Don't get me wrong - the Walt Disney Concert Hall is a delight for the senses - architecturally sensual curves everywhere, the feel that you're in an elite artistic world. But this was my first time there and I had been fantasizing about it for so long, that I expected much better. Perhaps service that matches the austerity of the structure, at least! Staff members were not as helpful as we would have liked - our elusive door #11 kept seeming to be on "the other side" and after walking all over the whole place a few times and asking around, we finally got a straight, clear answer as to how to get to our seats. After figuring it out, we decided to head to the bar since intermission was already about to start, and we couldn’t be seated during a song, only in between. I liked that policy actually, to prevent bothering other guests. But the rest of the things we noticed just didn’t match that thoughtfulness at all. There were only TWO bartenders working the bar at this event - I'm not sure if there is another bar somewhere but it seemed we were at the only one as I didn't see any others while hunting for our door. The line was huge and there was an extra staff member just telling people which line to follow as they got to the front. My thought - instead of having someone just stand around and direct people in line, why not have an extra bartender to actually make some drinks? That would have made the line go a lot faster! Then we get up to the bartender who mentions that THEY ARE TOTALLY OUT OF BEER. What!?! That woman directing the line couldn't have told us that way back there? In fact, there was the “line director” and someone going down the line to make sure people knew it was “cash only.” So two people could have been giving us the no-beer disclaimer! We were appalled. What a classy-looking joint with some real horrible service. No consideration for our enjoyment of the evening. Disheartened, we settled for wine and went to sit down. However, it took so long to get our drinks, that intermission was already ending and we practically had to chug them before going to sit down since drinks aren't allowed in the theater! Chugging beer may have been ok but wine isn't exactly a frat party drink. We tried leaving one glass outside on a table with a card on top, asking the door man if he could make sure no one threw it out. To his credit and our delight, that worked out and we were smug as we got out of the show amid everyone else, who were empty-handed.
Now, through all this poor experience, which made us none-too-excited to revisit the Disney Hall, once we got to our seats and sat down to watch the show, we were mesmerized! The minimal beauty and effortless cool (or shall I say, "je ne sais quoi") of the venue's aesthetic really highlighted Air's vibe. Our seats were pretty high up but with the risers being on such a vertical slope we were easily able to look down at the band and actually had a very nice view. The view was made even better by the fact that lights and video were being projected onto the stage from above, over the performers, making even the "nosebleed" section engaging. The effects were so perfectly timed and paced that they created an altogether psychedelic experience with the music. We were very happy in that theater, absorbed in a new world - the world according to Air.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience and definitely worth it. However, my expectations and fantasies for the Disney Hall were dashed to bits when nothing seemed to go right for us. The performance distracted us momentarily but I don't think we'll soon forget how the other parts of the experienced left such a horrible taste in our mouth.