Pacific Amphitheatre

Pacific Amphitheatre is the outdoor concert bowl on the OC Fair & Event Center grounds in Costa Mesa, off Fair Drive between the 405 and the 55. It's a summer room. The season runs mostly while the OC Fair is on, from mid-July into August, and the calendar gets thin once the fair packs up.

The booking leans on acts with long careers and a loyal OC following, plus a tribute band or two each summer. Every seat is a reserved blue chair in a curved bowl facing the stage, and the sightlines hold up well from most of the house. You can stand in front of your own seat, but not in the aisles or on the chairs.

The fair is the twist. A reserved seat during the fair also gets you into the fair that day, and you enter through the fair gates. That means you can show up early for a corn dog and the carnival and walk over at showtime. After the encore, you leave the same way, back out through the fair. For concerts before or after the fair dates, follow the signs and the parking crew to whichever lot is open.

Parking runs $15 a car, cash or card, and the venue suggests rideshare or carpooling since fair traffic on Fair Drive backs up fast. Leave the lawn chairs, cameras and backpacks at home. The whole property is non-smoking and non-vaping, including the fair, and kids under 2 get in free.