The Complex

One of the best venues in Utah!!! I’ve been to plenty of shows here and definitely prefer hip hop and edm shows. They have four different rooms depending on how big the show is. It’s easy to get drinks since they have a few bars to get them from, bar tenders are quick, security is great, and bathrooms are large and clean. I’ll be attending more events soon.

It was my first time seeing a concert here. It could be great but wasn’t. Its a stand up venue only. As usual people come early to get an up close spot only to have those who arrive as the headliner starts think they need to be at the front. Really tonight is the day you find out the facts folks. After two hours it got really annoying trying to hold your space. I think they could add some seats in the back For those who don’t want to stand up for four hours. If this happened I would return until then I like reserved seats and even if I love the artist I will wait until they play in a venue with seats even if it’s on the grass you can sit down.

A good warehouse venue to check out a band. Pretty large place and the acoustics are impressive. If you want to take a break from the music you can step outside for a minute or head to the back of the venue for a breather. No complaints, but nothing over the top and not the best venue I’ve been to, hence the three stars.

There are some good and bad things about this venue, I like how open it is so no mater where your standing you can see the concert and its big enough to accommodate larger crowds, bathrooms are huge and seemed very clean, and they have a snack bar which im sure its good for the youngsters, but the bar situation is ridiculous, its all the way down a long hall no where near the concert, you have to watch it on tv moniters, the lines are so long by the time you get a drink the concert is over, yes they do have a beer garden and the prices arent to outrageous but im not a beer lover. Will definatly come back I did enjoy the overall place.

As concert venue in SLC, not too bad. The music sounds good– which is why I didn’t give them only 1 star.
The only drinks available to the fans watching shows are huge cans of beer (yuck). The waste they generate is 100% recyclable. And yet they pile up and overflow from the garbage cans around the venue. I asked the bartender if they had any place to recycle and he said no. Come on, don’t send that to a landfill. It is 2015! It is outrageous that they do not have bins for recycling. Give your patrons recycling bins so that our children and grandchildren will be able to live on a beautiful green musical world.

Reading past reviews inspires me to write a review on this.
Maybe it’ll be my straight edge elitism talking but I never understood why people whine about the bars if venues and the laws surrounding it? If you want to drink, stay home and listen to your music. If you don’t want to get sweaty at a CONCERT. Stay home.
Now on to the actual review. The complex is actually one of my preferred venues for bigger shows. There’s multiple rooms in the venue. I’ve been to the grand room and the Rockwell. The grand is the smaller one holding about 850 people I believe and the Rockwell fitting about 1,500 people? Maybe more.
I’ve seen all kinds of genres here. Hip hop, EDM, hardcore, indie etc. Both of the stages are pretty tall so I think indie, hip hop shows are more enjoyable here. Specially with a nice setup of lights and effects on stage (childish gambino, lights) not as enjoyable for hardcore or pop punk shows.
I’ve seen complaints about the security I’m a little bit iffy on that. I’ve had really nice security help me out and wanna be tough guys harass me. I think it depends on what promoter is putting on the show. I haven’t had any horrible experiences yet.
Parking is a headache. There’s a couple spots in front of the venue but not completely sure if it’s legal to park there. I’d say to park in the gateway parking lot as you’d have to just walk about 3 minutes and its much safer.
The complex is one of the better venues in Utah If an artist you like comes through.

I went and saw Death Grips here with my boyfriend a few days ago, and we had a blast! This venue is a good size, standing room only with a balcony I saw behind me but didn’t look into. The bathrooms were clean. the bar was clean and the bartender (Emily) was fast and friendly. Actually, that could be said about all the staff. The people that worked there were professional and amicable, just doing their jobs. No complaints, I would definitely see another show here!

This one’s tricky as this place really encompasses the whole range of the human condition… my most recent visit was one of the strangest shows I’ve ever been to. Aside from the weird variety of music (Pendulum), the experience with the venue was just odd. We didn’t even really need tickets… we just walked in and it was kind of like why did I even pay $ 20 when really it was a free event? They gave out free water, that was awesome! So many other places could learn from this and that definitely gives them a lot of points. The venue itself was kind of a disorganized mess and it didn’t even really seem like there was security around. The crowd at this show went from downright awful (17 year old bros; I didn’t even think such a thing was possible, but the pubescent pheremones of moshing children out past curfew trying to rub up on whatever random piece of ass/​boob/​flesh they could get was unmistakable) to actually really good (mostly older people with good vibes who knew/​enjoyed the music). I want to be clear how terrible the crowd was, it wasn’t just Salt Lake crowd bad, it was some next level stuff. At one point, an obviously high teenager came up to my friend, looks at her chest and says «I like your boobs» What!!! The sound quality was fine and once the area started to clear out, there was plenty of room to dance. I’ve been to a few shows here, but none in which the music, crowd, and general mood took a 180 from some of the worst to actually not so bad. I’d recommend going to a show with music at least two generations older than the current brand so that you might have a halfway decent time.

Great venue for concerts and events. I’ve seen many shows here and it’s always clean, the acoustics are good, the bathrooms are huge (no waiting in line), and the bartenders are friendly and fast. I just wish they would get ALL the shows in SLC because I’m sick of going to dumpy venues like the one a couple of blocks away…

The Complex is pretty much as good as it gets as far as warehouse concert venues go; translation it’s just one big open room with not much for acoustical treatments save for a few panels slapped on the walls here and there. That being said, the spot is pretty decent for seeing live shows. You enter the complex from the West side of the building and then depending upon which show you are seeing (they can have 2 going on at once), you either go left or right. In the middle is where they have the merch tables for both sides as well as some concession stands. Security was pleasant enough both outside and inside the venue and they definitely kept their cool while dealing with the angry youth of Salt Lake.
Being that this is Utah, expect some local rules to be in effect such as alcoholic drinks only allowed in the roped off bar area. I see this as a benefit since the floor in front of the stage will remain relatively clean and dry. From what I could tell walking in, the parking seemed kind of limited at the venue so I recommend taking the Trax to Gateway and then walking a couple blocks to the venue; just keep in mind that when you leave, the public transit is likely shut down and cabs are few and far between at this location.

Came here after spontaneously deciding to go see First Aid Kit with a friend. Never heard of them before but since my friend knew I love indie girl bands he extended the invite.
Finding the venue itself was a little confusing, there was no designated parking it seemed so we parked down the street and the entrance was between two open gates. The only reason we found it actually was because there were people smoking in front who told us. Maybe there is a second/​formal entrance who knows. Once you get past the warehouse-​looking exterior, inside it is a pretty decent-​sized venue. The perfect size for an intimate concert.
I love the fact that they serve tall cans of PBR at the bar (about $ 7)and a balcony that you could hang out on while drinking. There seems like there is no ventilation or something because the bar area got extremely hot!
My main qualm is the way they distributed the space. The main stage is in a small room that is longer, than it is wide so everybody is herded in like cattle when the music starts playing while the outer room is completely empty. I think this venue has the potential to be amazing if some minor remodeling was done. Just my two cents!
The music itself was amazing 5 stars. but due to the cramped layout, it dulled the overall experience.

Great people. Large venue that is almost more of a maze.

Small building where everyone is cramped and security hugs your back all night, even with a good artist this venue was terrible.

The Complex is a decently large venue in SLC. The beau and I were in town and snagged tickets to a much anticipated alt-​J show during our visit.
It didn’t look like there was much formal parking for the venue, but lots of side streets around the area were available, as well as loads of space at the Gateway Mall just a short walk away.
The venue itself (for this particular show) opened at 7pm, and the first act went on at about 8pm. Getting into the place was a total wreck, it was a way bigger turnout than we’d expected and I’m pretty sure met the 1500 person capacity of the building.
I was not a huge fan of the venue, it was large and very flat so with a 1500 person crowd it becomes impossible to get a good spot to really enjoy the experience.
Leaving the stage area was also a huge pain in the neck as there was only one double door to exit from and it became a huge (and very unpleasant) bottleneck with the large crowd.
The adult bevy’s were pretty fairly priced (I’m used to SF prices, so 7 $ for a ‘top shelf’ choice was A-​OK, despite the very controlled pours that Utah is known for).

I like concert venues to have some sense of intimacy and style; this place has neither. It’s just a big building with a stage. Both times I’ve been here I feel like I’m a cow in a warehouse rather than a guest in an entertainment venue. I wish they had a nice outdoor area, some seats in the back, some windows in the front, but alas, none of those things are ever going to happen.

Even with this venue somehow booking some of my favorite hip hop bands I will never come back. Horrible general/​bar layout, not to mention if you do expect to drink your alcohol and watch the show at a table its $ 20 extra per person… they call that VIP. Everyone, do yourselves a favor and don’t waste your money checking this place out.

The Complex is a windowless black box of a music venue near the Gateway Mall. Great thought: Let’s get some bands to play in an indoor space. However, after a 100 degree day in SLC, add several hundred people and cram them into an un-​airconditioned room to hear an up and coming national group, and well, the comfort level isn’t there. Add to this sparse seating and you have a venue that would make anyone feel like a sardine in a very hot tin can. I don’t like feeling like a sardine. And yeah, with that many people, it kind of got smelly, too.
The sound system was cranked up way too high, offering much distortion, which took away from an otherwise good show. Hello, mixer dude? Do you hear what we hear? I spent most of the concert in the food foyer, where the sound was better and the temperature cooler.
Surprisingly, the Complex does not gouge concert goers on food and beverages. $ 2 for water, $ 3 for Life Water, $ 3 – 5 for energy drinks. $ 3 for a small slice of pizza. And yes, there was beer: Bud Light.
Oh, and the person I was with asked if there was ADA seating.
«What’s that?» asked the door man.
Um, «For those with disabilities.»
«Oh, no. But if you want us to find a chair for you, ask us later.»
Suggestions:
1. Educate your staff on ADA.
2. Add seating.
3. Turn on the air conditioner. Or sell paper fans.

The bars are so small you have to wait 30 mins to get a drink and the sound system sucks. Bands sound better at a high school talent show.
I truly hope insane clown posse burns the building down and they build a Walmart there instead!

Time for an update. I admit it, I was wrong.
I attended another show at this venue and discovered that there are multiple venues in one, and the entire concert area we were in last time was transformed into a giant bar.
They still segregated the 21+ crowd from the kids, but at this show this was welcomed. The DJ set was streamed into the 21+ side on huge projection screens and everyone was dancing so it was still fun.
Drinks are still served in plastic cups, or test tubes, your choice. Drinks are pricey but that goes along with any show. Servers were on top of everything and very friendly.
Bathrooms in the main lobby area were a godsend. I’ve been to other shows (I guess you’d say raves but that sounds so trivial) at other venues and have to wait in line for the bathroom for over 30 minutes. Not the case at the Complex. Tons of brightly lit stalls and clean.
I would definitely attend another show here and I hope they continue to book more house/​dubstep/​trance shows here.

Checked out a show here a week ago and thought it was alright. The size is perfect for a lot of band that can’t fill up saltair but are too big (or don’t want to play at) for In the Venue. The problems have to do with the sound not being changed during the bands set. They kept screaming for something to be done, but nothing got changed. They changed the lyrics of one of their songs to «The sound guy sucks!» The bar is also on the second level and very tiny. There were 60 or so people crowded into an area that is meant for 20.
Not the worst venue… but certainly could be better.