Waiting Room

Meh. Attended a live-​band Karaōke Friday with friends for a b-​day celebration. Waited 3 hours and never got called to the stage to sing. Come to find out they were only allowing members of the band, their friends and karaōke regulars to sign. Then, they let some super-​wasted duche bag, with a terrible «Last of the Mohicans» hair cut take over the place. He would crash the stage as he pleased, take the mic away from people singing and no one did anything about it. After his 3^rd time demanding to sing Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit the placed emptied out promptly at 12:30 AM. What a shit show.
A few positives. No cover! The beer was cold and fresh which made the $ 6 cost fair. The venue was spacious, modern and the acoustics were great. The karaōke song list was mainly 90’s to modern rock and the band was really good. Maybe I’ll give it another shot in the future. Good luck!

A cool space to see a show. The setup is long and narrow so unless you’re at the front you’re not getting a great view of the band. We opted to stand in the back so we could hear better and sort of see better.
As for the sound, it was struggle city in the beginning. Couldn’t hear the guitarist for a while. Then some feedback mid-​show. But he got it down in time for some of the awesome jams halfway through the show. Although, I think I’d love it for the band to sound awesome the whole time.
The drink menu looks legit — fun chalk written design. I tend to keep it simple at music venues and opted for a vodka soda with lime. $ 10 credit card minimum. Couldn’t find a coat check so that was a bummer, especially once it warmed up in there. I hate carrying my jacket around.

I went here once for a show over the summer. I have to say, overall, I was pretty impressed by the venue itself– but not with the staff. The bartenders were unnecessarily rude to me and my friend and the security was outrageous for it being such a small venue. On the plus, the place itself is pretty new, and the bathrooms are updated and clean, which I do really appreciate. It’s doesn’t seem like there’s much ventilation in the place, though, as it got really hot, really fast. Also, one last thing… the owner is a total d**k.

As a music lover I was so excited when the waiting room opened, and have noticed that they bring in a ton of quality acts! However, the set up of the place over all, and the overzealous nature of the security staff are what have caused me to rate the Waiting Room only 2 stars.
This is a very new venue, so they had the opportunity to do anything with the stage area. The stage is fairly low to the ground, and the floor around it is complete flat, making it impossible to view from anywhere but very close. If your not over 6 ft tall, good luck actually being able to see the act that you are there for. For the first time in my life I wished I was wearing heels! The sound is decent as long as you’re fairly close. I really hope they listen to local music fans and make improvements in this area, either raising the stage a couple feet, or building some kind of slant into area around the stage, or creating some elevated spaces around the stage.
When I was here this week, for an indie show, the security staff were unreal. They constantly barged through the crowd (which was very packed) in order to make sure that no one was drinking underage (despite the fact that most people in the crowd looked well over 21 to me). I witnessed them re do the permanent marker Xs on the youngster’s hands, even those who were with their parents, over and over to the same handful of younger people there. While they were doing this, they also decided that the legally purchased drink from the bar that I was drinking must have been snuck in (insane considering how thoroughly they searched my purse on the way in). After being dragged through the crowd and nearly being kicked out, I convinced the security staff to check with the bartender before he made assumptions, and luckily he did, and the bartender vouched for me, but no apology whatsoever was offered from the security staff. I know they are just doing their job, but, patrons of the waiting room are paying their paychecks, and would it really be that hard to offer a simple «sorry?» There are a handful of shows that I was considering checking out recently, and honestly, I just don’t know if it’s worth it :/

The waiting room is an awful place to see any and all music. I can get past the 900 degree temperatures inside the building, but I can get past how terrible the sound is. I imagine the pudgy balding loser this joke of a venue calls a sound guy goes home at night and just slams his elongated clit he calls a dick in the door because it’s the only way he feels he can atone for how awful he is at his profession. I will never go back no matter who is playing there. Thanks for ruining one of my favorite artist.

The waiting room is an awesome venue for small shows. Upstairs is a new venue called the studio which is also good, but I like the waiting room much better. I love how big it is and the sound is usually good. Their is a stage but its not too high so you can see the bands no matter where you are in the room. There is a full bar but the drinks can be a bit pricey. They do check ID’s when you enter which is a good thing in my opinion. I really love coming here because I feel safe and it is spacious. The only thing that stinks is street parking — it can be hard when there is a big show, but it is in a nicer part of buffalo. Check it out!

As a music venue this place is great. As a bar this place is not.
The Waiting Room has some of the best sound in Buffalo. A relatively young venue it’s got pretty up to date equipment with engineers who know what they’re doing. The place definitely caters to the performers. The stage is well lit and easily accessible. The space itself is HUGE compared to other venues. And it’s pretty clean which is surprising since most venues in Buffalo seem to take pride in their decrepit state. The Waiting room is always clean… or always dark enough for you not to notice. Recently they did open the Studio at the waiting room. Which, maybe has a bit of a smaller space, it looks huge still.
As a bar. The waiting room is over priced and under staffed most of the time. Or maybe they had a decent amount of staff but they were just adept at not making eye contact. 4 dollars a can is not an okay price. 3 dollars on Allen is pushing it. 4 is over the edge. When you can go to other venues and domestics are a dollar fifty. When prices are more than double AND you’ve already paid to get in the door. It’s a huge turn off. Pretty good liquor selection with the usual suspects. You won’t find Blanton’s or Macallan here.
For being such a good venue with such a poor drinking experience this place levels out at an AOK. You won’t like the prices but you’ll like the show so you’ll pay the premium. But, I’d suggest pregaming somewhere’s else.

This place is okay. It opened around the same time that the Mohawk Place closed so it served as a decent replacement for the larger shows held there. It’s still not my favorite place but it’s a decent venue to see a medium sized show at.
The venue itself is very deep. Unless you’re in the back half of the building, you’ll have a hard time seeing the band on the stage. They recently added an upstairs smaller stage which I haven’t experienced yet.
The bar has a decent selection of beer. On my last visit I had a Saison from Hamburg Brewery. It’s cool that their incorporating local brews in their selection. I asked the bartender what the ABV was and she had no idea. I was happy though that she asked someone else and actually got back to me later about it.
They have all the draft beers listed on a chalkboard with the prices. There’s nothing that I hate more than going to a bar and having to bother the bartenders with extra questions when I know they are busy.

Decent venue. I didnt have a single qualm until tonight when I was ordering water after 2 cocktails and they charged me $ 3 for a bottle of water that probably cost them a quarter!!! Just trying to be a responsible designated driver over here. They refused to give me a cup of tap water. Talk about greedy and not having consideration for your customers! Very disappointed by this bullshit.

I was pumped to go the Waiting Room to see Andrew McMahon from Jack’s Mannequin/​Something Corporate. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the best venue for this kind of performer for a couple of reasons.
Andrew McMahon plays the piano and would probably be best enjoyed in an intimate setting. Never mind, fans desire an intimate setting no matter the performer. Regardless, in a sold out show it was near impossible to even catch a glimpse of Andrew McMahon because the stage is rather low and not too mention he was sitting down at the piano most of the show.
It absolutely reeked of God only knows what and the abundance of incense the Waiting Room was burning only made it worse. I had no idea where the fire exits were. Good thing everything went as planned… I would have died as it took at least 20 minutes to exit the teeny-​tiny venue at the end of the evening.
The Waiting Room might be better as a bar or for a show that isn’t sold out. There was zero wiggle room. They need to limit the amount of tickets sold or lower the capacity for sold out shows. I was under the impression it was smaller and meant for an intimate concert. Perhaps they shouldn’t book artists like Andrew McMahon. Either way, I hope he makes it back to Buffalo in the future and books somewhere where he can be seen and enjoyed more than he was at the Waiting Room.
I hope to update this review with something more positive if I make it out to see Jimkata at the Waiting Room this October. There’s a lot of potential for the venue, I hope they capitalize on it!

After the close of Mohawk Place and Soundlab I think Buffalo was craving a new venue that brought the same ambience and feel that they did. I was hoping that the Waiting Room could do this for us, but unfortunately not.
Yeah, they charmed me with their wall of old flyers from shows which gave me a moment of nostalgia — but beyond that I just felt weird here. I can’t explain it.
Recently we got refused to go to a show. We peeked in and there were probably 10 – 15 people there and it was well after the start of the show. We almost thought it wasn’t worth it but then decided we were still going to pay the 16 $ for the ticket as well as give them our money to continue drinking there. …But, Apparently they are super serious about their no backpack policy — My boyfriend and I bike or take the bus and sometimes it is necessary to bring a backpack. We asked if they could just put it behind their security desk and they said no. Then they said «Well, you could Hide it in the hallway» …who would trust that?
With so little people at the show, couldn’t they have made an exception? We were so annoyed that we just left.
There always seems to be some kind of security issue every time friends and I go here.
If a band comes that I really really must see, I would probably go to this venue, but otherwise I’ll stay away.

Horrid. Literally had drywall and insulation fall Into my hair and drink. Security guard, Dustin, (ew) laughed at me when I asked for a replacement drink sans chemicals. The hostess was equally worthless when she told me she «couldn’t find a manager to save her life.» I love arrabmuzik but wouldn’t pay a k to see him in this venue again.

I recently went to see Authority Zero here (I’ve seen a bunch of shows here actually) but this place is by far an awesome venue! From the cute security guard, to the bartenders who keep your cup full, it’s wonderful. The bathrooms are always cleaned and stocked. The sound is superb.

I’ve been in a band and toured across the Midwest, east coast, and new York. I have also been to many shows. I have to say by far this was the most unpleasant venue I have ever been to. It seemed as if they packed as many people as they could into a sold out show. (streetlight manifesto) It was so packed and stuffy you couldn’t even breathe. How hard would it have been to get a large fan and place it at the edge of the stage to get some sort of circulation going? Not only that but it took forever between bands. The house music was deafening. and this was all before the support beam in the floor collapsed and we had to evacuate the building. Which goes back to it feels like they packed as many people as they could into the building.
Then when I got home and posted a review on their facebook it was immediately removed. Which just angers me more and solidifies the fact that I will NEVER give my business, and defer people from giving their business, to this venue again. Owners and businesses who cannot take responsibility or even say «we’re sorry you feel that way» and simply delete the concerns of the people who fund their ability to stay open really angers me.
In conclusion, I wont be going back again.

I absolutely love the décor and ambience of this place!
Lindsay and I were given tickets to the Zombie Ball, hosted by Sephora and sponsored by Unilocal.What a fun night! Since I’m reviewing The Waiting Room, and not that event, I’ll try to stick to that!
They have a long bar area that seems to be fully stocked, with friendly and experienced bartenders. I only ordered a red bull, but I saw them making other cocktails that seemed cool! I love that there’s parking behind the building. The women’s restroom was large, modern and VERY clean. I could seriously go around reviewing bathrooms all day, and this would be on the top of my list :) I saved my favorite part of this place for last… The wallpaper, black and white with some splashes of color, made up of concert posters, album covers and such. The lighting there is also perfect… not too bright, but not too dark either. I will be looking for events to come to here, and looking into hosting a private party here at some point!

Cool space with a private parking lot right behind it on Elmwood! Though this might lend itself more to being a club/​music venue, I think with the right planner, it could be a great space for a wedding reception! Especially with the parking lot behind. I could see a cool tattooed hipster type having a wedding here with open bar and a cool DJ. Yep.

My buddy mentioned some band playing at some bar on Delaware so we decided to stop in and check it out. I didn’t realize it was the newly redone sinful nightclub, now called Waiting Room until we got there. I saw a few things on twitter how this could be a good alternative to the now defunct Mohawk Place, and after checking it out I would agree. Now not anywhere as dirty or divey as Mohawk, this place actually has a nice clean modern motif. The space is a good size and setup as one long room with the bar on your left and a dance floor area just before the stage. Saw they had some good beers on tap as well, which is always nice. We got in the place just as the show was ending but I would definitely come back if a band I liked was playing here.