Aragon Ballroom

I was here recently and it’s a nice big venue. The security is nice and was on top of making sure everyone was save. I like how they gave out free water to the crowd. I’ve been to the House of Blues and they would charge you 5 dollars for a bottle water! One thing I wasn’t too happy about was standing outside in the cold. They have a coat check that cost 4 dollars per coat. If you’re planing on coming here they won’t allow any outside food or beverages. So don’t bring much all you need is your phone.

Wish I can give this venue a ⁰⁄₅! This place has the rudest staff/​lazy! Don’t they even give water at bar after a show. There were people complaining why they didn’t even serve any drinks after the G Eazy concert! It took forever to get out of the venue! Worst security ever… starting fights with people that didn’t even do any harm to them!

It’s nothing special. If there’s a concert here and you want to go – go. The venue is architecturally beautiful with many astrological decorations which is a plus. However, do not think you’re going to get away with bringing a lot of things with you to the venue. They confiscate almost everything from umbrellas to water bottles. I had my iPad with me, because I use it for school, and they gave me the hardest time at security, and I had to promise I wouldn’t use it. Honey, that’s the last thing on my mind.
Overall it’s a good experience, and I won’t not go there for a concert, which is hard to say about a lot of places.

Must say last nights Excision was a disaster because Aragon has incompetent security that they subcontract. Aragon staff is rude. Mostly oversized Hispanic males w ego problem. I will NEVER attend a show there again. I’ve been to Aragon a dozen times. This was pitiful. They treat Adults like children.

I have been here for probably a dozen or so shows. Always loved the venue. Lots to look at and the sound isn’t too bad.
Recently, I went to a show and noticed security like I’ve never seen. It seems almost everything is now a prohibited item. The security guy wouldn’t even let me bring in an e-​cigarette! I was told to throw my $ 200 unit out! I saw at least 20 people smoking cigarettes during the show and the band’s used gallons upon gallons of what is the exact same «smoke» that comes from my vape.
The problem inherently lies in the fact that Aragon does NOT have a website with prohibited items listed. They let you buy a ticket, make travel arrangements and then throw your stuff away because you had no idea you couldn’t bring it.

My sister is a concert connoisseur. We’ve been here twice to see Bastille, last October and again last night. They increase their security at the entrance, probably in light of the Paris mass shootings. My sister had to take her DSLR camera in the car and I saw them pat down a few guys. They have separate female/​male security guards at the entrance, which is nice and something I appreciate if I need a pat down.
The venue itself is very interesting visually. The outside seems Gothic to me. Inside the venue looks like a Mediterranean castle, like in Aladdin, with balconies and steeples. The ceiling has a cool sky painting and speckles of lights that shine on and off like stars.
I use a power wheelchair and can’t see the band at some concert venues because the wheelchair accessible seat doesn’t have a sight of view with people standing in front of me. But I really like this venue. The security people and venue people are very nice and are familiar with access procedures. They know what to do and walk us to the accessible seating. They have it down pat.
Here are some tips for people with disabilities using mobility devices, like wheelchairs:
— Bring a small wheelchair if you can. The security people will take you to a secret passage way to a small freight elevator from 1949. There is a steep permanent wooden ramp to the elevator. The elevator itself is a tight fit; it fits my old 1990’s Quickie power wheelchair and two other people holding their breaths. The door of the elevator is a decent width, but the elevator itself is small. I had to parallel park with little room to turn around.
— The accessible restroom is on the first floor, so go before and/​or after you go to the second floor accessible seating. They had a security person directing restroom traffic and I think she was trying to reserve the accessible stall for people with disabilities.
— Get there early. They do have wheelchair accessible seating reserved in the second floor balcony (there are two balconies on the second floor sides with amazing views). But when we got there after the second opening band started, there were older people sitting in both balconies who were reluctant to move, even when security intervened. The people in the right balcony refused to move at all, so we went to the left balcony, where the people sitting there made a small space only for me and not my sister. This was not the fault of the security, but the people sitting there. I get that they got there earlier, but I was surprised that they were so reluctant to move, especially since I don’t think most of them had a physical disability because none of them said that they needed to take the elevator when the security person asked.
It’s in Thai/​Vietnamese town, so you can check out the ethnic restaurants in the area. There are some restaurants that are open really late too. I recommend the bahn mi sandwiches and phở Nhu Lan Uptown, but they are not open late, so go before if you get there early.

One star for the venue’s exemplary security staff. They are keeping everyone «safe» by taking and discarding your property with no warning. They did an excellent job preventing dangerous contraband from entering the premises by confiscating and throwing away my expensive umbrella, a sealed botttle of water, and a pen men brother gave me for my birthday.
Really well done, so glad you guys did that. Who knew what kind of havoc I could have wrecked with a pen? Who knew that an umbrella is actually a death machine and isn’t used to shield rain?
READ: Unless you want a heavyset security guy to unreasonably seize your property, DO NOT COME HERE

Possibly my favorite venue. The setting and the galaxy ceiling is a must see. If you’re able to make it to a concert there DO IT!!! A+

People come here to watch a show not to awe in its beauty. Although you can picture this place as nice back in its hay day, not anymore as it is old and ran down. You gotta appreciate their clean bathrooms and spacious floors. Also, well lit bars and it is well ventilated. Their balcony is awesome too if you want to watch from above.
I love coming to this place for EDM shows because of their awesome sound system and great light shows. The lines also move pretty fast and security people are not jerks. Thank you for that!
I’ll be back… When they pull another great artist.

I saw Milky Chance here last night. This venue is spacious. Of course, the alcohol and parking costs are exorbitant hence the loss of a star, but otherwise it’s a cool place.
The best thing about the Aragon is the design on the ceiling. It’s absolutely beautiful! Also, the acoustics were great, and we had no issue hearing the band at all.

Whenever I visit the Aragon I realize I’m getting old. Too old for General Admission. I’m not 20 anymore. I need a seat and I won’t venture anywhere near the mosh pit.
It’s still a great venue for live bands. Acoustics are great. If you still like to mosh with the masses there’s plenty of space on the main floor. However, if you get there early enough you can grab a seat upstairs, center stage. There’s a bar everywhere you turn. The prices are pretty high ($ 5 for a Red Bull?!)
Seems like LiveNation has a lock on the venue. If you catch a good deal you can grab a cheap ticket ($ 20 – 25) however you’ll pay that same amount in fees. So you’re looking at $ 50+ for a GA ticket. VIP seats are double that depending on the band/​show.
There is free parking in the area, you just have to pay attention to the street signs. There’s also Red line access next door.
If you want eats before the show there’s plenty of local restaurants: Asian, Ethiopian, American. Have fun!

just an amazing place to see a concert. ive been coming here for years. Can get up close or stay back, great sound in the building. going downstairs to pee is awful, but I usually don’t drink at concerts so not a lot of potty breaks.
ive seen: megadeth, sevendust, STP, MotorHead, Volbeat, Slayer, Staind and a lot more that I cant think of. always a great place for a show.

After last night (All Time Low: Future Hearts tour), I will definitely not be going to any shows at the Aragon again.
I understand it’s standing room and people pack in like sardines but I would’ve thought the venue would provide some sort of ventilation against the INSANE humidity. No fans, no doors, no windows, no A/​C, nothing. It was literally like standing in a sauna, sweating all over people you don’t even know and getting others sweaty parts right back. My hair literally looked like I just got out of the shower except instead of wet from water, it was pure sweat.
I stood by the stage for four hours until I got to the point where I had to get out, almost completely passing out when I reached the open area. You would’ve thought the bartender would’ve noticed my panic and given me water without charging right away but nope, I had to dig out my 4 dollars while my vision was blurry and I was almost fainted. When I got my water I just plopped down on the ground and immediately was shunned by security to get up– seriously!!! I was about to pass out and they are worried about me sitting in the empty corner to relax for a minute. Lucky though the security guard gave me a minute, shout out to him. I got up and attempted to find somewhere else to sit and relax but nope, got asked to get up 3 other times in various locations. Ridiculous. Where do you expect people to go when they need to sit and take a break from the sauna ballroom? Huge safety hazard.
If you know that people will be passing out and dying for water, you think you would try to prevent these occasions somehow (i.e. fans, windows). Guess not!
The sound quality of the show was below standard, so loud and drowned out that it was hard to understand.
Thanks for a pretty much unforgettable experience Aragon, not in a good way.

I saw a lot of great bands in the 90s at the Aragon. I also saw a couple that I won’t fess up to seeing. Cool looking venue, was probably amazing when it was built in 1926. The Aragon wasn’t designed for sound amplification, it was for acoustic performances (balls, I guess) so the Aragon’s loud PA system used to bounce off the dome ceiling and reverberate a lot to end up sounding poor. In recent years they fixed this with acoustic treatments like sound traps and upgraded their PA components. So why two stars? Well this place gets insanely hot (probably 90 – 105 F) during busy summer shows.
You’ve been warned: wear shorts & a t-​shirt.

Be prepared to have stuff out of your coat stolen out of coat check and pay $ 5.00 for tap water poured into a bottled water. if you are missing something after you checked your coat, don’t bother asking for it back cuz they will push you around and never give it back. BAD VENUE AND HORRIBLE, DISHONEST STAFF
AND MANAGEMENT! ruins the experience! JUST WATCH YOUR BACK AND YOUR STUFF! DONT CHECK ANYTHING! and bring YOUR OWN WATER! even if you have to sneak it in!

Rowdy is as rowdy does… and the Aragon does wild and crazy.
This venue is humongous and packs in tons of people. With that comes several cons: long lines for dirty bathrooms, stiflingly hot GA floor, extremely rude staff that’s way over the crowds, super long lines to enter. Another ridiculous con: you cannot get tap water for free!
The ease of reaching the Aragon is it’s redeeming quality: it’s across the street from the Lawrence Red Line, and it’s relatively easy to find parking within walking distance.
Hint: during some shows, there’s free access to the balconies!

Only come here if you must see a performer, only book here if you want to disappoint fans.
The thing that sucks about being a concertgoer is you’re forced to accept the venue no matter how bad. How many people pass on seeing performers they love due to the venue? Not many. As others have said, the sound and ventilation is so poor this place makes a better historic monument than a concert venue.
The Aragon IS wheelchair accessible if you use the tiny loading elevator that takes you to the upper floor balcony. I must warn anyone with a larger power wheelchair that you might not fit. My Quickie barely fits when they lift the back and put me in diagonally after going up a wooden ramp, but no way will my new Permobil fit.

Visited the ballroom on 10÷16÷14 to see Gas Light Anthem. I must say, I was impressed. The décor at the facility was artistic and unique. The service was on point and plentiful. Don’t get discouraged with finding a good view the performance. Everywhere in the ballroom you can view. All in all, would recommend it. Oh… sound was good to go!
Cheers

I went to this venue for Porter Robinson concert this past Friday and it was a decent size venue. My friends and I parked on the street near the cemetery for free instead of paying $ 20 for parking near the venue. We only walked a few blocks until we reached the venue. Security checks your bags thoroughly to make sure there’s no drugs or alcohol snuck into the venue. Guys and girls get patted down. Drinks are a bit pricey and weak at the bars. Shots are super small size plastic cups. They have many many bars so you rarely ever have to wait long to get a drink.
Venue itself is spacious but I was in the very front and people were pushing and shoving so it got pretty hot and sweaty. We were allowed to go upstairs, too.
Lots of bathroom stalls and I never had to wait in line to use the bathrooms.

I’ve been to lots of shows at Aragon in my vast concert going experience. My most memorable experience was winning tix to Cage the Elephant on New Years Eve in 2011 and being overloaded with balloons dropping from the ceiling at midnight. I’ll never turn down an opportunity to come here because it’s sure to be an experience from hell.
My most recent Aragon experience was this past Tuesday for the Lo-​Fang/​Lorde show. The show was at 8 and doors opened at 7. I showed up at 6:30 and my mind was blown at how ridiculous the line was. Like I said, I’ve been to tons of shows here and I’ve never seen a line so crazy. I overheard someone later in the evening say they got there at 4:00, so I’m not sure if that was true or not. Either way, it was insane. The line did move fast and the security guards did a great job getting everyone in within a timely manner. The acoustics for the show were great. You could hear everything with little to no distortion.
The stage is set up pretty high but for some reason I could barely even see her. I wasn’t even that far back, just unlucky with being stuck behind people taller than me. This kinda put a damper on the whole thing, but she was still fantastic and the show was great.
I think this is one of the better venues to see a show at in Chicago and I’m sure that my love for live music will find me back here sooner rather than later.