The Northern Lights Theater

Terrific venue to say the least! Went to see Jason Bonham and the led Zeppelin experience, and we loved our seats and the intimate venue. We were so close and not really a bad seat in the place. The only negative is my husband says his drinks were very weak and the prices are higher than in the Casino bar… but not a big deal. This is where I hope to see many more music performances since it is now my favorite!

Ummm…
This was a bit confusing because we got here for the «In living color comedy tour». It was funny because when we found it after parking, there was a lot of people walking around which is to be expected in a casino. We were then asked to show identification before taking the escalators down and when we got down we had to show our tickets. There was 2 lines no order what so over after scanning our tickets they then told us we needed to take the elevator up. When upstairs we are by the bar (you would think there’s an usher upstairs right). We get upstairs there’s no one and it’s pitch dark just the show going on, there’s no one helping with seats. This is my first time there, so I see someone standing by a table in the corner close to the bar. I said excuse me which section is this he was busy laughing and enjoying the show he said the lights have the number… Only to turn back and enjoy watching the show. EXCUSE ME which section is this here??? People are looking at us because I’m sure we are interrupting their show. So the employee told us sit right there no one is coming for those seats and walked back to the bar. So that’s exactly what we did, the show was great but their staff not so much and the set up confusing.
It would help if they have ushers up on the balcony just to help out pointing people in the right direction. Just sayin…

I love this theater. Very intimate place to watch a show or concert. The acoustics are good and not a bad seat in the house.

Decent theater, but some big drawbacks. First and foremost, the seating in the lower section, where prices are highest, were awful, absolutely terrible. Straight backs with no padding. It was strenuous to sit in those seats for even a half hour. Second, there are no rest rooms in the theater. You must go back into the casino, around a corner and through one of the gambling rooms, very weird, and not thought out very well.

We attended a concert there last Friday. The venue was great, but the God awful solid wall of cigarette smoke permeating the entire building, casino, restaurant, theater… it was horrible. They need to improve (assuming there is any, could have fooled me) their ventilation big time if they aren’t going to restrict smoking to certain areas. Hell in this day and age, only allow allow e-​cigs and set up a shop to make a few bucks selling those to people who are more addicted to their cigarettes than their slot machine. Because of the stench and the way my poor lungs felt after a night in that place, I really can’t recommend it. Which is too bad cause the theater is really neat.

I thought the venue was decent and why is this part of the casino? Why only 3 stars? Partly because it was confusing finding the regular non-​valet parking, forcing people to walk through the WAY TOO SMOKY casino, and not having bathrooms in the venue. As someone with severe asthma that gets set off by any smoke, it was so hard to walk through the casino. I was trying not to run to the bathroom which by the way, smells sooooooo bad of cheap air freshener because of all the damn smokers. They really need to have signs for people to get to the venue without having to go through the casino. How does the venue not stink like smoke? I just can’t get past how bad it was. I had to use my coat as a gas mask.
The sound for the venue was super loud. Security kept telling people to not walk on the booth/​table seats, but that’s hard to do when people are standing in the aisle you need to walk through. How about telling the people to go back to their seats so the people who paid for the closer seats can actually watch the show? I paid for a seat for a reason and it’s annoying to me when random people just stand in the aisle blocking everyone’s view. I think I also saw them take someone’s cell phone and delete some photos.
The waitstaff was nice and prompt in asking if you needed any beverages.

I’ve been here once, so maybe I’m overly enthusiastic on a limited data set. There really isn’t a bad seat in the upper levels house (the show we went to wasn’t sold out so we hopped around just to see if there was a bad seat). The drinks are decently priced (better than the Rave). It did appear that the very first row (right up against the stage) may have been less than desireable and it also appeared that the booths were subjected to having as many people crammed into them. So if you were a twosome you might have to share the booth with another couple you didn’t know. The sound is fabulous. It’s a wonderful intimate setting and it appears that most shows are ridiculously reasonably priced. The drawback is that it is in a casino so you are subjected to the hard sell (upgrade this! oh, we need people in the first row).

Amazing venue to see live concerts! There isn’t a bad seat in the house. Plus with beverage service throughout the show, you never have to get up to get another drink!

This review is only for the Northern Lights Theatre, which is a perfectly nice and intimate venue without a bad seat in the house. The ushers were kind and professional, and the bartenders were attentive and friendly.
The reason for the low rating is because of the security staff. I attended a Bruce Hornsby /​Pat Metheny concert with my dad last night, and throughout the course of the show I was so distracted by the overzealous security guards that it ended up very negatively impacting my entire concert-​going experience.
Mind you, this was an older, extremely tame crowd. Everyone was there to listen to some prolific guitar riffs and perhaps clap along for a song or two. No one was unruly by anyone’s standards. The largest disruptions came from the militant security guards sneaking up behind people who were using their cell phones and shouting «NO PHOTOS!» for the entirety of the show. Note to Potawatomi staffers: hire guards who can CONTROL THE VOLUME OF THEIR VOICES.
Also note that, in this day and age, it is common practice to take non-​flash photos on your phone at concerts. Other common practices include checking in on Facebook, texting, and generally being connected to your phone at all times. People even hold up cell phones instead of lighters, now. It’s a thing. You’re not going to change that. I had a guard leaning on the railing behind me, reading over my shoulder while I sent a text message *just to make sure I wasn’t taking photos.* And since taking photos is a cultural norm, perhaps there are gentler ways to deal with people who didn’t realize it was against the rules than by SHOUTING at them.
At one point I witnessed a security guard storm the stage to cover the phone camera of a guy who was seated in the front row, while shouting in his ear. I could hear it from the balcony, and undoubtedly Pat Metheny (who was a mere 6 feet away) could also hear it.
Mr. Security Guard: you’re not an American hero because you prevented a guy who paid huge money for his seat from sharing a (non-​flash) photo of his experience with his 6 Instagram followers. But the huge scene you made, 6 ft. from the headliner and visible to everyone in the venue, seriously harshed the vibe.
Because the concert went pretty late, some seats in the very front row were vacated before the second encore. As is common at pretty much every other venue, some folks who were a couple rows back filled into the seats. Oh no. Not under the watchful eye of Mr. Security Guard. He bellowed at the invaders in the middle of the encore to get back to their seats, even ejecting a few entirely. Because I’m sure Pat Metheny would rather play his final set to empty chairs, over a scene being made by a hellbent security guard, than to his adoring fans, right?
As someone who attends many, many concerts in venues all over the country, I can tell you I have never seen security this bad, so I can’t even imagine how it would be for a less-​tame musical act. If you’re looking for a concert-​viewing experience that feels like middle school detention, have at it. I’ll be sticking to the many other excellent venues Milwaukee has to offer.

Just amazed at how much we liked this little theater, non smokers oasis, once we got through the smokey casino and Found it.
Seating is small table in the front evolving up to regular seats in the balcony. I’m guessing less than 500 capacity. No bad seats. There were drink specials and prices were fair we thought and delivered reasonably fast by friendly helpful waitresses.
We saw the Psychedelic Furs and the lighting and sound was very good. It IS possible to get up and shake whatever you want including getting pretty close to the stage. Security was certainly there, but unobtrusive. If you are sitting near one of those BIG speakers you probably will want to use earplugs to preserve what little hearing you have left, we did.
We couldn’t have been more pleased with the seats, ticket price and service. As good as it gets. However while we thought the Psychedelic Furs were VERY reasonable, some of the other acts seemed pretty pricey. Interesting, odd, eclectic mix of entertainment offered, I suppose just like the Casino crowd, fine.
You don’t HAVE to drink beer here but it IS COLD and you ARE in Wisconsin. Beer also helps cover a little of that cigarette smell from the Casino walk-​through deeply imbedded in your clothing and hair with something so much more alluring. We did try a glass of reasonably priced wine and recommend the even better priced beer specials. There were also a number of fancy alcohol loaded ice crème drinks that my other half called dessert, not really drinking.
Have fun you are in Wisconsin!

This, by far, is my favorite place to see a show in the city, or anywhere for that matter. I have gone to hundreds of concerts (I never want to calculate what I’ve given Ticketmaster over the years-​AYE!) in many different cities and nothing beats NLT in my opinion.
I really like the renovations made to the lower level. Chair seating follows the stage, 2 person tables and booths for 4 are behind that repeating to the back of the room. Balcony only has a handful (or so) rows of seating. There’s not a bad seat in this place. Intimate venue, great sound for any type of show.
I’ve skipped bands that I’ve wanted to see performing at different places (cough…Journey@Bradley Center) just because the sound sucks and it’s such an impersonal experience & I’ve seen shows at NTL that I may not have otherwise just because it WAS at NTL. This place is just THAT good.
I’ve been to no less than 15 shows at NLT this year with a couple to go yet, so yeah… I guess I’m a huge fan of this place.
–Must be 21 to enter.
–Bar in balcony, waitressing on main level.
–Restroom is outside the theater area in casino (that’s the only part that blows… but not enough to take anything away from their rating – 10 stars if I could!)

Wow — who ever would have thought that such a great venue would be located inside the armpit that is Potawatomi? I’ve been to several shows here and I’m always impressed by the Northern Lights.
They’ve renovated in the last year or so, and gotten rid of a lot of the fairly useless booth seating on the main level in favor of 2-​person cocktail tables. Even the «cheap» balcony seats offer great views and are brand new. Sound has been good too, not overloud which I appreciate.
The downsides? Well, it’s in a stinky, gross casino for one. My other beef is the lack of restrooms within the theater, so if you’ve got to go during a show you’ve got to go all the way out into the casino. Boo!
That aside, the pluses here overweigh the minuses for sure. Once you’re in the theater, you’ll forget all about the obese lady you saw at the slots with the troll dolls stuck in her cleavage for luck. Or maybe not… pretty sure you can’t unsee that.

As other reviewers have noted, this venue is one of the best in the city. We saw BB King recently and the new seating arrangement seems to work well. Everyone faces the stage now, so you don’t have to lean forward or backwards around the person next to you as you did previously with the old table seating.
I did not see any food being served the night we were there, so I’m not sure they still do. Personally, I’m good without food service during the performances. It is very distracting when someone needs ‘extra mustard’, and wait staff is walking back and forth, etc. There are plenty of places in the casino to eat before or after the show.

This is a premier venue for the Milwaukee area. I’ve been to a couple dozen shows here over the years.
— The sound system is excellent and the sound technicians do a great job. Sound volume is good, not too loud or soft.
— There isn’t a bad seat in the house. The furthest seat is probably equivalent to half way back at the Riverside. Sound is pretty good everywhere, but is a little better on the main level than it is in the balcony. As with any venue, the sound is best near the soundboard.
— The staff is extremely helpful and friendly
— Limited menu available at reasonable prices. Get there early and grab a burger or hot sandwich.
— No smoking. Full bar in the theatre with table service.
— Must be 21 to enter the theatre.
— Free parking. Tip: from the parking lot, enter the casino from the 4^th level walkway, walk to the far end of the casino where the theatre is, then take the escalator right to the theatre entrance. The upper level of the casino is less crowded and less smoky.
— Tip: you can buy tickets at the box office for 10% under face value with a FireKeepers casino card, which is free. Save a bundle over Ticketmaster.
They revamped the seating on the main floor about a year ago, so much more of the seating is facing the stage rather than sitting sideways at the tables.
I’ve seen a few acts here that I had seen previously at Summerfest, which is a good basis for comparison. I feel that the experience here is superior and worth the price of admission. Enjoy the music without the crowds, people standing on the seating, people screaming over the music.

The only bad thing about the Northern Lights Theater is having to go through the casino (smokey and disgusting) to get to it. The actual venue is a non-​smoking establishment. This venue is awesome. There isn’t a bad seat and you can see (unobstructed) from anywhere in the venue.
The sound wasn’t too obnoxious or too loud. We were able to enjoy the shows comfortably without having to use our earplugs.
All in all it’s a great place to see a show, if you don’t mind trekking through the casino floor and reeking like smoke when you get out.

i was under the impression that you could still smoke in all areas of the casino, so attending a show at Northern Lights Theater was never high on my priority list until the announcement of Cheap Trick’s Dream Police dates.
The theater is a very intimate experience hosting a capacity of 500 which are seated in booths, at tables, and in the balcony. There really isn’t a bad seat in the venue.
An attendant brought us to our seats and went over the house rules for the even. A waitress promptly came over, introduced herself (Irene), and took our order. I was throughly impressed with the experience. I couldn’t help but notice that there were no ashtrays at any of the tables or booths… it was a smoke-​free establishment!
The sound system was top notch. The lasers and lights for Cheap Trick were absolutely amazing. I’ve see the band quite a few times over the years and nothing compares to what I experienced on February 5^th. There was even a celebrity sighting as VH1 Classic (That Metal Show) host Eddie Trunk was 2 rows ahead of me enjoying the show.
I will definitely be paying closer attention to the show calendar here from this point forward,

I went to see Don Rickles here; which was an amazing show. Down to the nitty gritty though.
This is a small theater inside the Potowami Casino. A front row of tables right in front of the stage and then a few rows of booths and large tables. Then there’s the balcony, I can’t speak on the comfortability of the balcony as I was in one of the booths, which was quite comfortable.
It’s also equipped with a small bar in the right.
The sound system is pretty good, supported by two big speakers on each side of the stage. Although, once again its a small theater, only seats about 300 so hearing your act shouldn’t be a problem. They also have pretty good lighting.
I would recommend this venue to see any of your favorite people live! I certainly enjoyed it!