The Aggie Theatre has everything you need in a music venue
Amidst a city that is known for its great music scene, there are several different places to catch a show in Old Town, Fort Collins (Check out my latest article if you’d like to know more). Today, however, I am going to be zoning in on just one of those venues — The Aggie Theatre. The Aggie is one of the oldest buildings in all of Old Town, standing since 1906, and has been a platform for various notable artists over the years. Having the biggest capacity out of any other venue in Old Town, The Aggie tends to be able to attract the more well-known musical groups. If you are contemplating seeing a show at this venue, hopefully this helps you make your decision.
The Staff
I’ve been to The Aggie on a few separate occasions, and my experiences have differed each and every time. One of the few things that has stayed consistent however, is the utterly rude staff. It’s one thing to not enjoy your job, fine, I get that. I worked a job in customer service and I despised it. It’s another thing though, to make it a point to spread your bad attitude to everyone that walks in the door. All three times I’ve been to a show at The Aggie, I’ve been given a blank stare by the guy scanning tickets. No, “How’s it going?” or “Hello” or even eye contact for that matter. It’s like they were taught to have a bad time. I’ve always believed that the door greater can set the tone for the entire night at a show just based on how he or she interacts with you. Rather than treating you like a paying human customer, they treat you as just another number added onto the attendance total for the night.
The security members who roam around to make sure everything is in order within the crowd were invisible last time I went. A drunken fight broke out between two dudes at the last show I went to, and it went on for about 2 whole minutes before it was broken up. Security weren’t even the ones who broke it up, it was a few of their buddies in the crowd. The band stopped playing and everything, and yet the staff still had no clue how to handle the situation.
It just seems as if the people working there are lazy, slow, and uninterested in making it an enjoyable time for the ones who pay the be entertained. Just walk into the bathrooms and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
The Crowd
Being smack dab in the middle of a college town, you can probably imagine how wild the crowd can get. Now obviously, the type of crowd is always dependent on the type of band performing. A slow paced indie band isn’t going to attract the type of crazed individuals that a trap hip-hop group will. With that being said, they serve alcohol every night — and everyone knows that wherever there’s alcohol, there’s a crazy drunk person who’s down for a tussle. Especially on a weekend in a college town. To me, I’ve never had too much of an issue with the type of crowd The Aggie has attracted. Being a college student, I’m accustomed to drunken shenanigans and stupid behavior. After a certain point you just learn to embrace it.
Now, to an older adult who decides they want to catch a show on the weekend out of impulse, this could be an issue. I recommend you pick the shows you decide to go to wisely, and you should be just fine.
One thing I really enjoy about the Aggie is the views are all pretty suitable. On the left hand and backside of the crowd, there are ledges where you can stand and lean against a railing, giving you a higher vantage point than you’d get by just standing in the middle or the front. This is good for people who don’t want to be constantly squeezed up against a bunch of sweaty kids, or find themselves caught in the middle of a mosh pit.
If you do want to get up close and personal, however, there is no barrier at The Aggie, which I personally love, because it makes the exchange between you and the artist more intimate. (It also makes stage diving much easier).
The Music
The thing that I believe sets The Aggie apart from other venues in Old Town is the level of talent they’re able to attract. They are by far the most well-known venue in Fort Collins nationally, so in return, they are able to bring in the most well-known musicians. Musical groups such as The Dirty Heads, The Foo Fighters, Tyler the Creator, and tons more have taken stage at The Aggie in the past. This to me is reason enough to come see a show here. If you’re seeing an artist as big as Tyler the Creator, you can probably get over the shitty staff once he comes on to perform.
Another thing I will say is the sound quality is very adequate. Being into the heavy metal music that I am, sometimes the instruments tend to all blend together and just create loud, inaudible noises when played live. At The Aggie, you are able to hear all the instruments individually as they all piece together to make a crisp sounding song. I’ve never walked out of a show there thinking “Wow, they sounded terrible.”
The Verdict
Like most businesses, there are always going to be things to improve on. In the case of The Aggie, it stems from the staff. If you’re going to build a successful entertainment center in the middle of a college town, you need to litter it with people who WANT to be there. The quickest way to get a bad reputation is a disrespectful staff.
However, at the end of the day, there’s one deciding factor that causes someone to go see a show somewhere — the lineup. And in the case of The Aggie, you’re probably going to be able to find a lineup you’re interested in for a very reasonable price. If all you care about is good sound quality with good views of the stage, then The Aggie is built for you.
