Parking for Events at Toyota Center

We recently went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Houston's Toyota Center and discovered that surface lot parking is something to avoid. There's a temptation to pull into one of those lots as you're in line to enter the parking garage for Toyota Center but you'll find that getting out of the lot takes far longer. The reason is that the Toyota Center parking garage hires traffic police to allow the garage to empty rather quickly. My parents made the mistake of parking in the Classified Parking System surface lot on the south east corner of Toyota Center at the corner of Polk St. and Jackson St. The operators of the parking lot only allow one driveway for both incoming and outgoing cars and there is NO traffic direction to allow the cars in the lot to get out. We watched as the entire Toyota Center Parking Garage empty out in about 20 minutes with the help of traffic police. It took my parents 40 minutes to move from their parking spot to the street.

Peter Frampton Concert Verizon Theater in Houston

We saw Peter Frampton's concert last night (Oct 19, 2007) in Houston at Verizon Theater. His performance is amazing but is stage manager needs to have his head examined. We were only able to enjoy the first 20 minutes of his show, then the mobs of people crowded the stage. There were a number of fist fights that nearly broke out because of people stepping on each other and fighting for position. If you were on the floor, you had to stand the rest of the show to see anything. I have no objection the mosh pit formation but you should sell general admission tickets instead of allowing people to block the view of those who paid top dollar for great seats. More importantly, it was a safety hazard as tempers ran high. My fiancée had beer spilled on her when two other guys began arguing over floor position and had her feet stepped on numerous times. That crowed scene mixed with lots of alcohol was rather volatile. The mad house was even more surprising in this day and age of liability concern. If something had happened, Frampton’s band would have been pretty exposed. I’d pass on this if you expect to be able to sit and watch in a civilized manner.