The Wellmont Theatre

somewhat run-down old movie theater. for whatever reason, they opted to paint the interior WHITE, instead of BLACK like every other concert venue. I found it distracting catching the light show being reflected out of the corner of my eye on the white walls the whole show. the sound was adequate, the parking was not, and after the show, all the bars outside were closed (10pm on a weekday).

Intimate venue that fits Montclair very well. Chairs feel kind of cramped but even upper deck seats don't feel very far away. Wish they had more options for beer, but overall a great little place to see a concert.

They draw great acts to this old place. And you can really get an up close look at awesome performers. But sound system is really bad. On the floor it is still a rough mix , but in the balcony it is a mess of distortion and feedback. And the higher you go the worse it gets.

The Wellmont is Montclair’s historic old theater that is used for film screenings and events during the film festival. A film screening with live commentary held here was great though seats were not very comfortable for the time and the setup of the theater makes entering and exiting a bit slow. A concession stand and bar on the ground floor was quite nice though the beer selection was just ok. The temperature inside was nice though on a pretty hot day.

The Wellmont is a nice old building. The entrance is on a side street not too far from Bloomfield Ave. There aren’t any permanent seats downstairs. I don’t know about the balcony but the main floor and Tiers 1 and 2 have removable seats. I thought they were comfortable but my wife didn’t. The acoustics aren’t the greatest though. There is a parking lot behind the theater and another one across the street from that (not across Bloomfield Ave.). There is also a parking deck about a block and a half away. It only cost me a dollar an hour. I spent three dollars for parking. There are a lot of restaurants in the area.

The front part of the theater is sometimes standing room and sometimes seating. You have to look on the seating map for each individual show and see what’s offered. You can see if there are seats or general admission by looking at the map. I thought the front section was always standing but I was wrong for the Chris Isaak show. I got tickets in the Tier 2 front row but I could have paid a total of twenty dollars more and sat in the front section. The Tier 2, center section, front row were nice seats but I sat all the way to the left of the center section. There was a column in the way while looking at the left side of the stage. I should have gotten seats in the center of the section. That would have been better. Right behind Tier 2 seating there are three bars I think it was. They are easily accessed and priced about what you would expect. I noticed that the last row in Tier 1 was right up against the wall of Tier 2. If someone in Tier 2 had their drink on the wall they could easily spill it on you if you’re in the last row of Tier 1. Overall I thought that it was a great experience.