Burnside Street runs through some of the most exciting parts of Portland, including the ultra-hip Southeast neighborhood and downtown. On the downtown side of street, just over the Willamette River and down the street from world-famous Powell's Bookstore, you'll find the Crystal Ballroom, a jester-themed venue where major acts come fully alive. One of the most exciting features about this club is its spring-loaded floor, allowing patrons to jump higher and dance more freely than they would at any of the city's other venues.
Both local and national acts headline at Crystal. The venue itself consistently gets great reviews on customer review sites like Yelp, resulting in a 3.5 star review. The downside? The most common Yelper complaint is about expensive drinks. A beer will run you between $4 and $6, but it's brewed just upstairs at Crystal's on-site brewery, housed in the former Crystal Ballroom rehearsal studio.
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside Street
Portland, OR 97209
503-225-0047
mcmenamins.com
In the heart of Northeast Portland lies the Wonder Ballroom, a homey-yet-roomy venue housed in a fully restored 1914 building. While it's not solely a music venue, the ballroom's 25-feet-wide, 18-feet-deep, curtained stage hosts some of the largest indie and Americana acts today. Used as both an all-ages and 21-plus facility, Wonder has a full bar and ample free parking, unlike many of Portland's more popular downtown stages.
The Under Wonder Lounge is housed inside the club, which has eats readily available to patrons outside of the regular fried fare. Chicken gyros, sandwiches, mac and cheese and house salads are all made at affordable prices, with nothing over $10 on the menu.
Wonder Ballroom
128 N.E. Russell Street
Portland, OR 97212
503-284-8686
wonderballroom.com
The Aladdin Theater was founded in 1993 after a major overhaul. In the spirit of its roots, the venue keeps the feel of the former 1920s vaudeville house in which it resides. This vintage quality, including a full movie theater-style marquee, adds to the Southeast venue's mass appeal. Huge artists like Beck, Brian Wilson, David Crosby, Jeff Buckley and Ryan Adams have all played this 620-seat venue. Aladdin doesn't discriminate against any kind of popular music. Bluegrass, rock, jazz, rap and roots acts all find a home here.
Yelp's patrons cite the ticket, drink and food prices, as well as the intimate setting as the greatest reasons to go to Aladdin Theater, garnering the theater an accumulative three and a half star review.
Aladdin Theater
3017 SE Milwaukie Avenue
Portland, OR 97255
503-234-1994
aladdin-theater.com