Slowdown

I always have a good time at Slowdown! I’ve been to several shows here and am never disappointed with this venue. They have a solid beer selection and their collection of board games will keep you entertained if there isn’t a show. Keep up the great work!

0 stars for rude people. They kick us out before
midnight while 3 of us have full drinks. They started cleaning and asked us to move twice so they could clean around us. I wish this place would have been a good time! :(

The Slowdown is one of my favorite music venues in the entire country! I have been lucky enough to play a handful of shows in the small room, and got to see Yo La Tengo in the big room a few years back as well!
I love that they have movable wall, and 2 stages to make this place huge for bigger shows with balcony and smaller for more intimate ones.
The sound on both stages is killer, Dan who has been doing sound there for years is a total pro and he even had wireless mics for us to use! Which totally rules!
The bar rules as well and they sell everything from brews, to mix drinks, to wine, to Kombucha!
They also have tons of snacks like chips, bars, and other delights!
The bartenders rule, Missy who has been there for years is up for making you crazy shots! First place I have ever had or heard of the shot a Brooklyn Hooker, which was crazy.
The bathrooms are some of the nicest you will ever find in a rock club, and there are tons of tables to sit if you want!
They do game nights, trivia nights, and heck they have a photo booth! I love this place and if you are in Omaha, SLOWDOWN pull over and stop here for a drink and a show!

What a great venue! Now, I must admit I’ve only been here for events, and never just for a drink with nothing else going on. I’ve seen two concerts here, and have also been here for a New Year’s Eve party. To start with, the acoustics in the bar are pretty good and you can hear clearly from anywhere you are. Each time I’ve been there, I’ve found the bar service to be a little slow, but I can excuse that to them just being really busy. One thing I would suggest is to close your tab each time you get a drink. you don’t want to be stuck at the bar at the end of the concert with everyone else, trying to pay your tab. It’s just easier and faster to close it out each time. They have a pretty good craft brew selection, instead of the usual Bud and Bud Light options. I’ve paid about 4.50 per beer, which if you go to any large concert venue, you are going to be paying close to double that. I can’t comment on the quality of the mixed drinks, as I have not tried them.
In terms of seating, I would classify it as limited. There are a few seats off to the side of the stage, which, to me, would be an ideal spot. There’s also 10 – 12 tables on the lower level and a few booths if you aren’t interested in actually seeing the band perform. If you walk up the stairs, there are tables around the perimeter of the balcony, but once again, it is limited. If you feel like you REALLY want a seat, I would recommend being in line before the doors open. If you aren’t in line quick, expect to be standing all night. Now, I don’t mind standing, so it’s not that big of a deal to me, but I know some people really like to have seats. In terms of standing, you can stand in a pretty large open area right in front of the stage, or really anywhere else in the bar that you would like.
One other thing to watch out for is there is no food at Slowdown, so I would recommend getting something ahead of time at any of the area North Downtown restaurants (Blatt, Goodnights, Session Room, Local, just to name a few).
Slowdown has musical acts come through really often, so check the calendar periodically, and stop in for a show! I’m looking forward to going back!

Five stars or four stars. Anything less, you can bet your last dollar that whoever gave less is just a sad individual who has no clue how to have fun! Come on! There’s a photo booth in here! And they make a kick ass Moscow Mule!

The Slowdown is a great place in north downtown for concerts and events alike. I’ve been here many times over the last 8 years and it’s one of my favorite venues in Omaha to catch unique musical guests in an intimate setting where there’s not a security guard blocking you from the stage edge. Back when it was first build (in 2008-​ish?) I remember Conor Oberst of Brighteyes having a hand in the planning and execution– totally love that band. And the care in sound design and ambience shows when I attend concerts.
Overall a great place for you to relax with drink in hand and enjoy some awesome musics and events. They have a fun quiz happy hour and great beers and drinks on tap for during the week. Parking is always easy and accessible, and no matter what RAGER occurred the day before it’s always fresh smelling and the bathrooms are clean.
Remember to bring your ID even for all age events!

Slowdown is my favorite venue in Omaha to watch live music. Luckily, they get a pretty good stream of bands… well known, up and coming, local… you name it. I’ve seen a handful of shows over the past year here and all of them have been awesome. The stage is away from the bar, down several steps. They also have a small second floor, which circles the main stage-​area floor. Seats are pretty impossible to grab here, unless you show up super early. I believe there are tables up there as well.
When there’s not a show going on, Slowdown usually closes up the stage area. However, even when they do that, the bar space is still so much larger than a lot of bars in Omaha. Darkly lit, there’s tables strewn across the area, and a long bar that runs across one side of the room. There’s a large selection of beers, as well as your standard cocktails.
Tuesday nights are Pub Quiz nights. Free to play, grab some friends and entertain yourself playing Trivia! The questions are fun and tricky, and it’s always a great time. There’s always at least 5 – 6 other teams there, and things can get friendly-​competitive quickly.
And if you need more reasons to check out Slowdown…
* They have a photobooth, which is definitely worth mentioning because who DOESN’T love an old fashioned photo strip?!
* A stack of board games lines a part of the wall near the entrance. They have everything from Connect Four to Categories to Battleship.
* There’s an outside patio perfect in the summertime.
* They host large parties, including wedding receptions… how awesome would that be?!

Enjoying a gorgeous drink in a fancy glass while listening to a booming band. What an incredible way to spend my vacation. There was as fun croud, prompt wait staff happy. This always makes for a fun time. Had the time of my life and could go back. and have that fruity pink drink every night.

Slowdown is a fantastic live music venue that we have enjoyed many, many times. It is also an awesome place for weddings, we’ve attended a few there. Including our own! It was great!!! The slowdown held our 300 guests pretty comfortably. It was a little tight with the tables and chairs we brought in. The photobooth is a big bonus for a wedding. The guests loved it! The staff were all awesome! So helpful all night long. They were wonderful. Great place for events!!!

Pub quiz! I went here with some friends as part of a pub quiz team — every Tuesday at 9 is competition time (21+, though I believe for concerts and such, it’s 18+).
The bartenders and staff are always friendly and usually hilarious. Even when it’s super packed, I never feel like I have to wait forever to get a drink. They have tasty local beers on tap, too, so take advantage of that. (Mmm, Zipline.) Bonus: they keep the venue clean, and I have never experienced the sticky floor phenomenon that seems to be a bar-​feature.
Pro tip: the sound system can be overwhelmingly loud, so be careful where you sit if you intend to have a conversation with your group.

Another great live music venue. This place was built with music in mind. Service is good and the bands are better. Since this place is owned by the Saddle Creek Records people, they get bands that should be playing much larger venues. Great place to see a great band in intimate location.
Only negative… bathroom doors are located by steps coming up from stage area. Gets a little crowded. Nit picky but heck… gotta say something. lol

This place rocks! I have seen a bunch of shows here and it has always been good. It is fairly small but the crowd never seems to fill it up, even for big shows. The prices are good, the bartenders are nice and they have a stash of boardgames!

The Slowdown has everything: arts/​culture and sports events, a great selection of beer and booze, board games and snacks. Oh, and it’s a concert venue.
Leave it to a record company to put together an amazing set-​up: Saddle Creek runs a smooth operation with a great variety of bookings and other events to fill up the calendar. I’ve gone to countless Science Cafes and Pub Quizzes at Slowdown, but it’s a great bar to chill and play board games, too. Scrabble or Guess Who, anyone?
Definitely check out Happy Hour: Taps are half-​price (awesome deal for craft and local beer fans), plus all other drinks are $ 1 off.
For concerts, I love sitting in the upper deck. Killer view of the band and crowd, but there really isn’t a bad (seat) in the place.
During the College World Series, Slowdown transforms part of the back parking lot into a beer garden/​outdoor dance clubs. They bring in a DJ and play all of the CWS games on their projection screen inside and a number of TVs outdoors. Totally different vibe but it works for the CWS.

It’s always a pleasure attending concerts and events here. Slowdown is clean, spacious an apt at accommodating shows of all sizes, from small and intimate singer-​songwriters to giant, crazy DJ-​fueled dance parties. Really, it’s one of the nicest venues I’ve been to in the country. You can tell that a lot of thought was put into to it – there’s even laundry facilities and a shower for touring bands in the green room.
Slowdown is also a great place to grab a drink after work, as their happy hour specials are great: ½ price taps and $ 1 off everything else. Can’t beat that.

Pretty much everything I require in a venue. I mean, to be perfect for someone like ME a place would have a full late night menu of gluten free food, and massage chairs. But let’s not be ridiculous. The Slowdown is one of those places that when I see a band on my radar is playing there, I have no hesitation about simply buying a ticket, and making the drive to Omaha. Because thus far in my experiences at this venue, I have never been disappointed.
Here are some of my observations:
* Staff: NICE and EFFICIENT, and seemingly happy to be there. I love that.
* The Sound: Perfect. I will go to great lengths to catch a fave band in a location where I can feel confident that the sound will not suck. So far, this has been the case at the Slowdown. Stellar sound quality. I can actually HEAR the vocals, and enjoy every single word of each song.
* Food/​Snacks: they do exist here, and I LOVE that.
* Seating options: these also exist for those who either reuquire seating, desire a rest mid-​show, or simply feel like being leisurely on a lazy night.
* An organized promotional calendar and web presence. They DO all of the things I personally feel are necessary to gain & retain patrons. And they manage to do this in conjunction with a dual promotion of the musical acts as well.
* A music lover’s venue FOR musicians & fans alike. Everything functions in such a way (from my perspective) that allows for the musicians performing to be as happy and comfortable as they can be, which in turn means that the fans most likely will be rewarded with an extra special, one of a kind experience.
* So far, the shows seem to START ON TIME (which is one of my biggest pet peeves about venues)
* The vibe: I can’t really explain it. I just know that I like it there, & I feel comfortable.
* Plenty of parking around the area (which I know could vary depending on what else is going on. But at this point, it does not seem to be an issue. I also never fault a place for parking. But I do always like to point it out, as it can factor into the whole of the experience.

Great for having drinks, watching a concert or going to free Science Café events. Also has board games you can play while having some drinks!

One of the best venues in the nation, cool second balcony area for bigger shows, lots of drink options including cheap tall boys.
Arcade games in the back!

This was a great venue during the College World Series to grab a drink and enjoy some live music. The outside bars were a college party atmosphere with the inside bar having craft beer options and lots of TVs to watch the games going on across the street at TD Ameritrade!
I highly enjoyed my time at the Slowdown while in town and would recommend it to others looking for a less packed experience than some of the other beer tents in the area around the stadium!

Fast bartenders, great venue, fantastic acoustics, just-​right size. This is my favorite local venue. I’ve seen several bands here… local ones to internationally known ones. I’ve never had a bad experience. Some of the bands and artists I’ve seen here include Ani DiFranco, Tricky, Seawolf, Silversun Pickups, and a Led Zeppelin cover band.
Slowdown has great drink specials (PBR is way cheap here), and you can even buy six packs of plain jain or micro-​brewed beers. I absolutely adore the Slowdown.

My favorite place in town to see a concert. They also have great drink specials for happy hour, Pub Quiz on Tuesdays and free juke box and loaner board games. I especially like when the garage doors are open in the summer, but the main reason I go to Slowdown is for the concerts. There isn’t a better venue for shows in Omaha right now.
There really isn’t a bad seat in the house, but of course I have my preferences. I won’t give away all my secrets because I don’t really have that many, okay I don’t have any, besides to get there early and then get in the front of the line. That’s all I’ll say about that.
Parking is give and take, I can imagine it would be a pain if you arrived late to a show. But like I said, I get there early-​ish.
Bartenders are attentive and friendly, even when they’re swamped. Drink prices are more than fair.
Soundsystem, lighting and HVAC are excellent. Okay so the HVAC is something people might not notice, but trust me it’s great. :)