Sprawling lawns and a unique aesthetic are just two of the best reasons to poke around Alton Baker Park and explore the Cuthbert Amphitheatre if you’ve never had the opportunity. Nestled between Autzen Stadium, the Lesson Factory and the Willamette River, the amphitheatre is an amazing place to catch a show.
If you weren’t one of the many students there for Dayglow in the fall, the Cuthbert is an outdoor concert venue about two and a half miles away from campus and just a stone’s throw from the many bicycle and pedestrian paths running along the Willamette. The amphitheater has hosted a variety of artists including names such as The Shins and Tegan and Sara.
While outdoor concerts are always fun springtime activities, they take away the intimacy you get at smaller venues and, if appropriate, the mosh pit grimness from the crowd that’s an amusing part of the experience. If sweat and body contact with strangers isn’t your style, the Cuthbert is a great option with its seats and general admission area for you to bring blankets or chairs to sit on. Often enough, however, artists playing the venue advocate for concertgoers to populate the concrete platform directly in front of the stage, so if a punk band did, indeed, play a show at the Cuthbert, moshing in front of the stage wouldn’t be out of the question.
The venue, unfortunately, rarely allows exit and re-entry during performances and although you’re allowed to pack a meal and bring it within the gates, you won’t be allowed to bring your own alcohol, which means you’re stuck paying the exorbitant prices baseball stadiums are notorious for. Still, it’s nice to have the opportunity to lay out a blanket and share a meal with a friend or significant other while you observe fellow music enthusiasts.
You’re also allowed to bring your own food and can make it a picnicking experience, which is a plus especially if you don’t want to spend money on the overpriced vendors.
No concerts are coming up soon — no surprise given the inconsistency in the weather this week — but once the sun’s out the season will kick off with Primus on May 24 followed by Tony Bennett in June. Tickets are a little pricey at $45 and $46-110, respectively, but it’s worth the splurge if you’re a big fan.