Skinny’s Ballroom

Stopped in for Sunday Happy Hour
Any place that has a Ukulele Open mic Night is _​_​_​_​_​_​Happens every 3^rd Wed.
*Wrote this review 5-​22-​2011, but never posted. Sadly, they closed.

Really Austin? Support your music. I was here on a wednesday night. Music was amazing but place was empty. These guys deserve your business.

Skinny’s, I will miss you. You love what you do and you do it well.
Christina always smiles when you walk in and gives hugs over the bar. My drinks are perfect every time and she runs a tight ship. Just fantastic! She has the coolest vintage music t-​shirts in town! What an eye for style.
Chris is hilarious. He never misses a beat and always has a good story to tell.
Brad and Maggie are the friendliest duo and most knowledgeable music lovers. Listening to Brad «talk shop» with musicians and patrons makes me realize how much he loves what they do. They always made me feel welcomed.
Oh, and thanks for introducing me to my boyfriend.
Such an eclectic mix of music and inexpensive drinks made you all fantastic in my book. I hope we can get together again sometime!

You’ll find great live music here; operated by a guy who truly cares about his patrons and the musicians playing at his club.

I just went here for a SXSWi party, and I don’t know how I managed to never come here before now. It’s a great spot, and totally unexpected for that part of downtown. I now know where to go to get cheap drinks in the area, and I’d love to see a show there. It seems like a nice spot to hear an up-​and-​coming band.

Skinny’s got ballroom, but his patio does not.

One thing I’ve learned about bars throughout my life in and out of them, is that it has little to do with how cool the bar is or how nifty the décor is, it’s all about the regular crowd.
I did not visit this bar on a regular night.
Overall, it seems like a nice, comfortable place to have drinks. Friendly bartenders, a stage that’s surprisingly well set up despite the size and shape of the venue, and drinks that are done right. The crowd was fantastic and they had one of the funnier amateur comedians I’ve heard in a long time.
My only concerns are that I have no idea how this place is normally and it seems way off the beaten path for bars. But maybe I’m just old. I’ll definitely go again on a night when I can better assess their venue.

Skinny’s is indeed, skinny. And that’s totally what makes it a rad music venue. Any show you see here is going to feel front row. With it’s shotgun style set up and a small patio in the back, there’s enough room for your friends, your friends friends but it’s never going to feel like you’re lost among a huge crowd of folks.
They do trivia nights, tribute acts, comedy, original music, great Austin bands and each of them with panache. Skinnys is the place where everyone knows your name or soon will. And it’s just off the entirely over-​beaten path with great beer and reasonable drinks. Haven’t been to skinnys? You’re missing out big time.

It’s give or take ten-​thirty on an uncharacteristically drizzly and damp evening downtown, and after a preliminary bout with dinner elsewhere and some follow up cocktails elsewhere still, I’m wobbling my way around the road less traveled. In this case, that road happens to be second street — the less populated end — and, full of bluster and an eagerness to show off some of Austin’s comparatively lesser known gems, I make the bold suggestion as we make our way out the door that Skinny’s would be worth a stop.
Tomorrow, I’ll at least mildly reconsider that assertion, based largely on the idea that I’ve been sipping on high octane craft beers on an evening in its waning that seems to have begun during the Truman administration, but onward we march, ready for another bout of good cheer.
And, in fact, there’s not much different happening at Skinny’s if you solely consider the fact that they’re sparsely populated on a weekday night of inclement weather. But to assume that the five-​star love is a misnomer for that reason might well be to miss the point of what makes Skinny’s great. Know first that if you don’t know this stretch of this particular street (I’m speaking about San Jacinto now, the business end block culminating on the doorstep of the Four Seasons), be aware that there’s ample parking, but it’s not necessarily easily discerned if you’re not looking for it. Directly across the street, you’ll find a huge parking garage. Easy peasy.
Once inside, Skinny’s looks a little like a live music venue (note terrific in house sound and if I’m not nuts the previous tenants or owner of the building installed backstage curtains, which bear just a little Carson-​esque sheen). If you took a Ginzu knife, however, and sliced the room in half (leaving the lower confines and stage area to your right and the bar/​bar seating area to your left), you might think if you look closely that they’ve Frankensteined a sushi restaurant into the upper reaches here.
Perhaps I’m overstating. My guess is, regardless, that the base materials seen inside are a harkening to the original buildout, and there are elements that continue to hold up well despite that: the nook in the back is great for small groups if you’re not into crowding the stage area.
Know that the venue often streams not only a regular assortment of acts they love, but on occasion will stream (with the band’s permission) some of the groups that take the stage. And they book well. It’s a room that runs deep but not particularly wide, so popular shows can and do get a little crowded. They’ve taken to bringing in a few kitschy pews lately, which is one interesting way to swing the crowd control issue.
Either way, at the very least, I’d recommend popping in when you might not know who’s onstage and when the crowd is light. There’s a better than average chance they’ll wax interesting. Rain or shine.

I first came to Skinny’s during SXSW. They have a nice front sitting area with wide open windows. We called it the Lanai. Lately I’ve been coming for Ukulele night the 3^rd Wednesday of the month, hosted by Sweet Pea. David Cotton, a long-​time fixture on the Austin music scene, just started booking this room. I’m looking forward to seeing Ghosts Along The Brazos play tomorrow. Overall this is a good space to see music or to play Ukulele with your friends.

It’s about time I drafted this review. I’m only the frickin’ duchess now, apparently.
It’s thanks to Melissa A’s music trivia ROTDC that I discovered this place. Most of you know I’m a sucker for music trivia, so it’s a sure bet you’ll find me here every sssingle sssolitary SSSunday night. And excellent jazz music follows on stage, too. You can’t find that just anywhere in Austin… except Elephant Club. But I’d rather be skinny than an elephant.
I don’t know how trivia master Darrin and bartender Chris know my name, but they know it nonetheless. And I’m apparently «The Ringer» on my team, according to Darrin. That’s always a nice ego boost.
They’re being nice enough to host a Unilocal potluck this Sunday and host a special trivia for us. But I don’t think it’ll be music-​related; I heard something about being sure to read other users’ reviews. Too bad. I would’ve loved to have seen all of you fight over who gets The Ringer on their team.

5 stars!
Christina said she’d get Bombay Sapphire for me and she did. I found this out when I walked into Skinny’s randomly last Friday. I seem to be here at least once of twice a week so I’m really excited they got me my favorite gin. Yay!
Friday’s show was really good, I don’t know who was playing but of course, everything sounds great at this venue. I spend the majority of the night on the smoking patio, chatting with other patrons, smoking, and drinking gin. A pretty perfect night in my book.
Also, no patchouli stank that night. 5 stars!

awesome music venue, we saw Shakey Graves here the other night and loved him! There was plenty of seating and even a patio on the back those smokers. Drinks were a little expensive but there was no cover for music so fine with it.

Lots of potential here, good sound system, good bar. Ambience is like a mini continental club so far.

This is Austin’s best new live music venue. The atmosphere is great, with it’s long narrow room, great lighting and an ample stage at the end. There’s always something good playing over the speakers … if not a stellar band on stage.
My music group played there not too long ago, and the sound man was the best I’ve had ever. The room sounded great. It was rock and roll volume, but not painful at all. The drinks were good at a good price and the cover was only three bucks.
The owner, Brad, is one of the nicest dudes I’ve met. He isn’t your typical bar owner. The night we played, although well attended, he was even working the door. He books the music as well. Swell guy. I really can’t say enough about this place.

OMG I love these guys.
This bar has only been open for a few months YOU NEED TO COME HERE.
They are really more a live music venue than a bar. They have Hoegaarden on tap for ONLY $ 4!!! During happy hour it is only $ 3!!!
They have super-​duper comfy couches up front that you can sit on. Sunday evenings they play music trivia.
The owner has his Apple computer filled with thousands of amazing songs that you can walk over to and play over the speaker’s.
The lay-​out is Skinny (sort of reminds me of Continental Club) with a small stage. I cannot wait to come back and check out the bands they book (they book a mix of genres from rock to alt-​country and more).
PS: For smokers there is a small smoking patio out back.

cool place for music
bartender… meh… could i get a smile… or for you to even act like your gonna get me a drink sometime tonight?

Great new place to see live bands.
Sound is EXCELLENT
Prices are CHEAP
Patio is CUTE
Go support live music!!!

Great little spot in a bit of a weird location near the convention center downtown, but it has a cool vibe and is off the beaten 4^th and 6^th street paths. Here for happy hour, but can’t wait to return for a live show.
Their digital jukebox has almost 35,000 songs in the library. Ok, it is the bar’s iTunes library, but over 200GB of music is pretty cool. We played DJ for an hour or so with some cheap drinks.
No food, but this place will have a nice accompaniment soon with a new gasyro-​pub opening next door soon.