Republic Live

Very small, they started letting people in almost 40 min late, all VIPs go in first on top of that, sound system was good though, no constant bouncers looking at the crowd

Warning: Never buy «VIP» tickets for shows here. The «VIP» room is smaller than a college dorm and probably smells worse. The smell is mix of AXE body spray, and spilled Jägermeister. They only allow ten people up there at a time, or so the bouncer said as he allowed more than 10 people up the stairs. There was supposed to be free drinks with our «VIP» package but the bartenders played dumb, or had clue about the promotion.
If you do attend a show here, make sure not to touch anything as every damn thing is sticky. The bar is was disgusting, smelled like a urinal, and had a ton of flies. Oh, don’t forget to order a $ 12 Gin & Tonic that’s served in a thimble. Pre-​game and don’t spend money on drinks here.
It’s too bad this place is so terrible. The venue could be great if someone gave a shit about it.

So this is one of the best venues to see a DJ or EDM act in Austin. What makes it the best, you ask. Well, let’s start with the awesome staff. The security team is led by Bob. He is a serious cat, so be sure to come correct. One of the current door guys is Big Q. Like every other door guy, show him some love. Once you are in, you’ll find some of the best bartenders in Austin. Two of my personal favorites there are Emilio and Jackie. They’ve both been slinging drinks for a while, so you’ll be in good hands.
Now let’s talk about the sound and lighting. The sound is great. It’s especially awesome if the artist brings their own sound. The lighting leaves something to be desired, but the space makes up for it. Overall, the crowds are usually good and set a great vibe

I’ve seen a couple of DJs here and can’t get over the fact that it smells like hot beer and piss. The set up is off. .it’s not one of my favorite places to go but they do manage to get really good performers.

I enjoyed the venue and the performance by Cash Cash last night. The reason I am giving two stars is because the dork bouncer at the entrance told me my DPS issued ID was fake. I have never had an issue with the ID being perceived as fake my entire life (have had it since high school) and was shocked that this guy was actually telling me I had a fake ID. The black bouncer looked at it and calmly said it was a legit ID. You guys need some training for the newbie. It was a very frustrating experience.

This place should be SHUT DOWN. The bouncers are entirely too full of themselves and take bribes from people in line. While waiting in line this weekend a bouncer at the front door told me if ‘I lifted up my shirt I would get in right away’. That’s sexual harassment.
Second they said they were at capacity but said for an extra $ 20 a person they could ignore that. Can you say fire hazard?
Third, my friend is handicapped and walks with a cane. The big black guy at the door was making fun of him the entire time. Who makes fun of someone with an obvious handicap?
Not to mention there were some underage girls they were letting in. They flat out said they were only 17 but would give the door men $ 20 if they ignored that to which they obliged. Every one of those door men should lose their jobs and be prosecuted.
I will be contacting TABC.

I’ve been here a couple of times for EDM.
Last night a friend and I saw Gabriel and Dresden. Good show and nice venue.
Crowd was friendly and I met the most gorgeous girl named Missy.
I like EDM, but I like EDMWL even more (electric dance music with lyrics). Hope acts keep featuring vocals. I think vocals are making a come back.
I will try to visit again just because the crowd was cool.

We had a wonderful night here this weekend after leaving another party. We were excited to see DJ Schwan, who my husband knows and since we had a big group coming with, we decided to splurge on bottle service. The bottle service was surprisingly inexpensive — a nice booth, bottle of Titos and mixers for less than $ 200.
Joseph, our concierge for the night really took care of us and made sure we had plenty of drinks, including water at our table at all times.
I hear that some of the best DJs stop in to Republic throughout the year, so I am excited to go back. I can imagine that I will encourage the bottle service again, having our own space to sit when we were tired from dancing was really nice.
The restrooms were pretty torn up by about midnight — which was pretty disgusting. I think most people have had enough drinks not to care!

It’s an OK venue. The major problem I had with this place was the bartender charging me $ 2 for a tiny cup of water which I found fucking hilarious. The bottled water was $ 3. Talk about a rip-​off. Other clubs in the area are providing complimentary water dispensers so that everybody stays hydrated. Apparently that’s not important to the people of this club. ³⁄₅

Enjoyed the SXSW party here where I got to see up and coming indie artists.
Venue is a little dumpy looking, but the main attraction is the music and not the venue.
Wouldn’t mind returning to see another concert.

I want to write an update after being here a few more times. I still agree with my previous statement and that fact that this place is like 70% 18 – 20 year olds. oh, and about the girls in the bathroom…
HOWEVER — they book amazing talent. for that, I will up to 4 stars. Lots of artists that Austin wouldn’t get otherwise!
They do need more bar tenders though — takes a solid 20 to get a beer.

Being here recalled a trip many years ago to a low-​rent strip club with some high school buddies: Everything you could want from a low-​rent strip club including running into another old high school classmate dancing with her huge c-​section scar on full display.
No nude dancing here but the place smells and feels genuinely nasty, the clientele young and mainstream hip but leaning to the lowbrow, and the band I went to see play was cancelled due to some mixup on the management’s part. And it’s depressingly devoid of any personality… just a bunch of dirty mirrors and disco balls.
I did notice one redeeming quality — the sound system looked and sounded top-​notch. Stacks of name-​brand subs on either side of the stage and hanging main speakers galore. I didn’t get to see the band I came for, but in theory they may have sounded pretty awesome.

There’s a picture on facebook somewhere of a drink in my hand violently evaporating from the extreme heat. We had to position ourselves underneath the AC duct just to feel the relief of a the cool drops of condensation raining down on us. This was the experience OUTSIDE of the main crowd, and that suffocating heat unfortunately defined my experience.
That said, it wasn’t an an awful experience and I wouldn’t explicitly avoid a show here. I would probably recommend trying to go with VIP tickets though to be separated from the grim scene that was the main floor.

Came here with Sean F. for Mord Fustang. I was a few weeks shy of 21 so I was happy I could still attend!
The set up was pretty cool. Small venue. but MOST IMPORTANTLY $ 6 drinks?! WTF. Spoiled Austin-​ians! Haha Drinks in LA/​Vegas run AT LEAST $ 13. Less than $ 10 is absolutely unheard of!
And it seems like Republic Live brings in some good talent here as Insomniac helps create/​promote their events.

For what it is, this place is a gem.
Sure, they do 18+ shows, which can get a little annoying. I feel like half of these kids with the big X’s are definitely under 18, but I’m not their parent, so I try to not get too butt hurt about it.
It’s a cozy place that can get hot from time to time. The bathrooms get gummed up on a consistent basis and there is generally a lengthy line to get it.
Welcome to Austin, half the bars and clubs are this way, get used to it.
This place does bring some serious bass to the table and that shouldn’t be discounted. They bring world class EDM acts on the reg and I love them for that. Whether it’s international acts: Emalkay, Borgore, Flux & Dr. P. Domestic favorites like Steve Aoki and Skrillex or heavy hitting local favorites like Exceed and Significant Brother, they always bring the noise. The bass in this place will hit you hard, the lights will dazzle you and the dancers will entice your imagination. When it comes to EDM, Republic Live is holding all the cards in the scene, and they have them in spades.
If you’re looking to sip martinis and enjoy a nice port or chardonay this is definitely not your place. It can get hot, sweaty and grimy… but hey, that’s what dubstep is all about.

Don’t expect to impress anyone by bringing them here. No one will be wowed.
In my excitement for Foster the People, I bought ACL after show tickets and, in my excitement to impress my great new roommate, I invited her along. We hopped a bus towards downtown and arrived a little before 10 o’clock (the doors had opened at 9). I expected they’d be on by at least 11 or 11:30, right? 12 at the worst.
Two and a half hours later of deafening opening act DJs, subzero temps, and inhaling weird fog machine mist, we called it a night. As nice as they were, none of the staff knew when Foster the People were playing. They ballparked it between 1 and 2 PM. This isn’t Europe. I’m not dinging them for that… they probably can’t help when the rock stars take the stage.
Overall, the main reason for the two stars is that I would have still loved to see them play and would have stuck it out if the place had been a more enjoyable spot to stick it out in!

Walking into Republic Live for the Flux Pavilion & Doctor P show, the air was a thick, choking miasma. Easily above sauna temperatures, it was hard to tell if the heat was due to the air conditioning failing or if the venue was just overwhelmed by the sea of dirty dubsteppers packed in for FP&DPs first ever U.S. show.
The feeling of overwhelming grime and filth extends throughout Republic Live. To start off the show, someone decided to clog the toilet with a cigarette box and then take an enormous dump. The auto-​flush mechanism made this toilet flush every 30 seconds… flooding the bathroom with poop-​water. Naturally this didn’t stop people from partying too hard and eventually someone vomited in the toilet, leading an even more sinister mixture of human waste gushing all over the bathroom floor.
Strangely enough, this kind of added to the show. Dubstep is a filthy genre of music, and Republic Live’s disgustingness almost empowered it and helped drive the energy.
It appears that the venue is designed for dubstep shows. Speakers line the walls on all sides. Even standing in the back, the bass is strong enough to deliver a brain massage. Earplugs are essential.
Wasting money at the bar is easy enough. Underwhelming drinks are reasonably cheap. The temperature difference between the air and the cold drink leads to interesting steam-​like wisps forming around the cup. Be careful not to over-​consume… there’s no returning allowed once you leave and the bathrooms are likely to be an out-​of-​commission wasteland.
tl;dr — Go see dubstep here. Expect it to be disgusting.

We drove to Austin to meet up with friends for New Year’s Eve in Austin. My friends booked a table at Republic for our group of 6. Being that we had table service I would expect better treatment at the door but that was not the case. The bouncers (some short ginger DOUCHE) was a complete a-​hole for no reason since it was 9 PM and we were obviously sober. He first asks in a very condescending tone that if we want to show him his ID to go up to him and show him his ID. Then he proceeds to ask my Indonesian girlfriend «what the hell is your last name?» which I thought was pretty rude and ignorant. Our friend that had booked the table complained to management but I’m not sure if anything will come of it. I understand that bouncers have a tough job but use some criteria as to who you decide to treat like crap next time.
That aside the staff that waited on us was actually very friendly and attentive. Not sure if that’s just because we had bottle service or not but we had no complaints on that regard. The music was… ok. They played good songs but I heard several songs repeated 2 – 3 times which was pretty lame. And they had some sort of MC that kept singing along to the music like, for half the song… hello fool, this ain’t karaōke! The sound system was just aight.
Giving 3 stars because of the great service we received at the table but otherwise I’m not sure if there’s a repeat visit in the cards for me.

We went to the tacky xmas sweater party here hosted by the bobby bones show. This was an ideal venue for this event but managed poorly. The employees managed the lines well and things went smoothly.
The bar area is easily accessible from all sides but it prevents views of the stage as the pillars get in the way. I do not feel much like a G6 when I can’t see the dam stage yo!
The lighting is good, it could be better. The stage is not big enough and their equipment a bit outdated. The entertainment was good and I can see myself not going back anytime soon.
The booths are small and cramped. It is just not comfortable to be in there. Customers need to feel wanted and welcomed and this venue lacks all of this.

On November 26, 1876, Willis Haviland Carrier was born.
In Buffalo, New York on July 17, 1902, in response to a quality problem experienced at the Sackett-​Wilhelms Lithographing & Publishing Company of Brooklyn, Willis Carrier submitted drawings for what became recognized as the world’s first modern air conditioning system.
Without Carrier, I would not be able to brag about my dad who has hung off the side of the Empire State Building in order to cram a/​c upgrades he designed in there for them.
Without Carrier, I would never have lived in Austin, because let’s face it, Errol and Mark, my friends, while you convinced me to move here for the music scene, I would not have lasted 2 years without the conversion of the dragon’s breath that is Austin summers into sweet sweet icy breezes in my apartment.
And so it is every year in Austin that on November 26, the birthday of the father of modern air conditioning, I heap silent mounds of praise upon Mr. Carrier and his invention.
Stepping foot into a Republic Live crammed full of dancing bodies on a Saturday night, and still being able to feel the swath of cold air descending from the heavens, no matter how crappy that carpet must look now in the daytime, and regardless of the stank from the much darker south side of the bar, tells me that either the original owner of the place — when it was not Republic Live — or possibly even the current owner — must likewise respect Mr. Carrier and the entropy-​reducing gift he has given us. That a/​c pumps out the feel of the arctic tundra like we’re never gonna run out of fossil fuels.
ALL HAIL, CARRIER!