Back Booth

Ummm, This is a hard review, because I enjoyed the bands playing at this venue, however the venue itself doesn’t have much that impressed me. I found it to be dank and dirty, but the sound quality and lighting was great for listening to live music. The bathrooms could use a demolition and rebuild, practically falling apart already as it is. Although its not the cleanest venue, it was still a great place to listen to live music and they play a lot of local bands. Its spacious enough, but is a smaller venue so be ready for some close encounters. The drinks are good, and I don’t drink PBR, but if you do… there is plenty of it and apparently that is what everyone else there drinks. All in all, had a great time, the venue serves its purpose and is no exception to a hipster live music venue, its kind of a package deal.

The bouncer laid hands on a female friend of mine and then when I told him that wasnt okay he threw a punch towards me and the right side of my face is swollen and my jaw feels fucked up when it was uncalled for.

Standing outside making a phone call (clearly sober) after paying to be inside and I have a green laser pointed at me several times them a very bright flashlight towards my direction. The two guys taking money and checking IDs are harassing basically everyone who walks by, including other females. Pretty crappy behavior if you ask me. I will NEVER be back. One star because I have to and the bartender attempted to be nice about the guys in front.

Hadn’t been here in years but went back recently to see Cannibal Ox, and yeah, it’s still a great spot for live music. Decent sound and it’s such a small venue you’ll think you’re in an underground club. (Not a great view of the stage from the bar, though — it’s fairly well separated from the stage area.)
It seems like many of the shows are all-​ages or 18+. The last show we saw there was all-​ages and had to end really early because of Sunday night 11pm curfew, but I can only blame the city for that.

Divey, smoke-​filled, inexpensive beer and quality live music. Saw Zach Deputy there and he slayed it. If you’re chill as fuck and like that kinda vibe, Backbooth is for you.

At a good dive bar, you expect a certain level of griminess, but with comfort to balance it out. The place might look beat up, but not gross. You want to be there in spite of what makes it a dive bar, there is a certain lack of pretentiousness about it that makes it endearing. This is not that kind of dive bar. This place is what people who don’t like dive bars picture when they think of dive bars.
I went here with my husband and some friends for a show Saturday night (the Protomen). Unfortunately by the time the Protomen came on I couldn’t take the crowd anymore and had to get out and get to the front of the bar. The show was clearly oversold, to say it was packed is an understatement. When we were in the crowd, the air vents were blowing on us at first (we were right under them). Eventually there was no air at all. People who worked there said the air was on, but it was just too many people (this wasn’t true, since we originally felt the air coming down and then it completely stopped). Apparently this is normal for Back Booth based on other reviews. I would consider this borderline dangerous. Even in all my teenage years of going to the crappiest, smallest venues to see terrible bands I never experienced this level of lack of air. It was like there was no air circulation at all, you were just breathing in the hot recycled air from the crowd. Several people rushed by us, squeezing through the crowd trying to get away and get some fresh air.
The bartender at the back was a nice guy and made good drinks. I couldn’t get near the front bar because there were so many people, so thank god there was a second bar at the back. Drinks were reasonably priced, no complaints there.
The first two opening acts (Marc with a C and Random Encounter) were fantastic, the third band (Hans Condor) pretty much killed the show for us, and we obviously weren’t the only ones. They were nothing like the other bands playing that night. I have no idea how they got booked together. It seemed to ruin things for a lot of folks, because a handful of people formed a mosh pit in what was a crowd of people who did not look interested in moshing. There were people holding up their props/​Mega Man helmets so they didn’t get ruined. They turned up the volume so loud that many people looked physically uncomfortable. In such a tight, small, badly laid out space with no air conditioning, with the volume cranked up to 11 as the frontman said, my organs were basically vibrating. Plus, it was definitely unexpected to go from Zelda songs played by Random Encounter to «filth rock.» If I knew I was going to that type of show, I would have at least brought ear plugs.
The layout of the place is also very disjointed and doesn’t really make sense, as other reviewers have already noted. The stage is tiny, the standing area is oddly shaped with random breaks. The stage is walled off in such a way that if you try to get a little bit away from the crowd to breathe, you’re not going to see anything. Simply put, I would never go back to this place for a show. It was cheap, but it wasn’t worth it. I’ve been to dozens of shows at similar venues, and there is always some redeeming quality to make up for the bad points. I don’t think anything can make up for no air conditioning in an oversold crowd crammed in a tiny space. The best part of my experience at Back Booth was when I left and walked to Frank & Stein’s.
I’m only giving it two stars instead of one because 1) Most of the bands/​artists were great in spite of the bad venue, and 2) The drinks were good.

A totally dive. You can catch me there at least once a week. Great prices and drinks. Cool atmosphere. Thursdays and Saturdays are the best. AVOID Sundays at all costs. Josh Call is everything.

Typical alt music dive bar = super smoky, hot, dirty, cheap PBR tall boys.
Went for the Queers and Dwarves show. I’m pretty sure it was waayyy oversold, good thing no pyrotechnics from the bands. Super duper hot, balmy, and smoky — bring your oxygen tank if you have one — ha! No need to shower before going to a show here, hose off when you get home.
Staff was very friendly across the board (door gal, security, and bartenders). Sound was good — not once did I feel like hurling from way too much bass in the mix ;)

I went here for an Agnostic Front show and find it to be a delightful dive bar and a great place to see a punk/​hardcore show. The bouncers were super nice dudes, especially the Opie Winston look alike who felt bad for making all of us take off our shoes for him to check (apparently they were required to check shoes). The bathrooms are appropriately gross for a dive bar but by far NOT the worst I have seen (Mars Bar in NYC — -yikes!). The two bartenders (one was a Dean Ween lookalike) were super cool and security kept a lid on things when the mosh pit had a bad moment. They had a decent beer selection but should you feel compelled to go low brow, they offered PBRs for $ 3.00 or two for $ 5.00. I think I will have to come back and check out the Thursday punk nights.
As someone mentioned earlier, it is hot in this place, especially at a crowded show with an energetic crowd so wear your short sleeves and for you long hairs, you’ll find yourself wanting to put that sweaty hair up in a ponytail.

This venue has been adding more shows that I enjoy recently, and while it’s not the best it’s certainly not the worst. They allow smoking inside which is a deal killer for many. The sound is usually pretty decent though, and they have a good selection of beers. I would cal it a dive bar mostly, but I only go here when there is a band I like. Usually sub $ 20 which is nice.

This is my favorite venue in Orlando. Small and great beer selection. Always excited when a good band plays here.

No longer have Thursday nights. Staff isn’t friendly. Haven’t been to a decent show here all year. It’s just going downhill and needs new management

Dont care for the venue, regadless of other ratings. The bathrooms are small and are always disgusting even soon after opening, like a hotboxed petri dish for venereal diseases. Awesome bartenders and fair priced drinks and smoking is allowed inside which is always a plus. Its usually not packed, however, never left totally dead. But its always roasting hot, no matter how you dress. I make an appearance every now and then but usually end up finding myself at another bar. Id give more stars for friendlier door staff and friendlier security staff. The door girl always seems to be miserable and typically rude. Would love for the venue to improve a little, especially on the bathrooms!

Came here for a concert on Saturday night. Place was crowded but not fully packed. It was soooooo HOT inside, there was no air whatsoever! I understand the need to make people sweat so they can buy more drinks but this was almost cruel. Not even one fan was blowing. Concert started and even the artists on stage were complaining about the lack of air.
Drinks were reasonably prices and the people were nice. I didn’t give this place a one star because the bartenders were actually super attentive and nice. Wish I had a good 1^st impression.

My favorite place to party on Monday nights ;)

Great sound but…
Beers are small and overpriced. The three shows I’ve seen there were overcharged at door, which staff attributed to «presale only», which really wasn’t an option.
Again, though good sound and nice stage BB staff are clearly predators for profit: not favorable to proprietors of local talent and patrons.

Good ol’ Backbooth! This place was essentially a playground for my then 20 year old self. I don’t come here as frequently as I used to (now that I have more options to explore), but this place still gets it right. If I remember correctly, Friday nights are «80s Night» and Saturday nights are «Midnight Mass». 80s Night is definitely a good time although it was never my favorite night. If I was going to go out to dance then I wanted to DANCE — which is why I always preferred Midnight Mass. The crowds are similar on all nights (grungy hipsters for the most part) but everyone is pretty damn friendly and all of the bartenders know what they’re doing. Wes and Jason are my favorites, they always hook me up when I come in now and make my drinks worth the price! Love them and I’ll always have a soft spot for this place.
xx MJ

Haven’t been to the other nights but the other reviews are enticing me! We went on 90s night and it was hilarious and fun! Great place to just chill at a dive bar with good music and entertainment.

This venue is pretty decent to catch some live music. The bar tenders are good, too. Bathrooms are sketchy, but so are all bathrooms in downtown Orlando. The cover is usually reasonable, too. Every time I’ve seen a show here the performers complain about the stage lights being too bright/​hot. I usually sit in the balcony so I don’t have to deal with the cigarette smoke, and am closer to the a.c. The parking garage across the street charges $ 6 which is about as good as you can find downtown. Everywhere else we saw was charging $ 10.

Ok, the only issue I have with this place is 18 and up. I know, how old lady of me. However, I swear the 18 year olds come out in droves.
Anyway, solid bartenders.
Great spot for live music.
And I have recently discovered CRUSH on Monday nights… INTENSE — solid DJs literally just crushing the beats on the turntables. It’s a night of seriously amazing dancing. An underground dance party for sure!