So ... how's the new concert venue at the Talking Stick casino?

Pretty sucky, Jay Bennett of New Times says:

I was hoping for an actual theater at the new resort/casino on Indian Bend and Loop 101, but it was little more than a giant carpeted ballroom (as you read this, Honeywell is probably having its annual shareholders meeting in that room) with banquet chairs set up in rows and a makeshift bars set up on the each end of the huge, nearly sold-out room.

So, here’s the bottom line: I don’t recommend seeing a show at Talking Stick. The sound in the room was average, at best (the mix was all vocals and drums; and the guitars were muddy); the stage setup in the rectangular room allowed awful sight lines for anyone not directly in front of the performers; the drink lines moved way too slowly for a rock concert; and the legion of security folks constantly patrolled the room with seating charts making sure those of us with general admission tickets stayed in our designated area, a place where you could barely see the band.

Bennet was seeing Cheap Trick, who played the casino Saturday night.