We just attended the Robin Trower show last night. We have been to Aura several times. Last night's show was fabulous, but we were annoyed by all of the people standing (general admission) us. We paid $153.00 to see this guy and we were seated on the floor. Many people were told to "stay out of the isle, and move back behind the seated are." They just didn't listen! It was aggravating because we had people bumping into the back of my wife, spilling beer and clogging up the isles blocking our view. I mean.......we get it, you have to stand, but BE RESPECTFUL OF THOSE sitting who paid good money! We will definitely never purchase seats down on the floor again. I truly think that the security people need to be much firmer with the rules of general admission ticket owners. Many of the people in my row were complaining as well. read more

I found Asylum to be a great facility. It's deceptively large actually. The time I went they had their weekly Goth night going on downstairs and a local metal show going on upstairs in the main room. I hit both. The local show was pretty awesome. There weren't more than 30 or 40 people there and that room is HUGE so it seemed absolutely cavernous. But that did not phase the bands or the audience at all so it didn't detract from my enjoyment either. The night downstairs was a great time too but I reviewed that elsewhere already. Overall I had a great time there and found the staff to be friendly and accommodating and the bartenders generous do decent tippers! read more

Aura - The Asylum from the street - Sports Bars Near Me - Portland, Maine

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Great place to see a band - excellent sound, great sight lines and the bartenders are real pros. read more

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THIS REVIEW IS ONLY FOR RAP NIGHT and it's amazing. Went for the first time this week and I can confidently say we will spend many Wednesday nights there from now on. Such a good vibe and it wasn't too crowded. The crowd's energy is so great and the rappers are actually really, really good. They have a headliner each week before the "battling" begins and this week (Dre Jr) was really good. read more

Aura - just a bunch of badasses with the rapper after the show. - Sports Bars Near Me - Portland, Maine

Attended the Mighty Mighty Bosstones concert last night. The changes the venue has undergone makes this a great place to spend an evening. Small sports bar in the front. Nothing fancy but A+ service, food is good, decent drink selection. If you're on the main floor you can exit the bar and get in line. Balcony, which is where we were, a quick walk to the other side of the building. The place is clean, security is present and you are aware but they are not over the top and sort of "go with the flow" as long as everyone is cool. You can tell, all staff at Aura work together and communicate well. If there is a band you like, or want to learn more about, this is a place to visit. read more

Aura - Great evening - thanks!!! - Sports Bars Near Me - Portland, Maine

Great venue, seating is a Sh*t Show The venue itself is clean and beautiful; however, the General Admission seating has no organization and is a mess. Do not set foot into this venue without a reserve seat. The staff are not helpful when it comes to keeping order. GA guest dog pile against the reserved seating areas and you can feel their hot breath on your neck the entire show. The management should put out more seats and limit GA if they are going to pack the establishment to fire code maximum. Visit with caution. read more

This place gets 5 stars from me ! Saturday night was my 2nd time in the sports bar. It was easy for my husband to talk me into going somewhere to watch the game (Celtics he is a huge fan) when he said how about Aura,s as we had a great experience the first time. The food was great nachos and a calzone. The atmosphere was fun the waitress was amazing we will return. read more

Aura is such a fun unique venue! I feel like you get an amazing show experience! Yes I would DEAF by the end of the night because the speakers do have a bit of a scream on them but I am soo looking forward to the shows they are going to have there. Robert Randolph and family was the best show I have ever been to or seen around Portland!!! read more

Tonight was my first experience at Aura, and I'm hoping it wasn't just a stroke of good luck, since I've seen a number of bad reviews in various places online. I saw Recycled Percussion tonight and didn't have any complaints myself. The seats were comfortable, albeit a little too close together, and I didn't feel unsafe in any way. I did watch several people come in and find that the seats they had tickets for simply did not exist, and they were eventually seated elsewhere by staff, and honestly if that had happened to me, I'd have been pretty pissed about it. Overall, though, I didn't experience any of the rudeness from staff or overcrowding I've been reading so much about. I will be back in the future. read more

Be wary of going to shows here. They overpack and people mosh like pussies and get mad when they get hit. Have fun gasping for air if you want to get close enough to even see the band in this tiny always-overpacked venue. They must be cheap to book at for bands because State is worlds better. read more

This place gives me the willies! The staff here is stone-faced to the point of robotic. I have been here for 2 concerts and they seem to be told not to smile or interact with the customers except for issuing instructions. When you walk in, the first person says "ID", the second "ticket", the third "right hand". I tried to make small talk with one of these people. He simply repeated his instruction - "right hand." I was there to see The Machine - a Pink Floyd cover band - which was awesome by the way. I said to the guy who wanted to stamp my right hand "I feel like I am entering the machine!" No response. I repeated my comment, hoping to see a human on the other side of that stone face. No luck! It's one thing to be professional and focussed - entirely another to be militaristic. The seating is folding chairs on the floor and ours had already been taken by others by the time we got there - granted we were late and got there during the opening song. The chairs appeared to be ziptied together in rows. We paid about $40 for these seats, and a friend of ours got a general admission ticket for $15, which was not a choice when we bought our tickets. We ended up standing most of the time in the general admission area anyway. It was just more comfortable. They have some good acts at this place, but there are other places to see these acts which are more comfortable and pleasant. read more

I went to a show at the asylum and I found the seating a little weird. They had two different types of tickets you could buy- general admission standing and general admission seating. I am never a fan of general admission seating concerts as I always want to be up front and there's no way to make your way up there when it's all seats. They had about 10 or so rows of seats set up in front of the stage and everyone else had to stand in the back. Even though it's a small venue the front row wasn't that close to the stage. I was lucky to find a single seat in the second row and I felt distant from the stage. I definitely recommend getting general seating tickets if they're offered. I just wish they sold an actual seat rather than making it general admission. read more

Beautiful venue. Great concert. Hands down the most ridiculously small & expensive drink in the entire city of Portland. How will I ever finish this? read more

Aura - Sports Bars Near Me - Portland, Maine

Great venue for music. Almost anywhere you stand puts you close to the stage, and gives you an intimate concert experience. Due to the vanue max capacity it never feels overly crowded. I hope more bands I like come here so I can keep coming back. read more

I have to admit, this was the last stop in a bar crawl and I kind of hit my wall here. However, the bartenders were friendly and helpful. I wasn't sure what to get, so my partner told the bartender "she likes Malibu" and soon there was a Bahama Mama in front of me. The place was well-lit and the bartender let us know about upcoming events we might be interested in. read more

Spent a half an hour outside in the cold. Only to get in to going through a metal detector and getting my Swiss Army knife stolen by security. General admission in the balcony standing for 2 hours barely able to see anything. America who I loved in the past has definitely lost it. Time to retire. I will never go to this place again. read more

First time at asylum for a concert. The venue is much cleaner than state theater and the bar staff is very friendly! Would definitely return! read more

This review is for the sports bar at this venue. Went during the NBA finals. There are multiple TVs and 2 really large LCDs. The beer is cheap. The food was surprisingly really well done especially the cajun crust on my chicken in the fettuccine alfredo. The servers are chill and the crowd was really into the game. It was a good place to watch the game without too many frills with some good grub. read more

My husband and I had such a great time here! The food is good and the drinks are well-priced, but what really put it over the top was the incredible and friendly service we experienced here -- it was absolutely unreal. Bar staff and managers were so funny and nice to us. If we lived in the area, this would be our go-to spot. read more

Hands down the BEST wings in Portland! They actually give you real blue cheese dipping sauce and not that nasty blanch sauce from up the street. Very affordable, solid beer selection and great place to watch sports! read more

Visited Thursday evening, food was excellent and our server John was a delight. John was extremely helpful, courteous, and attentive. He saved us a few $$ by recommending a pitcher of hard root beer. Fun place, great atmosphere, quick service and delicious food. Good on you. read more

Nothing to plan a vacation around. But good service and ok food.

This bar is pretty great I really like it when bill bartends. He's hilarious and attentive. I definitely recommend this bar!!!!!

Asylum Portland, Maine our perspective. From the sports bar with the over the top wonderful food, to the large live music venue this place Rocks. It has been one of Portland's Gem Venues for quite some time. Bands be excited if your playing here, the sound and the people who work here are excellent and they treat you right! read more

This is a great local place with lots of live music coming through on a weekly basis, a downstairs, and a fun sports bar. The employees are all friendly and the wings are great! read more

Make sure that you know what you're buying for a ticket and don't ask them via Facebook messenger if you get confused after reading their negative reviews like I did. Was told that for my show I would be allowed to go anywhere and then security did not let me on the balcony. General admission means something different here than any other GA show I have gone to. If you want to be able to sit, make sure that your ticket is a balcony ticket....even though all tickets for the show I attended were the same price apparently there is still a difference. Just be careful and if you're confused...call because I was given the wrong information from their Facebook page after specifically asking if I would be allowed in the seated area and being told "you will get a seat! Enjoy the seat!" I would be willing to go back because it is a fairly nice venue and the show was good, but make sure you're getting the type of ticket that you want even if it's a GA show and all tickets are the same price. read more

Remodel was nice but the bouncers are complete assholes. Took all my strength not to knock one of them out. Last time I attend this venue.

I am standing here for a concert ridiculously packed in. They completely oversold floor general admission. At nearly $100 (with fees) for 2 tickets, this is impossible. I can barely move my arms enough to clap, and people keep slamming by you to get by. Ridiculous. There are people on the entry way who can't even get in to see the stage. read more

My review is for the bar. We went during the Bruins playoff game. The beer was cheap and the food was surprisingly fantastic! In fact, the teriyaki chicken tenders were so good, I had to go back the next day to get them again! There were plenty of tvs and the bar staff were very friendly. I was surprised that one guy recognized us when we came back the next day. It's a no frills kind of place, but one of our favorites! read more

Last night I attended the Annual Fur Ball to benefit the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland. What a Venue! Not a bad seat in the house and the staff was very friendly and professional. Nothing beats a smiling welcoming staff! Food was excellent and there are 3 bars! Lighting, stage, sound system top notch. read more

Their employee at the Sea Dogs game refused to let Marcus Smart sign my hat in addition to the picture they were handing out, even though he was perfectly willing. Why do you care? Absolutely no reason for this, especially since I was the last person in line. Just a real jerk move. Next time you sponsor a signing, let people bring their own stuff. I would never, ever go here again after that. read more

It was our first show here since it changed from Asylum and doubt we will ever return. Most of the staff (excluding the Bartenders) were very unfriendly. We waited around 20 minutes to get in but when we got to where 1 guy was scanning tickets were told that we were in the wrong line. There was no signs to indicate Will call vs regular admission and we were just going with the flow of people. Dicky bouncer guy seemed to single us out and told us we needed to get in the other line. We refused and he grudgingly let us pass after those around us vouched for us not cutting in line. Throughout there night we saw several people kicked out for smoking joints and each time the bouncers seems especially douchey. I understand that it's a no smoking establishment but people smoking joints at a Reggae show is kinda what you sign up for when you book a Reggae act. Overall the staff seemed quite annoyed with everyone in attendance, this excluded the bar staff who were fine but also looking for tips. As stated earlier we will most likely not return to this venue, good luck Aura. read more

Took in the Little River Band Show on 8/17/2017. The band, the show, the venue all receive A+++ My only critique is that the main floor ushers need to be more visible and provide more seating assistance, as many in attendance were seating themselves in seats that weren't theirs, so when the correct people arrived it was a mess. Those same floor ushers need to have flashlights as once the lights went down, they and the patrons with tickets couldn't read the ticket due to not enough light. Overall great show, great venue, just a bit more effort and energy and visibility from the floor ushers. read more

Slow, slow, slow. Took forever to get served, clearly understaffed. Plus I felt a little queasy all afternoon. Avoid at lunchtime.

ehhh thats all i can say cheap drinks below average food. but the basement is pretty cool...biggest problem is security they act like gestapo the moment someone is having fu they intervene and threaten to kick you out read more

We went for a concert but wound up in a bar. We couldn't see the stage, which would have been OK but we also couldn't hear anything but the loudest songs. That's because most of the people around us talked at full volume, as if the musician (Taj Mahal!) were just some guy who'd come off the street to provide background music. I don't understand: Why buy a ticket to a concert you're not going to listen to? read more

The bathrooms in this establishment are disgusting and filthy. It makes me wonder what the kitchen looks like. Every little detail counts. I would not recommend this to friends or visitors. read more