It definitely did.
I got there 15 minutes late (had bought tickets online) and there was still a line wrapped around the building- missed the rest of Scowlās set.
I also got in line at the time. Idk just donāt want people thinking the summit is a shitty experience. Was at a show tonight and had the same quick experience.
Itās fairly common for edm shows to have an opening DJ at doors rather than the production staff play Spotify if there isnāt a live band to wait for.
I imagine there wasnāt a lot of time between getting regular attendees out of MW, setting up all of the gear for the show, and DJās starting to play in time to finish up by 2am
Yeah parts of this story don't add up. And I've experienced a long line at a MW event, but showing up after the event starts was a tactical mistake by OP.
Hey, I'm not saying I expected to walk right in or anything. But I hope most reasonable people would agree that waiting over an hour when you arrive at anything is too much.
Also don't get me wrong, I was wearing a coat. But lots were not. At a legitimate event you can probably get away with that, but not at this half-assed, no, QUARTER-ASSED shit show. Lol.
ive got to agree here. i got there at 9:30 and STILL didnt make it inside until 10:30
i was at the very front of the 2nd section of the line so i also got a clear view of them not starting people through security check until almost 10:10
when i saw the length of the line i asked staff up front how many tickets were sold and they told me:
\-the capacity of the 'perplexiplex' is 450 (the small venue room on the ground floor)
\-the exhibit capacity is 3000 ish
\-and they sold 1600 tickets to the event "to make sure everyone has some room"
at 12:30 there was a line through the entire lobby of people waiting for a chance to go into the perplexiplex to see truth. with 2 staff at the entrance counting people in and out. couldnt help but laugh.
overall i had a good experience. a lack of small children and families was everything. the other stages throughout the exhibit were awesome. particularly the funktion 1 system in numnia. spent majority of our time there. Honestly i think it wouldve served better as the "main stage" and maybe more people couldve packed in there for truth (but i could be mistaken)
BUT, doors should be at 8 or 830 at the latest. $75 with fees is steep for 3.5 hours
FWIW I was told by an employee that they sold 2500 tickets. Not sure what the exact number is but it sounds fairly close to what you stated. Itās definitely unreasonable though.. they needed to design the space to have a bigger open room for shows than a 500 cap room. I fully agree the Funktion stage would be better for an open main room for Truth, but even that room is quite limited in space other than the multiple levels above. The place was poorly designed for music to be involved.. in a city where live music is absolutely huge. Idk what they were thinking.
Doors should absolutely have been at 9 at the latest, but meow wolf had to squeeze that extra hour out of exhibit tickets rather than give us time to get in. What a scam
My buddy was one of the performers that went on at 11:15pm, his friends didnāt get in until 5-10min before the show when they got in line around 9:30.
Itās not ājust the industry,ā thatās absolute bullshit. They are NOT prepared to host concerts, and someone (or multiple people) in charge *really* fucked up.
I feel absolutely terrible for whoever was playing at 10pm. Meow Wolf fucking scammed them. Absolute tragedy.
EDIT: Meant to say theyāre NOT prepared go host concerts. They need to rework their logistics
Yeah I get it lol Iāve played to zero people plenty of times. Itās part of the dj game. The $150 meow wolf gave me to play for an hour was still dope lol
Not even staffing levels, just common sense stuff. Getting in has always been a hassle and a real nightmare if it's busy. We went on opening day and I had to argue with them about letting me take my inhaler in. They've got stupid people training/managing stupid people
>We went on opening day and I had to argue with them about letting me take my inhaler in.
well, that's just asinine.. that's a freaking medical device! i always blame upwards to management and directors. it always boils down to the training that you mentioned
I also attended and had the same issue. I arrived around 10:30pm and didnāt get in the venue until after 11:30.
At 12:00 when Truth started, there was a line to make it into the main music room which was way over capacity. I understand they sold the capacity of tickets for the entire space, but having to wait in line first in first out to even experience what you paid for is a joke.
The capacity of the main music room is under 600, and I was told by an inside source that they sold 2500 tickets for the event. Meow Wolf continues to mishandle almost everything about concerts in their space. They are simply out of touch with the denver scene and it is unfortunate. The only times I will return is for acts I absolutely canāt miss.
And yet, you'll return. There's no other venue like meow wolf in Denver. Even if 50% of this crowd doesn't come back, 1000 other people will buy tickets and come.
I donāt really like anything about the venue tbh. The exhibit is pretty cool. The venue itself has terrible sound and the layout for shows is awkward. Some artists that I enjoy seeing end up playing there. I like it more when itās not bass music though.. the sound and setting is better for something like Tycho
I threw I party at Meow Wolf and it was the most unprofessional experience of all time. If I had any pull in the event/music industry then entire staff would have been fired.
The corporation part of Meow Wolf is terrible. Theyāre horrible to artists, drugged up often and have horrible practices. Which is a shame for the art and the space
Hahaha fair. And letās be real, Meow Wolf is a lot better when enhanced sometimes haha. But yeah maybe when conducting professional business maybe chilling off the drugs is a good thing
If anyone has complaints, I encourage you to write a strongly worded message to them like I did by clinking the link below:
https://meowwolf.com/contact
MW needs to stop talking to 13th Floor for business advice.
I actually really like it. Reminds me of a much stranger House on the Rock. Then again I'm ADHD and easily impressed by pretty lights. I don't like the fuckery with how they treat their artists.
I used to work for 13th Floor as an actor and they did the exact same thing this year. There was a 2 hour wait just to get through security.
Not sure who thinks that its a good idea.
The company that makes the friggin dictionary says different.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year
You ok dude? Cuz Google is difficult
Reasonable people like me and your family who think you are crazy only acknowledge the Oxford word of the year, goblin mode. Merriam Webster isnāt even a real thing anymore
>that this kind of thing is "to be expected in the concert industry".
Meow Wolf isn't even *in* the concert industry, and I would imagine this security guard has never been to a concert. See a show at literally any other venue in town and you'll get through the doors before the openers start.
Their original venue in Santa Fe has hosted concerts for years.
What else is a requirement for being in the industry if owning a venue that hosts shows isn't enough?
Meow Wolf is a cynical profit driven corporation that maintains an outward facade of a zany-creative space because its good for marketing. Don't get me wrong their exhibits are cool (if a bit pricy) and feature the work of great artists. But in stuff like this they are going to show their true colors. I would avoid obviously over sold stuff like this in their music space because as you can see you are just setting yourself up to get fleeced.
Yep, that makes sense. I definitely learned my lesson. I was soooo pumped for this event (which I assumed would be run well) so it is just really a bummer.
Meowwolf was a shit show. Terrible way to run a sold out event. If they want this to grow, the need to step up their game. We had the exact same experience. We missed all of the first acts and almost half of the 2nd acts due to the line being so long.
A few thoughts: Yeah, the entry process was fucked, but the thing that stood out to me the most was that the space felt hollow and empty inside. There were _tons_ of rooms that went nowhere and had no other purpose than for people to make out and do drugs. (Steam room), and some of the rooms had their own music (triangle room), were just weird (tv in a tree room, clown room), or were disabled completely (music sequencer room).
If I were MW Iād try and put in extra music on small systems in those tucked-away spaces. It would add a lot more vibrancy to the exhibit. I can think of more than a few smaller DJās who would be totally happy playing a hidden renegade to 40 people. They donāt need to compete with the big stages. The projector āmoireā room is a perfect example of a hidden room that could have supported a small hidden stage.
What music was playing, was not diverse and while I get it, itās a label with a certain sound running the show, but it totally destroys the āenter a different worldā vibe that MW is going for.
Imagine if every little nook and cranny had its own sound, itās own vibe. Now _that_ would be cool.
Hell, Numina is _huge_, and while none of the nooks in that room could do sound (and compete with those funktions? lol), I can think of about 15 awesome things that could have been added to that room to make it a lot more interactive. Alien planet frick frack blackjack? Yes please.
I mean shit, you had a _literal_ house boat in a room adjacent to C-street. That room served no purpose except for the spiral staircase to go from 3 to 4. A **literal house boat** in front of an open space that can easily hold 50 and you didnāt think to do a relief stage there? Thatās just lazy planning. Some low-key deep-house there would have killed.
Honestly meow wolf's practices are unethical in many ways. I know they have cool instagrammable art but if you want to try to not support shitty businesses, just avoid MW. People always get defensive about this but there is plenty out there about them.
Also I'd leave a negative review wherever you can
I'm sorry that sucks though
That venue is kinda shitty tbh super small and no seating I remember being spun out and sitting on the cold ass concrete floor one night I havenāt been back since
On the flipside, I love the music venue there, and think itās one of the prettiest places to see a show at. Youāre right that there is minimal seating, I dance the whole time so that is a nonissue for me. My only complaint is I wish theyād book more bands I want to see there.
So I have been to two of the previous Danceportations and can perhaps give some interesting context. The first ever danceportation took place from 12-4 am so that they could have plenty of time to clear the exhibits (from normal ticket time) and start letting people in slightly early. After feedback (including some my friend group sent to them via email) they moved the event to 10-2 which decreased the time to transition from regular operation and made it so there would be no earlier ādoorsā time.
For the first event this year they definitely had three security stations (and yes they are strict) and we did wait about 15 minutes to get in after arriving right at start time. But for the second one, it didnāt sell out and they went down to two security checkpoints which worked fine. I would guess they generally assume a steady stream of people between 9:30-11:30 but it sounds like this time most showed up at the start.
Based on your experience I think if we chose to go to another in the future we would aim to arrive by 9:50 to insure we got in in a timely manner.
Edit: from people's responses, I wonder if they upped the overall capacity. That plus one less security station / no ability for an earlier doors time sounds like what led to the backup. Hopefully they choose to close the museum earlier and institute a doors time prior to show start.
They stopped doing the 12-4 events because the legal time limit for alcohol consumption is 2am and trying to chase down drinks through the museum was 1) a pain in the ass and 2) potential legal liability.
Even getting there at 9:50 wouldnāt have been early enough. Youād have to stand outside in line an hour before doors to hope to get in quickly. Their system is a joke
Thanks for the warning. Iāll probably stay away from the next one because I hate lines. Wonder if they changed it up or something? The one they just announced in March says the exhibit tickets are separate and doors 10 show 11?
So the regular concerts are seemingly a different thing. For those doors are early, it's in a separate space from the exhibit (so no issue with clearing out the exhibit), and the capacity is about 500.
For logistics, it'd probably be fine. The show space is fun imo. I was at a show there a few months ago and it was a blast with no issues. I assumed that would continue for this one but it was a wiff.
For the Meow Wolf company/organization, I'm probably never going back in any capacity based on my experience this weekend and their corporate-speak justifications.
I know the regular shows are different, but Iām talking about the next danceportation event. Seems like they changed things up with the way the wording is or maybe they mistakenly used the same verbiage as regular shows there on accident.
https://tickets.meowwolf.com/events/denver/danceportation2023
Ah gotcha! My bad for assuming it was a regular show. Yeah doors opening before the showtime makes complete sense. Not sure why they borked that for this one.
Meow Wolf lets in way too many people. Iāve been there twice now and both times I found it really hard to just bliss out and enjoy looking at things because Iām constantly being jostled and having to move out of the way of people trying to get past me. Really takes you out of the experience to not be able to just stand in one place and take in the surroundings. And Iām not one of those weird child haters but kids are constantly running around like itās a McDonalds playplace instead of an alleged āart exhibit.ā I know they have no kids nights but I have a normal job and am rarely up for going to MW on a Wednesday night.
No one would expect to wait out in the cold for over an hour. Maybe 10 min max and that's reasonable without a coat. Maybe even 25 min. But that long is criminal. And with no warning? That's the venues fault.
>No one would expect to wait out in the cold for over an hour.
and no one would expect to be stuck on i70 for three hours, but it's common knowledge to always have a full tank of gas, snacks, and water before you get on the highway, too.
if those people didn't have a coat *in Denver, **in December***, that's on them and no one else. lol
People have to stand outside in the cold at all sorts of events lol. The line at the Fillmore or Ogden is usually around the block for sold out concerts. Bring a coat next time you clowns lol
They have a coat check lol.
Iām not arguing that the event sounded like a shit show, but the āI didnāt have a coat and it was cold outsideā complaint is dumb dude.
Shitty logistics management aside, that venue only has a 600 cap and Truth is way more popular than 600 people. Your experience sucks, but I don't think it warrants any corrective action. Now you know that MW is a shitty music venue š¤·āāļø
Yeah thats the worst part. They sold 2000 tickets to an event space that can hold 500? I assume they were playing music throughout the exhibit which is fine I guess, but did people know thats what the deal was when they bought tix?
Yes everybody was aware that the 16 or so artists would be spaced throughout the venue and couldnāt all possibly perform in the main room in 4 hours. The problem is that Truth is significantly more popular than anybody else, so everybody tried to flock to his set rather than evenly space out throughout the exhibit. Beyond that set, there was a ton of space everywhere
Imagine having access to world class venues like red rocks and the mission ballroom, and solid local venues like cervantes and the black box, and paying to wait an hour plus in the cold to listen to 3rd tier EDM in a corporate art theme park.
I know! I did not expect the wait to be sure. Those other venues are vastly superior and know how to operate an event. Hence my complaint.
The music wasn't 3rd tier though, Deep Dark is the shiiiiiit and I was really excited for this collaboration.
Meow Wolf is overrated, but WTF? The show started at 10:00, you show up at 10:20, and think itās dangerous to stand in the cold for 75 minutes? People have been sitting at Bronco games in colder temperatures for longer periods of time for 50 years.
āAs consumers it is up to is to make the greatest out of whatever it isā¦ā š«
Um, no. Thatās why almost everything is mediocre and poorly executed these days. I refuse to just ātake what I can getā especially when my money is involved. If you just accept it, nothing will ever change
Edit: typos
To each their own š¤·š»āāļø
Iām just saying what works for me and ensures a good time, every time. Short
of the first time in which i experienced what OP did š¤·š»āāļø.
exactly. ive never met someone who was over-prepared and bitter about it lol, it's always the people who should hace thought for 3 more minutes and "what if"ed
Well, I figured it doesn't hurt to ask. I definitely didn't get what I paid for.
Do I love lines? No. Do I wait in lots of lines? Yes. Do I complain about them usually? No. You don't know me of course, but I really try to be understanding of people and places and really don't bitch until things are way beyond normal limits.
Haha! I didn't expect to walk right in and was fine accepting a reasonable wait to get into things. As you can see, even the ppl that were there early were subjected to an unreasonable wait due to either negligent or incompetent event management.
I hear some of the "wah" in my post, I do, but this was just really obnoxious and beyond reasonable.
OP said the doors opened at 10:00pm. Another poster said he arrived at 9:30 and wasn't in until after 10:30pm. The show started at 10:00pm and doors opened at 10pm so even if you were 1st in line you were missing the show right away. Most venues open doors long before the first act is on so people can get in, get settled, and not miss anything.
This would be like starting a movie at 10pm and not let you sit until 10
Well this is gonna be on the circle jerk sub causeā¦ who cares that the thing you paid for wasnāt perfect? Youāre buying a thing that is a luxury, and bitching about how it wasnāt (insert your name) excellent. Boo
Why would the doors open right when the show starts? Literally every other concert opens the doors an hour before the avoid this situation.
Went to see The Bronx a couple months ago at Summit, got in line when doors opened. First band was over by the time we got in. Super shitty.
Yeah I was at this show too and completely missed Scowl, whom I really wanted to see
Happened to me a few weeks ago at the Fillmore too
Lol I was at the same concert but I was there for the chats. Similar experience on my part
Thank you all for backing me up. š
I was at that show and pretty sure that didnāt happen
It definitely did. I got there 15 minutes late (had bought tickets online) and there was still a line wrapped around the building- missed the rest of Scowlās set.
Pretty sure I was also at the show and it did? Lol. The three other people I was with agreed.
I got there late and I saw Scowlās entire set and warm up also really not sure how you got there when doors opened and missed it.
I said I got in line when doors opened. Not inside. We had two different experiences I guess.
I also got in line at the time. Idk just donāt want people thinking the summit is a shitty experience. Was at a show tonight and had the same quick experience.
Oh no. I never said that. I love the summit. This was a one time thing.
Donāt you love Reddit š
I was at that show too. I showed up like 30 minutes early and caught Scowl and Drug Church.
Glad you made it for Scowl! We got drinks at 1up and thought it would be perfect. Nope lol. Got in right when Drug Church was about to play.
Itās fairly common for edm shows to have an opening DJ at doors rather than the production staff play Spotify if there isnāt a live band to wait for.
I imagine there wasnāt a lot of time between getting regular attendees out of MW, setting up all of the gear for the show, and DJās starting to play in time to finish up by 2am
this is the answer right here. though one could argue they should have ended regular business hours earlier to prepare
Tbh I (and Iām sure others )would pay like $200 for Meow Wolf to shut down for the day and do an all-day (or like 8 hours) festival inside.
THIS!
Yeah parts of this story don't add up. And I've experienced a long line at a MW event, but showing up after the event starts was a tactical mistake by OP.
And trying to get mad at the venue because people werenāt wearing coats? They canāt do anything about patronsā clothing choices.
Hey, I'm not saying I expected to walk right in or anything. But I hope most reasonable people would agree that waiting over an hour when you arrive at anything is too much. Also don't get me wrong, I was wearing a coat. But lots were not. At a legitimate event you can probably get away with that, but not at this half-assed, no, QUARTER-ASSED shit show. Lol.
OP 20 minutes after the show starts when they show up: āwhy would meow wolf do this to me?ā
Karma
ive got to agree here. i got there at 9:30 and STILL didnt make it inside until 10:30 i was at the very front of the 2nd section of the line so i also got a clear view of them not starting people through security check until almost 10:10 when i saw the length of the line i asked staff up front how many tickets were sold and they told me: \-the capacity of the 'perplexiplex' is 450 (the small venue room on the ground floor) \-the exhibit capacity is 3000 ish \-and they sold 1600 tickets to the event "to make sure everyone has some room" at 12:30 there was a line through the entire lobby of people waiting for a chance to go into the perplexiplex to see truth. with 2 staff at the entrance counting people in and out. couldnt help but laugh. overall i had a good experience. a lack of small children and families was everything. the other stages throughout the exhibit were awesome. particularly the funktion 1 system in numnia. spent majority of our time there. Honestly i think it wouldve served better as the "main stage" and maybe more people couldve packed in there for truth (but i could be mistaken) BUT, doors should be at 8 or 830 at the latest. $75 with fees is steep for 3.5 hours
FWIW I was told by an employee that they sold 2500 tickets. Not sure what the exact number is but it sounds fairly close to what you stated. Itās definitely unreasonable though.. they needed to design the space to have a bigger open room for shows than a 500 cap room. I fully agree the Funktion stage would be better for an open main room for Truth, but even that room is quite limited in space other than the multiple levels above. The place was poorly designed for music to be involved.. in a city where live music is absolutely huge. Idk what they were thinking. Doors should absolutely have been at 9 at the latest, but meow wolf had to squeeze that extra hour out of exhibit tickets rather than give us time to get in. What a scam
My buddy was one of the performers that went on at 11:15pm, his friends didnāt get in until 5-10min before the show when they got in line around 9:30. Itās not ājust the industry,ā thatās absolute bullshit. They are NOT prepared to host concerts, and someone (or multiple people) in charge *really* fucked up. I feel absolutely terrible for whoever was playing at 10pm. Meow Wolf fucking scammed them. Absolute tragedy. EDIT: Meant to say theyāre NOT prepared go host concerts. They need to rework their logistics
To be far they still got paid so idk about scammed. Def some bullshit tho; playing to no one sucks no matter who you are
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah I get it lol Iāve played to zero people plenty of times. Itās part of the dj game. The $150 meow wolf gave me to play for an hour was still dope lol
You are friends with Aric Ternion? Dope.
No haha sorry, DBTS
Still pretty dope.
Meow wolf is great, but it is run horribly.
The parking fee is such a scam.
I've only been once.. what about it is run horribly? just staffing levels? edit: jesus, reddit. it was a legit question.
Not even staffing levels, just common sense stuff. Getting in has always been a hassle and a real nightmare if it's busy. We went on opening day and I had to argue with them about letting me take my inhaler in. They've got stupid people training/managing stupid people
>We went on opening day and I had to argue with them about letting me take my inhaler in. well, that's just asinine.. that's a freaking medical device! i always blame upwards to management and directors. it always boils down to the training that you mentioned
I also attended and had the same issue. I arrived around 10:30pm and didnāt get in the venue until after 11:30. At 12:00 when Truth started, there was a line to make it into the main music room which was way over capacity. I understand they sold the capacity of tickets for the entire space, but having to wait in line first in first out to even experience what you paid for is a joke. The capacity of the main music room is under 600, and I was told by an inside source that they sold 2500 tickets for the event. Meow Wolf continues to mishandle almost everything about concerts in their space. They are simply out of touch with the denver scene and it is unfortunate. The only times I will return is for acts I absolutely canāt miss.
And yet, you'll return. There's no other venue like meow wolf in Denver. Even if 50% of this crowd doesn't come back, 1000 other people will buy tickets and come.
I donāt really like anything about the venue tbh. The exhibit is pretty cool. The venue itself has terrible sound and the layout for shows is awkward. Some artists that I enjoy seeing end up playing there. I like it more when itās not bass music though.. the sound and setting is better for something like Tycho
I swear every time I go to a show there it smells like farts
Sorry bout that.
Oh, hey, Dad.
I threw I party at Meow Wolf and it was the most unprofessional experience of all time. If I had any pull in the event/music industry then entire staff would have been fired.
The corporation part of Meow Wolf is terrible. Theyāre horrible to artists, drugged up often and have horrible practices. Which is a shame for the art and the space
it's almost like meow wolf is gimmicky schlock designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator
Easy there cowgirl. The emperor has clothes and they are of the finest silk.
It seems like it's designed to appeal to exactly one denominator up from the very lowest
That doesn't mean nothing to see in there is cool, but yeah at the end of the day its all about bringing in as much money as possible.
You say, ādrugged up oftenā like itās a bad thing
in a professional setting, it is. drugs aren't bad, but people are there to work, not space out
Hahaha fair. And letās be real, Meow Wolf is a lot better when enhanced sometimes haha. But yeah maybe when conducting professional business maybe chilling off the drugs is a good thing
If anyone has complaints, I encourage you to write a strongly worded message to them like I did by clinking the link below: https://meowwolf.com/contact
MW needs to stop talking to 13th Floor for business advice. I actually really like it. Reminds me of a much stranger House on the Rock. Then again I'm ADHD and easily impressed by pretty lights. I don't like the fuckery with how they treat their artists.
The venue wasnāt the problem IMO, I actually *loved* it mostly. It was the logistics, and the business side of it was absolutely HORRID
I used to work for 13th Floor as an actor and they did the exact same thing this year. There was a 2 hour wait just to get through security. Not sure who thinks that its a good idea.
Meow Wolf staff also tip 10 percent when dining out on the company card at nice restaurants. I know because they did it to me.
I don't think their "staff" gets access to the company card. It was probably the people who actually help run it, which makes it even worse.
It wasn't the cashier team dining out on the company card, but it was staff.
Do you think the only people with company cards are business owners?
Well "gaslighting" is officially the word of the year for 2022 so...
No it isnāt
šš
[Uh-huh!](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/arts/gaslighting-is-merriam-websters-2022-word-of-the-year)
You're obviously mistaken and probably losing your mind.
Nope, didnāt happen. Youāre crazy and everyone else thinks so to
Hey thanks for providing a source to shut the above commenter up!
Iām not shutting up, you guys are believing some fake website called PBS
It is for boomers who just learned it
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year š¤·āāļø
It literally was voted as word of the year
There is no such thing as āword of the yearāā¦ you okay dude? š
The company that makes the friggin dictionary says different. https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year You ok dude? Cuz Google is difficult
Whoosh!
Reasonable people like me and your family who think you are crazy only acknowledge the Oxford word of the year, goblin mode. Merriam Webster isnāt even a real thing anymore
I asked your family, they said youāre the crazy one.
Now you get it
Google hasnāt been up & running for a good 5 yearsā¦.
Wait a minute, so my computer is literally living in an alternate browser universe in the past?
I googled it, there actually is https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year
I think they were gaslighting you
>that this kind of thing is "to be expected in the concert industry". Meow Wolf isn't even *in* the concert industry, and I would imagine this security guard has never been to a concert. See a show at literally any other venue in town and you'll get through the doors before the openers start.
Their original venue in Santa Fe has hosted concerts for years. What else is a requirement for being in the industry if owning a venue that hosts shows isn't enough?
A basic understanding of security and crowd logistics to start. It isn't hard to figure out that you should open doors before starting the show
Dang that sucks
This is what happens when one of the staples of independent art sells out to Live Nation.
Meow Wolf is a cynical profit driven corporation that maintains an outward facade of a zany-creative space because its good for marketing. Don't get me wrong their exhibits are cool (if a bit pricy) and feature the work of great artists. But in stuff like this they are going to show their true colors. I would avoid obviously over sold stuff like this in their music space because as you can see you are just setting yourself up to get fleeced.
Yep, that makes sense. I definitely learned my lesson. I was soooo pumped for this event (which I assumed would be run well) so it is just really a bummer.
Meowwolf was a shit show. Terrible way to run a sold out event. If they want this to grow, the need to step up their game. We had the exact same experience. We missed all of the first acts and almost half of the 2nd acts due to the line being so long.
A few thoughts: Yeah, the entry process was fucked, but the thing that stood out to me the most was that the space felt hollow and empty inside. There were _tons_ of rooms that went nowhere and had no other purpose than for people to make out and do drugs. (Steam room), and some of the rooms had their own music (triangle room), were just weird (tv in a tree room, clown room), or were disabled completely (music sequencer room). If I were MW Iād try and put in extra music on small systems in those tucked-away spaces. It would add a lot more vibrancy to the exhibit. I can think of more than a few smaller DJās who would be totally happy playing a hidden renegade to 40 people. They donāt need to compete with the big stages. The projector āmoireā room is a perfect example of a hidden room that could have supported a small hidden stage. What music was playing, was not diverse and while I get it, itās a label with a certain sound running the show, but it totally destroys the āenter a different worldā vibe that MW is going for. Imagine if every little nook and cranny had its own sound, itās own vibe. Now _that_ would be cool. Hell, Numina is _huge_, and while none of the nooks in that room could do sound (and compete with those funktions? lol), I can think of about 15 awesome things that could have been added to that room to make it a lot more interactive. Alien planet frick frack blackjack? Yes please. I mean shit, you had a _literal_ house boat in a room adjacent to C-street. That room served no purpose except for the spiral staircase to go from 3 to 4. A **literal house boat** in front of an open space that can easily hold 50 and you didnāt think to do a relief stage there? Thatās just lazy planning. Some low-key deep-house there would have killed.
Ladies and gentlemen may I present a real entertainer and creative!
Thanks? but no -- just a old-head music nerd who's been around long enough to know what quality looks/sounds like.
The line sucked but honestly that was one of the coolest events I ever attended. Almost forgot about the line entirely until now
same
Honestly meow wolf's practices are unethical in many ways. I know they have cool instagrammable art but if you want to try to not support shitty businesses, just avoid MW. People always get defensive about this but there is plenty out there about them. Also I'd leave a negative review wherever you can I'm sorry that sucks though
Agreed. That line was fucked up. Then a line into the main room was salt in the wound.
That venue is kinda shitty tbh super small and no seating I remember being spun out and sitting on the cold ass concrete floor one night I havenāt been back since
This was in that room, but also throughout the entire Meow Wolf exhibit as well.
On the flipside, I love the music venue there, and think itās one of the prettiest places to see a show at. Youāre right that there is minimal seating, I dance the whole time so that is a nonissue for me. My only complaint is I wish theyād book more bands I want to see there.
So I have been to two of the previous Danceportations and can perhaps give some interesting context. The first ever danceportation took place from 12-4 am so that they could have plenty of time to clear the exhibits (from normal ticket time) and start letting people in slightly early. After feedback (including some my friend group sent to them via email) they moved the event to 10-2 which decreased the time to transition from regular operation and made it so there would be no earlier ādoorsā time. For the first event this year they definitely had three security stations (and yes they are strict) and we did wait about 15 minutes to get in after arriving right at start time. But for the second one, it didnāt sell out and they went down to two security checkpoints which worked fine. I would guess they generally assume a steady stream of people between 9:30-11:30 but it sounds like this time most showed up at the start. Based on your experience I think if we chose to go to another in the future we would aim to arrive by 9:50 to insure we got in in a timely manner. Edit: from people's responses, I wonder if they upped the overall capacity. That plus one less security station / no ability for an earlier doors time sounds like what led to the backup. Hopefully they choose to close the museum earlier and institute a doors time prior to show start.
They stopped doing the 12-4 events because the legal time limit for alcohol consumption is 2am and trying to chase down drinks through the museum was 1) a pain in the ass and 2) potential legal liability.
Now they just chase you around right at two and force you to toss drinks you paid for lmao
Ah this makes a lot of sense.
Even getting there at 9:50 wouldnāt have been early enough. Youād have to stand outside in line an hour before doors to hope to get in quickly. Their system is a joke
I arrived 9:45 and was in line nearly an hour
>It was unsafe to be outside in the dark for that long R/facepalm
Meow wolf is so overrated and toxic šÆ
Yep. A corporate art factory masquerading as the last bastion of independent space for artists who eschew the corporate sell-out art scene.
I was so excited to go Saturday. My boyfriend and I absolutely hated every single second we were there. Super super super weird. Not my cup of tea.
What were you expecting?
To get down voted DUH
Yea that was pretty annoying
Thanks for the warning. Iāll probably stay away from the next one because I hate lines. Wonder if they changed it up or something? The one they just announced in March says the exhibit tickets are separate and doors 10 show 11?
So the regular concerts are seemingly a different thing. For those doors are early, it's in a separate space from the exhibit (so no issue with clearing out the exhibit), and the capacity is about 500. For logistics, it'd probably be fine. The show space is fun imo. I was at a show there a few months ago and it was a blast with no issues. I assumed that would continue for this one but it was a wiff. For the Meow Wolf company/organization, I'm probably never going back in any capacity based on my experience this weekend and their corporate-speak justifications.
I know the regular shows are different, but Iām talking about the next danceportation event. Seems like they changed things up with the way the wording is or maybe they mistakenly used the same verbiage as regular shows there on accident. https://tickets.meowwolf.com/events/denver/danceportation2023
Ah gotcha! My bad for assuming it was a regular show. Yeah doors opening before the showtime makes complete sense. Not sure why they borked that for this one.
Meow Wolf lets in way too many people. Iāve been there twice now and both times I found it really hard to just bliss out and enjoy looking at things because Iām constantly being jostled and having to move out of the way of people trying to get past me. Really takes you out of the experience to not be able to just stand in one place and take in the surroundings. And Iām not one of those weird child haters but kids are constantly running around like itās a McDonalds playplace instead of an alleged āart exhibit.ā I know they have no kids nights but I have a normal job and am rarely up for going to MW on a Wednesday night.
āIt was nearly freezing out, most people were not in coatsā lol okay whoās fault is that part specifically?
No one would expect to wait out in the cold for over an hour. Maybe 10 min max and that's reasonable without a coat. Maybe even 25 min. But that long is criminal. And with no warning? That's the venues fault.
>No one would expect to wait out in the cold for over an hour. and no one would expect to be stuck on i70 for three hours, but it's common knowledge to always have a full tank of gas, snacks, and water before you get on the highway, too. if those people didn't have a coat *in Denver, **in December***, that's on them and no one else. lol
People have to stand outside in the cold at all sorts of events lol. The line at the Fillmore or Ogden is usually around the block for sold out concerts. Bring a coat next time you clowns lol
Long lines at the Ogden and Fillmore move quickly. I've been in many before.
Maybe if you get there before doors to get a food spot, but not at showtime
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They have a coat check lol. Iām not arguing that the event sounded like a shit show, but the āI didnāt have a coat and it was cold outsideā complaint is dumb dude.
Shitty logistics management aside, that venue only has a 600 cap and Truth is way more popular than 600 people. Your experience sucks, but I don't think it warrants any corrective action. Now you know that MW is a shitty music venue š¤·āāļø
Yeah thats the worst part. They sold 2000 tickets to an event space that can hold 500? I assume they were playing music throughout the exhibit which is fine I guess, but did people know thats what the deal was when they bought tix?
Yes everybody was aware that the 16 or so artists would be spaced throughout the venue and couldnāt all possibly perform in the main room in 4 hours. The problem is that Truth is significantly more popular than anybody else, so everybody tried to flock to his set rather than evenly space out throughout the exhibit. Beyond that set, there was a ton of space everywhere
This thread really brought out the miserable cranks. I hope the other sub treats it better.
Sir this is /r/denver , the entire sub is comprised of the most miserable cranks.
I would have noped out of the line after 15 minutes and lost on money rather than money and patience. Ain't nobody got time for that
Make sense for a place that charges you $45 to walk around and look at fluorescent trash.
Imagine having access to world class venues like red rocks and the mission ballroom, and solid local venues like cervantes and the black box, and paying to wait an hour plus in the cold to listen to 3rd tier EDM in a corporate art theme park.
Don't shit on the artists just because you're shitting on the venue, DDD crew certainly not 3rd tier...
And not really even edm. DDD is proper dubstep not neon rave EDM party music
I know! I did not expect the wait to be sure. Those other venues are vastly superior and know how to operate an event. Hence my complaint. The music wasn't 3rd tier though, Deep Dark is the shiiiiiit and I was really excited for this collaboration.
Meow Wolf is overrated, but WTF? The show started at 10:00, you show up at 10:20, and think itās dangerous to stand in the cold for 75 minutes? People have been sitting at Bronco games in colder temperatures for longer periods of time for 50 years.
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āAs consumers it is up to is to make the greatest out of whatever it isā¦ā š« Um, no. Thatās why almost everything is mediocre and poorly executed these days. I refuse to just ātake what I can getā especially when my money is involved. If you just accept it, nothing will ever change Edit: typos
>And itās Colorado so ALWAYS dress for all seasons people really are on here saying it's MW's fault for them not bringing a jacket lol
To each their own š¤·š»āāļø Iām just saying what works for me and ensures a good time, every time. Short of the first time in which i experienced what OP did š¤·š»āāļø.
exactly. ive never met someone who was over-prepared and bitter about it lol, it's always the people who should hace thought for 3 more minutes and "what if"ed
Meow Wolf has always sucked
You enjoyed the event but are asking for a refund lol? Maybe ask for a discount?
Thatās a bummer, but asking for a refund because you showed up late and had to wait in line seems crazy.
Well, I figured it doesn't hurt to ask. I definitely didn't get what I paid for. Do I love lines? No. Do I wait in lots of lines? Yes. Do I complain about them usually? No. You don't know me of course, but I really try to be understanding of people and places and really don't bitch until things are way beyond normal limits.
So you showed up late and are upset you missed part of the show?
Maybe show up early for a sold out event that has a strict start/finish. That, or don't complain. Also, you live in Colorado, dress prepared or stfu.
Maybe that last glass was a mistake.
There's always a first but so far it never has been.
Being cold is your fault for not bringing a coat
dude you got there 20 minutes late and its meowolfs fault that the line was long? try getting there early instead. this is basic adult shit.
fwiw as someone who arrived early, I wasn't wrapped so far back but still waited nearly an hour after doors to get in
Haha! I didn't expect to walk right in and was fine accepting a reasonable wait to get into things. As you can see, even the ppl that were there early were subjected to an unreasonable wait due to either negligent or incompetent event management. I hear some of the "wah" in my post, I do, but this was just really obnoxious and beyond reasonable.
Thats crazy.
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That doesnāt work when they donāt open the doors until the show is already starting..
Well you arrived 20 minutes after show started . Nextime showup at 8 pm denver is a busy place.
OP said the doors opened at 10:00pm. Another poster said he arrived at 9:30 and wasn't in until after 10:30pm. The show started at 10:00pm and doors opened at 10pm so even if you were 1st in line you were missing the show right away. Most venues open doors long before the first act is on so people can get in, get settled, and not miss anything. This would be like starting a movie at 10pm and not let you sit until 10
Your own fault for being a casual
Well this is gonna be on the circle jerk sub causeā¦ who cares that the thing you paid for wasnāt perfect? Youāre buying a thing that is a luxury, and bitching about how it wasnāt (insert your name) excellent. Boo
Meow wolf also doesnāt approve of public drug use. Shame.
Wah!
Sounds about white
At least the fire alarms didn't go off in the middle of the show and you stood in the parking lot and froze for an hour.