The Pearl boasts a capacity of 2,500, which can be curtained down to 1,100 for more intimate shows. Photos by Ralph Fountain. There are no obstructed views at the new venue, which also boasts nine skyboxes on each side of the stage.

It seems big and small all at once, and that's the whole point.

The Pearl, the new concert theater at the Palms, has a capacity of 2,500, but with its towering ceilings and large foyer appointed with plush bunches, it feels both intimate and expansive.

Opening on Saturday, The Pearl is a large, crescent shaped room with several tiers of seating.

Rising up from a general admission floor, which can also be outfitted with seats for certain shows, are nine private skyboxes on each side of the stage, some of which feature their own bar service.

Appointed with maroon carpet and colored in deep shades of green and brown, the venue is flush with bars on every level and clear sight lines on all three tiers.

No seat is more than 120 feet from the stage.

Located right off the main floor of the Palms, the venue was formed by incorporating some of the space from the casino's movie theaters into the room.

With high-tech lighting and sound, The Pearl boasts 60 speakers placed throughout the hall, and the lighting design was done by Michael Keller, a concert industry veteran who's helped craft the stage presentations of big names such as Aerosmith, Michael Jackson and Ozzy Osbourne, among others.

The venue also is hard-wired to the studio at the Palms, making live recordings possible, and the stage and rigging is big enough that arena-size acts won't have to scale down their productions when playing the venue.

Fall Out Boy, which is headlining The Pearl in April, never had it so good.