Jones Beach Amphitheater

The ampitheater at Jones Beach is nice, and decently maintained, minus the bathrooms of course. Although I did not attend for a seated concert, the areas were nice and the chairs were not falling apart which was a plus. During the day if you’re in the nosebleeds count on just seeing shadows and hearing the music as the screens obviously won’t do you any good until nightfall. Not a bad venue, would want to attend an assigned/​purchased seat concert to say further. Concessions are outrageous, as expected, and you are far better off quietly pre-​gaming and tail-​gating in your car before any show.

Just witnessed one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to in Neil Young at the Nikon on 21 Jul 15. Venue was amazing having spent the afternoon on the beach supping lager whilst listening to his sound checks. Down by the River was the standout song of the evening and I just can’t believe Neil is almost 70 — he is a force of nature.
Only fly in the ointment which has been well documented before and that’s food and beer overpriced in venue. Also word of caution make sure you bring ID as you can’t get a drink without one.

The Amphitheater is nice but let me tell you… the bathrooms are DISGUSTING!!! They have some lady in their sweeping the floor & wiping the sinks w/​a bathroom paper towel she does nothing else. The toilets were absolutely disgusting & deplorable… You had to walk all over to find a clean stall. You are also not aloud to bring drinks back to your seat which kinda stinks. Over all this place kinda sucks, the only thing it has going for it is the fact that it’s outdoors.

I’ve been here a few times and enjoyed myself. I like that it’s outdoors. It adds a different vibe to the concert experience versus going to a place like MSG. The ride there is pretty smooth from Queens and there’s usually very little traffic if you are catching an evening show. The parking is free. The line moved quickly and the ticket takers were friendly. They have nice visual displays so you can still see what’s going on even if you are not in the front row. The negative part of being outside is that the sound lacks acoustics but it was cute to see the little swans and ducks swimming over to check out what was going on at the show. There’s appropriate height between tiers so you can still have a good line of sight even if the person in front of you stands up but to be fair I saw much less standing at this venue than many other concert venues I’ve been to. I guess Long Islander’s are more into sitting back and relaxing. Lot’s of singing along going on. Taking a video of the performance without it sounding like you are in a kareoki bar is next to impossible but that’s okay.
Downsides are walking up and down a lot of stairs. Long wait for the bathrooms. Consession stands are expensive but that’s everywhere. They don’t serve alchohol unless you are in VIP so be sure to pregame as much as you can in the parking lot and on your walk there from your parking space. Due to that fact there’s a huge problem with litter on the road to get to the Theater. Bottles, cans, garbarge everywhere from inconsiderate people that can’t be bothered to use the trash cans. They could definitely use more trash cans along the way.

Summer concerts are great if you have decent seating. They do a lot with the space they are working with. A warm summer night can’t be beat if you’re here to see a good show. I’ve seen many concerts here over the years and all of them, rain or shine, have been great! The parking lot can be a bit messy to get out of following shows, but you just need a little patience and you’ll be fine!

We had a blast last night at Jones Beach for the Chicago & REO Speedwagon Concert! The parking sucks, bet we met some great people too!
The new OAsis Bar is pretty cool too but the prices are ridiclously high!

Saw Jimmy Buffett here last night. NO BEER. What a joke. You have to pay extra to get into a VIP area which doesn’t have a view of the stage. Go elsewhere if you want to have a few cold ones while watching a show