Canalside has been one of the better developments in Buffalo over the past 10 years. It’s an extremely accessible outdoor venue for a whole bunch of different activities that finally take advantage of our waterfront. ‘Canalside Live’, formerly ‘Thursday in the Square’ is a very well attended series of Thursday evening concerts. They try to put a little something for everyone in the line-up, spanning multiple genres along the 3 months of Thursdays that the series run. The concerts traditionally were free up until this year when they decided to start charging $5 for attendance. A lot of people were kind of taken aback by the decision to start charging, but it was done for a reason – and if purchased in advance, the ticket came with a free drink – which costs $5 anyway – So it’s not really that big of a deal considering that I certainly would plan on having a beverage at the event. Some say the reason was to ‘keep the riffraff out’, who plagued some of the previous events. Some say it was to put a limit on attendance to keep the area ‘code-friendly’. Both are suitable reasons to me.

VIP tickets are now a thing as well – for $35 (and a hefty surcharge if purchased online – avoidable if purchased at the information kiosk down at Canalside) you can upgrade your experience, and gain access to a prime viewpoint. But what does the VIP experience include? Why spend the extra money- $35 is pretty hefty – what does it include? Well, with a little finagling through work, I was gifted 4 VIP tickets to the recent Ghostface Killah and Slick Rick show – (thank you!)

I know what some of you might be thinking (all 2 of you) – “Your last post was about country music – now you’re going to rap show? you crazy! ” Hey, I said that I had a diverse taste in music – why not prove it, right?  Here’s what the $35 VIP gets you, and I am here to tell you flat out that it is worth every penny.

• VIP entrance, you don’t need to wait in a long line. You’re still going to get searched, and all of the access rules of normal entry apply.

• You get a VIP bracelet that has 2 ‘free’ drink tags attached to it – good for any drinks, (credit $12 right off the bat)
• You get a souvenir cup, in the case – it was a heavy duty blue solo cup with the Canalside Live branding on it.
• You get access to the Honda tent, which has plenty of seating and lets you get out of the elements – if it’s too sunny or raining – you have cover.

 

• The Honda tent is stocked with food – last year, it was stocked by 716  and had wings and hot dips, but this year it was more snack food, which was fine, You don’t want to eat a super heavy meal, then go stand in a large crowd of people that are all jumping around – you would regret it – plus you might get the ‘itis’..  you know?  but look at all this action: you can keep bashing away at it too – no one is going to stop you – and they just keep coming out and piling up the good.

There were also chips and salsa/guac – but these huge platters were impressive!

• Priority drink service – If I was ever 2nd in line to get a drink, I didn’t remember. I was either first in line or 2nd in line when ordering a drink – which is worth the extra money if you ask me. I have waited for 15-20 minutes for a drink in the general admission areas of Canalside. (10-15 minute time credit per drink)

• Climate controlled rest rooms close to the stage. There weren’t aggressive lines for these rest rooms either. Portapotties are sufficient for getting the deeds done, but when it’s 85 degrees out and humid, and you walk into an air-conditioned, ventilated ‘flushable’ arrangement – it’s lovely – especially for the ladies.
• Prime viewing area – You can get right up close and personal to the action – with plenty of space. There’s plenty of space to set up a chair and relax, or you can get up close to the stage where there’s a dividing blockade between the general admission and the VIP area.

I’ll finish up now before giving you a handful of shots from the evening – the VIP pricetag is 100% worth the value – you don’t need to worry about your personal space being invaded, you have clean restrooms, there’s food, there’s drinks, there’s prime viewing area – some of those perks you can’t put a pricetag on. Yes it’s a little pricey, but here’s some quick math – $35 minus 2 drinks ($12 value) = $22 minus all you can eat snacks ($10 value) = $12 minus souvenir cup ($2 value) = $10 minus the value of zero wait for clean restrooms, drinks, prime viewing, covered chill out area… which you can’t put a price on…  it’s a wash folks!

 

How was the show? It was awesome! Slick Rick alone – ! cmon!