Bay Area music fans will have a new concert venue to break in starting this month as the doors open at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park. The former movie house is now getting its finishing touches as it becomes a state-of-the-art, acoustically sound palace to watch live music.
The first official concert is on February 16 with indie artist Aaron Lee Tasjan, according to the Guild Theatre Facebook page which shows more than two dozen shows over the next few months. Notable acts include the New Wave 80’s band Berlin on February 19th and pop/soul singer Macy Gray in April.
Photo Credit: Guild Theatre/Facebook
The building at 949 El Camino Real had been showing films for more than 90 years before it closed in 2019. Now, after a $35 million dollar renovation thanks to the non-profit Peninsula Arts Guild, it will be coming back to life with a new large stage area that venue managers say is double the size of most stages in venues of the same size. “We are going to make this room a showplace,” president of the Peninsula Arts Guild Drew Dunlevie told the Mercury News.
Photo Credit: Guild Theatre/Instagram
The Almanac reported on the opening in November when the venue first announced its lineup that the capacity is expected to be “around 500 people for general admission – standing only – and about 200 for seated attendees.” You can see from social media photos that the venue spared no expense on the sound system. The hanging stacks of speakers by Berkeley-based Meyer Sound Laboratories are some of the best in the industry. Each ceiling panel is apparently treated with 8,000 tiny holes for sound quality purposes. “Everything in this venue has been acoustically treated,” Guild Theatre manager Tom Bailey told Mercury News.
Photo Credit: Guild Theatre/Facebook
Bailey knows the Bay Area live music scene well having formerly worked at The Warfield, The Fillmore, and at Shoreline Amphitheater. “The key to me is to develop a vibe that the Peninsula Arts Guild wants to have and, more importantly, what our patrons want to see,” Bailey told Mercury News.
There are two bars inside the venue that will apparently have large video screens behind them so fans can still watch the performance while waiting in line for drinks. One thing to keep in mind, The Almanac reports that all shows must end by 11 p.m.
