Last night, Ryan and I trekked our way out to the Mid Florida Credit Union Ampitheater to see a concert. Let’s start with the name of this joint. First off, it changes names so often, I can’t keep track of what it’s being called now. During my time in Tampa, I can remember the Ford Ampitheater and my favorite, the 1-800-Ask-Gary Ampitheater (clearly this was NOT well thought out!). Anyways, I had snagged a pair of discounted tickets on Groupon a few weeks back to see 311, Sublime with Rome, Cypress Hill, G. Love and Pennywise.
Our tickets said doors open at 4:30 with the concert beginning at 5:00pm. Knowing there were plenty of different musical acts performing, we were in NO rush to get there early.By the time Ryan got back into South Tampa after work and we ate a little something, we made our way out along I-4 and arrived near the venue around 6:15. As we pulled up, the utter chaos ensued. The parking situation was a nightmare, with not a body in sight to direct the traffic on where to park. We drove around for a while past tailgates and mud pits (one of which had a junky old clunker stuck in it with a group of trashbags trying to push it out) until we settled on our spot. As we got out and began walking to the venue (which seemed like it was forever away), we noticed how we were clearly the outcasts in this clan of misfits. Most people were dressed in little to no clothing, carrying beverages of their choice (which we clearly dropped the ball on) and looked as though the needed a bath.
Once we traversed the mud pits and misfits, we made it to the entrance. Once inside, we made a b line for the BAR! Grabbing ourselves two Captain and Coke doubles set us back $28. I will say, the bartender had a heavy pour, so that was definitely a plus! Walking to our seats, we noticed that Live Nation workers were selling upgraded tickets. These were sold to “Lawn Ticket Holders” for $10 and it would upgrade them to an empty seat! Ryan and I both thought this was a GENIUS to have the opportunity to upgrade lawn seats during the show.
Our seats ended up being a really good steal. I realized after only being at this venue one other time that ALL seats have a great view of the stage. The show was awesome! Cypress Hill is still playing the same music they played decades ago, but Sublime had a new addition to their band, Rome. He is their new lead singer and he did a good job of keeping the crowd going. 311 was by far the icing on the cake! Although I was not a die hard fan prior to seeing them live, I have a new found love for the band and their music. We were right there, song after song, getting down and dancing to the awesome jams! By the end of the show, we were moving right along with the misfits we first were skeptical of!
All in all, it was another GREAT time had by this half of the NHIE team. In a perfect world, the Mid Florida Credit Union Ampitheater will clean up its grounds, get some parking attendants, get a more permanent and catchy name and start monitoring the drunks they let into the venue! My recommendation would be to grab yourself a ticket that fits your budget and head to the AMP for their next show! You WON’T be disappointed!
-Nicholas
NHIE Guys 