Words: Jodi Root | Photo: Clayton Huack

Maps and Atlases served as the perfect bait to lure me to my most (and quite frankly, only) anticipated field trip into Chicago’s Lincoln Park – the city’s newest venue, Lincoln Hall. While Maps & Atlases put on an incredible, entertaining set– thanks to Muzzle of Bees contributing Champaign writer Jon Stone, we already knew that. Instead of repeating his previous praise, I’d like instead to focus on the highlights (and there are many) and characteristics of this new musical hot spot destination.

10 Thoughts/Comments on Chicago’s newest music venue:

1. Nice Staff – No attitude whatsoever. As a frequent reviewer, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve encountered some form of self righteous chip on the shoulder ‘tude from the doorman, scoffing when I mention I’m “on the list.” It’s almost a battle of who’s cooler – the girl who claims to be on the band’s comp list (which I guess is me), or the man in charge of said list, who questionably glares at my ID for uncomfortable durations of time and finally either gives me privilege of entry or satisfyingly turns me away with a smirk. DEFINITELY not the case at LH. We were first greeted by the bouncer on the bar side who offered us wristbands in passing outside and then directed us to the man in charge of entry, who despite my drunken faux pas, (“Thanks ma’am!”), laughed me off and held no hard feelings. The staff at LH were not only helpful and quick to please, but more than ready to be at your assistance. Maybe it’s because the venue is so new and they’re still working things out, but it almost seems as if they’re overstaffed—from a guest standpoint this is in means a negative observation. I did not have to wait more than a minute to be served by the bartending staff, cocktail waitresses or nice door dudes. Everyone seemed happy to be there and help the crowd out. Kudos to you, Lincoln Hall on excellent service. I imagine the restaurant service is probably superb as well, word on the street is there’s a current special on half price mac n cheese, this might be my incentive to return in the near future. . .

2. Upstairs! — This area was probably my favorite part of the venue. Not restricted to VIP, any concert goer was welcome to explore the upper level of LH, either sitting in chairs lined along the balcony looking down on the stage (think Subterranean’s upstairs but bigger and with chairs or Metro if you shell out big bucks for the VIP chairs). If you wanted to relax, there were spacey booths with wooden table tops in the back area, a handful of four seater round tables scattered between the booth area and the upstairs bar, and plenty of standing room throughout. The brick walls, concrete flooring and overall set-up is a perfect chamber for the sound below—good view, good sound, a place to sit (and stash your coat). Cocktail servers frequent the tables regularly and it’s a good spot to chat with your friends between sets.

3. Reasonable Drink Prices — While it’s definitely not the cheapest option in Chicago, (Go Empty Bottle/Subterranean), drink prices were very competitive and affordable for a venue. You’re not going to find any skunky warm $6 party cups full of Miller Lite here. I may have only sampled the $3 pbr bottles, but regardless I’m a big fan of any venue I can get an actual bottle of beer, let alone for under $5. From speaking to other friends who have caught shows here, they’ve mentioned it’s very comparable to Schuba’s, with mixed drinks being slightly more expensive – I’d guess between $4-6 will get you a well. Keeping in mind that can’t even get you a beer at the Metro or Vic, this isn’t a bad deal at all.

4. Awesome View —From Everywhere! Not only is the upstairs area ideal for an overall view, the main floor is one of the most superb layout for vertically challenged concert goers such as myself as well. Since Lincoln Hall was a former movie theater, the space is wide, open and elevated similar to stadium seating almost. I could see from the side, in the back, and even crammed between a smelly pack of stoner kids. With no barricade to block those in front, it seemed like everyone had a decent spot in the house. There was so much space, I even walked into a brick labyrinth at one point, puzzled by the abundance of standing room and areas. Maps and Atlases brought out a decent sized crowd, so it speaks a lot of Lincoln Hall to still have so much extra space for viewers to enjoy. (No sweltering Empty Bottle/Double Door crowd pits here).

5. The Sound! — This should probably be at the top of the list since it’s so amazing and obviously the most important attribute to any musical showcase, but my way of thinking boycotts logic. Not too much to say, but due to the combination of awesome set-up, skilled sound crew, top notch sound equipment/system and whatever else magic the dudes at Lincoln Hall got going for them, the sound was amazing. Not ear bleedingly loud, but loud enough to still give you your bang for your buck. No feedback, distortion—just loud, clear and beautiful beats. I may have only caught one show thus far at LH, but the clear/crisp delivery of sound def gets my nod for either best quality in the city, or at least equally comparable to that of the Bottom Lounge. Good stuff.

6. Location – While I’m not exactly a fan of feeling like a senior citizen at age 26, (maybe I should quit with the 18+ shows?), I was able to get over the fact that Lincoln Hall is located in college central Lincoln Park. Albeit not my typical stomping grounds, the location is convenient and not at all difficult to navigate. No mystery busses or various transfers, Lincoln Hall is centrally located in the city, accessible via a variety of CTA bus routes and is a mere 5-minute stroll from the Red/Brown line Fullerton stop. With an address of 2424 North Lincoln, it’s also easy enough to remember despite a pregame of Charles Shaw merlot. Not the closest venue to my pad, (that award would go to Old Town School of Music or Aragon/Riv), but definitely easy, easy, easy to get to. The fact that it’s in such a populated area also made me comfortable walking alone home at night, instead of looking over my shoulder in a shady alley area, (Hello, Hideout), it was well lit and in a central part of the city. Definitely an incentive to return, especially in the upcoming frigid Midwest wintery months.

7. Aesthetically Pleasing, Overall Set-Up – This venue is definitely sharp. The concrete floors, wooden bar/tables, sleek/metallic everything else is just plain nice to look at. The venue is new, clean and yet to inherit any graffiti eyesores from patrons. I’ve described the concert hall area in a bit of detail, but the restaurant and main room is also pretty great. Two full bars and more table space than I’ve seen at any other musical destination. The main area also sports a comparable jukebox to that of sister-venue Schuba’s—rocking a variety of hipster cred from classics like Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic,” timely hipster soundtracks such as Karen O & The Kid’s Where the Wild Things Are, Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, some newer hip hop such as Jay’s BluePrint 3 and Kid Cudi, older staples like The Carpenters, and an eclectic collection of Cowbell compilations. . . not so sure about the latter, but hey, I’ll give them props for unique selection.

8. Nice Bathrooms — Not only were the restrooms clean and fully stocked, but I wasn’t terrified to use their toilets. The floors were clean enough for me to place my jacket on them as I washed my hands and the overall appearance was sleek and sanitary – the girl’s metallic bathroom sink was pretty sharp looking, with one communal basin, but one of two faucets was already out of order–only a month within being open. Oh well, hopefully they still have a warranty—not the end of the world.

9. Pizza joint across street! — While I feel bad pimping food for the neighboring restaurant when LH probably serves an incredible variety of meals in-house, a girl’s gotta give props where they’s deserved. We’ve all been in the post-show drinking haze, craving a cheap, quick and easy fix – and the pizza joint across the street Vini’s is just that. I’m sure their business will be booming in the coming months as LH grows in popularity – while I gleefully gobbled a jumbo slice of sausage and guzzled my soda under $4, my girlfriend nabbed an even more impressive combo of a slice/soda/fries under $5. Late hours, a plus.

10. No coat check – Only downgrade? — If you’ve ever been in Chicago between the months of November and March (or sometimes April, even), you know this part of the country isn’t exactly a winter getaway. Lugging around a heavy coat in a crowded show can be annoying and bothersome, to say the least. Jackets are sacrificed in hidden corners, shoved in booths or bathroom stalls, or if you’re responsible and have standards, carried bulkily in your arms. I was pretty surprised to find out that Lincoln Hall does not have a coat check or area to hang your jacket. It’s not even the bigger venues that rock the coat check (Metro, Riv, Vic), but smaller digs like Schuba’s and Subterranean also offer this service for a couple bones. Empty Bottle even one-ups them all with, *gasp*, free coat hooks. Not a deal breaker by any means, there’s certainly plenty of booth/table space to fling your jacket and it’s only cold for a quarter of the year (wishful thinking), but still, think about it Lincoln Hall, please? I want to visit you again in the nasty cold cold months.

Overall, as you can tell, I was sold with my experience last evening at Lincoln Hall. An excellent evening with super intricate, delectable nerd rock (Local outfit Maps & Atlases were quite the treat,) and wonderful guest services, (again, props to the nice door dudes, especially the one who didn’t hate after I drunkenly referred to him as ma’am), I already can’t wait to return. If you’ve been waiting on your chance to check out this new venue, wait no longer. Also, if you’re a tweethead, make sure to add them on twitter, @LincolnHall – they’ve been selling 2-for-1 ticket deals and have frequent giveaways and free ticket contests on their daily feeds as well as news on upcoming shows.

Discuss: What is your favorite music venue in your city? What separates them from the rest? If you’ve been to Lincoln Hall drop a comment with your thoughts/reviews on the new place.