Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion

This is the worst outdoor venue i’ve ever been to. I went to the «It’s not dead fest» last October and everything bad that could happen with a venue, did.
We bought tickets at the box office to avoid insane surcharges. Well, the box office decided to tack on their own $ 10 fee, with no explanation or warning. I saw no mention of this anywhere. I’m pretty sure this was illegal.
Get frisked like a criminal on the way in.
The entire place is dirt ground. Hardly any grass or pavement, so there was basically a dust cloud around the whole venue, just from the mass of people walking around. Made a lot of people cough, made their eyes water, I left feeling like I was coming down with a cold.
They overbooked the living crap out of this place. The festival would not sell out, despite wave after wave of crowds coming in all the way until half way through the festival. Since its general admission, they are able to pull this off, since there isn’t a seat count to dictate capacity. Because it was so overbooked, we were stuck in one spot for the entire 6 hours we were there. It was too crowded to make our way to other stages and see other bands. Worse of all, it was too crowded to even go get food and to use the bathroom. Desperate people had to fight their way through thousands of people, and lose their decent spot.
Also because of the insane amount of people, it was a 20 minute hike from the car to the entrance. If you don’t want to make the journey, gotta cough up $ 20 for VIP parking.
They had a technical failure on the main stage. There was no sound for almost 20 minutes. Completely ruined the bands set.
And if you are seeing a show here in the summertime, better make sure you aren’t susceptible to heat strokes.
And thanks to CalTrans 2 year long construction job on the Cajon Pass, the normally 30 minute traffic jam leaving the place was an hour and a half long.
Just imagine an outdoor venue that was designed for a crowd of raised pickup truck driving meth addicts, and you pretty much have this place pegged.

The worse costumer service! U lost my purse, and all they we’re worried about was NOT doing their job! NO ONE could help me or direct me into the place where I could make s claim! Horrible! Horrible customer service!

With only one way in and one way out of this concert venue, be prepared to do a lot of walking and a lot of sitting in your car! We arrived just in time for the headlining act and didn’t have to wait too long to park; probably because we had to park in the furthest lot from the stage. I decided not to wear my $ 300 cowboy boots since the mile long hike would entail gravel parking lots and dirt pathways to the entrance. Leaving those in the car, I made the trek wearing my comfy Ugg boots. There was a nice array of tailgaters in the lots, lots of fun times being had. We made our way to the entrance and were greeted with another few hundred yards of vendor booths, beer lines and port a potty lines. After navigating through that mess, we got into the line for beer. Oh what a mistake! The «bartender» Todd took forever to serve people, striking up conversations with everyone. «Dude, this is festival style, not Cheers! We’re on a time crunch!» After getting our drinks finally, we made our way into the seats. Great show I must admit, but after the entrance debacle, we decided to leave before the end, just to get to our car and get outta there! There’s got to be a better, more efficient entrance and exit for this place and service can move a bit quicker too!

Don’t bother. horrible parking conditions, expensive beer, rude staff and traffic jams. too bad for the good bands that play, I will never go back there again. I have been there twice, and have had two horrible experiences.

Good bands from time to time expensive as shit beer pre game parking lot hot as fuck no shade if the bands worth it go if its not idk fuck it get a refund on your tickets!!!

Ok let me just start by saying that I’ve never been to the place but I don’t want to every go. My husband is going to be going for a concert on Saturday and the heat on that day is expected to be 107 average. I would like to send him with some water and some powerade to help quench his thirst cause I don’t want him suffering from heat stroke as he’s in his late 50’s and I’m told for «Guest Relations» that they can only take 1 bottle of water per person. I asked what the price is for the price of a bottle of water there and she didn’t know. She said that she doesn’t work for the «outside» company. Now they are «Guest Relations» right??? I wouldn’t give them a start at all but you have to rate them.

My review is literally going to tell you nothing new. Expensive as shit booze. Decent seats. Retarded parking lots that get your freshly-​cleaned car dusty as shit. (can I say ‘shit’ on Unilocal?hope so…)
Honestly, the perception of any given venue is going to be influenced by the show you’re going there to see. (duh). i went there for summerland tour and loved it. hence, my generosity of star-​giving. Nothing’s wrong with the place… maybe tell the 100 chicks in line for the bathroom that there’s an upstairs portion of stalls that no one knows about?

As far as a musical venue, this place isnt bad. the set up is pretty good no matter where you ended up. and the lawn isnt terribly far from the stage (as far as i can tell). Thats where the good things end. the parking is atrocious, though its a great place to get wasted before the show (ok one more good thing) most of the lot is either broken up asphalt or dirt. getting out, unless you leave before the show ends, is a complete nightmare. there is a single 2 lane exit for every single car inside. and cuz everyone wants to leave first, it creates this cluster fuck of people not letting you by and you having to douche bag your way into the exit line. The actual staff that work AT glen helen specifically are all pretty nice. theyre mostly locals. hs kids college kids and w/​e. the security is that generic CSC event security you see at every show. and theyre all assholes. its hot as balls almost every day out of the year, but at the foothills of the san bernadino mt’s can freeze you to death some nights.

This place does not even deserve one star!!! Worst venue ever!!! Parking horrible, food/​beer prices outrageous, bathrooms disgusting. If you must go, my advice is to pay for preferred parking, and then park as close to the exit as possible to get out easier. Oh, and leave before the concert is over. Good luck!!! You will need it!!!

Nope never again.
I have been to this venue for a handful of big concerts — and each time i vow not to come back.
Why? Well besides the fact that this venue hosts most of its headliners in the summer when it reaches 100 degrees+ in the area, is situated in a dust bowl, and you have to pay ridiculous parking fees to park two dusty hills over from the main area, leaving is a death trap.
I went to rock the bells a few years ago here and left EARLY… it was around 11pm. I didn’t actually get out of the parking lot until 3am. That’s no joke. If you get stuck parking in the back, you get to endure 3 – 4 hours of bumper to bumper move one inch ever twenty minutes traffic. They have NO ONE directing traffic at the most crucial time.
so f-​u blockbuster pavilion and you know what big corporations — naming big venues after yourself only hurts your business.

«You came to see the mobscene»
This place has been renamed the san manuel ampitheatre. I came here for the monster tour on July 12^th. Slayer and Marilyn Manson were the headliners. I have seen around 10 concerts in the past 2 years. I prefer smaller theatres, but it is always cool when you get to hear a great number of different bands all day long.
Besides the headliners, these were the pluses:
the stands were organized
easy to find food/​drink
easy access to restrooms
laid back crowd if you stay out of the mosh pit
If someone (pardon me) vomits near you the security will move you to better seats.
Security is everywhere inside.
Not great:
Leaving sucks! do not park in here under any circumstances. It takes for ever to get out. If you happen to be here around July fourth, people will be shooting fireworks over your car, and under cars.
There is no security in the parking lot
You must not look anyone in the eye so you don’t have to tell them you aren’t intrested in ANYTHING that they will try to sell you from water to well, you know…
Over all, I will be back if there is another great line up.

i’ll be back to this venue if they keep it a location on the Rock the Bells tour. parking was a fucking mess to get out of. it was outrageous but a hour later and cutting across another parking lot we made it out.
it was a wonderful summer 80 degrees in august so i couldn’t complain about that. i’m from PHX it’s hotter this time of year. it was sunny. i came prepared. drinks are hella expensive. but so are alot of places similar. sound was great and i had a great time. best part. they carded when selling the booze, but nobody seemed to care what you did with it after that.
they also claimed a full body search. which i guess just means a pat down. no shoe removal needed. so you can safely stash a doobie or 5.
the secondary stage they set up was also nice, in the grass down the hill a little bit. was more fun to travel between the stages this year then when i saw Rock The Bells in San Francisco in 07. General Admission just means a mob of people traveling through. not like that here. some order was useful. i was pleased. just the parking ruined any potential of 4 – 5 stars.

Wow, such harsh reviews. I would have to disagree. This is a prime place for a good ol rock n roll concert. You cant come here for some hip hop artist and expect to experience this place for what its worth. Yeah, its dirty, open and in the middle of nowhere. Yes, it does get hot! SO take your top off have large amounts of beer, lose yourself, be a bum for a day, you cant be pretty all the time. I’ve been here for Ozzfest 2003 (probably the best lineup) and koRns Family Values tour 2006 and I must say having 60k people «rocking out» as they say these days, was a site. Both times I purchased orchestra tickets which puts you right up to the stage for about $ 225 a ticket. Its well worth it! Sure they sold tickets on the grass behind us for like $ 10– 20 bucks. But I didnt want to be stuck in that crowd, being that im Filipino and 5’8″ 160lbs, I wouldnt last ten seconds in that mess. Its great to see the crowd back there go crazy, because it looks like an endless sea of drunken bastards going crazy. People moshing, fire pits burning with people running around them like indians, even the grass was dug up and thrown around, it was great! (Now I know why they charge and extra $.150 fee for the grass) Totally rock n roll! The reason I give this place a 4 out 5 is because well there bathroom facilities are not up to par if you as me. Hmmm lets see, they have 1 bathroom location near the fron gates for 60k people… you do the math. Oh and about 10 or 15 porto potties way in the back of the field. This place is great to watch a concert, much better that Verizon Wireless Amp. in Irvine. But for those that swear by «small venues are more intimate» Dont come here, go to the Roxy or House of Blues. These venues are for those that love to FEEL and EXPERIENCE the music. There hasnt been a concert for me worth going to these last couple of years, let me tell you, if koRn or any other band I listen to decide to blast there sound here, I will be there!
ps. Projekt Revolution: is not a rock concert! Dont waste your time and money…

FAQ
Q: Wow, this place is in the middle of nowhere, huh?
A: Yah, in the Crystal Meth capital of the world.
Q: I mean, c’mon. I’d say Chino or Riverside. Maybe Corona.
A: LIsten, I think every city in the Inland Empire has been lucky enough to be tagged as the Crystal Meth capital of the world at some point.
Q: Why do you keep making crystal meth a proper noun?
A: Who knows. It just felt right.
Q: I’ve got nice lawn seats. I’m excited!
A: Great but that’s not a question. Anyway, I also hope you’re excited for the shitty sound that swirls all over that godforsaken hill because that of that infernal wind.
Q: Okay, well, there’s plenty of parking, right?
A: Sure, but it’s in a dirt field. With rocks. That kick up and hit your car. Unless you drive a big truck. Like everyone else out there.
Q: I don’t care the band is good.
A: Fine. Enjoy your shit.
FYI … Quite possibly one of the worst venues I’ve been to. Too. Two. I don’t know grammar. I need a strong drink to get the taste of this piss-​poor venue out of my mouth.

This has got to be the worst place in the world to see a concert. I cringe every time I find out some band I want to see is playing here.
It’s out in the middle of nowhere. It looks like homes are being build out that way, but as of right now, it’s still nowhere. I think all there is to eat out there is a Taco Bell and a Hometown Buffet.
Whoever designed this place must have been smoking the world famous San Bernardino crystal meth. First of all, the seats face west toward the stage, so toward evening, when shows typically start, you get a face full of sun. Yay. Second, there’s no shade to be found, so if you are sun sensitive like me, you are totally out of luck. Bring a hat. Finally, the seats are gently sloping downward, so if anyone sits in front of you, all you see is the back of their head. They really needed to make the seats at a sharper angle like at Irvine so you can see over people’s heads.
Of course, I need not mention that the concessions cost a fortune.