Chain Reaction

cool place. Reallllly reallly wish they made it so more poeple can fit in the venue… also need to remove the side wall that divides the people… the people on the outside of that wall are really missing out on the fun. They should not be afraid to be part of the show if you know what i mean… they are safe and sound back there.

I came here for the first time to see one of my favorite bands, Stick to Your Guns. This is their hometown venue and I had heard a lot of hype around Chain Reaction so I was expecting a great show.
The inside of the venue is small. The walls are decorated with stickers and old to new band tees. The stage is small with no barricade and general admission only. A wall separates the pit/​stage area from the merch tables and more standing room. If you love small venues, it’s great, but if that’s not your type of thing you may not enjoy it.
It was great to see Stick to Your Guns play a sold out show. It was fun and there were good vibes all around but I noticed on my next visit I didn’t enjoy the venue as much. Particularly due to the younger crowd and lack of bar I found myself bored in-​between sets.

Lots of bands roll through this place, so that alone is a huge plus. The venue itself is small and intimate, great place to get up close and personal with your favorite act. Sound is usually done pretty well. No drinks sold here, just soda and snacks.
The parking situation sucks, but parking at Target down the street usually works.

Chain reaction is my all time favorite venue. No other venue can offer the same level of intimacy with bands that are moderately big. There’s no barrier which is huge for me. They are pretty relaxed about «pitting» and stage diving as long as you act respectfully. Absolute best place to see your favorite band. You won’t get the same experience anywhere else. The draw backs are the lack of AC, and nasty bathrooms but that’s what keeps it pure!

Security here have a fetish for manhandling teenage kids. Plus it’s a dry venue.

Not sure why they don’t change the in and out rule. The club is poorly air conditioned and the outside area you can venture out to in between bands is narrow and clogged with cigarette smokers killing themselves. So your options are get drenched or die slow.
Whatever though, Chain Reaction isn’t a colossal failure. They hosted the Adamantium reunion, the most important band in So Cal hardcore history, for me, personally. They let the fans dance and get super violent. The sound isn’t the greatest, but what can you do, it’s an intimate punk club.
If more HC bands from the 90’s keep playing here I’ll be back.

Oh my lovely Chain Reaction. One of my favorite venues.
First thing you must know is yes, this place is tiny. Capacity is like 200 I think. I’ve been here for quite a few metal shows. Best part is, no barricade at this place, so stage dive your ass off if you feel the need to.
They have a sign that basically says no joshing. The sign isn’t enforced so don’t worry about it, more of a precaution for the venue if you get hurt so there’s no lawsuit bs.
I don’t recommend having your tickets in will call, because it does take a long time to get them. Usually will call opens up 10 – 15 minutes before regular doors open, so you will be behind when it comes to getting inside the actual venue.
Pretty sure they only sell water here, don’t recall them selling booze, so don’t expect to booze up.
I don’t think they really check bags well either. You can bring camcorders or big cameras in, not a problem.
I love being up close and personal with the bands seeing them, and of course I’m in the pit, too. Chain Reaction overall gives a great intimate concert experience whenever you go.
Tickets are cheap but if you plan on seeing a popular group, grab them fast because shows do sell out quickly.
ALSO, parking tip. Get there early so you can park in the lot OR park at Target lot across the street. If you park in front of the other businesses in the lot area, you WILL get towed, no question.

Chain Reaction is a smaller venue than a typical concert goer would be accustomed to. Common complaints is its size, but in all honesty (based on my experience and preference), a smaller venue just means you have to deal with less people and are ten times closer to being up-​close-​and-​personal with the artists. Ticket prices for this venue are really affordable, which is also a plus! But if cleanliness is your big thing, appearance-​wise it’s not the best of the best but if you’re coming here to listen to some great tunes — go forth!
The biggest complaint I had was with PARKING. The lot that Chain Reaction is in is super small, so if you want to park in it and avoid getting your car towed COME EARLY. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that when I went here once… my friends and I did park at the nearby Target, but if you choose to do this you’re doing this at your own risk. Be wary of towing fees and security guards roaming around watching for culprits such as yourself!
Overall, Chain Reaction isn’t bad beyond parking. Depending on who’s performing the crowd may be different from time to time but that’s a definite given. For example, when I went to see Echosmith perform there was a mixture of college kids, high schoolers, and tweens. It was a different environment than what I was used to, but hey I was down for the cause! Also, they weren’t the headliners, sooooooo yeah! I forgot who was headlining, but what was cool was that there was a mini mosh pit. Didn’t join in because I’m tiny and would like to avoid uh «moshing» it up, but it was neat to witness!

So this is a review of my concert experience here. NOT of the venue’s «pay to play» policy that most people base their negative reviews on.
Even when I lived in Pennsylvania, I knew all about Chain Reaction. It had a reputation as a modern west coast CBGB. Basically, a dumpy punk club where now famous bands cut their teeth.
I came here to see Sum 41’s first show in years. And I enjoyed quite a few things about this place:
First, there’s no barrier. Which any fan of punk music will love. Your favorite band is practically standing on top of you. Which makes for a truly intimate experience.
Second, there’s a dividing barrier extending from the right of the stage to the back of the room. Why is this important? It stops the crowd from pushing back and forth too much. Which stops people from falling and getting trampled. Nice touch. On the other side of the barrier is a nice little area to watch the show from the side of the stage if you want to be close without dealing with moshers and crowd surfers.
So why the three star review? Well for starters the sound. If you’re close to the stage you won’t hear the vocals. And if you’re far back you’ll get a LOT of high end. They also played the house music before the band at an ear splitting level. Which I found a little unnecessary. There’s also very little parking. We parked at Target, and luckily didn’t get towed.
Lastly, there’s not much staff. Which may be ok for a pop punk show, but for a tough guy hardcore show with 6366 fights, I could see this being problematic. Also, with the room being 100 degrees (one of the hottest venues ever), it’d be nice to know there’s a staff member around to help if anyone passes out.
So overall, it was fun. Not the best, but certainly not the worst place I’ve ever been. Honestly, if they staffed up and fixed the sound I would definitely come a lot more. I know I’ve nitpicked a bit here, but that’s only because I’ve been to a trillion concerts and seen some of the amazing venues LA has to offer. And even the divey ones, such as this, need to put in a bit of effort.

DO NOT support this venue if you support local bands, unless a local band you know is playing there!
I’m so sick of hearing about Chain Reaction scamming musicians like this and getting away with it. They make them sign a contract, saying that they’re gonna sell a certain amount of tickets and if they don’t, they have to pay for them. They make $ 300 a night per multiple bands and they don’t even have to fill the room. The bands do ALL of the work. They work their asses off practicing and selling tickets and then for what they can’t sell, they end up paying the venue or they could end up in court. They work way too hard to be paying that much just to play in a building.
This kind of thing is hurting our local music scene and is unfair to musicians.

It’s a small intimate venue that has t-​shirts all over its walls. So, what did I think of this place? Well, to be honest, I wasn’t impressed. The small space makes it super easy to see the bands do their thing on stage, which I like. But other than that. there’s not much to it. No alcohol is sold inside — just water, soft drinks, and candy. When I went, the restroom was broken, so they told us to hold on to our tickets so we could use it to re-​enter if we left for the bathroom. What type of place has a broken restroom during a concert. And, I don’t know if it was just the concert I went to, but there’s this small divider that is kind of meant to separate people standing directly in front of the band with people standing on the side. I wouldn’t have minded that divider being there, but people actually sat on it. thus blocking the other 20 – 30 people standing behind them (I was one of them)! How rude! and not cool that there isn’t a sign that says you can’t sit there! I get that standing for a few hours is tiring, but really? You sit on a tall ledge and block everyone else’s view? Thanks guys!
Oh, parking is free — another plus! But at the same time, the lot is tiny, and the street parking next to the venue gets easily crowded. My boyfriend and I ended up parking at target and just walked over. The venue has ups and downs. I guess I main thing I didn’t like was that I couldn’t order any drinks. Concerts and drinks usually go hand-​in-​hand!

Way back in the old days in late high school/​early college days, a younger Angie D. frequented Chain Reaction seeing pop-​punk/​emo shows about once a month!
Sure, it’s a bit dirty, hot, and small, but it’s the best venue to see bands up close and personal. After probably 7 – 8 years I returned to Chain last Friday to see Mae’s Everglow 10^th Anniversary concert and it was still the same. Sound is loud and lots of people brought earplugs & since there’s barely ventilation, it gets hot very fast! Despite these things, it’s a fun venue and holds a lot of history. Bands like Fall Out Boy and Cartel started small here and trekked forward!
So the main reason for my review is this Warning: DO NOT PARK IN THE VERIZON LOT! Get here early to park in the actual Chain Reaction lot or go across the street to Target’s lot. My car + 4 others were towed after the show and Night Star Towing jerking us around for about 3hrs. Took them about an hour before they told us where our cars were, then we cont’d to wait in the dark, in the cold, at the yard til about 1:30am. Keep an eye out for the towing signs because the $ 345 fee is not worth it! Dealing with towing companies is what hell must be like– so for that reason alone, avoid the Verizon lot!

LET ME STATE THAT I DID NOT HAVE THE WORSE NIGHT OF MY LIFE HERE BECAUSE…
A. I HAD ALCOHOL IN MY SYSTEM
B. I WASTED MONEY BUYING THE TICKETS
C. I HAD TO TAKE CARE OF SOMEONE
All those things I could endure and laugh about the next day.
I HAD THE WORSE TIME OF MY LIFE HERE BECAUSE OF HOW LITTLE TO NOTHING THE FRONT STAFF TREATED ME. THEY DID NOT CONDUCT THEMSELVES LIKE PROFESSIONALS.
The entrance staff were inconsiderate, they made fun of my situation, and they recorded my pleading in fun and games.
Coming here was one of the worst nights of my life. I’ll admit it was not my finest hour since I had been pre-​gaming with my boyfriend and a few of our friends, unfortunately after arriving there the drinks had hit my boyfriend too hard and I was put in a situation where I had to take care of him. I was okay enough to do that for him but it wasn’t until after the entrance staff watched me buy two tickets that they decided to tell me he wasn’t allowed in. I was but he wasn’t. I did not dispute that, of course. I went in real quick to use the restroom. They have a no re-​entry policy, however, I found myself needing to go again. I did have to use the restroom and I understand that they «have the right to refuse service to anyone» but I pleaded with them that I was in desperate need to use the restroom at the time. They tried sending me to Denny’s even though I needed to use the restroom right then and there and they went as far enough to tell me to go on their parking lot, justifying it with the fact that my boyfriend threw up there. It doesn’t matter if I had any alcohol in my system or not, I was not going to do that like an animal. There was five guys on staff and one of them even «kindly» pointed out a 6^th. I told them that I didn’t even care about the show, if someone could escort me to the restroom and out — that was all I needed. I needed my boyfriend to sober up just the slightest bit. He wasn’t being a bother, he was just sitting down by the parking lot. I was not going to leave him there to go watch the show or to go all the way to Denny’s.
I am not from town. I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to.

This venue is honesty great I love this place. Great experience you get seeing a band close to close without a cage separating you. The only downside on this is they didnt accept me bringing water into the venue even after I told them I needed it because of my kidney problems, oh boy the usher was a douche to me because of this.

I remember seeing the Chain Reaction name though out high school whenever 2000’s emo bands came to town but never got around to coming by.
As a My Chemical Romance fan, I finally came in March 2015 to watch Frank Iero and the Cellabrations. The venue is a lot smaller than I pictured it to be, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing since it makes the show more intimate. We even noticed the band walk right behind us in the back during the opening act as they were on the way to their dressing room. I really enjoyed seeing their walls of tshirts of bands who’ve played in the past and it made me really nostalgic of those high school days.
To my dismay, there was no alcohol served at the venue so I couldn’t get my routine concert beer. After asking the attendant at the concessions stand, I probably looked like an alcoholic looking for my vice in a crowd of under aged teens. Parking right in front of the venue is very limited to a small lot. My friend and I got there a little after the show started and parked in one of the sketchy neighborhoods half a mile down.

Such a sticky, sweaty, cramped, fantastic venue. When I was underage, it was nice to not have to pay for a stupid drink ticket or bring a parent because Chain was all ages. They host some fantastic acts, well-​known and not-​so-​well-​known, and tickets are dirt cheap. I have so many cool memories in the last seven years since I started coming here. Lots of nostalgia engrained in those squeaky wood floors. The setting is so intimate I feel like musicians put on a completely different show than at HOBs or other commercial venues.
Also, the security could pulverize you and as an average-​sized girl who’s usually accompanied by other average-​sized girls, it’s nice to know you won’t be harassed by dbags. Safe vibes are good vibes.

Chain Reaction needs to be held accountable for their staff members actions and fire, suspend, etc accordingly.
Last night standing outside of a Crown the Empire show I witnessed (alongside many others) a staff member assault a minor.
Essentially what occurred was this… the patron (who was 17) had already exited the venue after the show… upon exiting the ‘security/​staff’ member came barreling out of the doorway after him, grabbed the kid by the back of the hair said «what the f**k did you say to me?!» And with his other hand on the kids chin/​throat he threw the kid down violently on the ground… yelled at his female companion when she verbally attempted to confront the staff member .and walked back inside as if that is in the norm and within his rights.
I will tell you what… it was CLEARLY a case of assault against a minor by Chain Reaction staff and it should not be condoned. The staff member needs to be held accountable… if not within the law (since it would be up to that minor to want to press charges) than at least by termination of employment.
Whether this minor had verbally said something or even «flipped off» the staff member (from the accounts I heard) it gives staff NO right to enact that amount of violence against anyone (especially a minor)!!
Might I add, that as an all ages venue that clearly states on signage in front of their building that there is no alcohol allowed on the premises … I find it ridiculous that not only did I witness that occurrence last night, but that multiple staff members turned a blind eye to the multitude of band members (and their friends and crew) who were blatantly drinking beer in front of the venue (even with empty beer bottles in plain sight just perched nicely on top of the trashcan) …it’s pretty ridiculous that staff can not only turn a blind eye at that but also that they allow a staff member (who should be terminated) to assault a child/​minor patron who a) was not violent b) had already exited and c) was attacked from behind by the staff member.
Get your act together Chain Reaction! And clean up the a**holes you have working for you!
(And I say this all as a former patron who used to attend many shows at chain back over a decade again when I was a teen)
Shame on you Chain Reaction!

An average small venue to go see a band. There is limited parking so come early because it is first come first serve. No ventilation so if you are stuck in the pit you’ll defiantly feel the heat. The venue is small so you’ll get to see the band play up close. They have a bar off to the side. When I came to see a show here the band sold tickets in person so I didn’t have to deal with any convenience fees. There’s also a sign that says no crowd surfing. Nobody pays attention to that.

2014 Unilocal 100 CHALLENGE — ⁶⁵⁄₁₀₀
Chain Reaction is a smaller, more underground rock venue in Anaheim. I’d say the majority of people that go here are in their teens-​twenties, and the bands are generally all pertaining to the rock genre.
PARKING:
They have a parking lot, but it’s pretty small and holds maybe…30 cars at most? Free parking though. The venue has a ton of warning signs explicitly saying not to park in the parking lots of businesses nearby, but of course everyone does it. My boyfriend and I usually park in the Target parking lot across the street.
TICKETS:
I recommend buying them online as soon as you can. This venue is pretty small and shows will often sell out pretty quickly.
VENUE:
There are no in and out privileges, so once you enter, there’s no turning back. There’s a small alley on the side of the building that you can hang out in, but it’s mostly infiltrated by smokers so I generally stay inside.
There’s a small concession stand area, which I remember has a cooler for sodas, water bottles, etc. I don’t THINK they sell alcohol here, but I’m not sure.
The stage is relatively small, and it’s standing room only. The standing room is a long rectangular shape.
In the back left corner, they have the merchandise tables set up.
They allow crowd surfing/​stage diving, even though there is a sign that literally says, «No crowd surfing» on it. Guess they don’t really care? I found it kind of annoying when I recently attended a show here because I’m short and don’t really have the strength to carry people or have them jumping on top of me.
It gets really HOT in this venue, so I’d recommend to just leave your jackets and sweatshirts at home! Also, the sound is usually REALLY LOUD. My ears were ringing for hours after attending a show here.
Overall, great venue — perfect size for your standard rock band + audience.

There is nothing better than live music! I have so much respect for people who learn instruments and are willing to pursue their dreams. The Chain Reaction is a typical «pay to play» venue for start up bands. They have to sell a certain number of tickets just to play that night. The owners have decorated the walls with hundreds of old concert t-​shirts and stickers. Definitely a trip down memory lane!
One of our employees was trying to play the other night and it was heartbreaking that they still needed to sell a few more tickets in order to perform. We felt like rich benefactors buying their last few tickets. I mean we didn’t come down to NOT see them play, for Pete’s sake.
It was Metal — it was loud — it was awesome!