Holy Mountain

The doors were open, so naturally i went in to wait for the music to start. Obviously after a bad day and it being Friday night i wanted a drink. The bartender was very rude and wouldn’t serve me a drink because they weren’t open until 9. But other people had drinks.
Then when i came back to the bar after 10 minutes to sit down, he told me he was serious about me needing to be outside on the other side of the fence and was being even more rude! Even though he only said last time that he wouldn’t serve me!
It was ridiculous! He was extremely rude! He has no communication or people skills. And someone said he might be the owner. GET PEOPLE SKILLS!
If it wasn’t for the nice girl bartender, i would have nothing good to say about this place.

I can’t believe I haven’t written a review for this place yet!
I LOVE Holy Mountain.
The stage is so perfectly lit with awesome blue lights on the even more awesome wooden walls. I love playing shows here with the band I’m in-​Nominee (sorry, had to). It’s always a good one!
The energy of this place is always golden. The bartenders are cool people and friendly. Drinks are cheap and good. Bathrooms are clean and not run down like other venues. And, it’s right near EVERYTHING. How could one not be happy going here?
There’s an outdoor patio that is lined with a display window from the inside. They always have something artsy going on in there, and right now it’s SO great. An artist made a whole city out of random toys. You MUST check it out!
Go see a show here!

Really awesome venue. Great décor. Great stage. Very friendly staff. Very clean bathrooms as well. Room has great acoustics as well which makes for the perfect show. I’m glad I made it out to this place finally. Ill be back!!!

I came here once when it was Beauty Bar and the hipster douchiness overwhelmed me so much that it flew right off of my radar. I’m glad that place is gone.
Went to a Nerdcore HipHop show last night at Holy Mountain and had a great time! Not just that I got to see two of my favorite rappers (MC Frontalot and Dr Awkward) and hang out with people I haven’t in a long time, but that this place has undergone a transformation. Maybe it was just the nerd crowd, but I’d consider going back another time, with the hope that Beauty Bar faded away.
After two trips to the bar, the bartender remembered my last name to charge my card. They also had a drink special that was themed to the show. The draft beer selection wasn’t terrible. The sound and acoustics were great. My only complaint related to the place is that it was HOT in there, with only a couple ceiling fans that, really, did nothing.

The stage is decent and the sound is usually pretty good. Bartenders are friendly and service is good. Beer choices are decent (three taps)
my problem with the place is the inability to stick to schedule. We arrived at 8:15 for a 8PM door time. The door was NOT open and we joined the line. This is where employees and band members come to enjoy the patio and smoke tobacco. So if you’re in line, you are left with the choice of getting out of line or having 2^nd hand smoke applied to your person.
doors opened at 8:45, we got in about 9. Some guy ran up «excuse me» handed the door man a $ 20, got his name crossed off the list and got in before us, he hadn’t been in line…
so we got in and at almost 10 pm the first of three bands had not started… we had finished a beer and agreed that we weren’t planning to stay till till 1 AM so… we left.
I understand it’s a small music club, opposed to Moody (where everything happens on time and you are not forced to wait till midnight before the main act takes the stage).
my main beef was the line and smokers.

Good venue, non-​pretentious atmosphere. One of the better places to see live music in Austin.

I was here back in the day when this was the Beauty Bar and there was THE hipster-​apocopalyse (read: police on horses were brought in for all the fence climbers) at SXSW for some cool and hip band that has since gone the way of the dodo bird as most of them do (it was DFA 1979 by the way and they had re-​united for a brief tour). This was when this place had a lot of dance DJ’s all the time. And hair dryers.
Since that time Holy Mountain has come into existence. Is this now a church where they have tent revivals minus the tent but with plenty of gospel? No. But have they diversified their schedule to include stand up comedy and the occasional sports event? Yes.
What’s the most important thing to know about Holy Mountain? Their sound system will blow your face off. It rivals The Parish in sound quality. OMFG. But wait – this can be annoying. Just being real. Holy Mountain is a small venue so if they have the sound cranked it can be too loud. And this is coming from a girl who loves rock music and who rarely wears ear plugs. If they keep it at a good level instead you will easily be able to be transformed into another dimension where you can numb all your current troubles like a fine brandy. Which is what music is all about, right?
What’s the 2^nd most important thing to know about Holy Mountain? They have 2 patios, though the back patio isn’t always open. Because the stage is intimate and the environment so friendly don’t be surprised to have the band come and mingle with beer after their show.
Pro tip: A lot of the shows have cover in the average range of $ 8-​$ 10. Transmission Entertainment books a lot of shows here (this is a good thing if you are into rad, smaller bands). They are basically next door to a really awesome Asian restaurant called Koriente that you need to go eat food at before your show at Holy Mountain. Koriente closes at 9:30 so plan accordingly.

Cute bartender, standup comedy, cheap beer.

Small and intimate. Decent sound. I imagine not very comfortable in the warm summer. Clean though.

Too loud and not my type of music. I agree with the comments about Clean bathrooms and quick service. Great drink specials.

So, what can I say?
They sponsored bands for Free Music Week, and giving back to the community in this way can’t get any better than this.
Larger open space to listen and hang out, so, even when they’re crowded, you still got space.
Stage is in the corner, and comes out at an angle, and I generally think that this works better for me personally with regards to crowds and acoustics.
Cool, edgy, rustic vibe.

This place gives me bonerzzzzzzzzz best bar on earth

The venue has been redone and the food truck in the back is a definite plus! If only it wasn’t so close to Waller Creek. I would advise you to bring bug spray or spray yourself before coming to this bar. If you go after the sun goes down the mosquito’s are everywhere even inside.
Overall it’s a cool music venue with good drink specials, and an awesome food trailer on the back patio. Definitely try it out, but don’t expect anything too fancy.

I’m so glad they were able to get the smell of puke and shame out of the former Beauty Bar location.
Holy Mountain has risen out of the disgusting, glittery ashes of Beauty Bar!
I really liked what they’ve done with this place. It’s a nice little venue for local bands. Staff was friendly and they had some great drink specials. I wouldn’t mind coming here to see a band or just get my dance on. There’s a food trailer in the back that I would like to try out. They have a Chik-​fil-​a style sandwich without all the hate.

Every time I went to Beauty Bar, I was disappointed. The space was so weird, the sound was two levels above piercing, getting a drink tended to be nigh impossible and the crowd was all hopped up on something or other. Kids these days. Enter Holy Mountain. The new owners of that space have done a bang up job of remodeling and creating a much more welcoming and well-​laid out bar.
The inside’s been re-​done — shifting the stage over into the corner so that there’s a much clearer walk way. The bartenders were fast, making cocktails and sales and looking composed doing it. I never waited more than 3 mins for a beverage at this crowded show. The sound was fantastic — loud but not earsplittingly so – and I dug that the musicians came and hung out with the audience later.
On a night like Wednesday, they open the garage doors to a large outside patio area covered with benches that’s just perfect for conversing while the music’s happening or grabbing a quick smoke between shows.
The beer prices were cheap, the folks there were nice and I saw three shows in a night there without ever feeling crowded out or weirded out. My mixed drink was a bit pricey but I did order a new liquor (the new Deep Eddy Ruby Red) so maybe that’s considered a call. The vibe is great, the folks are great and I’m so excited about catching more shows here or a quick drink before downtown tomfoolery.

I finally FINALLY went to Holy Mountain to see the almighty Marnie Stern shred some riffs. I haven’t been here since it was Beauty Bar. I really REALLY loathed Beauty Bar. Seriously. Ask ANYONE. That said, I went to a few shows at Beauty Bar back in the day and well, they’ve REALLY spruced it up quite a bit. They’ve moved the stage and actually made an ACTUAL stage. They even have fancy cocktails for those so inclined. Me? I had some Lonestar tallboys. Everybody working here was super nice too. That’s refreshing. My only gripe? It seemed as if the vocals were off in the mix. Venues fault? Not sure? Singers fault? Not sure. Everything else was just dandy.

First time visit to the new incarnation to see Sorne, Mighty Mountain and Hikes. The sound system was perfection for this tiny venue. Nothing overwhelming and you could still hold a conversation on the sidelines. Full bar yet nothing pretentious. You come here to hear great live music, not compare outfits or cocktails. Didn’t get to check out the patio due to pouring rain but it would be a great place to hang out between bands. Decent people watching and depending on the band you may just run into the lead singer hanging out in the ladies restroom before the show. Didn’t even pay extra for that!

This live music venue just set the standard for what every smaller venue in town SHOULD BE DOING (and some of the big ones, also).
I love the vibe, mostly. The shows are booked solid. It’s always super chill here. Even the beer lines are chill. They have great drink specials; ask for the Ski Pass. Best drink deal on Red River, trust me.
On beautiful nights, the garage side door is open, thus allowing front patio dwellers and passerby’s on the street to soak in the music from inside with direct sight to the stage. I got to admit, if you are hard on your luck and don’t have a few bucks to get in the door, this isn’t a bad way to entertain yourself.
Don’t forget there is a small, but equally cool patio in the back where people go to enjoy the soul food trailer (Gay-​fila, anyone?) and smoke until the next band goes on. Although I feel the front patio offers more for entertainment, the back patio offers more in privacy.
My favorite new venue. If they keep doing what they are doing, I will keep coming. Don’t forget free comedy and music on Monday nights with Chris Cubas! That is worth its weight in gold, my friends!

This use to be the old Beauty Bar, so I am going to compare it to that. First of all upon arriving there I noticed that they «shrank» the outside patio by 10 feet from the street — why, I have no ffing idea, but this makes the patio hold even less people. I don’t understand the logic here unless the city made them do this.
They do get good acts to play music there, so I like that, and the sound system is good. They have good DJ’s usually (same as BB). The bartenders are nice, and they try to help you as soon as possible and they are polite.
I like this space overall, and I like the people that go here, and the music. I recommend it!

For live music, Holy Mountain is so much better than the old Beauty Bar. Remember where there was a sunken lounge area? Now that’s a raised stage, pointing diagonally toward the front door. The inside has undergone a general facelift and everything seems clean and new. I do miss the funky old salon hairdryers, but there is a bench where they used to be, as well as tables and chairs that can be moved to the center of the room for laid-​back shows like the one I saw on New Year’s Day (kudos for starting Free Week early!).
Bar prices are par for the ‘hood and everything seemed more laid back than I remember from the previous incarnation. There are even new signs clearly labeling where the restrooms are. I’m not sure about old back patio/​infamous SXSW riot site — the back door just had a handwritten «Emergency Exit Only» sign.
It was loud (glad to have brought ear plugs) but the sound was really good — vocals up front where they belong, nothing too shrill or boomy. A lot of the sound system is new, according to the sound guy. He also mentioned that the Beauty Bar folks retained some small portion of ownership but I for one am a fan already of the new Holy Mountain management.