The Masonic

First time at The Masonic and have to say it was a first class visit from start to finish. Saw Thee Sacred Souls and they were fantastic. The Masonic is not a theater per se but is set up like one. The downstairs (floor) is open and is first come first serve for what you think is the best place to view the performance. The upstairs is complete with seats. Whether you are on the floor or upstairs there are no obstructed views.At the back of the floor area are several "boxes" that are considered premium, have seats, your own server for bar service and a drink rail. Nice set up! Speaking of drinks, there is a large bar in the lobby area serving your favorite cocktail, beer or wine.Most important for a concert venue is how good are the acoustics and sound. Happy to say the sound is awesome, some of the best sound I have heard in any venue!Parking in this area of San Francisco is challenging but there is street parking if you get lucky and plenty of parking garages within easy walking distance. Best of all there is a large parking garage in the basement of The Masonic itself which is where we parked.Our first time at The Masonic but it won't be our last!PS: Thee Sacred Souls were awesome!

NOTE: Plan to arrive 30 mins before your show to find parking! Event parking is pretty pricy ($60 flat rate) so I'd recommend taking time to park in a further lot and walking over.NOTE 2: If you're going to a show preceding another show (ie. 7:30 pm versus the 9:30 pm show), they close the bathrooms at the end of the show in attempt to expedite cleanup, leaving EVERYONE who needs to use the restroom to funnel into the 3 single-stall restrooms in the parking garage. OMG. If you don't SPRINT out at the end of the show, expect to wait minimally 30 mins for the restroom lolOne of many beautiful historic venues in SF. My partner and I have been several times over the years for concerts and comedy shows. Definitely well-maintained and more organized than others, with decent food options. Staff are professional and friendly. I don't think there's a bad seat in the house. Both balcony and floor have great views of the stage, and acoustics are good. My favorite show here was probably between seeing Sum-41 or Stavros Halkias.

First time at the Masonic to see Phantogram, and after one show, I think the Masonic is definitely in my top tier for music venues in the Bay. From the production value, stage lights, acoustics, there really isn't a bad seat in the house. We had GA floor seats and were able to get a spot behind the engineering booth, which was pretty dope because we had an unobstructed view. There's a little ledge you could put drinks on, so if you like being close but still want space, get here early to snag a spot. For food and drinks, they had a huge bar with plenty of bartenders. Tall cans were $17 and their classic margaritas came in a souvenir shaker cup for $22. The whole place smelled like fries, which isn't a bad thing, bc the food stall sells fries, a sandwich, and hummus for snacks. Overall, really enjoyed my first visit to the Masonic and wouldn't hesitate to visit again when an artist im into is performing there.

I've been to the Masonic a couple times now and both experiences were great shows. We ended up paying $50 for parking at the Masonic ahead of the latest show and there was some confusion with the attendants on how to scan us in- our instructions said to hold our phone near the scanner, but they wanted us to have a QR code- eventually we got in though.The security was efficient and because I had a small bag I had to go through a longer line and have my bag searched, but it didn't take too much extra time.The concessions were pretty basic, but there were drinks and some snacks available. We ended up buying a $6 Plain, Flat, Liquid Death. I will note that a staff member took it from us on our way out because we didn't finish it- I'm not sure if she thought it was a beer or what, but other people left with their half finished drinks so we were a bit confused.On our latest visit we were there for a comedy show and were sat in the second row, the seats were all fold out chairs with no armrests or cup holders. We got very cozy with our neighbors and I found myself leaning into my husband the whole show trying to give the man next to me some space.The audio, lighting and actual show were great though and because we parked on P4 with an exit option to keep going down instead of back up we didn't get stuck in the parking garage for too long.Overall, there are some things that could be improved but both experiences have been good and I would go back again.

Convenient underground parking and a newly renovated venue.We drove in from the East Bay and we're glad to have reserved underground parking so we could just pull up and park. There is street parking available, but hard to find.The multi-level venue was recently renovated and offers plenty of concessions and bars at each level. We grabbed some popcorn, beer and cocktails and made our way to our balcony seats. Comfortable seats and the balcony has great views of the stage. My main complaint is the interrupted sight line to the stage from the guard rail. I am 5'5" and the safety rail on the balcony was perfectly positioned to interrupt my view, so be mindful about sitting in the first row of the balcony if your 5'5" or shorter!!

Came here to watch some comedy and was happy to check out this iconic venue for the first time! What I liked:1. The architecture in this place is really cool! Feels very grand inside with elaborate detailing in the lobby2. Inside the theater the seats were comfy, wide, and it was air conditioned. View from the balcony was unobstructed.What I didn't like: 1. Parking was packed as the garage only has 1 entrance and space is limited. It was also expensive ($50!) 2. We got here hungry so ordered 2 corn dogs and 2 cans of coke. It was $45 bucks and something I could make at home for a total of $2, so wasn't happy about the markup. Overall, it's a great theater if you strategically plan your visit. TL;DR - don't park in their garage and eat before you come here. You'll then have a great experience enjoying this nice theater!

Watching a St Vincent concert at The Masonic was pretty cool.I had not been there for awhile and I was curious to see how the acoustics might turn out.It is a good sized venue, but the sound was pretty good!My seats were almost directly to the side of the stage high up in the balcony section.It had the disadvantage of not having a face-to-face view of the performers. But, the location had the advantage of being close to the stage from the balcony level which gave it an interesting perpective of the action.The ushers were friendly and efficient.One downside is that when exiting the venue it can get a bit clumsy crowd wise because only a few staircases serve the entire balcony. So give yourself extra time when you leave the building.I entered through the front entrance. Up the stairs onto the marble porch. That pathway seemed to bypass the crowds that were otherwise directed towards the lower level side entranceThe reason they let me through was because I was picking-up my tickets at the box office.I walked to the venue so I can't vouch for the parking experience.But, as a longtime SF resident I can say that street parking in Nob Hill can be pretty tough.There is a garage at the venue, but they state:"We recommend purchasing parking in advance of any show, as space is limited."Wowzers! Looks like parking starts at $100 on concert nights.Otherwise, the Muni California 1 bus stop is only about a block away. Arriving by cable car would the the ultimate San Francisco experience!The last California Street Cable Car stops at the corner at around 930p so leaving that way might be tight if you are attending an evening performance. Alternately, the Powell Street Cable Car two blocks away runs until around 1130p.

The venue offers a lot of positive aspects, including a well-organized layout, great sound, intimate atmosphere, and helpful staff. Food and drinks are available, parking is ample, and security is tight, ensuring a safe environment. Ride-share services are easily accessible, and the outside food vendor is excellent. I appreciated the text updates to enhance my experience like when the doors open, options to upgrade, link to the menu. However, there were issues with seating confusion and disruptions from late arrivals. Ushers could improve the experience by guiding people to their seats and preventing interruptions during performances. Audience behavior, such as entering mid-song, detracted from the concert's intimacy and should be better managed.Overall, it was my favorite concert experience. I've been to many since 1989. This place had the most perks. Premium

I fell down the steps last night while going down the steps in Section 7 balcony during the last three songs at the Howard Jones concert last night. I wasn't drunk. Liquid Death water doesn't qualify as an alcoholic product. All I was doing was taking the empty seat in front of me (Rows 5, 4 near mix booth)so my husband could have some more room. I rolled into the balcony wall. What saved me was the stack of empty cans and plasticware stacked along the barrier/wooden door for mix booth. I took some ibuprofen, a hot shower before bed. There's a couple bruises on my knees, a swollen left index finger as my souvenir of the evening. I count my blessings. It could have been worse. Way worse. Some of my kind fellow audience members helped me out and one person told my husband he thought the aisle steps were dangerous. I did NOT see any ushers/Masonic staff there to assist in this instance, and yes, I was able to walk out of the place. We left before the encores. I felt angry at myself. The concert itself was great. ABC, followed by Howard Jones, beginning of their tour. They were on their game, and tight. The opportunity to go to the concert presented itself because my husband's friend could not make it that night. I've gone to concerts before at the Masonic, prior to the pandemic. 97.3Alice January 2018 Alice in Winterland event, and August 2016 Jeff Beck with guests Carlos Santana and Buddy Guy (I'm really, really glad I went to that concert). Alice concert seats were downstairs floor seating and Jeff Beck seats were upper balcony far right.Getting back to the first subject, the steps leading down to the seat rows are dangerous. It's not that bad when ascending back to the doors, but it's treacherous with the descent. The stairs are shorter than normal, there's no safety rails, or markings with tape or lighting to ensure your footing, and all around, going up/down to my seat while getting drinks, merchandise and using the restroom was a task that made me nervous. Let's also add the pitch of the seats is narrow. IF you have someone tall with you, you might want to take some considerations into their comfort. Going to the Masonic and parking info: It's $60.00 to park, but, you are at the place. We were in bottom section P4. I am grateful we made it, with traffic on the road during the rainy night. We rode the elevator up to the P1 garage level, and walked around and up to access the building and go through security. Then, we took the same elevator to go up to the balcony. We did use the same elevator when leaving to go DIRECTLY down to parking level P4. (Let's also add that there's ONLY one way to leave the garage, down a narrow alley to the right. After a popular show, I can see it would be a bottleneck getting out of the place afterwards. Since we left early, it wasn't an issue.) Would I go to another concert at The Masonic? It's a beautiful looking venue, at least from the outside and ground floor. The seat locations are key in this decision. With the balcony concerns, maybe not.

Went to ilana Glazer Live here! It was a fun show- the bathrooms are weirdly in the basement in a liminal space . I'd say this place is not super Ada friendly. Or at least very inconvenient. The security was a haphazard line and then I got called through for a second screening and they had me just walk through with my bag. Ticketing was simple and they had a decent bar selection.Parking is horrific, recommend public transit and walking over. Overall this is an sf landmark and worth it for seeing shows you're interested in!