Davies Symphony Hall

Visited Davies Symphony Hall for the first time to attend Studio Ghibli. Ticket check in once doors opened was smooth and easy. Got them scanned at the entrance and walked on in. Before making your way to your seats, there is a beautiful multilevel lobby space where you can hang out and order drinks from a bar. The space wraps around the shape of the building. Made our way to our seats in the auditorium. This space was also stunning. Elegant, refind, and a mix of modern and classical design. From our seats in the orchestra, I found that the sound was well amplified. Growing up watching Studio Ghibli, it was incredibly surreal to see Joe Hisaishi live. The whole time, memories of my childhood popped up while listening to the music.

I've been to countless symphonies here over the decades.Went recently and it was all decked out for Día de los Muertos.Acoustics are great here. Every seat (even the nosebleeds) is guaranteed to be a great audio experience.The only caveat is when amplified music (like rock) is being performed. It doesn't translate well in the hall. But, most of the time (except during the summer pops programs) you don't have to worry about that.If you aren't into classical music you can still checkout the Summer Pops, Christmas Holidays and Film series. Each of these performances tend to be contemporary in nature and may or may not include the symphony.Pro tip. If the crowd gets too heavy exiting out the front entrance, turn around and exit out of the Van Ness street side. Usually hardly anyone is walking out those doors.

Always a wonderful time to visit SF Symphony. Today we came for the Colors of Christmas, which has become an annual event. This year the dates were a week earlier than in past years, so we were a little disappointed to not be able to see the Christmas trees being decorated by the schools in the Bay Area. However, on one of the top floors, you can walk out on the balcony and have a great view of the surrounding buildings including City Hall and along Van ness road. Always a wonderful place to visit during the festive season.

I don't remember too much about the first time I went to Davies Symphony Hall. I recall it was in elementary or one of my young days school field trips. But I have been here a few more times while I've been an adult. A couple times for Final Fantasy Orchestra music which was fantastic. Another time for a Bach symphony. This latest time we went for Encanto in Concert.L O C A T I O NDavies Symphony Hall is located relatively around City Hall. If you go at least an hour to half an hour in advanced, we luckily found street parking a few blocks away! It was pretty cheap for 3-4 hours. Can't complain as it was in a safe area and it wasn't $20.The entrance is located off of the side street. They didn't actually do any bag checks which was weird and I'm bummed because I really wanted to bring a bottled water. I think since it was a show that's more for kids, they weren't as strict.I N S I D EDepending on your seats, you have to climb some stairs but there are elevators. There were areas to buy drinks and snacks.Note that Loge seating gives you a separate area where there's additional waiting area seating as well as your own bar/drinks area. We didn't know so we ended up not partaking. I believe there's also a restroom in the area.We sat in the second Row of Loge on Section J which was nice because Row A which is the first row had a bar which kind of blocked the view.I'm sure any seat would've been good as the sounds inside the hall resonates pretty well.S H O WSo specifically for this show, it was fun. They had one intermission. But at times I wondered, it feels like I'm just watching a movie....but more expensive. Ha! Oh well, it made us go out of the house which is good and sometimes, the price is worth the experience.O V E R A L LDefinitely nice to go out to the city to see a show. Any seat is good so feel free to get the nose bleeders unless you REALLY want to see the movie or the folks on stage. But overall, good venue with good sound.

Gorgeous building especially at night. We scored last minute tickets to see Amadeus. Though our seats were last row in the balcony, I did not mind them at all. The movie was made more lovely with the accompanying symphony. Warning, drinks and food are quite pricey! I did not expect the event to be 3 hours long. Parked at the underground garage nearby for $17.

I attended a showing of Encanto with music by the San Francisco Symphony. I ordered my tickets online and had them mailed to me. It wasn't immediately clear which entrance to use. For some reason, everyone has to enter near the box office even if they already have tickets. Makes things a bit crowded right before the doors open. The elevators are slow enough to make you wonder if they ate working before they arrive.I found my seat, and it had a good view. The seats are a bit old, and as is standard in most theaters, they aren't very wide. It was a decently comfortable seat.The Orchestra itself was wonderful. I'd gladly seen another concert or movie with concert here. They had great energy and enthusiasm, and it looked like they were having fun with the music.At intermission I sought out food and drinks. The line for food was very long. It took most of intermission to wait on it. I ordered a sandwich and a soda. I ate half my sandwich and was about to head back in, but then I was told no eating in the theater. They did allow me to close the box and bring it with me, after offering to hold the food for me.They should have signs near the food stands warning people they only have intermission to eat. They offer main courses, but there's no time to eat them. I didn't see if the food stands were open before the show. If so, that would be the better time to eat as the doors open an hour before showtime.There are doors from the second tier that open onto lovely balconies with great views. Be sure to take a look.Overall, it was a great evening. I'd return, though I'd love to see a few minor organizational and signage changes.

An absolutely magical experience here when seeing the live orchestra play Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was my first time seeing a film concert series and it blew me away. At some points, I was so immersed that I forgot there was an orchestra playing!The venue is beautiful and everything was very clean. Bathrooms were easy to find and access. I was seating in Loge L, I believe, and it was perfect. They sell food and drinks at the bar and snack bar in the lobby, but they're pretty overpriced, as expected. If possible, I recommend taking a pass on the food. (Tip: There's free water dispensers and cups around the bar, so please don't make the mistake of buying water like I did.)The orchestra did an amazing job! The conductor encouraged the audience to cheer for our favorite characters and the audience engagement was amazing and made everything so much more fun. Would definitely come back again!

This place has a lot of history to it, and of course, home of the world-renowned SF Symphony, it is ideally set up for musical performances, with acoustic panels along the ceiling and other architectural details inside the auditorium. But I didn't come here for a concert this past weekend. Instead, we attended "Whose Live Anyway?" The show included hilarious performances by beloved cast members from the improv series, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, including Greg Proops, Drew Carey, and my fave, Ryan Stiles. It was unpredictable, exciting, and inappropriate in all the right ways, and had me laughing my ass off the entire time. Laura Hall, the original pianist for the comedy series, showcased her musical talents on stage as part of the show, demonstrating just how phenomenal the sounds are at Davies Symphony Hall. Seats are simple yet comfortable, no cupholders, but a good amount of legroom (I sat in row C in front of the stage). There are also high tables and a bit of seating in the lobby, where they sell snacks and beverages on event day. I tried the Beautiful Blues specialty cocktail, and it was decent and pretty strong in alcohol. Service was quick and efficient, and the line moved quickly at the bar. I know I'll be back to watch the SF Symphony perform here in the future, but for now, I'm left with the memory of a good ol' hoedown about the fog (suggested by an audience member of course as something to love about SF, lol).

Watched an SFGMC concert at Davies Symphony Hall in this San Francisco iconic building that was nice not only on the outside but also on the inside. The building looked very well kept and maintained, clean, and staff were really nice and friendly. The acoustic from the orchestra area sounded really nice. This is definitely one of the nicest venues that I've ever been to for concerts. Definitely two thumbs up.

The bows are hypnotically rising and falling over their instruments, the conductor's magic wand is waving mysteriously over the symphony, and music is wafting softly through Davies Hall.We are here for Schubert and Beethoven. We have not attended a show here for over a decade back when we used to get the cheap seats up behind the orchestra. A decade later we can afford a box seat, and we are in box seat A, which I can recommend to you. The bottom box seats are on the orchestra level. Each box holds only four people. The seats one and two in box seats A, or the seats in any of the boxes next to the aisle are most coveted as it's a clear view to the stage. There are four coat hooks before you go into your box so you do not have to coat check if you have a box seats. If you do want to coat check that is located at the entrance downstairs.The upper level box seats hold more people per box and are further away from the stage. Years ago, you were not allowed to take your drink into the hall. Even their website still says the same. However, now there are compostable cups on fold out tables before you enter the hall where you can pour your glass drink from the bar and lid it up to sip during the show. What a relief that we don't have to down our drinks beforehand, or in the short intermission anymore!You do want to pre-order your drink before the show otherwise there is a huge line at the bar during the short intermission. Only a few people like us actually preordered their intermission drinks so we had our drinks waiting for us on reserved round tables when we came out. Just look for your name card.The restrooms are down the stairs and there are plenty of stalls, so there was no line either of the times I went to use the women's restroom.The hall itself is tired and outdated. It's not cool vintage, but old 70s or 80s style that could definitely use an uplift. Most of the patrons are not dressed up so it feels more like going to a school concert than a fancy symphony hall.The sound is more muffled than I would have liked. The full symphony is playing their best, but it feels more like background music. My mind is racing on other thoughts as though I'm at home with TV on in the background. It would be more engaging if they turned the volume up!It is easy to take the BART here or catch a car share ride as you're right in the middle of the city.