Outside
Ballroom
outside
Christmas lights
a crowd of people at a concert
Balcony
outside
the front of the club
Ballroom
outside
the ceiling of the ballroom
Stage
interior
outside
interior
The building at night
Handed this at the door
outside
Ballroom
outside
outside
Michael W.
Jul 18, 2024
On the bill this visit, Jagwar Twin and 30 Seconds to Mars. HUGE thanks to The Rave for always being good to their fans; and a solid shout out to Milwaukee, for being one of the best no fuss no muss cities to see live music in. What has changed? $40 Rave parking and $15 dollar beers. I get that it's an old building and needs a LOT of work and The Rave need to pay for that somehow; but Jesus. The good news is that if you show up early enough, there is plenty of free street parking during certain times of the year and day. During the summer, The Rave fence in the front parking lot and have food and beverage vendors in tow which is a real nice touch to be able to hang outside before the show and get a bev and a bite. It is also nice that they have kept The Penthouse (rooftop) open to the public so everyone can enjoy the beautiful views from up there. And kudos to the plant people that have provided all the lovely flora up there that help make it that much more of an oasis, even for smokers ;) Everywhere you look you can tell that The Rave really is putting in the work to make the venue better and better. The most unsightly aspect upon arrival honestly is the heat/air tubes that snake the outside of the building still; but as a person who has previously owned a turn of the century home, I get it! The production crew in the big room do a great job, but no matter what crew or equipment you put in that big room, the sound never will be any better than it ever was, it just is what it is for that room, an orange will never be an apple.Know that the big room bars and outside bars are very BUD influenced at the moment. If you want more variety, you will need to visit the craft bar on the second floor, plenty of bathrooms to be had on all floors. About the show, Jagwar Twin I had never heard of before but I was glad I caught his set. On spotify he is more rappy, but live, he rocked his trio up, between that and his looks, the crowd definitely perked up. Jared and Mars did not disappoint, with a high energy performance that incorporated members of the audience. A HUGE shout out to Joel who came 'this' close to stealing the show ;)Apparently there is a Rave app now? I have not downloaded it yet but be sure to check it out.
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Angela P.
Jul 26, 2023
Been enjoying concerts at the Rave for 17 years!!!Just know it's standing room mostly, your going to get hot and sweaty especially if it's hot outside so dress accordingly and hydrate ;)
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Cindy E.
Sep 21, 2023
The venue itself is not in the best area. When waiting in line I definitely did not feel the safest. I do know that they have food available however we did not eat. So I can't rate that. I do know they had a good selection of drink options but I stuck with water. Inside the venue itself it's spacious but very dark and if you have VIP you have to go up a number of flights of stairs that are not well lit. The show that we saw was great the production value was wonderful. We do have another concert here next week but knowing what I know now and given my own vision issues and mobility issues I don't know that I would choose to attend a concert at this venue in the future if there were somewhere else that I could feasibly see it.
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Charley B.
Mar 8, 2023
This is an older building that's been semi rehabbed into a concert venue.The ballroom is on the top floor, so be prepared to walk up some stairs. I didn't see an elevator, however the venue had a number of staff members helping guide you through the building. There's a good chance one of them can point you to an elevator if you need it.The ballroom holds around 3,500 people, however it's large enough that you won't feel cramped. Sight lines are all right. Sound is surprisingly good. I thought the low end might bounce a bit because of the ceilings, but the engineers did a good job.There are several small bars. They can back up a bit depending on the crowd and location.I wish there were more merch stands. The ones I found were shoehorned and uneasy to view and access.The building includes several other smaller rooms that host a variety of events. You might be directed to one of these rooms depending on who you're coming to see.
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Brian M.
Nov 3, 2022
For the number of times I've been to The Rave I find myself shocked I haven't thrown a review out for it yet. The Rave is most definitely a historic Milwaukee venue. The building has that haunted castle appeal about it. Is it a dive? Absolutely. Is it one heck of an awesome venue to see a concert? Absolutely. The Rave is an iconic facility that has hosted some of the largest artists that were on their way up. The ballroom is large, but yet has a close feel about it. The building accoustics offer up some great sound. Drinks are a little on the pricey side, but that's to be expected at a metro music venue.Probably shouldn't forget - the place is DEFINITELY haunted.
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Lisa N.
Jul 27, 2023
This was my second experience at The Rave and Alexandra Kay did a fabulous job on the smaller Rave Bar stage. But MAN was it hot, like actual temperature. The crowd and staff and performance were all fantastic (of course it's a concert venue so expect venue prices at the bar) but I was so glad the smaller stage was so close to the front door as I spent much of the night outside taking breaks and cooling off. But what a great spot to see an artist in an intimate setting.My previous experience was in the largest of the venues within the Rave, the Eagles Ballroom. I splurged that time for the VIP balcony with seating. And it was in the middle of winter, hence me not being aware of there not being air conditioning. But we had a really good time. Even in the balcony you feel close to the stage.And the sound in both was fantastic.Pro tips, check their website regularly to enter giveaways and always note whether it's an all ages or over 21 show if you're not of age!
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Kate M.
Mar 27, 2023
Such a cool, historic venue in Milwaukee! I had the pleasure of visiting The Rave for the Kelsea Ballerini concert earlier this month and had a blast! The Rave is a gritty, old concert venue. To be honest, these are my favorite. After doing some research, I learned this is actually a 1920s venue, which is so cool! There was a combination of snow and rain when we were arriving, but I was so happy to see that there was no line outside (which is usually the case at Chicago venues). The line for tickets was actually INSIDE! Because The Rave has more than one concert space, there was two concerts happening at once. Despite this, the staff working still managed to get folks through the door quickly and efficiently. Huge kudos to them! The actually concert space was huge!! I loved some of those early 20s structures that are still in place and added lots of character. Acoustics were on point and the concert was fantastic!! Yes, it's grungy and a little dirty, but a really great concert venue. Would definitely recommend seeing someone here if you can!
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Kelly P.
Mar 24, 2024
Saw KMFDM here a few weeks back. Venue was great. A little small but good size for concerts. I like that it has a separate bar area in case you need a break. Drinks were OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. A tequila shot with sprite was $19.
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Kerri W.
Dec 23, 2024
The haunted holiday tour was not really haunted. Putting up some macabre decor does not count, so it's really misleading. Most, not all, of the employees were on their phones and not interacting with any of the people on the tour. Yes, it's self-guided, but those around should be able to answer questions or at least look up at you. Definitely not worth $45 a person. A big disappointment.
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Llll L.
Sep 23, 2024
DO NOT COME HERE. I saw sleeping with sirens here 9/22/24 and it was literally the worst concert experience of my life. We waited in line outside in the freezing cold and pouring rain for 5 hours and were cut in line by a girl who said she would be going to the back and never did. Security just did not care. She literally cut to the front of the line, hundreds of people who had been waiting outside for hours. The actual concert venue was TERRIBLE -- we could not make out anything anyone was saying on stage because the acoustics were so bad.THE WORST PART OF THE NIGHT was the moshing. when you scan your ticket to enter you're given a card that says no moshing. but the opener told the crowd to mosh and I and so many others were thrown around, slammed up against other people, we literally could not breathe. many girls in the crowd were freaking out because we were all slammed up against each other and people were shoving, elbowing, etc to get up front.At one point a girl literally cut in front of me in the pit, elbowed me and shoved me to keep cutting others off to get to the front, when she continued shoving people we all yelled to get her to go back to the back and then she started to literally fight me lol. I was actually yelling because she was hurting me. she was swinging and shoving me into other people. When I yelled for security they just said to her, "people are saying you're pushing" she said "no i'm not" and that was it. they should have kicked her out, we were all yelling at her to stop shoving people to get to the front and then she just started swinging at me and others. Both me and my boyfriend were physically hurt.SECURITY DOES NOTHING AGAINST UNSAFE ACTIVITY IT IS NOT SAFE HERE. DO NOT COME HERE
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