HMAC & Rams Head Live, Venue Review

Title: Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center & Rams Head Live Venue Review Shoutouts:

Here’s my first ADA review of my trip to see Fit For A King The Devil Wears Prada in Harrisburg Pa at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center and Beartooth & THE PLOT IN YOU in Baltimore MD at Rams Head Live! Hopefully in the future I’ll upgrade to full length videos and a dedicated blog site, but for now this will do!

Harrisburg PA, 1/26

Venue: Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center

Hotel: Hilton Harrisburg

Food: Arooga’s N 2nd street

Harrisburg is well known for a solid metal community and it’s always a favorite of mine to visit. More specifically, the streets surrounding the capital building and HMAC is where I traveled the most. They were mostly well suited for me and my wheelchair besides the few obviously very outdated sidewalks. For the most part the areas are well designed and I had access to everywhere I went. We stopped at Aroogas before the show because we weren’t sure if we had time to eat at HMAC(love that they offer food, more venues needs to also!) Besides the food being yummy and the beer being cold, it was very well accessible and I enjoyed my time at Arooga’s. I did notice that every table, booth, stool, etc was elevated. Luckily for me, I can shimmy my way into the stools at the bar. However if I had to stay in my chair, I would of most certainly would have to eat with my plate on my lap which is NOT good. Those plates are hot and if you can’t feel your legs like me that could easily lead to burns. Even the booths were on a raised platform so I couldn’t even slide into them. That is something that I believe should seriously be addressed at this location. Hilton Harrisburg Hotel was very lovely, I have little to no complaints or negative thoughts on it. The room was spacious and well accessible. I will say, I loved the breakfast and the setup. Buffet style or order from a well stocked menu. I will certainly use them for any of my HMAC adventures.

HMAC, one of my favorite venues, has been nothing but a pleasure each time I have visited. The staff are always kind and they checked in with me throughout the night. I enter through the side entrance (front door is large steps). The ramp is long and pushable, but could be a bit steep for some. The door does have a automatic entrance but to prevent people sneaking in it is disabled, but they have a staff member close by to get the door as needed. The hallways are wide and could easily fit 2 chairs side by side. The bathroom door is easily pushable and overall the size is good too. It is annoying to only have 1 bathroom on the main floor but they do have an elevator that drops you right in front of the bathroom so that’s a plus. As for the negatives, the only 2 major ones are the location of the ADA section, and the back door to the outside deck. The ADA section is on the left of the stage (crowd left), which although close to the stage yes, you can only see the one side of the stage. Also, it’s in the same path that they send crowd surfers out and if you were to be sitting there when they are coming through it would get very annoying and hinder the show for the people in the ADA section. I wonder if it would be better on the right side of stage? The back door leading to the deck is very slim, my chair rubs going out the door. Also, the deck floor that connects to the building is missing a small piece and has a hole that easily stops the wheelchairs and could cause a painful fall if someone’s cane or crutch gets stuck. I think it could easily be fixed with a simple plywood patch. It has been there for well over the past year as I’ve seen it each time. For me, I’m capable of muscling over it but thats not the case for everyone.

Overall, based off of accessibility, comfort, and using ADA guidelines, I give HMAC and the surrounding area a 8/10. If HMAC could maybe address the few negatives I brought up then I could easily see it being a 10!

Baltimore, MD 1/27

Venue: Rams Head Live

Hotel: Staybridge Suites, Baltimore

Food: Power Plant

Rams Head Live at PowerPlant Baltimore, MD

I love coming here, it’s less then an hour away and there’s always fun stuff to do after the shows. But, overall, it’s not the most accessible city. The Inner Harbor of Baltimore is certainly lacking in accessibility. Not that they don’t offer it, but it’s just very outdated. Sidewalks are very tore up and lots of construction leaving closures. The ramps for street crossings are very steep and I personally have flipped on them. I highly recommend to have a buddy with you for help as needed, even I had to ask for it a time or two. We hung out at hotel for the first part of the day, Staybridge Suites Baltimore - Inner Harbor. Overall, very lovely hotel that seems to be a converted office building of the sort. The rooms are spacious and the accessible room met all the marks that one would expect. The bed was on the taller side, for me that’s not an issue but I can see it being a problem for others. I dislike all the rugs since it drags my wheels down, but overall I really like this hotel and plan to use it every time I visit. Next we went to Power Plant Baltimore Maryland and I spent time getting food and prepping for the epic night ahead. I love Power Plant, so many bars and clubs with all different kind of options. From rock to country, to sports and even yard games like cornhole and monster beer pong, there is always something to get into. The elevator is available to the upper level clubs, but the path to it was inside the back part of a kitchen which was tiny. The staff at every club or bar I went to were super nice and helpful and made me feel like I got in with my chair. As for Rams Head Live, I have mixed feelings on the venue. They do their absolute best to provide a positive accessible experience. The staff went out of their way to help me and never questioned me. They even found me a unofficial ADA spot to sit in after hearing the main spot was already full (after I respectfully denied it because I want to be in the crowd ). The ADA is upstairs on the balcony, so the view is rather good but ya know me, I want to be in that “atmosphere” as the staff said. The way the bars are designed, it’s a process to get to them depending on where you are and how busy it is. Most bars had stairs leading to them but they did have ramps as well. However, with it being sold out, those ramps were no longer accessible from all the people (understandably so). The bathroom hallway has a ramp that is rather steep followed by a very heavy door that even I, a 28 year old with a semi athletic upper body, struggled to push open. Overall, I give Rams Head Live/Power Plant a 6/10 for accessibility.