The New Parish

I’ve actually only been to the New Parish twice. The first time was in December while I was pretty inebriated so I only remember bits and pieces. The second time was this past Friday and parts of the place started coming back to me. It’s a good size venue and a nice one to have in Oakland. There’s an upstairs balcony as well. I didn’t order anything to drink so am not sure about the drink prices. They have a nice outdoor patio area. If you have a chance, definitely come here for a show.

This place never fails me. I’ve been to a couple of concerts here so far and it has been such a fun experience every single time. Drinks are great, music is even better. The scene here is young, conscious, and willing — everyone here is down to have a great time. Always love coming here!

I’ve been here for a comedy show and for the «People Party.» I had a great time both nights. The crowd is chill and very diverse. Everyone is just having a good time and the energy is nice. I love venues where I can see people coming together –all races, ages, gay, straight — it’s lovely.
The New Parish gave me a little perspective of the Oakland vibe and I’m into into it!

Place is ok, I was there last night and didn’t really found reason to stay and hangout there. Very packed few stage and same type of people all the time, nothing bed I just not connect to this type of music. Last time I was there they had good party this one not so good.

The cover charge of $ 20 is silly. As is not having any air conditioning. What’s fun, though, is being in your thirties and watching all the young’uns dancing the fool on the ground floor while you’re hanging off the balcony rail.
We were a motley bunch standing in line at The New Parish – most of us over six feet tall (men and women) and with only two of seven of us excited to actually dance. Going to a club was *probably* not the best of ideas but hey, we were having an after party of sorts and we were gonna prove to ourselves and anyone who was watching that we are fun people, dammmit, and fun we were gonna have.
The best part of the venue is the tiered stories because if you climb the stairs to the second floor, it actually is a lot of fun to see the young and beautiful people of Oakland trying to grind on each other. There was a lot of titty meat flying around, some of it proportionally inverse to what you may like to see. As in, a lot of bigger gals had a LOT of confidence and even more boobage that was melting out of their tops. Part of the nightlife, I guess :)
In all, this is a very crowded and very HOT & HUMID club that probably shouldn’t be a final destination on your night out. But if you’re already flying high and just want to shake your ass in front of a like-​minded crowd, you could do worse than The New Parish. That cover charge, though… took a bite out of our wallets, that’s for sure.

Really dim guys work at the front door. Came late. Show was sold out, but tons of people had left. The guys at the front desk are powerless, and refused to sell me a ticket. No management. No thinking. Stay away from this sketchy neighborhood dive!

I enjoyed the atmosphere. People were chill, venue was cool, show was on point, alcohol was alcoholy and my date was cool. However, that’s for another Unilocal-​Type review.
I recommend. Do it, go. You’ll have fun.
Bonus: Parking isn’t too bad. About a five minute drive around and couple block walk, you save some buckaroo’s.

I can’t recommend the Venue at all. The sound system is bad. I saw Kermit Ruffins here last year and was so disappointed I left. The sound was that bad. Distorted and loud. Kermit could tell and he was not happy about it.
To New Parish: Get someone who is not DEAF to test your sound system
Staff is ok, but could be more professional.

Great place to dance and listen to live music. Hipster, da Town folks. Dress to impress. Cash only at the door and bar. They make everyone stand in line for pretty long so go early to avoid the crowds. Looking forward to seeing Hawaiian reggae artist Anuhea in September! Parking is difficult so carpool with friends. Also, don’t leave valuables exposed in your car as we saw the car in front of us had gotten its window smashed for stuff in the trunk.

The New Parish gets five stars for several reasons:
1) Booking Shellac, who killed it. (And Shannon Wright, who did a suitable job warming up, although I would have liked to hear more of her raucous stuff.)
2) Well-​balanced sound (although I am not the best judge of these things)
3) Serving limes with their tequila shot-​Modelo $ 8 special
4) Having an indoor/​outdoor, downstairs/​upstairs setup that allows for
(a) Band gazing
(b) People gazing
© Smoking
(d) Dancing
(e) Lounging
5) Patching me up at the end of the night: During the course of my enjoyment of the evening (as evidenced by my knowledge of the drink special) my boot split open. When I asked a friendly guy who was cleaning up if he had any duct tape, he ran and got some, then wrapped up the broken boot. And, the tape was black, which matched my boot, so one could hardly tell that the boot and I were on borrowed time.
Thanks, New Parish! I’m sure to wreck some boots with you again.

I went to the Rock Steady, the New Parish’s supposed box office, tonight to buy tickets for a show this weekend and the bartender told us that he didn’t have the tickets and they were never given to him. Another woman was there trying to buy tickets for a different show on and she was told the same thing. Why would you say on the website that tickets are available at the box office if they aren’t? What a waste of time and money for me to go down there, wait around until the box office opened almost 30 minutes late, just to be told I still have to buy them on line. If you aren’t going to make them available at the box office, maybe you could indicate that somewhere on the website so people don’t waste their time. any way to the owner or employees.

This music Venue was pretty cool. I had never been to a show in Oakland so wasn’t sure what to expect. All the people working here were very nice from the door guy to the bartenders.
The venue was just the right size. It has an outside courtyard with plenty of seating for people to smoke or get some fresh air. There was nobody smoking inside the venue and that was extremely nice. I cant stand leaving a show and smelling like an ashtray. The stage was positioned right in the center of the room which gave everybody a nice view and easy access to anywhere. They also had seating upstairs above the stage but it was not being used the night of our show.
We went there because the artist who was featured very rarely plays in the United States and this was the closest tour stop he had to Reno. He did an amazing show and seemed to have enjoyed playing at The New Parish. The sound quality was very good most everywhere, but was lower quality in front row in front of the stage.
Drinks were priced very fairly and we had a great time at this smaller venue. New Parish acceded all my expectations and I would not hesitate to return for future shows.

Came to this venue first time ever last week for the Casey Veggies & Drizzy Wright show last week.
Besides the fact that the performers killed it that night.
The venue was chill! Intimate enough that you get pretty close to the performing artist. Super super fun. Had two levels and the entire night I spent dancing and moving to and fro around the venue with no problems.
They even have an area to blaze, very convenient and extremely relaxed.
Venue all in all:
In a well lit area, super close to BART, very comfortable.
**just keep in mind there are always going to be some ratchet people at some of these events. Like a group of college guys who were pushing everyone near them for fun**
Other than that: completely awesome. Definitely coming back for more shows

We had tickets for the SuicideGirls burlesque show last night. The venue seems like it would be pretty cool for a DJ or a punk band, but for a stage performance? Nope! It’s pretty much impossible to see the stage unless you are upstairs at a table or in the first two rows of people standing. We left after we got tired of watching the show through our cell phones because that was the only way we could see the stage. I’m very disappointed. I can’t imagine how disappointed the guy in the wheelchair was, since he had no hope of seeing the stage behind everyone.
The venue could have sold less tickets or rented some folding chairs. If you’ve got a stage show and you can’t see the stage, the experience is ruined. I’m sure the venue could have been made to work, but nobody thought about the logistical issues.
The bartenders were good, the prices were alright. Convenient to 19^th St BART.

This is a super cool venue. I love the interior courtyard.
We went on a Friday night and the acts were good, the sound was good and the crowd was friendly and dancing all night.
Sure — if you don’t like cigarette or weed smoke, you’re not going to like that courtyard. I’m not crazy about cigarette smoke but at least it’s outdoors so you can kind of steer clear of a lot of it. (Though not all of it).
But small price to pay for a unique venue.

This is an awesome venue, one of my favorites in East Bay. Professional service, no BS at the door, STRONG pours, a giant smoking porch for whatever your puffing pleasure be, upstairs and downstairs to check out inside, well ventilated, safe feeling for the ladies (maybe a touch sketchy on the streets surrounding the venue), and really good artists!
I’ve had many good nights here. LOVE!

This is definetely one of my favorite venues, mainly because my favorite wednesday night bass music weekly is there. I haven’t really gone on other days of the week. It’s a friendly bar and a large stage. It’s never overheated, rarely overcrowded, and at least on Wednesday usually has good artists. Have you ever had the problem where two djs are both doing a great job and you can’t decide which one you want to listen to? I have that problem at the New Parish all the time.
The bartenders are great. Like fast, efficient, and tend to mix drinks pretty strong. On one memorable night I got completely faced because my redbull and vodka was like 90% vodka and 10% redbull. Then the next week I tried an on tap beer, and got incredibly drunk again. Lastly, its frequently filled with artists, and you can get some cool tshirts and art that you won’t necessarily find elsewhere.
Good music, cheap drinks, brick facades. Oh their ATM has been out of order for months.

This place has always been on my list of top bay area music venues for a few simple reasons. I usually arrive about 30 min before any given show, and I’ve never once had trouble finding close street parking (Within 1.5 Blocks) near the venue. Tickets here are always reasonably priced and lines move quickly, and for most shows; tickets can be purchased directly next door at the rocksteady (cash only/​no fees). I love the layout of this place, they do a great job with the amount of space available, they boast two full bars with seating areas, two vip upstairs lounge areas, an outdoor seated smoking area, a merchandise area, and decent size close range stage (performers just feet away). Also, prices for drinks are affordable (Closer to bar prices than nightclubs), they range from $ 5 – 6 for beer and cocktails average about $ 7 each.

This place is an awesome venue! It has a roomy dance floor, a second floor balcony, an internal courtyard when you need room to breathe… although when people are smoking… yeah… scratch that last part…
I’ve been twice so far, once at night, and actually just now. Yes I know it’s 8:40 am but they had an event #DAYBREAKERSF and it was on the way to work so I stopped by.
The music the vibe the feels, it’s just a little different compared to most other spots in Oakland that I’ve tried when looking for a space to dance. Come by and check it out for yourself. See you on the dance floor.
Check please :)

New Parish, you’re full of yourself.
Yes, you book great bands, have a great space to showcase said great bands, your bartenders are swell and your bar prices are hard to beat.
But dudes (and/​or dudettes). A one-​hour line to get into a not full venue when every patron in line already has pre-​paid tickets? No. Just, no.
I really want to believe you made us all stand outside for 60 minutes even though other people were inside listening to the openers with space to spare simply because you didn’t want to flood those swell bartenders with throngs of thirsty patrons. But I don’t believe that for a second.
You want your venue to look hot and hopping with a stagnate parade just outside your front doors. New Parish, you already sell out shows. We know you’re there. No one thinks waiting in an unnecessary line is «cool» — we just think it’s an inconsiderate waste of our time.
And that, my unfriends, is precisely why I’ll refrain from purchasing tickets to you in the future.
Bands, please look elsewhere to book your gig. I’ll see you at Uptown.
Disappointingly no longer yours, New Parish. What a pity.