Let us be clear, there is a right way and a wrong way to do the Bowl. The wrong way is to just show up for the show, watch it, and go home. That completely ignores half the point, which is that the venue is half the draw. The Hollywood Bowl is a beautiful amphitheater nestled into the Hollywood Hills complete with picnic grounds with wonderful views. Here is how you do it right:
Step 1. Arrive as soon as they open the doors. This is usually about 3 to 4 hours before a show.
Step 2. Find a picnic table. Preferably, aim for one as close to the top of the Bowl as possible to enjoy the best views. Since you got there so early, snagging a table should not be hard. If you arrived late, good luck.
It looks all clear now, but they fill up fast.
Step 3. Set up your picnic. Prior to arriving at the bowl, you stopped off for goodies like bread and cheese at Trader Joe’s and/or you picked up sandwiches and salads at Joan’s on Third or another delicious eatery. Many restaurants around town offer special Bowl picnic bags to go. You also remembered to pick up a couple bottles of wine. This is key. Spread all your goodies out on the table now, pour the wine, and enjoy.
No time for shopping? They do also have concession stands at the Bowl with very nice food and wine. It will just cost you more.
Step 4. Spend the next couple of hours eating and drinking with you friends. This is an activity best enjoyed with a group. The more the merrier. Share the tasty snacks and let the wine flow freely.
Step 5. Enjoy your show. By now you should be sufficiently full of delicious snacks and wine that it should not really matter what you’re going to see. You should be feeling all good. You’re in high spirits and ready to enjoy any act that comes on stage.
We have used this formula prior to enjoying all kinds of shows – from Classical Fireworks Spectaculars, John Williams Night, to World Music and Rock concerts. It is pretty foolproof.
The only acceptable alternative is to find friends that live in the Hills within walking distance to the Bowl, have them invite you over, and follow the pre-gaming procedures at their house.
By all accounts the Greek Theatre is a very similar experience, but sadly, despite living down the street from it in Los Feliz for six years, we have never made it there.
This past summer we made up a little for not making it at all in 2009 and caught two shows. The first was a staged performance of Carmen conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. The show was lovely, but he is so animated that he is a show all on his own.
The second show was a Pheonix concert that Jesse convinced us to go to at the last minute. Greg and I aren’t the best about keeping up on the latest music – nobody’s perfect, this is a weak spot and luckily we have friends who are far more informed to help us along. We thought we had no idea who they were, only to discover that we’d been hearing their songs repeatedly on the radio for weeks. So maybe I’m more up on music than I thought. Either way, even if I was completely clueless, I still got to reap the benefits of getting to tell all my more hipster friends that I got to see them in concert while feigning a knowing look.
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