustics, perfectly sized, stellar line ups. What else would you expect from one of the world’s most renown music school’s performance venue? Top notch.

If I could give 2.5 stars, I would. It wasn’t terrible, but my issue with the place was such that I can’t call it ok.
We saw Glen Hansard here last night and aside from a weird feedback issue, the sound was great– nice balance up in the balcony where we were. We could see ok, but I’m wondering how well the people behind us could. The venue runs narrow instead of tall.
The one thing I take issue with is the seating. I cannot speak for the floor seats, but the balcony was awful. The seats themselves were cushy enough, though I felt like the back of the chair was pushing me forward and I had to work hard to sit up straight. No, the major issue was with legroom. My husband and I were sitting in the first row of the second balcony and thank god there was no one in front of us so he could swing a leg over the bar. I am only 5’3″ and I was uncomfortable! I felt like I was on a plane. I was incredibly uncomfortable during the show. I started getting really restless because I couldn’t move my legs much. It wasn’t fun. Really, if they ever renovate this place, they need to take out at least one row and space the seating better. I can’t imagine how tall folks must feel!
If I ever want to see someone here, I will have to spring for orchestra-​level seats since the reviews here don’t seem to mention them as problematic. Beware!

2^nd time here. Seeing Tye Tribbett and Divine Purpose. Sound here is perfect!

What a wonderful location and great events! Try to get to a Ron Savage concert!

After seeing Pink Martini here last night I have few thoughts on the venue:
1. Seems like the same folks that design seats for the airlines and torture devices for the CIA are also in the theater seating business. If you are 5 ft tall or less you may not be too miserable… for everyone else; you are toast.
2. Serious issues with the amount of restrooms. Even the guys were standing in line. Most of us to not do bathroom lines well; we have no practice at it nor tolerance for it. For all my complaining it was 10X more problematic for the women.
3. The sound was great but when you are in the top section of the theater seeing the performers is difficult.
4. Staff were polite and helpful.
All in all not too bad but for a school of performing arts I would have expected more.

I attended a Bryan Adams concert here last weekend and really didn’t appreciate how rude and bossy the staff was. They were also selectively targeting people to harass while easily ignoring the ones they might need to work to enforce rules on.
I appreciate the policy of entering/​leaving only in-​between songs, not during, but really, you can communicate the same politely.
In general, I understand the no photo policy for flash reasons, but when the artist himself is saying this is a good time and bidding adieu, there’s really no reason for staff to review every photo on people’s iPhone and delete them!
B.A. also asked people to come up to the front when he was almost done with the concert because he wanted to see his audience/​fans — one aisle was allowed while the other aisle had «house rules» that the artist had broken???
Finally, B.A. requested lights on to see his audience — no one cared for his request.
I don’t know if some people find «rules» for the sake of «rules» a good thing, but a venue that can’t respect the performer or his audience can’t really earn too many stars in my Unilocal review…
Granted, this venue is small and intimate, however the poor lighting and poor acoustics made it less than enjoyable experience.

I admit I’m a little bias because I am a Berklee graduate but believe it or not this was my first time coming here for a show. The last time I was here was when I was on stage for one of my ensemble classes. Tonight I was here to see AIR (The French Band) and I had great seats halfway to the stage.
In the past year I have been to different venues and have views shows from various different angles. Tonight was unique because this was the first time, along with fellow audience members, sat down for the entire show. Not because we weren’t enjoying ourselves but staff actually encourages people to remain in their seats for the duration of the show. In addition they prohibition of taking photos and video recordings is strongly enforced. You won’t be asked to leave if caught just firmly address with the assistance of a flashlight in your face. These days almost everyone has an iPhone so for those people it’s easier to get away with it than someone with a cell phone or digital still camera.
Seating here is quite comfortable and the seats are well cushioned. From where I was seating I had a very good view of the stage but being short it doesn’t help much when a rather tall gentleman sits in front of me. On that note one thing I’ve never understood was how people can arrive late to a show. Now, I just don’t mean late, I mean LATE! Five songs into the main act late. WTF?! How come venues don’t have a rule that if you are not here by this time you’ll be locked out. Christ you are spending $X.XX on a ticket get the full value of it, is it really that difficult?!
This venue isn’t that large but packs a great sound! Everyone will leave with ringing ears guaranteed. Like I said before seating is comfortable and if you don’t mind sitting down for the whole show you should still have a great time!

Its just a good theater. Small but really cozy.
I saw Rockapella there a couple of years ago, and had a great time.

I too saw Jim Gaffigan here. Driving in — not a good idea. We managed to get the last spot in the expensive lot across the street. Getting in wasn’t too hard, as we had our tickets in advance.
I just don’t think this is the place to book comedy acts. Jim was hilarious as usual, but I think we lost some of the funny, since we were so far back that we couldn’t see his face. It kind of felt like looking into someone’s house from the sidewalk to watch their television. Just with sound. And some guy kicking you in the back repeatedly.

Great mid-​size performance space and acoustics (but what else would you expect from a famous music school). Beautiful design– wood walls! I saw Idina Menzel here and it sounded great. Yes, the seats are a little tight on the legroom but most theaters in Boston are. Yes, bathrooms are small but again, no theater in Boston has spacious, plentiful bathrooms. I’d recommend seeing a show here.

Look, really cool acts play here, but unless you’re only 1 – 20 rows away from the stage, what’s the point?
Unless you don’t care about watching a live act, in which case, sit back and enjoy the okay acoustics.
Or bring binoculars.
Berklee, when are you going to start charging your students even more outrageous prices so you can build a NEW high school auditorium?

Fyi: It was easy to sneak in booze (flask and a babies bottle… does the latter sound a little desperate? Answer: yes).
Question #2: Do you have a problem with alcohol if you refer to alcohol as ‘pain go bye-​bye’ juice?
Acoustics at the Berklee were surprising average. I assumed it was going to be amazing sounding.
We ended up having drinks and sandwiches at «the other place». It met our needs.

ONE stall in the women’s bathroom. You’ve gotta be KIDDING me. And with this baby face (studies show, those with baby faces are approached more). I can’t stand in line without being bothered. I’m sorry peeps. I’ve got one thing on my mind right now. and although I’d really love to hear the story about how you’ve traveled all the way from Florida to see this person for the 9^th time. Florida is surrounded by water. and I need to pee. BAHHH… Damn you mind and your weird train of thought.
Other than that. I dig this venue. Although, I’ve only been here to see stand up/​comedy shows (and made the likes of Demetri Martin and Daniel Tosh feel super awkward. Demetri thought I was asking him to take a picture of me and Leo Allen when I actually wanted a picture with him. and I put Daniel Tosh on the spot by asking him to make a cell phone video for my engaged friends. What?). The sound was great so I assume musical ventures would feel the same. It kind of reminds me of some dude’s rec room with its woodish paneling. A really really large rec room… but you know. With music shows, you wouldn’t really be able to dance in your seat. The seats aren’t tiny, but you can’t go all Studio 54 in your row with the space. There is always the side to side mellow rock out though. Just a suggestion.
4 stars for being just a couple minutes from the T and not falling apart (like some performance spaces in Boston)! Once they get at least 2 stalls in the ladies room. they’ll be 5 stars!