PNC Arts Center Holmdel, NJ Review

[JaxDioFan]

I am one of the two women from Florida that Steeler55 referred to in his post of the Albuquerque show. Front row center at the Albuquerque show was the most amazing concert experience! I had a blast! I spent alot of money for me and a friend to travel to Albuquerque and Holmdel, but not as much as I've spent on front row tickets for two to both shows in the last few weeks. The show was awesome (as expected) at both venues, but the experience at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel was HELL.

I am a nice person, generous and giving, and am always kind and respectful to EVERYONE, but once in a great while, I'll meet someone that is purely hateful and I have nothing good to say about. To be brutally honest, before you even make it through the front gates, you have the displeasure of the scowl on the face of the short, grossly overweight, red-headed troll (the only way to describe her) of a female event security staff member. She is a horrible person with one hell of a chip on her shoulder. It's amazing how a $7.00 an hour security job can boost an ego. I guess I'd hate the world too if I had her personality and physical attributes. She is just down right unnecessarily hateful. If you dare to see a show at this venue, you'll see what I mean. You can't miss her. I wouldn't suggest saying hi to her or telling her to have a nice day. She may not let you in.

We were so excited to see our seats when we first arrived. They were even closer than the Albuquerque front row seats by a couple of feet. I doubt anyone in the front row missed the opportunity to touch the hands of Dio, Geezer, or Tony. The show was HEAVEN but the PNC Arts Center was HELL! We spent most of the entire show pushing people off of us. Security was a JOKE! Anybody and everybody climbed to the front row and that made the experience horrific. There was two feet between our front row seats and the iron fencing, so as the crowd piled into the front row, we were smashed into the fencing. There were people standing on our seats behind us! We all complained to security and they would tell the people to leave, but those "requests" from security were ignored. Structurally, it's a great place for a show, but the people that work the security by the stage are a joke. The people piling into the front row were rude and abnoxious and had no concern for anyone but themselves. As we pushed people off of us so we could breathe, they made obscene gestures at us. Somehow, I was expecting that in NJ when I decided to go there, but I was still shocked that the people there acted that way.
The backs of my legs are bruised from people falling over me when they climbed over my seat. Some Chinese guy with really bad breathe kept trying to push his was into my spot at the fence. I guess he wasn't happy with his $49 seat. He smelled like weed, beer, and puke and kept pressing his very small package against the back of my leg. I guess he was hoping I was another guy??? He was asked nicely by security to leave the front row after we complained, but he just ignored security so they ignored him.

My goal in spending the $1000 on two front row tickets was to choose a venue where I actually had front row RESERVED seating as I did in Albuquerque (those tickets only cost me $614.00 and were worth ever penny). The NJ venue was one of the few venues left that didn't have general admission floor tickets. Front row at the PNC Arts Center in NJ is no better than buying a general admission ticket anywhere else. DO NOT waste your money on front row seating there. I could have received my bruises with a $49 general admission ticket anywhere and been happy about it because I'd expect the brutality that comes with general admission.

Aside from the bad venue experience, you have got to see this show if they come back to the states! I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will and that the Southeast will be honored by their presence.