Firekeepers Casino & Hotel Event Center

• 11177 E. Michigan Avenue
• Battle Creek, MI 49014
• (877) 352-8777
• Website
• Menu

A couple of months ago, J surprised me when she said she’d like to see Dennis Miller.  I didn’t really think their political views lined up which can usually be a a reason not to see a comedian, but she said she always loved his unique view and commentary on every day life.

I was never a big fan of him but I figured if J wanted to go, I like stand-up enough that it would be something we could both enjoy.  I got a couple of tickets for the show at Firekeepers which would also mark the first time we had been to a show at the Event Center inside Firekeepers Hotel and Casino.

I’ve been to a few different casino’s to see shows and they’re all pretty much the same.  The room is a multi-purpose room with a stage.  Firekeepers is no different.  They had signs on the casino floor pointing us towards the Event Center which is down a hallway on the northeast side of the building.  For a conference or something similar, you could easily make your way between the casino floor and the Event Center but because this was a ticketed event, they brought us through the long way which made forming a line a little easier.

We were a little surprised at how easy it was to get in.  No bag check.  No mags.  There was just a couple of employees scanning tickets and then it was around another corner that had a map of the layout of the room so you could find easily find your section.

The Event Center is essentially a large room with chairs lined up on the floor for seating.  There’s a stage at one end that sits pretty high off the floor so even from the back row, there’s not much to obstruct your view.  I’m not sure how concerts are area but for a show like a comedian where  you’re sitting all the time, there’s really no complaints.

There is what they call “bleacher seating” in the back and that’s just one section of stadium style seats.  They’re individual seats, not actual bleachers and they give you a little more rise if you don’t want to sit on the floor.

We ate dinner at Dacey’s Taphouse before the show and had a couple of drinks so I really wasn’t interested in one when I got inside.  There are a couple of bars in different spots on the floor so there’s never a very long line.  They stick to the basics inside the Event Center with cans of Macro beers and cheap liquor.  I passed entirely but J did get a Bacardi and Coke to drink during the show.

The room is quite large and we were seated about halfway back on an aisle.  Miller came out right at 9:00 with no opening act.  Once the lights dimmed, people scrambled to their seats so the first ten minutes or so were kind of annoying because there was always people in front of us with their flashlights out trying to find their seats.

I’m not going to get too much in to the show because we really didn’t enjoy it.  Miller came out with a binder full of his jokes and practically read them off a music stand.  We were prepared for the political jokes we likely wouldn’t find funny but even his non-political jokes fell flat.  The set had no cohesion and it just felt like he was reading joke, punchline, joke, punchline, joke, punchline.  J needed to use the restroom about an hour in to the show and we just decided not to go back to our seats after that.

On the plus side, the experience of a show at Firekeepers was actually pretty good.  It’s a nice small venue and I never felt stressed or rushed trying to get in or move around the venue once we got inside.  I’m not always a fan of Casino shows just because the venue always seems to feel like I’m at a conference for work and while you do sort of get that feeling at Firekeepers, once the house lights go down, it’s easy to forget where you’re at and just enjoy the ride.