Which hotel(s) are the best, nearest, whatever for going to a concert at Chastain? Also, for those who are veteran Chastain Park goers, tell me about what to pack in with us? You can take adult beverages, can't you?

There really aren't any hotel near Chastain. Anything near Lenox is pretty close but you will have to drive and park to get to a concert.

You can take adult beverages. If you've rented a table, you'll want to take a tablecloth, flowers, candles and your food of course. If you didn't buy a table, you'll want to take in a TV tray table or some folding table and your food/drink. Depending on how fancy you set up your spread, you may want flowers and candles for that too. At least take a low votive candle for ambiance

For years I had my Chastain basket and had everything ready to go. The first time I went we were told we could take in food and drink so we had a bag of chips and a 6 pack of beer. You'll find everything in between those two options.

Warning - If you bought the "box" seats between the floor table seats and the regular seats, there won't be room for a tray table - and in summer there is no circulation and it will be hot as Hades in those rows. I said NEVER AGAIN after an Idina Menzel concert - and then someone bought "great" tickets for me last year. Same rows. Misery.

One show last year rain was predicted. I thought and thought and thought and went into CVS and wandered. I bought the PERFECT solution - a beach basket filled with beach toys and a flat top. It was a hit as we brought it in. Took out the toys, filled it up with the plasticware (plates, forks, glasses) and the rain could just run through. I have a monogrammed insulated cooler/basket for the food. It was a combination that worked. The usual is a folding table of some sort and the food basket.

Food = catering is available and you can just call and order and pick up.

Most people have their Chastain specialities. Something that's easy to scoop and serve works well since there's not a lot of space. There's space to set up your table in front of you (and people can still get by) but not a lot of space to store stuff. I usually take a chicken salad (sometimes curried, always the one with almonds and grapes), cheese and crackers, fruit and strawberries dipped in chocolate. Picnic food.

Enjoy. It's the BEST summer night experience in Atlanta.

The tickets don't actually go on sale until this Saturday morning and I'm just about betting that I won't be able to get them anyway. It's the 2nd James Taylor concert. Anway, in case I do score, which seats should I try and get?

Check around for a pre-sale opportunity. But even then, pre-sale tickets aren't always the best. The best bet is to be online and/or the phone (or maybe standing in line at a Publix customer service desk if it's a Ticketmaster event) and buy a ticket in the first few minutes they go on sale.

There are floor table tickets (you buy a table for 6), table tickets that are on the tiers (regular table tickets), regular seats (that have room in front of them for folding tray tables you bring) and then the ground/grass tickets at the very back. In between the floor and the first rows of the tiers, they've squeezed in narrow folding chairs and they call those "box" seats. Don't buy the box seats. Anything/anywhere else is fine.

Do not buy the seats in pink -
http://www.classicchastain.com/events/seatingchart.php

Lawn seating in on the ground. Bring a blanket if you buy those.

If you've not been to The Fred in Peachtree City, check into it. It's a new outdoor venue and is like a baby Chastain with good shows, much smaller venue and great parking right in front. The Hampton Inn in Ptree City is a good hotel option. I love Chastain but the Fred is a wonderful smaller (and nicer) version of Chastain.

http://www.amphitheater.org/

Example of a presale offer (from FB)
Fans get first access tomorrow @ 11:00 am ET to VIP pit seats for Idina's June 25 concert with the Cincinnati Pops! The link and promo code will be published in the morning.

The JT website is sold out of presales except for the box seats....which we don't want, right?

When is the concert? Never mind, I just looked. end of May.

Good things about the box seats = closest seats to the stage, except for the table seats (which require a purchase of 6 tickets). That's a very good thing. I've been very close to really good artists/bands.

Bad thing about box seats -
1) the seats are folding chairs - not the normal installed chairs in the remaining part of the theatre.
2) they squeeze in those folding chairs pretty tightly - just like rows of folding chairs in any venue
3) if the day/night is really hot/humid, there is no circulation and it's get really hot in those rows.

But, a concert at the end of May is not the same weather as July and August. So, it shouldn't be that hot and humid.

Conclusion - if you want to see JT, buy the tickets - especially if those are your only options. I wouldn't buy them for the middle of the summer but end of May should be okay.

IF you buy the tickets, disregard the folding table comments above. We had to tuck ours behind the chairs, next to the railing. Take in food you can eat on your lap. You can also buy food/drinks there.

The gamble - better seats will be available when regular sales go on. You could always buy the box seats now during the presale and resell them if you are able to buy the regular seats.

Look at the seating chart above to see the location of the box seats.

(Check FB to see if you can see pics tagged "OWJ". It will show the different seating types. I'll remove the tags tomorrow. You may or may not be able to see the pics.)

YES! Got em!!!! They are orchestra row o seats 148&150 right side of house and I don't care if they are good seats or not!!! By looking at live nation seating chart, row O is the first row of orchestra. I could get Row V center - is that bettah?

Every seat in Chastain (except the box seats when it's hot) is a good seat. Enjoy JT

parking can be diffcult-- i always park along Chastain Memorial Pkwy,and its free--get there a little early.If you park in the lot it can be tough exitng

Any chance of canning it?

canning s/b cabbing!!!! dang, iphone!!!