Admittance to this event was provided at no cost to me. Please note that, as always, any personal opinions reflected in this post are my own and have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.
I have seen the band Hinder a good number of times. When I heard the band would be returning to my area again I was excited. When the Sept. 24 date and venue was announced, it turned out to be a venue I’d never been to – the bergenPAC. I was super excited to receive a pair of tickets to go see the show and check out the venue.
We arrived a little early for the show. If you’ve ever been to a live show you’ve probably seen the long lines that frequently precede admittance. We were pleasantly surprised to find free parking (after 6pm or on weekends) right across the street. And no big line! In we went.
bergenPAC stands for the Bergen Performing Arts Center. bergenPAC is a theater, just like one where you’d go sit in an auditiorium to see a play or musical or live stage show!
The theater originally opened as the Englewood Plaza movie theater on November 22, 1926. United Artists purchased the building in 1967 and kept the doors open through 1973, when it closed. Through the efforts of a group of local citizens under the leadership of John Harms, the John Harms Center came to life on October 10, 1976 with the performance of the Russian pianist, Lazar Berman.
John Harms was an organist and teacher that began his career as an impresario in 1941, arranging concert appearances in North Jersey of many famous and lesser-known artists. A one-man operation, he selected and booked performers, rented the performance space, wrote press releases, and personally telephoned or corralled over 1,200 contacts. His dream of a concert hall of his own became a reality when The Plaza came on the market. In the 1990s, two major renovation projects turned the Plaza into a modern concert hall and media facility, while preserving the vintage acoustics that made it a unique sought-after performance and recording site. The John Harms Center was one of the largest performing arts centers in New Jersey and the largest arts center in northern New Jersey. Its closing on April 14, 2003 left a gaping hole in the area’s cultural life.
In the fall of 2004, the 1,367 seat Bergen Performing Arts Center reopened the doors of the former John Harms Center, long considered one of the leading cultural institutions in North Jersey. Founded on April 30, 2003, a small group of dedicated individuals led by Frank Huttle III, were determined to preserve this special theater that had brought some of the world’s finest performing artists “right next door” for so many years.
Security getting into the venue was good. It’s sad to have to say that these days, but necessary.
Upon arrival we were ushered to our seats. The theater has an older vintage look and feel to it. I’ve been to lots of different shows. Invariably when you go to a show where everyone is standing, someone has a difficut time seeing what’s going on. That was not the case at bergenPAC. Everyone in the house gets a seat. Because these seats are arranged similar to that of a movie theater, there really aren’t any awful seats in the house. I was pleasantly surprised to find that even halfway back into the theater where we sat, we had a clear view of everything happening on stage.
Sound in the theater was terrific, better than I’d expected! I found the music to be loud enough for everyone to hear and enjoy without being so overpowering that it sounded distorted.
There’s a bar out in the lobby if you need something to drink.
The show started promptly.
The opening band was a Southern California band called Open Air Stereo.
Eleven years is a long time for any band to stay together, let alone for one band to finally see the release of their debut album, but for OPEN AIR STEREO (@OpenAirStereo), they wouldn’t have wanted it to happen any other way. The Southern California band–Chase Johnson (lead vocals), Nick Gross (drums), Scott Pounds (guitars), Evan Smith (bass)—released their PRIMATES debut album May 21 on Goomba Music and are gearing up for the long-awaited and much-anticipated activities to celebrate the new release that they’ve waited so long for.
Next up was Devour The Day, a newer band that I’d been hearing in rotation on SiriusXM Octane.
Devour the Day Formed in 2012, Devour the Day was born from the brain trust of Joey Chicago (Bass, Vocals, Songwriter) and Blake Allison (Lead Vocals, Guitar, Songwriter, Producer). After success with the band Egypt Central, Blake and Joey sought to break out on their own, writing and producing music without compromise.
The third band in the lineup was Candlebox, an old favorite of mine from a while back.
Candlebox is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. Since its formation in 1990, the group has released five studio albums, which have achieved multi-platinum and gold certification, as well as numerous charting singles, a compilation, and a CD+DVD. They found immediate success with the release of their self-titled debut album in July 1993. It featured some of the band’s biggest hit singles, including “Far Behind” and “You”, and was certified platinum by the RIAA four times.
The fourth and final band of the night was Hinder.
Oklahoma-based Rock band Hinder was formed in 2001 by drummer Cody Hanson, guitarist Joe “Blower” Garvey, and singer Austin Winkler. Their 2005 debut, Extreme Behavior, sold over three-million copies in the U.S., while its breakthrough single “Lips of an Angel” hit #1 on the Billboard Pop Chart. The record’s follow-up in 2008, Take it to the Limit, surpassed Gold status after debuting at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 with over 80,000 copies sold first week. Meanwhile, their third effort, American Nightmare, dropped in 2010. Along the way, the band has shared the stage on national tours with everyone Mötley Crüe and Nickelback to Papa Roach and Saving Abel. The band was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
We had a very enjoyable evening at the bergenPAC. Should a band we like schedule a show there we’d definitely return.
You can learn more about this historic venue on the bergenPAC website. You can also keep up with bergenPAC on social media, on Facebook and Twitter.
bergenPAC is located at 30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631.
Tickets are available through the website or through the Box Office (201) 227-1030.
I love the vintage feel of the theatre, it’s so pretty! I recently went to a concert where everyone had seats and it was such a nice change from having to stand all night and not being able to see everything.
Oh gosh this sounds so fun! The place you went is so cool looking. I love concert venues!
Oh wow, that looks like a great place to go see some shows or hear some music! What a load of fun!
I love going to concerts! This one looks really awesome too, and the venue looks like a really nice one as well. So glad you had a great time!
Sounds like a real good time. Have they been back since that show? Did you go see them again?
Sounds like a great time! I love the venue, looks really amazing and like it would be a fun place to see a concert!
What a fun show! The venue looks so much fun and the artists sound fabulous. What a great time.
The bergenPAC is HUGE! That is so cool that you got to see so many amazing bands! I love Hinder!
I would have loved to see this show. I really enjoy live events and this theater is beautiful.
This looks like an amazing venue. They are currently renovating an old venue in our town and it’ll be neat to go to live events there. A lot of thought has been put into the experience at bergenPAC!