Red 7

Just got the terrible news about red 7 closing its doors due to an outrageous rent increase. I am so sad to see yall go! I voted for you for best music venue in the Chronicle this year and have nothing but great memories of this place. I hope we can keep Red River’s music scene alive and well after this huge blow. Best of luck to everyone!

Cool venue. I have seen: Phobia, Dying Fetus/​Exhumed, Madball here. Great sound!

I paid $ 25 to see a band. What I got was an evening of standing in an outside area with no covering, surrounded by smelly port-​a-​potties and cigarette smokers. Really? We could not go into the «building» and use the bathrooms. The port-​a-​potties were dark and stinky!
Give me the old Emo’s over this place any day. Never going back. Oh yeah, the sound was way off!

Dirty, grungy little music venue. I was only at the outside portion so can’t speak for inside.
It wasn’t awful but port-​a-​potties? I paid for a ticket and I have to use a port-​a-​potty? Why aren’t they established enough to have some outdoor bathrooms or at least access to the inside ones?
Tons of smoking at the outside venue portion which is a blast for those of us non smokers trying to enjoy the music…
No covering over the top of said outdoor venue so bring sunscreen if it’s sunny or being an umbrella or something similar if it’s raining.
Young crowd. Young. Maybe ¼ of people there were old enough to drink.
Bartenders outside are friendly and chill.
Cheeeeeap drinks. Tito’s for $ 5? I’ll take it!
Pretty good size venue and a pretty decent seat from most angles.
The concert I was there to see was supposed to start at 6pm. I got there at 7pm and it had JUST started. What kind of clock are we using here, people??? Cray!
Tickets into the show are cheap because you get to deal with port-​a-​potties, lots of cigarette smoke, no covering over you, and delays in starting of a show.
I’d go back if it was a band I really wanted to see but there are SO many better venues than this in the Live Music Capital of the World. Let the 18yr olds have this place; someone give me a more sophisticated crowd and a toilet that flushes!

Showed up about an hour late for a show where I was supposed to be meeting up with co workers. Didn’t know the name of the band, just going to hang out and support a friend. I drop $ 20, entry for my date and I, and proceed to buy a beer… Only to realize that we’re not at the right venue. «Could it be Red Eye Fly?» YES, it was the red eye fly… I chug my beer, and go to talk to the person at the desk where I paid. I let him know that I was mistaken and meant to go to the venue that’s less than a block away (also with Red in the name). Now get this, i’de only been inside for less than 5 minutes before me and my date leave. But apparently, according to the «man» at the desk, once you press a button on the tablet to count entry it’s Impossible to do a refund! «The drawer will be short.» He said. Also there was Nobody to talk to about it, apparently.
Sure I should’ve done some research before… But who knew that tablet POS programs could not offer any refunds? Or that a venue could get away with such bs practices??? Will not be going here again.
So if your looking for a good show in this area, save yourself some time and go to Red Eye Fly, who will in fact refund you if you happen to be a human and make a mistake. (I was told they do refunds for people who think they are at Red 7, because in the doorman’s words, «It happens a lot»)
Plus it’s just a lot nicer.

I guess I should have read reviews before I went to see The Ventures playing as V2 for #TexasTikiWeek so I would have had more of an idea what I was getting myself into. I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. It’s good ol’ dive bar.
My biggest complaint was heat. They could use more fans and AC vents as I saw duct work with a few vents above the crowd but that doesn’t help the people on the side or in back. And who knows if it even works because the doors are open to the sitting area in front which is open air. On a up note, there was a cooler of water with plastic cups so you could grab your own water when needed which helped.
The women’s bathroom was ok. Could have used more soap. One was about empty and the other dispenser was broke. There were (I think) five stalls plus a serape area with mirrors and a shelf so ladies can primp without disturbing the flow. That’s cool.

To Unilocal and Nathan D.,
NATHAN: Please educate yourself. Seven percent of the words in your review are vulgar. Educated people learn to express themselves successfully without using vulgarity.
Unilocal: After reading your criteria for posts, it is quite evident that Nathan’s review doesn’t fit your own criteria. Nathan did not revue the venue, but, instead, the persons who had.
Is that Unilocal’s focus?
I’d like to know so that I can make an educated, informed decision about whether to factor in the Unilocal reviews I see on services from hotels to restaurants to collision centers, etc.
Thank you,
Kim Koogle

J

I go the Red 7 a lot and it has definitely improved over the years. But, there is definitely some room for improvement.
Pros: Great shows here regularly, good sound, the wall of boom boxes, nice bartenders /​door folk. Both inside and outside stages are excellent.
Cons: The BATHROOMS!!! Come on, guys. Worst, most disgusting bathrooms in town, hands down. I was there last night and 2 of the 5 toilets were out of order, 2 more have no toilet seats (um, gross.) and 1 was working. WTF? Please put some work into this, folks. I love the shows here and the staff is cool, but I really dislike using the facilities here.

Having been through here many times over the years on tour with various bands, I’ve seen this place evolve from the diviest of the dives to the more palatable «semi-​dive» it is now. For a Transmission venue, it’s a disappointment compared to say, The Mohawk or Holy Mountain located next door. However, sometimes that new, remodeled, glossy «hey check out how cool we are» attitude for a venue that’s become a regular stop for touring and local bands throughout the years is an unwelcome change. Red7 still retains its DILLIGAF charm, though, and having experienced far, far worse across the country and globe, it’s pretty a-​ok in those regards.
On a good night, indoors, the AC is working, and the water jugs are full. On a bad night, it’s hotter than Satan’s nether-​regions, and heat-​induced hallucinations/​dehydration are frequent due to lack of thirst quenching H2O. If you’re sensitive to cigarettes and smokers, you’ll be really bummed out, since the «outdoorish patio area» near the front entrance is smoker’s central (at least at most of the metal/​heavy psych shows). It separates the men from the boys, though, and hey, you came here to rock out, and rock ‘n’ roll ain’t always pretty. If you are a smoker, though, big bonus points — no standing in the rain to light up, and you don’t have to leave to get your smoke on.
The outdoor area is fine, but you need to enter from the alleyway if there’s two different shows going on, which is something that can be a bit confusing for first-​timers. The bar is a bit under stocked, but again, you’re not here for the craft brew. You’re here to see a good show. The sound is usually good, depending who’s working, and if the sound guy knows what he’s doing. This applies to both the indoor and outdoor area. Inside, there’s some nice couches to hang out if you’re feeling tired, and outside there’s some benches which are prime territory for sipping on some brew in between sets.
Don’t bother stage diving, though. There’s a definite strict «NO CROWD SURFING!» rule, and it’s pretty heavily enforced. That’s fine with me, though, I’ve got back problems, and bands don’t always like sharing the stage.
All in all — it’s not the best place to see a show, but it’s definitely not the worst. I’m a regular, since a lot of the bands I like are too small for Mohawk, and too big for HM… and every time it gets a little better. It’s tried and true, and one of the few places that still feels like home among the venue boom of ATX.

Red 7 feels like all the underground shows I want to be in. There’s a «we don’t give a _​_​_​_​» vibe here and I love it. It makes me feel cooler to be at a show here… just because it’s so punk. They get great shows here and if you’re coming for something popular, get there early. You *dont* want to be stuck behind a pillar and all the dancing happens up front.
Everyone is in some version of black t shirt and old shorts/​jeans. Lots of awesome hair, piercings, people smoking furiously, furtive glances, suspicion, the smell of a certain funk in the air, especially out back. It’s hot as hell inside, bodies packed with aggressively engaged fans. People are into it — a refreshing change from the weird mellowness of other shows.
Drinks are reasonable inside and out, they’ve got decent beer and Joaquin the bartender out back wants you out there. He’s lonely guys — start your tab there and high five him for being great. Let’s just say after leaving, I realized that a taxi was probably my best bet.

I went to Red 7 for a concert where on the ticket it said it would begin at 9 and there were only 2 bands listed. So what did I expect? The bands would start roughly around 9:30 (ya know since bands like to be fashionably late) and it would all be a good time.
That is not what I got.
Not only was the concert OUTSIDE IN 30 DEGREE WEATHER without notifying the ticket holders, but there was a piece of paper that greeted you upon entering the venue letting you know that 4 bands would be playing. The designated times for such bands were placed as well and the main performer, who I paid money to come see, would not even be taking the stage until 12:15/12:30. When has that ever been ok? Not only did you force people outside without notifying them so they all froze, but you added opening bands that made the «9:00pm show» a show that wouldn’t even start until probably 12:45am.
I was shocked that none of this was on the ticket or on the website. This is not how you treat people who are paying money to come see a band at your venue. Not only did I freeze my ass off, but some people have JOBS and can’t be out until 2am waiting for a band they were told would start around 9pm. I’m not an old maid by any means but let’s just try and be realistic here ok? I will definitely not be attending concerts here because who knows what to expect? They don’t tell anyone anything!
To top off the terrible experience, I tried to warm myself up with their «hot cider» which was basically cheap vodka and hot water crudely mixed together.
No thankyou.

I didn’t have a bad experience here, nor did I have to go to the bathroom, so my review isn’t as bad as everyone else’s.
They sponsored bands for Free Music Week, and giving back to the community in this way can’t get any better than this.
The band was good, though unfortunately, I didn’t know the name since I was just a random walk-​in.
I had just gone to Holy Mountain, and liked the space better over there. Here, the stage is set directly facing the back wall where the bar is, and then the audio is in a standalone island in the middle of the floor (between the stage and the back wall); then you have the front door flow in between the bar and the audio, so flow and space are more limited and less conducive to crowds.

If you like the smell of urine, you will enjoy an evening at Red 7.
For the novice urine lover, you will no doubt adore the piss covered concrete floors, the overflowing Port-​O-​Lets and the general stench in the air. For the more advanced urine connoisseur, the pleasures of smelling it in your drink, in your hair, and using your finely tuned olfactory senses to detect any «hidden» odors (ala hide-​and-​go-​seek) makes for quite an entertaining endeavor.
If the venue ever decided to change the name, I have some suggestions:
*Urine 7
*Red Urine
*7 Guys Urinating Red
*Red’s 7 Urinating Guys
*Piss Piss Piss Piss And More Piss
So give yourself a break and visit Red 7 today. One smell and you’ll know you’re in.

Good live music spot in Downtown Austin.
I went with some friends the other night and had a good time. Bar is good size for music acts. They had a variety of bands play while I was there. Bartender was cool and funny as well. Kind of a dark, divey, spot to listen to some local acts.

I feel weird rating it one star since I have frequented this bar quite a bit. It’s not a place I would say «Meet me at,» but I have a decent amount of friends who do. I’ve never had a bad time here but I’ve never had a great time here either.
The bathrooms are disgustingggggggg. Probably the worst bathroom I’ve ever been in all of downtown Austin. Or it probably is equivalent to Emo’s bathrooms-​they are also awful. There is a certain part of the night where you leave and go elsewhere or you just don’t go.

Its hard for me to recommend Red 7 to anyone. I’ve never had a good experience here. Drinks are always over priced, the fans are pushy, the people who work here seem to not be able to get any other job. Some of the employees are very dirty and you would never know they were even working here.
If you go to a show here expect the entire front of the crowd to be recording the show through cell phones. Expect a crowd and expect to pay 5 bucks or more for beer.
I can appreciate a dirty dive bar or a tough metal bar or whatever you want, I cant appreciate much about this place.
I guess the only positive here is that they do sometimes book good bands. it just sucks the venue is so hot and uncomfortable,.

Its kind of hard to review a place like RED 7. so I will just tell you of my experience.
We arrived at Red 7 to see Slick Rick. We arrived a few hours early, and after checking in for our names on the will call, we decided to leave and come back later in the evening. The Stamp was good for in and out privlidges.
We returned later, and enjoyed the show.
All together the show was put on nicely by the stage staff and the sound was appropriate for the size of the venue.
The Bar staff was fairly cordial, considering its a rock venue bar. Prices were also in line with this part of town.
The venue itself is comfortable for the amount fo people that were in there that night. And there are some couches to sit at when available.
I would go back for another show.

Red 7 is the reincarnation of The Back Room and the original Emo’s, set loose near the police station on 7^th Street, just off the 6^th street cacophony. In a city that supposedly embraces live music, it’s getting tougher to find a club that books up-​and-​coming original rock & roll bands. Red 7 has slipped stealthily into that void.
It’s painted black with ironic commie décor, the staff and patrons are tattooed and festooned in such a way that it’s difficult to tell them from the performers, and the indoor sound system is so loud that it will slap your hair and clothing back like a nuclear blast. The floor is cement and slightly sticky, and the bathrooms are questionable. In short: this is an authentic rock & roll club, such as you might find deep in the heart of New York City. Do not forget your earplugs, or your ears will ring like a bomb shelter siren afterwards.
The staff is calm and business-​like, the prices are decent, and when we were there for a metal show that combined touring and local acts, the crowd was interesting and well-​behaved. If that makes me sound like the suburban mom that I am, then so be it. But I like a little dignity with my rock & roll, thank you. I am so over mosh pits, shoving crowds, and rude bouncers.
We’ve not yet been to an outdoor show, and we’ve never tried to pre-​order tickets, so on those topics, I’ll refer you to reviewers who have. But for an average show on an average Saturday night, Red 7 provides for the adventurous soul an alternative to the cookie-​cutter club scene in downtown Austin.
Parking is within easy walking distance, $ 7 for the evening just a couple of blocks down 7^th, under the I-​35 underpass. Banging your head in downtown Austin doesn’t get any easier than this.

With Emo’s closing down, most of the shows that would have been there are going to Red 7. I didn’t get to go to Emo’s, which is a shame since it’s the Austin venue that supported my music scene throughout my teenage years and the aughts, so I can’t compare the two, but Red 7 is a-​ok as a venue.
There is a nice, half circle shaped bar inside to the right, giant open semi-​patio to the left, with a small indoor stage, and then an outdoor, backyard style outdoor stage with it’s own bar. The fact that every music venue in Austin has both an indoor and outdoor stage is just further proof that I live too far north. There are some fun concoctions for about $ 5 each, I had something called like the cream-​o-​Sailor Jerry, which was cream soda and… yeah, Sailor Jerry.
I also got drunk cheap. Twice. That kinda place.