The Knitting Factory

Went to Grace Potter show, paid for premium seating. Once Grace came on folks from general admission came up and got in front of us! One person made nasty comment cuz my wife told her she couldn’t stand in front of her – wait person finally run her off – bout ½ dozen other folks took table in front of us – stood up to block our view. People at our table left saying they could not see! Why does KF allow this?

OMG! $ 8 For tiny plastic cup of domestic beer, way too crowded, uncomfortable, way too loud. High ticket prices also, was so crowded that i had concerns of fire code violations. Also my brothers band had to sell their own tickets, played a one hr. Set to a packed crowd buying beer and liqour at an insane rate and when my brother went to get paid, the band was given $ 0, What? Corrupt, evil place. Also they told the roadies they could not go on stage, seriously WTF. This place needs to be boycotted by musicians and fans alike.

Great for shows but wish it was bigger. Hate sharing sweat with people. Drinks are expensive if you can ever get to the bar. Bathroom needed to be hosed down with a fire hose and two gallons of bleach. Other then that sound and lights are awesome. Also people who work there seem pretty cool and must love their job.

⁴⁄₅ shows I see at the Knit have exceptionally poor sound engineering. Bands I love sounds muddy and weak. Also, the layout of the venue is poor and most of the time I can’t move around well and feel overcrowded. I really dislike it when groups I like come through here.

I had a great time at Neutral Milk Hotel at this venue. It sounded great, and was not too loud. We posted up back and center and had a great view of everything. Then we moved to the left and right sides of the stage so we could see the band, as well as all the faces in the crowd, which was very cool to watch.
pros: –Great acoustics and décor
–AC seemed to work on a very hot day (97 degrees)
–very friendly security and bartender, which is pretty rare for music venues
–cool location with other desirable spots on same block
–we were able to show up to see Neutral Milk Hotel without a ticket and bought one from «Ticketboy» so we avoided the ridiculous service charge
cons:
–very expensive beers ($ 6 Bud Light, $ 7 for legit beers)
-$ 6.75 service charge for a concert ticket.
–charging people $ 3 to check bags

It is an intimate venue, and attracts some pretty good shows. I like the variety that they bring to town. Not just Bands, but dance lessons and charity events. Whoever organizes the acts gets an A+.
Negatives– Way over priced drinks. Like, WAY overpriced. I know it is a concert venue, but this isn’t Seattle or Portland. Once you are in, you are in. There is no turning back. My partner and I went to a Salsa class/​show that started pretty early. Total time would have been 6 hours to stay in the building. We wanted to go grab a drink across the street with a friend and were denied. So, instead of taking it all in, we just left after the lessons, which was very disappointing considering we were having a great time, but had a brief obligation to meet a friend.
Hope you guys can work out the kinks. We will be more likely to trek downtown again, but not in the foreseeable future.

«The knit» as is it now known by the younger hipster generation, is an ok place to see a concert. They have had some great bands there with awesome light shows but I will admit that it was way better «back in the day» before this new company and new management took over.
My biggest concern about going there was that I heard rumors about girls getting ruffied. I didn’t believe it until it happened to a good friend of mine and then to me several months later. Soooo ladies watch your drinks and anyone who wishes to have a few, plan on taking out a payday loan! They are serving piss warm cheap ass beer at Beverly Hills prices!

Best sound quality for live performance I’ve ever seen. We drove from Vancouver WA to see Sleater-​Kinney there. The venue was well within walking distance of the hotel we stayed at; every staff member we came in contact with was extremely friendly and the sound quality was unreal. We have been to a dozen or so concerts in the past four years, from San Francisco to Orlando to wine country — I couldn’t believe how crisp and balanced it was. If I had to say one thing negative, though, it was the seating. My wife and I are over fifty with bad joints. I knew I couldn’t get general admission tickets because that is hours of standing on the main floor. It wasn’t clear to me the three levels of seated ticket prices. One price (the highest I guess) was in a chair, like a movie theater chair — there was a row of them up top and to the side; we were seated at a balcony table. Again, two types — one type was small table with chairs at the railing. We were in the other type — the tall tables with the tall chairs, which would have been ok, except that my legs are very short, and with my knees being so bad it was impossible to find a comfortable position. Other than that I would definitely see a show there again… just maybe spring for the crappy movie seat, lol.

Seen many a show at Knitting Factory. Great venue! Good location! I know it’s a entertainment venue, I expect drinks and food to be a little high, but 7.00 for a drink? Little questionable? Bottled water, 3.00?
Little advice Knitting Factory. How about charging a dollar or maybe free for water, to show good business practices. It shows your customers you want them to come back and have an enjoyable experience and it also shows you care being part of the community!
The hit you take on water, your obviously making up in alcohol.
Just a thought!
Of course you make look at this and think who cares what this guy thinks, as that is your right.
This guy though, is a customer, the most powerful force in business!

I’ve been to the knit multiple times and there has been no shortage of security. Just leave you stuff in the car. I saw J Boog open for the Green and it was a pretty good show. The staff in the VIP area was solid. I look forward to my next show at the knitting factory.

If the bands played at different venues, that’s where I’d be. Sound is pretty good. That’s about the end of the good. Crazy ticket fees, even crazier drink prices, and they’ve roped half the place off for VIP that is never even remotely close to being full. They serve food. A full menu. You can buy a table to eat that food. You can also buy a water to wash that food down. Don’t want to pay $ 3 for that water? Then we hope you choke. Wanna take that water outside to smoke? Tough shit. I’ve been coming here for 5 years. I used to love it. Now I’m just waiting for it to close so these bands move to the other venues. You’re doing it wrong Knitting Factory. You make more money selling me 4 $ 4 beers than you do selling me 0 $ 7 beers.

Reading some of these other reviews makes you wonder if these people have ever been to a concert before. Expensive drinks… welcome to the real world, the Knitting Factory is no different then any other venue… and of course you should pre-​game, thats like a right of passage for going to a rock show.
We’re from LA and caught a show at KF (Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame) while on a road trip through the area. Everything was great, we had VIP tickets and staff was very friendly. The VIP seating was great. The other patrons were very cool, we even went out bar hopping with some of them after the show.
KF has a great location is downtown Boise, dont listen to the haters.

The good —
A sizable space for smaller-​scale performances, clean, with different areas for standing, seating, and overlooking stage, area outside for smoking.
The acoustics and lighting were OK for the space and for the performance I saw.
The bad —
The stage is slightly smaller than the dance floor. Based on performer to spectator ratio, this is not right. Let’s say you’ve got a 12-​piece brass ensemble, a monkey with an organ grinder doubling as the DJ, two belly dancers, and three vocalists singing a Goa trance rendition of «That’s Amore!» — this is something I’d want to get down onto the dance floor and boogie to without having someone’s armpit hairs in my nostrils.
The bouncer/​greeter guy at the door — the only one — didn’t seem to know how to check in people who’d purchased their tickets online. Took a pretty long time getting us checked in.
There are NO in/​out privileges unless you buy a VIP ticket. (And our tickets were not bargain basement cheap.) I’ve never seen this in any other music venue. Big BIG stars off for this. WTF?
Beer is $ 7. I repeat, beer is $ 7. I had wine. $ 6. (The good news — the server appears not to be used to the concept of tipping. When we first tipped her for bringing the drinks things almost became *awkward*. Fortunately, she’s a smart gal, caught on quickly, and must’ve returned a dozen times afterwards asking us if we needed drinks.)
If you arrive early to a show, they don’t let you into the venue proper. You have to stand lamely in a «lobby» area with a poorly-​stocked bar. VIPs get their own special room. (And by «early» I mean the time that’s stated on your ticket.)
Given that Boise doesn’t have a wealth of music venues of Knitting Factory’s caliber, completely dissing this place means that I’d be stuck out on the street watching Gummy Joe sing and dance the «Beer Barrel Polka» with his imaginary friend, Banjo. The Knitting Factory is set up very well, brings in great talent, and is clean — but management practices leave a little something to be desired.

If you want to be nickel and dimed to death by sleazy management, this is the place to see a show.
Waiting in line for tickets to a recent show, we noticed that the girl at the ticket window was giving evil glares of death to every ticket buyer in front of us and talking to every single one of them with contempt and a hostile demeanor. As soon as we got to the window, we found out why– the Boise Knitting Factory was charging what amounted to a 30% «ticket fee» for tickets purchased at the box office. Literally every single customer was surprised by this and rightfully complained.
The problem is Boise Knit management chooses not to disclose their box office «ticket fee» anywhere on their calendar, website, ticket pricing, etc. You only find out when you get to the window and they have it displayed on a dry-​erase board. If literally every single one of your customers is surprised by a bullshit «ticket fee» when they get to your box office (and complains), then you (Boise Knitting Factory shitheelmanagement) are doing something wrong. The problem is not with your customers, the problem is with you intentionally misleading them and trying to nickel and dime them.
I’ve never of a «ticket fee» being charged at a box office, only online or through a third party ticket seller. And apparently neither had just about every single one of the other people who bought a ticket at the box office that night. It’s really simple to be honest with your customers and list the true ticket price on your website or disclose your «ticket fees» on your website. But since the Boise Knit management apparently comes from the school of used car sales douchebaggery, they choose to do neither.
So, box office demon (ticket lady), if you want to take out your misdirected anger on someone, take it out on your boss for ripping off your customers. Your boss is the problem, not your customers.
Beyond the box office price gouging, drinks at the Knit are the most expensive at any music venue or club in town. But they are far from the best or strongest. The only place in this city that serves a cocktail worth paying 8 dollars for is The Modern. Not the Knitting Factory. Not even close.

I truly hope the days of the monopoly of the Boise concert market are coming to a close for the Knitting Factory. I have been to several rock shows at this venue on several occasions. The bar tenders are unfriendly. The venue is hot… I mean temperature hot! And if the attendance is large, they remove the seating on the lower level so it standing room only (shoulder to shoulder) or pay V.I.P. $ 50 each for a table upstairs. It is gotten so expensive to see a band here, that for most people it’s a negative. I won’t go to the Knitting Factory unless it’s a absolutely «must see» show. And even then I’d really have to think about it.

I don’t know about you, but I go to concerts because I actually want to SEE whoever is performing. Dude! There’s not a bad place in the house! Well, unless you’re waiting in line for the ladies room. Standing room only, but it’s totally worth it if you want to get up close. Aside from the lack of chairs and wiggle room, the Knitting Factory is at the top of my list for venues.

I’m actually really surprised that this place only has a total rating of 2.5 stars, because we truly had a fantastic experience. Bottom line, our interaction with every staff member was extremely positive, the acoustics in this place are great & they have quick service at the bar so you don’t spend the entire waiting for a drink instead of enjoying the concert!
We were in Boise on a business trip from Los Angeles, and found out at the last minute that the Alabama Shakes were playing at the Knitting Factory the night we were there. Unfortunately, we didn’t find out in time to actually get tickets, even from the scalpers (who were non-​existant when we arrived at the venue).
The bouncers were very nice and knowledgable, and although they didn’t let us in, they were quite polite and friendly about the whole thing. (Unlike about 95% of the bouncers I have encountered.) They recommended we try back a little later (the band hadn’t gone on yet), as maybe a few scalpers would show up later.
When we came back, the Shakes had just started (we could hear them from outside). Unfortunately there were still no scalpers to be found, but as we stood outside waiting, the manager came out to check the list of comped tickets, and finding that two people had not shown up to claim their comped tickets, he gave them to us!
Once we got in, things just got better. The acoustics were fantastic — the band sounded great from upstairs, downstairs, anywhere we stood really. Additionally, the bars were very well staffed which cut down greatly on the wait time for a drink.
The Alabama Shakes are an amazing band that are going to blow up big time in the coming year and is a great booking for the Knitting Factory in Boise, so kudos to whoever handles bookings here as well.
If you’re in Boise and there’s a band you want to see playing, this is a great place to see them play!

We attended the Blackberry Smoke show the other night and, of course, the band blew us away. What we didn’t expect that the staff would do the same.
We met Dustin in the lounge who said he would take care of us and see to it that we had good seats. He gave us great seats and came by to check on us every half hour or so all the way through the concert. Unbelievable! This man knows customer service. Also, our server, Amber, was the same. She served us our dinner in the lounge and then would come and see if we were okay every half hour or so through the concert.
We loved the venue (more than House of Blues) and hope to maybe come back someday. The sound was great, the place was great, our seats were great and the staff went above and beyond.
The Knitting Factory made it worth the 700 some odd miles we drove.

The Knitting Factory is one of the better live venues w have been to in a long time. The band Authmentis had the pleasure of playing there on a Saturday night and we have to say from a musician’s perspective everything was top notch! The staff was extremely knowledgeable and dedicated. We were absolutely taken care of. We also had the pleasure of watching several bands while hanging out at the bar. The bar staff was friendly and quick, the sound from the stage was fantastic (which is saying a lot coming from a band) and the atmosphere was great for a live music venue. Overall we had a great time playing there, seeing bands play, and hanging out with people who love live music, what more could you want?
–Authmentis

Wow some people are so uptight about this place.
My friend got us 2 tickets (VIP seating/​access) for the Drive-​By Truckers. We had great seats over looking the stage and the standing room/​general admission area below. The service was excellent (we had a dedicated server in our section), maybe even too good as we both were slightly over indulged when we left (but just walked a few blocks to my hotel).
We took turns going down stairs to mingle and I didn’t find there to be an issue manuvering through the crowd. Maybe the venues I have frequented outside of Boise are shitty and relatively speaking this is on the same level, but I doubt it. I have definitely been to worse and I have been to better, but over all I enjoyed my concert experience here and would easily do it again.