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Thanks to EventChaser and RazorGator, a friend and I had the opportunity to attend the Regina Spektor concert in Houston, Texas recently! We received a pair of great Concert Tickets! It was so exciting and incredible! I had never been to the Verizon Wireless Theater before so it was all new to me especially having seen Regina Spektor (who I love!!) for the first time.

Verizon Wireless Theater Information
520 Texas St/Ave (sometimes it says its St but it’s actually Ave)
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 230-1666

Verizon Wireless Theater – Google Maps

There are TONS of great things near the venue that you can do before/after the event.

Attractions Within Walking Distance of Verizon Wireless Theater
Angelika Film Center and Cafe I’d advise you to look up the movies/times beforehand in case you want to catch a movie. I’ve been to Angelika Film Center and I love it, I’m sure you will too. It’s fairly small though and so are most of the auditoriums. That’s where I saw Slumdog Millionaire last November at a screening and it was incredible! It’s a small, clean, and peaceful theater.

Hard Rock Café is right next to the venue so if you’re hungry you might want to consider the Hard Rock before a concert!

Harlon’s Bar-B-Que, Mingalone’s Italian Bar & Grill and Banzai Sushi Bar and Restaurant are also great spots near the Verizon Wireless Theater

Houston, Texas Attractions
Houston Aquarium
Jones Hall
Minute Maid Park

Hotels near Verizon Wireless Theater
Lancaster Hotel
701 Texas St, Houston, TX
713-228-9502

Doubletree-Allen Center
400 Dallas St, Houston, TX
713-759-0202

Hyatt Regency
1200 Louisiana St, Houston, TX
713-654-1234

Hotel Icon
220 Main St, Houston, TX
713-224-4266

Parking at Verizon Wireless Theater
There’s a parking lot that charges different rates depending on how long you’ll be parked. It’s 1 or 2 blocks away from the venue. I’ve parked there before and it’s $7 bucks for 2 hrs. This time I didn’t park, I was dropped off because it’s so much easier that way. I noticed there were other people who did the same. Cabs, friends, or family, it is recommended to get dropped off especially if you want to save money. It gets pretty dark outside so if you decide to park your car some place semi-far from the venue …well, I hope it doesn’t get stolen. Doesn’t happen often but you never know right?

I would not particularly recommend this venue. If the artist you want to see is performing elsewhere, you should definitely go see them there not in Verizon. My experience would have been so much better if it was in another venue. Either way, Regina Spektor was incredible!

Songs I remember her performing:

• Us
• Fidelity
• Ode to Divorce
• Folding Chair
• Blue Lips
• The Calculation
• Laughing With
• Eet
• Hotel Song
• Bobbing for Apples
• Dance Anthem of the 80’s
• That Time

At some point she brought in a cute white chair and told us how two little girls gave her that chair right there in Houston, TX a few years ago! It was really great; she was drumming on the chair and everything. Gosh she was incredible!! The crowd loved her and vise versa. After finishing with her last song we of course wanted an encore! She came back on stage and performed about 4 more songs including my all time favorite Us. The crowd was not moshing or anything crazy like that, just enjoying the wonderful music.

Regina also sang a hilarious song about eyes. I had never heard it before but it was incredibly entertaining. She sang something like, “You shouldn’t trust someone with blue eyes but then again, I have blue eyes.” I was so excited to see Regina, I just adore her and her music so much and never before had I gotten the chance to see her here in Houston. I had really amazing seats even if I couldn’t see her very well. It was all such a great, amazing experience. If Regina Spektor is touring near you, GO SEE HER! You will not regret it. It was such a great concert it almost seems like a dream. I just loved it that much!

The venue opens at 7:00 PM. There is not really a lot of traffic around that time so do not worry too much about that. If you are starting your trip around 5:00 pm for whatever reason then you will run into traffic, be sure to check the news/internet beforehand just in case. We arrived a bit before 7 and already there was a line of about 20 people. There are not really any places to sit (if you prefer/have to sit) while waiting other than a few stairs a few feet away. Some of the stairs are under a huge tree always full of birds. You know what birds tend to do? Poop. So be careful! Just look at the ground and you will know which places to stay away from.

I recommend getting to the venue early especially if you plan on buying merchandise like I did. They sold Regina Spektor and Jupiter One merchandise. Her t-shirts were $20 bucks each (a grey one with the album cover, a purple one with trees and RS’s name on it, and the same one in white), there was a cute grey jacket for $40 bucks, cd’s, Regina Spektor drum sticks, and more goodies.

The concert started at 8:00 PM like stated on the tickets. The folks that opened up for Regina Spektor were Jupiter One. I did not like them at all and it really didn’t seem like many of the audience members liked them that much either. Their music sounds nothing similar to Regina Spektor’s at all so I have no idea why they opened up for her. Usually the opening act’s music is similar to the artist/s headlining.

If you don’t like the opening act and you want to kill some time, you will most likely want to stand in the merchandise line (can get a bit long) or get food inside if you haven’t eaten already. I recommend you get food before getting inside the venue. They won’t let you back in by the way. You should get food beforehand because their food is expensive and NOT worth the price. They also have beer and other drinks, but again, those are quite a pretty penny so I suggest having a couple drinks before the concert.

It is all a small place and I’m sure that even if you get seats up there, you will be able to see really well. The green parts are the seats located on the first floor right in front of the stage. I sat on 102 seats 1 and 2 (my friend). Here’s a really important tip. When purchasing your tickets for this venue do NOT get seat numbers 1-10 or so because if you think you will be able to see an artist’s face behind a piano from section 102 seat 2, you are so very, very wrong. Man, I love Regina Spektor and for ¾ of the show I could only see her eyes because the piano covered her all up. We were only about 10 feet away from her- which is incredible- but we could not see a thing!!

I’m assuming that piano is only there when a pianist is performing, so if you are going to this venue to see a pianist, trust me, and get seats numbered 10 and up if you are sitting on section 102. You will also be able to see the pianist very well if you sit on sections 103, 106 (albeit a bit far away), or any of the balcony seats. You will HATE sitting on sections 101 and 104 especially. A lot of people in the right side of section 102 and 105 (including me), section 101, 104 complained that they could not see Regina Spektor. Thankfully she got up and performed on her beautiful aquamarine guitar and without it. We could all finally see her then and man, was it awesome! She is so cool and hilarious! The venue was a bit cool so I recommend at least bringing a light sweater.

Again, thank you EventChaser and RazorGator for the amazing opportunity, I loved every minute of hearing and seeing Regina Spektor!!

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