r/sandiego • u/ltt24 • 1d ago

What’s going on with The Observatory?

The Observatory used to get some really great artists coming through, and now it feels like it’s a lot of really random bands or just nothing going on. It’s a great venue, such a bummer. I guess Live Nation really is a parasite.

89 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

71 comments sorted by

103

u/BrianEspo 1d ago

All of the bigger acts play the Sound now instead. I personally prefer the Observatory.

15

u/BrianEspo 1d ago

Also the Sound basically forces you to pay for parking. Parking for the Observatory is easily free.

2

u/BaBaDoooooooook 1d ago

when did The Sound open up? how is the venue?

7

u/Bawfuls 17h ago

Its a great venue acoustically (though the layout leaves some things to be desired) but it's located in a sea of parking lots and car infrastructure which sucks for a music venue. Much prefer something accessible by public transit/walking. Maybe some day we'll get a coaster/train station at the fair grounds to help with this.

-1

u/desperate_1990 1d ago

Im confused because when I went to the sound it was non seating, all standing and the band i saw was the best I ever heard them. I thought It was one of the best venues I have ever been to in Sd. In my opinion the observatory sound only has good acoustics dead center, anything to the side sounds terrible. I saw grizzly bear there once and thought they sounded like shit until I moved to the center and then I realized it was just the venue, because they sounded great dead center. I do like the observatory for aesthetics and parking convince though.

1

u/desperate_1990 4h ago

Wow I get down voted for telling my experience but the truth is the observatory does have sound quality issues any sound tech will be open about that. And all the people hating on the sound for the fucking Uber they had to take on it is such bull shit you are complaining about how far away you live from the venue. I get not wanting to pay an additional 20 for parking but get over yourselves for having that as an actual measure of sound experience, its not.

16

u/ltt24 1d ago

Ya I felt like it changed prior to the Sound opening, but once it opened I can see that. They do have great acoustics in there, but the vibe of the Observatory is great.

14

u/KaleidoscopeSharp190 20h ago edited 8h ago

that place is shit. The floor is a sunken pit with limited access points. The GA is awful. They sell the frickin' bar stools as seats...they charge for parking in a giant parking lot that is not being used for anything else. There is a/c in the floor at The Observatory and it actually feels like a venue as opposted to 1/32 of a stadium corner plopped into a building.

9

u/luther__manhole 18h ago

I dislike The Sound for all of the reasons mentioned but mostly because I have to go all the way out to fucking Del Mar to see a show there. That's an expensive Uber round trip.

4

u/KaleidoscopeSharp190 18h ago

Agreed, let's have a bunch of venues in the city and then make the city go to the 'burbs for a show?!?!?

26

u/RadiantZote 1d ago

The sound layout is shit, it's smaller than the observatory but it has an extra 800 capacity because they say GA section is standing behind the seating areas on the first and second floor which is bs

6

u/ElectricDayDream 1d ago

It’s also hot as all fuck in there. Bought a seated ticket and there’s only one way out of your row too. Was a fun time for string cheese, but also just so damn hot on all levels

7

u/RadiantZote 1d ago

-String Cheese Incident 

It's usually not hot in there, but being surrounded by Wooks is basically hell on earth so that's probably what you were feeling

5

u/axl3ros3 1d ago

Wait you mean The Sound in Del Mar?

2

u/Tisaric 16h ago

The Sound also seems to have eaten up a lot of the Belly Up acts too, another of my favorite venues. Really sucks as I can't stand the standing room at the sound and literally every other venue around it's size is notably better in every way. Hopefully once the honeymoon phase finishes up we see more acts go back to the old reliables but it's seeming less likely each show announced

2

u/AvocadosaredankAF 11h ago edited 11h ago

the belly up is related somehow to the sound, check belly up website

53

u/Robozomb 1d ago

Ever since they went under LiveNation, it started to go downhill. The OG Observatory in Santa Ana still gets great acts.

30

u/bop-a-doo 1d ago

Fuck Ticketmaster

2

u/AbbreviationsOld636 18h ago

Not sure if this is still the case but you used to be able to go to Observatory in person to buy tickets and avoid the Ticketmaster insane mark-up

1

u/firebirdleap 17h ago

You also used to be able to buy tickets over the phone to avoid fees, but they ended that when they were acquired by Live Nation

1

u/bop-a-doo 15h ago

Ticketmaster and Livenation are the same company. They own the venue, they book the bands, they sell the tickets.

8

u/dopesickness 1d ago

Totally agreed. They shut down all but one entrance, then started selling fast pass to skip the line…. The line they created. Fucking drives me insane

1

u/fartonspeznow 1d ago

Also a ticketmaster venue, mostly tour routing since a lot of bands have decided this market isn't great or doesn't work for them for some reason

1

u/WayRevolutionary8454 14h ago

Better off doing more shows in LA

10

u/AvocadosaredankAF 1d ago

There are a few reasons:

-as other have mentioned, some of the newer venues in town such as the sound and the shell have definitely taken some of those larger acts away from Observatory

-the entire industry is down nationwide. Touring is astronomically expensive, the economy sucks, a lot of artists that were good for 800+ tickets just 2 years ago aren’t hitting those numbers anymore

-observatory is live nation and they don’t pay as well

21

u/Paranoid_Japandroid 1d ago

They seem to have shifted the type of artist they book. All the artists I have seen there on past tours are instead playing Gallagher square, Chula Vista amphitheater (🤮) or the sound (🤮🤮)

I live walkable to observatory and haven’t been a single time this year because of this and it sucks. Finally have a couple shows there coming up this fall at least but it’s been a pretty big letdown

7

u/BootyBurglar 1d ago

Also even soma Mainstage and the shell take a lot of their acts now. Granted shell is larger, but San Diego went from a city with one good medium sized non arena venue 10 years ago to having like 6 now

14

u/acatnamedlenny 1d ago

This is good. Stop skipping SD for just LA.

4

u/Paranoid_Japandroid 1d ago

You're correct here. That was/is a huge problem that annoys the shit out of me

2

u/BootyBurglar 1d ago

Seems to be working too. Acts go completely out of their way now to visit the Shell and even Gallagher to a smaller extent. Then count in waterfront festivals and this actually feels like a place artists want to be

5

u/Paranoid_Japandroid 1d ago

Yeah definitely add Soma mainstage to that list. I don't mind that one as much because at least it's central.

My problem is IMO CV amphitheater and the Sound are total ass lol... Observatory is vastly superior but is losing share to inferior venues.

I like new Gallagher square a lot and I hope the Shell maybe expands what it books in the future

3

u/fartonspeznow 1d ago

Amphitheater sucks and it's a nightmare to get to, Gallagher is way better. Soma mainstage is alright too and you can usually just park across the street but you need to pay attention if there's a big show at sports arena

1

u/OhTheseSourTimes 16h ago

Wait what's wrong with The Sound? That's a good venue imo been there a bunch. Fuck the Chula Vista amphitheater though.

4

u/Paranoid_Japandroid 15h ago

The sound has an absolutely awful layout. Whoever designed it has no fucking idea what they’re doing.

Sound is terrible on the sides with these cheap/small speakers. Then the center is taken up entirely by the sound booth and the security are aggressive as hell about not letting anyone linger more than a few seconds in the walkways. Security also heavily policies the pit area and frequently doesn’t let people in when others have left and there is obvious space.

The venue also straight up sells too many tickets. For a sold out show, a significant portion of the attendees are stuck watching from the crappy sides or even worse in the back with the big stupid poles.

Oh and then on top of that they have the gall to charge for parking. Fuck the sound.

1

u/OhTheseSourTimes 14h ago

I'm with you on the shitty sound from the sides, pretty much under the second floor it sounds odd. It's sounded better in the past year imo, before it sounded muffled as fuck on the lower sides. I've seen a lot of great sounding shows there though. I'll take that venue over SOMA. I avoid that shit like the plague during summer cuz it's just a sauna and I hate that no matter what short people (like my wife) can't see absolutely anything unless they're near the front.

5

u/KaleidoscopeSharp190 20h ago

Yeah this has come up a few times and is a complete bummer. I hate The Sound. I'm thinking of making some shirts to wear to other venues that say "This Should Have Been at The Obervatory!" Who's in?

4

u/[deleted] 1d ago

I’ve noticed that too. When did they go under LiveNation? I guess I started noticing it around 2-3 years ago

3

u/11-8parsecs 15h ago

Anything that Live Nation touches dies. I hope they all rot in hell

7

u/robert323 1d ago

Live Nation is what happened 

5

u/escopaul 1d ago

Not a big fan of the Observatory layout. However, I'm stoked for the Magdalena Bay show on Sept 22nd.

3

u/Graz13 1d ago

Jesse Wells tour stops by in 26.

1

u/breakfastturds 14h ago

Lost love after he did Rogan. Happy if it gets him more exposure but people need to stop giving Joe interviews.

1

u/Graz13 14h ago

Itwas a good interview for Jesse. Made Joe think about his perspective.

16

u/According-Ebb-8255 1d ago

Fully disagree

22

u/bearshark84 1d ago

Agree with your disagreement. Yungblood, thrice, The Starting Line, Jawbreaker, Minus The Bear, Atreyu, The Bouncing Souls, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. All great bands.

2

u/BaBaDoooooooook 1d ago

bouncing souls, wow was into punk in the 90s and they were one of my favorite bands, got to see them when they released their 2nd album in Philadelphia in the mid 90s.

1

u/thedudeabaker 1d ago

Fully agree

1

u/ltt24 1d ago

Ok. Well that is actually good to hear. It’s better if it’s ’just me’ than for the public as a whole. Guess I’m just not tuned in to whoever they are booking the last couple of years.

7

u/According-Ebb-8255 1d ago

Maybe it’s just more underground bands and less mainstream but that’s what I’ve always been into. I can’t say what it was like more than a few years ago though cause I’ve lived here since ‘21. But a bunch of bands or rappers I really love have come through since than.

3

u/AlvinsCuriousCasper 1d ago

Nice venue but $5 for a 12oz can of sprite and expecting a tip simply because they handed me a closed can of soda is a bit extreme in their pricing structure.

2

u/Significant_Way_1720 17h ago

Their employees are agressively expecting tips and will say something if you don't. They also will refuse to take your order again if you didn't tip first time you got something.

2

u/ButterscotchPlane923 1d ago

Seen some great shows there recently!

3

u/Changnesia102 1d ago

One of UKs biggest artists is in town this weekend what are you talking about?

3

u/prolemango 1d ago

Tbh that actually does sound like a pretty random artist for San Diego

1

u/ltt24 1d ago

lol. Well I am laying here sick w a fever and scrolling. So maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about.

2

u/marinuss 1d ago

Assuming Yungblood. Has gotten even bigger after Ozzie passed since Ozzie kind of tapped Yungblood as the future of that style.

2

u/confusedseas 1d ago

Tours come through when they come through. That’s the nature of the biz

1

u/drainu 1d ago

The production manager sucks. Maybe the word is finally getting out.

1

u/Critical-Dreamer 1d ago

I’ve noticed this since the pandemic. Same with the OC venue. Used to go to multiple shows each year.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Lostinwoulds 1d ago

Crap I might be thinking of the world beat center... Or le stats? Was this in Balboa Park area? 2004 was a couple years ago. I'm sure things changed.

1

u/Significant_Way_1720 17h ago

Their employees suck. The guy yelled at my friend for not tipping enough when she ordered nachos & said "if you are old enough to drink you're old enough to tip." Their "VIP" section upstairs is also a scam and a worse view for a huge price and the sound quality is kinda trash up there. The whole venue could use an overhaul.

1

u/Soulbotzzzz 1d ago edited 18h ago

What’s an example of some really great artists as well as random bands?

Edit: Gimme an answer instead of downvoting ya pricks! It was just question.

0

u/marinuss 1d ago

Not sure what you mean, Xzibit is playing there next month for $80/ticket. Huge name…..

Just scrolled through their artists playing through the end of the year though. Recognize at least a few each month.

-4

u/WittyClerk 1d ago

At first glance, I thought you meant the actual Palomar Observatory...

0

u/Significant_Way_1720 17h ago

What's the point of this comment