I had the opportunity to see Dream Theater at Berkeley Community Theater on Saturday, July 28th. I took two others to what should have been an unparalled night of music. So I popped for the extremely expensive pit tickets at a price of $150 each.\r
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Since were we seated in the fourth row in the pit, we expected to be able to really enjoy a close-up look at the band. Unfortunately, the pit seats are movable- and the first three rows in front of us were pushed back to the point where the fourth row was virtually being crushed. We stood in the aisle for nearly two hours without a break. Needless to say- not what you'd expect from a venue charging $150 for these preferred seats. I was also recently injured and had a splint on my right arm - which meant that I was in extreme pain to begin with. By the end of the show, it was unbearable.\r
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Although we let the security staff know that our seats were unusable, we had no person to contact about it. I stopped and talked to several members of the security force on the way out, and was told to contact the Berkeley Community Box Office about it. I went online and tried for hours to find a website or administrative person to discuss at the very least, a partial refund for our seats without success.\r
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Much to my disgust, they are IMPOSSIBLE to reach!! The box office number listed only gives you a voicemail instruction on when it's open- you can't reach a human being! \r
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I love the theater- I love the artists that I've seen perform there- but I've never been more disappointed and put out by the negligence at a venue before. As a member of the music community myself, I'm now going to be telling every musician I know to NEVER buy a preferred seat at this venue- because they don't protect the audience.\r
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I will continue to try to contact the theater, but my best guess is that I just got ripped off for almost $500 for seats that should have been the best in the house. Six thumbs down for service for this venue.
Pros: Best acoustics in the Bay Area
Cons: NO security - were unable to use the $150 seats we bought!
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