The Infest

Huge Venue. Nice folks. Stiff drinks. Great Art inside.

This is a death metal club that just happened to score a Franz Ferdinand show when ACL canceled Sunday due to rain. They weren’t really equipped to manage a packed full house. The line to get in moved very slowly — like 2 hours from the time the doors opened! That’s a LOT of lost bar revenue they could have made from the people stuck outside!

I’m giving them one star because they were marking up the ticket prices and offering them to the people in the back of the line. Never mind us fans who lined up 4 hours (some even longer) before the show. Very very skeezy.
However, I was super happy that Franz Ferdinand was able to schedule a show here when the Sunday of ACL was cancelled due to flooding. They only charged $ 10 to get in which I thought showed restraint on the part of the club, or maybe it was the band. They could have charged more. The show was excellent!
Still though, trying to make some extra bucks by overcharging the people in the back and ignoring the fans in the front… ugh.

The bartender didn’t know how to make the mixed drink I ordered and instead of acknowledging my request of a simple Jack & Coke, she attempted to make what she thought I ordered and it was very, very strong and absolutely disgusting. If I didn’t pay $ 7.00 for it, I wouldn’t have drank the entire thing.

If The Infest is trying to harken back to the good old 80’s and 90’s punk rock club, they hit it on the head. Poor organization, clueless employees, starting late, and virtually no AC. I’m curious if anyone had tried going to Antone’s before they vacated the location to see how they made it work so well, because the night I showed up was a case study in failure and recovery.
I think it was supposed to be the opening night of the venue, so I was willing to accept some hecticness. We showed up around 8 (doors were supposed to be at 7) and all three lines to get inside were long. Only one line was for Will Call. Can you guess which one? The folks at the door didn’t really know. We left for the Gingerman and came back.
It was after 9 when we got back. The line on 5^th Street was gone, but that wasn’t an entrance any longer. There were two lines on Lavaca, and we chose the shortest one. Fortunately that was will call.
Walking up to the bar, koozie in hand, all they had in tall boys was PBR and Lone Star. Nothing better in short cans. Boo. The liquor wasn’t too expensive (~$ 6?) and the pour was acceptable. They kept both of the bars where they were, which means you have 20 – 30 feet of people standing at the bar with little room to figure out where or even how to get in line.
They used the previous stage for merchandise sales and put the stage at the 5^th Street window. Was that so the pit wouldn’t reach from stage to bar? Climbing up on the merchandise stage wasn’t easy, but it worked. They used a lot of good standing room for that, and it would have been cool if that was open standing.
Overall, maybe they’ll get their act together and this will become a better venue. Wasn’t all that bad, but unless something really awesome comes there, I’m out until it’s cold outside since they don’t want to run the AC.

I went to see Black Flag at The Infest. Most of the staff were rude and they were very late opening the doors. Do not advertise that you will open the doors at 7pm if you have no intention on opening the doors until 8:45.
The layout of the place, particularly the stage makes the place crowded and hard to view the stage. Additionally, they do not seem to believe in air conditioning or trash cans. So it was crowded and hot, with beer cans and cups scattered on the floor.
The event was very disorganized, from the lines to purchase or pick up tickets to crowd control. Security did a horrible job keeping people off the stage, preventing them from smoking pot, or keeping the drunks from harassing people.
I love punk music, but I would rather drive to Dallas or Houston to see a band than go back to Infest.

Wahhhhhhhh!!! The doors opened late.
Waaaaaahhhhhh!!! The bartenders were rude.
Wahhhhhhhh!!! The bathrooms smelled.
Wahhhhhhhh!!! The layout makes it hard to see the show.
Wahhhhhhhh!!!
What the hell is wrong with you people? The one star reviews make me laugh. You do realize that you went to a punk venue, right? Shouldn’t you be counting your lucky stars there wasn’t someone pushing junk into their vein near the merch table? I’m sorry. Aren’t you glad you were able to take a piss without some guy blowing chunks into one of the urinals? Damn, it sucks to wait outside without some punk chick trying to suck off her guy, right in the middle of the line.
Where have ya’ll been seeing shows? Austinites are spoiled. Go back to Sixth Street or The Backyard or La Zona Rosa or ACL Live. You know what? I don’t think the bartenders are rude enough. I don’t think this place is dank and dirty enough. So, I’m going to make a concerted effort to make this place more punk. I’m going to shove my foot into the ass of every polo shirt wearing west Austinite that comes there. I’m taking a piss in the bathroom sinks. I’m intentionally f*&king with the bartenders so they are even meaner.
You’re welcome.
By the way, Black Flag was awesome.

Solid punk bar!
I really enjoyed myself and felt right at home.
Its great to see the owners bringing some awesome bands also!
UP that high end whiskey selection for us err. hem «older » …Punks.LOL
They also had a cool set up of folks with zines and alternative literature that I found super interesting.
All in all a great addition to Austin.

This is a cool bar so far. I fortunately haven’t experienced rude service like other people. I’ve actually had great service! service can really make or break it for me.
Sunday is a cool local vendor day where you can snag up some awesome Austin art and jewelry all while enjoying some bloody Mary’s that are perhaps too delicious. The bartender uses a homemade hot sauce with ghost peppers and boy does it deliver!
they moved the stage, which made me nervous bc of the acoustics, but it sounds good!
i’m interested to see how this place develops.

Wow, Infest has only been open for two weekends and two reviewers have already beat me in saying that the staff is just downright RUDE. From the door guy (the owner by the looks of their website), to the security, to one of the bartenders, I was treated like they’d rather not have myself, or anyone, there. Maybe the very warm temperature inside was wearing on peoples’ moods? I want to give the place another chance though, since it is a neat concept (open space for music, arts, dodge-​ball, and other things).
Sound was decent. Drinks weren’t as well priced as some places, but not bad for the warehouse district.

LOVE this place! the staff is super friendly. The drinks are STRONG and decently priced. The atmosphere is GREAT! It’s cool to see something as legendary as Antone’s becoming something better.