The Indie On Main

Great customer service and drinks! Great karaōke! I hope you will enjoy as much as we did!

The Indie On Main is the best way to spend time prior to a show at the Midland. There is an entrance to the theater through the bar and most of the time, the Indie is absolutely dead while hundreds of people stand outside in the rain, heat, or snow waiting for the doors to the show to open. A drink and a seat? Win. Unfortunately, besides being a convenient place to drink (before paying 3x the price inside the Midland), the Indie is kind of a bust. The drink selection is okay (tolerable at best), but way overpriced. Service is hit or miss, made worse by the fact that there is usually barely anyone in there. But I’ll continue to come here before each show, because, well, it is so much better than waiting in line :)

I came here for the first time tonight on a total whim; and, was pleasantly surprised! My friends have told me that they like going to theIndie once in a while for drinks, so, I thought what could be the harm? I had just got out of a special showing of the 1988 Japanese classic animé film «Akira». I came in for a pint and was as I said pleased. #1) I was pleased by the selection of tap beers; 2) I was pleased by the prices offered on the draught beer; 3) I was pleased with the service provided by the bartender; 4) I was pleased by the cool yet subtle ambiance; and 5) I was pleased that they were able to serve a cold and refreshing pint to a fairly young guy that apparently couldn’t attract a woman if his life actually depended on it. The Indie could easily earn the elusive fifth star; but, it will take at least one more visit!;-)

Listen, I read reviews, I’m old, I was scared – bl – I had the tool (time of our lives) and dave the karaōke guy is craz-​mazing but EJ my bartender stole the mf-​ing show!!! Thanks for the good times!!!

Everybody in Kansas City’s been nice with the folks here absolutely phenomenal the staff goes above and beyond the atmosphere is really cool too they have karaōke every Friday and Saturday night and it’s a perfect blend and Chandra type of atmosphere drinks are strong bathrooms are clean and this place is ideally located next to the Midland theater
you stop in here great for group of friends or even if you’re traveling light

We decided to have an additional shot & drink before heading up to a concert @ the Midland. Also had to piss like a racehorse. Restrooms located in basement.
Anywho… Bartenders were a mix of pretentious, full of themselves, or something off. Just couldnt put my finger on it. The pours were weak. And I mean weak. Also poured into airplane plastic cups. Seriously shots and drinks both in airplane cups. SMH. If youre gonna nickle & dime me on service and amenities… At least pour a stronger drink. Wont be back. But something tells me they dont care.

Ok, if you pay attention to my other reviews (which if you don’t, why aren’t you?!) you know I go to quite a few concerts. And by a few, I mean two to three a week. Since some tend to be at The Midland, I tend to hop next door and visit Indie before or after a concert.
There are quite a few bonuses, in my opinion, to visiting the Indie:
1) Go in before a concert instead of waiting in the line outside. You don’t shiver in the cold, you don’t swelter in the heat, and you can just enter the venue when doors open through the side entrance. Basically, you get to cut in line and drink a bit beforehand. You can even bring in your own dinner if you’d like.
2) Get a guitar. Yes, on concert nights the price drinks go up. Go figure. But, go there on an non-​event night and ask for a guitar. It’s a keychain shaped like a guitar and it gives you non-​concert drink prices on concert nights. I think you have to give em your e-​mail address, but it’s worth the savings.
3) The beer selection is decent. They have more than just the standard venue beers (Boulevard, Miller Lite, etc.). Plus, the same bartenders tend to work inside the venue as well (they just rotate around). Getting on a first name basis with them pays off in the long run. Same as any other bar.
The Indie also does other stuff like karaōke nights, but that’s not really my scene. Well, maybe making fun of the ones that do participate after a handful of drinks, but that’s about all of the participation I’ll do.

Hee-​Hee — This place made me chuckle. Swung by The Indie on Fri night with the BF to check out their karaōke — Place was DEAD. This may be typical though for Memorial Day weekend, since the bar we came from was also dead… The only people there was one medium size group of what appeared to be sorority girls and a couple of folks who I have a sneaking suspicion were «friends of Bill». The sorority girls were quite entertaining — A couple took advantage of the karaōke and then a whole lot of them busted out into an electric-​slide line dance to some pop song. Good people watching. Sadly though, they left soon after we arrived, so we just hung out and nursed our way too overpriced domestic beers. Now I do have to comment on the karaōke — You would think that at a place called The Indie, there would be actual indie songs to sing to. Alas, the staff took turns (yes, it was that dead) serenading us with the usual Prince, Brittany Spears, REO Speedwagon covers. (sigh). Liked the ambiance, drink prices were too high (a Michelob Ultra shouldn’t cost $ 5), but I can attest that most of the staff have quite pleasant voices. It’s a «take it or leave it» kinda bar (2 ½ stars if I could) — Probably best visited before or after a show, when you have an alternative, superior motive to be there.

Bar tending staff was very rude. We asked for them to put a game on TV, and after the bartender rolled his eyes and messed with the remote unsuccessfully, he tells us «sorry guys, I can’t mess with this anymore, I have work to do».
You were working. For tips… And apparently you just quit.
We asked if we could help him out by finding the game for him, and were told we couldn’t be trusted.
If you’re a small business/​bar in P&L, I don’t know how you expect to make it when you don’t respond to even small customer requests like this one, much less treat people like this. Why would I go to a bar that’s not busy, doesn’t have particularly good drink prices, and has terrible customer service when I have so many other options in the area? Obviously, this will be the last time I ever go here.

I want to start with a good chuckle before I start in on my review. One of my friends said this place was fun for karaōke, and I will give them that. It was fun for karaōke. That’s about it though. Showed up here around 11−1130pm on a Friday evening. Did a couple songs and that was fun, but the crowd was not my thing at all. When I went to the restroom there were 2 girls talking in the stalls next to mine, and they were talking about her sister and how she was «WAAAAYYYY older» when they said how old WAAAAAYYYY old was I had to let out a little laugh. Apparently 29 at The Indie is WWAAAYYYY old. That about sums up my experience here. I also was not thrilled with how loud it was for karaōke. It could have been where I was sitting, but man I couldn’t hear anything.
Overall I didn’t hate my time here, but I have no desire to be a regular. Maybe trying it on week night would be better?

I’ve tried to give this place a chance. I won’t be returning. It’s always empty and dead both times I’ve been. This last time, I ordered a beer while waiting on my friend to arrive. When deciding on whether to stay or go (because it was so dead in the place), our decision was made for us when we saw two baby roaches scurry across the bar, past my beer. I paid for the reasonably priced beer, shook off my gloves and coat, so as not to take any little critters with me, and got out of there as quickly as I could. Disappointed because the place looks nice and trendy. Forgot to mention the fact that the only thing they have in the way of food are overpriced bags of chips that look like they came from a snack pack you get from Walmart. $ 2 for a bag of Cheetos. Like I said — will not be returning here.

My partner and I stopped by here before going to a concert at the Midland. It is small, but the high ceilings and cool design make up for it.
I know things are supposed to cost more downtown, but 2 Miller Lite bottles for $ 12? You’ve got to be kidding me!
It looks like it is mostly frequented by hipster wannabes. Definitely not my crowd, and definitely will not be back.

Love this place! If you like flavored vodkas and rums this is the bar for you. Theyve got every flavor you can imagine. My favorite drink is the pineapple upside down cake. This bar is in P&L but doesn’t charge a cover and isn’t ever so packed you can’t move. They always have great drink specials.

I really like the design and atmosphere of Indie. There are lots of varieties of people who hang out here. Anyone from newly 21-​year-​olds to people in their 50s coming out of the Midland after a show can be found here. There is even karaōke here as well.
I can’t say much for the prices, but most things in this area cost more anyway. The staff are friendly and fast. It’s also a good place to sit and watch debauchery occur as people stumble out of Power & Light. Hah.

Came to Kansas city for a vaca over the weekend came here Saturday night. First thing I noticed is that it was kinda dirty they have a cute rug by a couch and you can def tell it hasn’t been cleaned in months. There was a blonde girl bartending not that friendly I guess because she has big boobs she can get away with it. I work in the industry in Stl leave the caddyness at home. I will give them it is reasonably priced compared to other bars in the area. They keep their grand marnier in the cooler its a cognac its not suppose to be chilled. I got a mixed shot and it wasn’t chilled it was gross. Prob won’t go back considering the caddy attitudes and just really not knowing what they are doing.

Sleek.
This was my first time at The Indie on Main and I can’t think of a single bar in KC where I’d walk in and swear I was in a bar in Gramercy Park. They did an excellent job with the design of this place, from the honeycombesque liquor display (see my photo) to the long curvy bar to the lounges in front of the windows. Gramercy bars were never my scene, but I can appreciate good aesthetics when I see ‘em.
We came to the Indie to see our friends in a burlesque act (this is not a regular thing there, as there isn’t a stage and the layout of the place isn’t really conducive to live shows of any kind), otherwise I don’t normally hang out in this area, especially on a weekend night. Crowd was kind of typical P&L which is definitely not my thing, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The DJ was playing music excruciatingly loud in between acts, and really ruined what could have been a decent, chill vibe (this was the consensus of our group, not just my cranky self speaking). I can’t stand house music, so we would have left if we weren’t waiting to see more burlesque. Needless to say, we left right after that was over.
I’d come back again, if in the area as the DJ wasn’t the bar’s fault (and I think they did tell him to lower it a bit at a certain point). The bartendress was nice, drinks were fairly priced. There’s a cocktail list full of girly Gramercy drinks if you share the tastes of the Sex & The City gals (needless to say, I stuck to vodka sodas:)

On a recent stop into the Power and Light district, we stumbled across this super laid back but really nice lounge off the beaten path (meaning not in that central bar area). It instantly reminded me of the plentiful lounge-​y type bars that you find in San Francisco, so I was sold. Our server was exceptionally nice and helpful, I think her name was Maryjane; she gave us so many tips for our brief exploration of Kansas City and even gave us a tour of the lobby of the beautiful Midland Theater — it’s right next door.
The drink menu was creative and there was a decent, albeit small draft beer list including Stella, 312, and some others. Overall, I would definitely return to this lounge/​bar if I were a local!

This is a bar that can be entered from the street or from the lobby space of The Midland. It has a great contemporary feel, but may go a little too cold once winter begins. It could use a little softness, particularly around the banquets that are lined up against the large windows.
Service was quick and it was nice to have a bar so close to The Midland. A fun stop over before the show.