- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Walter's On Washington
Rating Details »
Category: Music Venues [Edit]
Neighborhood: The Heights4215 Washington Ave
Houston, TX 77007
(713) 862-2513
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- Live
- Best Nights:
- Thu, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
14 reviews for Walter's On Washington
Great place to see a concert. One my favs in Houston because the place is small and no matter where you stand, you're still pretty freakin close to the performer. Most tickets sell for ~$10 bucks, which is awesome to see your favorite Indie band. I said Indie cause if you're lucky, only your barely heard about artist will be playing here. They do a pretty good job of booking bands though. (Au Revoir Simone, Her Space Holiday, Lymbyc System, Oh No! Oh My!, Young Love) Another great thing is that usually after their set they come out to meet the fans, if not you can wait till they step off the stage and harass them haha
The look of it inside is a typical classical bar in the movies. Dark, grungy, worn, slight stench. Bartender staff is attentive but that's probably because its a 18+ place and majority of their customers are some where below 21. Which kinda makes me wonder why a Crown and Coke cost $7 here cause most 18+ places have lower alcohol prices. Guess its typical Houston price. The only thing I really wished they worked on was the audio equipment. Probably to the average person it sounds fine and dandy but I'm a bit of an audiophile and love my music.
So if a band you like ever plays here, I'd definite jump on the chance.
After reading the reviews on Yelp, I was a little nervous about attending a concert at Walters...
I parked on the street parallel to Washington and walked on over to Walters. It has been a while since I have been to an 18 & up bar, but it wasn't bad. I was definitely the preppiest person there, but that wasn't much of a surprise. The building turned out to be clean and not at all cramped and dungeon-like as I expected. The bartenders were quick to serve me ice cold Shiner and the sound of the bands (Young Love, especially) were great. The biggest, and most appreciated, surprise was the Ladies Restroom. There is only one stall, but I found it to be clean and spacious. They could definitely use another stall, as the line to the bathroom grows quite large, but at least when you do get to the front of the line, you aren't forced to use an awful restroom.
All in all, Walters rocked. The place is small so you get an up close show no matter where you are in the building. I'd bring cash to use at the bar and wouldn't order anything but bottled beer.
On one of my initial forays to the Heights, we walked by this dingy rathole of a place and wondered what the hell it was doing sitting across from Pearl Bar. After using our Google goggles, we discovered this place called Walter's. On Thursday, I finally got a chance to visit the establishment, watching a nerdy dude going by the moniker Her Space Holiday.
Fearing a crowd, we bought tickets online (a mistake; you can buy at the door for cheaper when you include service charge) and got there (relatively) early at 9 (doors open at 8, first band comes on at 9-ish). Upon entering, we found the inside to be as dingy as the outside, with about 20 people in there to boot. There were two opening acts, and Her Space Holiday finally made it on stage at 11-ish. In the meantime (the in between time), there was plenty of cheap beer ($3.50 for a bottle, draft a little cheaper, but doesn't look trustworthy here), some excellent people-watching, and a lot of waiting.
There ended up being a crowd of 100 or so; any more than 200, and you're probably pushing it. However, the venue is fantastic, and you're way up close to the band. Everyone in there is far from pretentious, and it feels almost out of place as compared to all the new lounges and clubs sprouting up in the Heights. There's massive in-and-out privileges, so feel free to get there early to secure a ticket, and then move in and out at your leisure to hang outside, or foray over to Dubliner, Pearl, or the Lot. And if you're worried about the bathrooms, just go next door! 2 and 2 together, people.
If I lived anywhere close to the Heights, I'd probably be at Walter's all the time (so it's probably a good thing I don't). Cheap live music + cheap beer = a bloody good time.
Pretty simple place, but it's all about the music, right? It's an old house with a gravel driveway... simple dark wood look to the whole place, and musty at that. Kind of dingy, and I noticed some super dirty glasses (I doubt they use them) but it's a nice open space with a bar in the corner (good bottled beer selection) and a decent sized stage. The stage area has been expanded recently, and if you look up you'll notice some kind of acoustic panels on the ceiling, so while it feels makeshift, it's not. Ample room for rocking out, the sound was good, and the sound tech does an excellent job. Even when there were hardly any people there he worked hard to get the band sounding good.
All in all, it's not a glamorous place, but they do have good shows here!
Walter's is an awesome venue to catch a show...if you are close to the stage. The farther back you are (closer to the entrance), the more distorted the sound. The stage is pretty cool; rarely will you find a thrust stage (extends into the audience) in a music venue. Walter's has one, so it's fairly easy to get close to the band, make eye contact with the band, smile at/be smiled at by the cute guitairist, keyboardist, and/or drummer.
I love that many great local and touring bands perform here...and for cheap, too. Average ticket prices are $12-$18. I caught Sharon Jones and the Dap-kings here about a year ago. Amazing show! Also, they were selling 45s at the t-shirt/cd table. I got a couple. Score!
The things I don't love? Finding a parking space along Washington, waiting at the bar for a drink at sold out shows, and waiting in line to use the frightfully sticky-floored bathroom.
This place is a complete dive and I love it. I've seen a few shows here, most recently The Flamin' Hell Cats, The Octanes, Side Show Tramps. It's a smaller music venue and it has only gotten better since the smoking ban. I have a real issue with the restrooms though, I guess you can't be considered a dive bar unless your restrooms are questionable, but seriously the bathrooms suck.
The stage at Walters comes out into the audience so it feels like your a part of the show. I know I'm supposed to review the venue but I gave this place an extra star for the quality and the abundance of live shows that come through here. If you have a chance to see Side Show Tramps here do it.
Long Live Walters, and the local music scene
Walter's is such a cool music venue. If you're a big fan of the music and want to be in an intimate setting with the band that you came to see...this is the place to go. Definitely not for the high maintenance crowd, but then again they probably aren't cool enough to know about any of the bands that roll through here anyway.
I saw Dr. Dog and Delta Spirit here on 9/11/08, the night before ol' Ike came through and they put on a great show! Drink prices are reasonable, which is always a good thing. As a self-proclaimed music dork, I love being able to see a show and have the band members order their drinks from the same bar...you can buy them shots and tell them how great they are. I'm sure the bands like it just as much as their fans do.
Talk about fun! Small place that knows what its their for...MUSIC! I love feeling like your right on top of the band and thats just what you get and it makes it worth every penny of your 12$ ticket. At least my ticket was 12$ and made this concert even better! Very simple place that is fun every time you go and is super easy to get close to the band.
If your friend invites you to go see the The Fatal Flying Guillotines at Walter's...GO! Hopefully The Dimes will be opening up for them!! I'm not going to turn this into a music review so lets just say I'll go back to Walter's any day to see The Dimes. The Guillotines, well, they need to jump on the celebrity bandwagon and spend some time in rehab.
Walter, Walter, Walter. Am I too old for you? Am I hip enough? My guy friends don't wear skinny jeans like you. I don't smoke (please, Houston, what's going on with the smoking ban?). I know very little about Houston's live music scene. I even carry ear plugs...and use them! Please don't kick me out cause I'm so obviously a square peg in a round hole! Walter, I love you.
I read the reviews or Walter's before I went and was happy to find a cold air conditioning and no wait at the bar but it wasn't super crowded either. Walter's doesn't try to pretend it's something that it isn't. There's a bar, a stage, and a large, open space to stand around watch the bands. It makes for a fun place to see a show (especially if it's The Dimes)!!
Walter's is what you call a rock club. so what does that mean. It means this:
Beer is cheap, Music is loud. Bathrooms are nasty (even though Walter's is not bad for a rock club), the people have funny hair, and their is no air conditioning.
And remember it doesn't matter if the guy standing next to you is wearing his little sister's jeans, you are not to old unless the music is too loud.
I saw Jesu and Qui here months ago. Great venue! Dark, intimate, roomy, and friendly staff serving the drinks.
The bathrooms may be a little scary from what I heard, but after 7 beers you won't care anymore.
Hi everyone. It's been awhile but yes, I'm alive. And of course, I'm still out and about.
Most recently, I was at Walter's last night after work to see some friends and see Uh Huh Her. What a great name for a band huh? And, they're actually pretty good. Check them out on MySpace. There ya go, my plug for the band.
Now to get back to business. I got exactly what I expected at Walter's. For one, I knew it was in the Heights, so I knew parking was going to be an issue. Check. I expected a dark, grungy, intimate music venue. Check two. I expected the good, soul-clenching music that only these venues attract. Check three.
So what are my qualms? This place is an 18 and up venue, so alcohol is an issue, as it is with most 18 and up places.
Before everyone tries to send me to AA, let me explain. I got there after work, which was about 11ish, and all I wanted was a nice, cold beer to drink. Just one. Nothing wrong with that, right? There was, lemme see, no Miller Lite, no Dos XX, no Shiner, no Bud Light, damn, they almost had no customer named Jill.
I did finally get a Bud out of the so-called bar, and then I found my friends, some of whom were stumbling around so maybe that's where all the beer went that night. Walter's boasts $1 drafts at midnight, but show up late like I did and that might be all the beer selection you'll get. Plus, lack of alcohol causes audience members to stand around like zombies. Maybe it was just that night. Maybe it was just a tough crowd. I dunno?! C'mon Houston, you're at a friggin' concert! Move! Dance! Show signs of life!
Oh, the bathrooms. Yes, they are pretty bad. The ladies' room toilet didn't work that well, so use the guy's. Just be prepared for the dried urine and funk smell. I stopped smoking and started running again, so I was able to hold my breath for the duration of my peeing. But, you know what, it's sad, but I've seen worse bathrooms.
Another plus is that there is plenty of room at the sides of the stage to enjoy the music and get a good view. And they have zero tolerance on fights. I learned because I met a drunk, crying chick outside that told me a drunk, garbled story about how she got kicked out of the Art Institute because of her ex-girlfriend, who thought she was hitting on a girl she was dating...yadda, yadda. yadda...and me actually giving a damn because I hate seeing people cry and thought I would make a new drinking buddy, tried to get this girl in and was stopped at the door because she was hitting people inside a little while ago. Oh, well. I still had fun. I usually do.
Walter's has good local shows...as well as some small travelling shows you might never see. great local small size venue.
This venue is very mediocre and plays some big shows in which the size of the crowd outlaws the size of the venue itself. A bar, and 14 year old girls do not go well together. They have shows that get very out of hand, and wouldn't, if they were to be scheduled in a bigger enviroment.
