210 Kapone’s

Kapones has both, an outside stage area and an inside stage. The inside is pretty decent for what it is. The fans inside are not adequate enough to cool the location down, it gets warm inside. The outside stage area, if concert held outside, avoid at all cost. Dump like Back Stage Live /​Alamo Music Hall.

I went there for the first time on 5÷30÷15 for the Breaking Benjamin Concert… let me start off by saying i’ve been to tons of concerts from all different types of venues and this was by far the WORST venue that i’ve ever been to! First off, you have to go thru the small regular club thru 1 opening into the big attached warehouse where the show was and automatically the temperature went up a good 20 degrees (if not more!). It was sooooooo damn hot in there (it smelt worse that a boys high school locker room) and all they had were a few industrial fans spread around in the large warehouse. There were vents for air condition, but were they on, hell no!!! There were a few times before the show started i thought i was gonna pass out from the heat, i ended up having to stand in the very back by one of the fans to get any type of air flow. Even when the band started the lead singer apologized for booking a venue that has no damn air conditioning on, and he went on to say they would never play there again. Needless to say, i would never go back here or would i recommend anyone to go here for a show! My only recommendation would be this: if a band is going here that you wanna see, take the small trip to Austin or Houston to see them, cuz this place is not worth going to. 210’s needs to get it together or shut this place down!

This is the worst venue I’ve ever been to. Awful layout… and NO A/​C. Went to the sold out Breaking Benjamin show on May 30 and people were passing out before the show even started. Then the venue crew comes and start selling people water before the show! Luckily Breaking Benjamin started tossing out water and said they would never play there again.
I will NEVER go to this venue again… unless Tool ever plays there… which luckily won’t happen.

To quote from their FB page, «210 KAPONE’S the newest and HOTTEST premier Live Music Venue,» Well that’s an understatement. It’s so hot you might get a heatstroke while watching your favorite band. I think it’s safe to say Breaking Benjamin won’t be coming back to this place haha. The frontman Ben only brought up how sh**ty and hot the venue was 5 or 6 times. He said something along the lines of «How about next time we’re in San Antonio we play at a venue that has some goddamn air conditioning?!». It was hilarious. He also spent a good 10 minutes splashing the audience with cold water and handing out water bottles. This was helpful for the people that was 10−15ft away from the stage, not for the rest of us.
It seems that 210 Kapones did NOTHING to improve the «hotbox» conditions after reading all the terrible reviews from Mastodon. One difference I noticed is they seemed to be letting people get away with moshing this time around. This venue is way too small to host a band like Breaking Benjamin. A friend of mine got to the show a few mins before 10 years came on and he couldn’t even get in the main room to see the bands. It was at capacity and security wasn’t allowing people in. So people that paid money to see 10 years and BB were out of luck. Complete BS. The amount of people they crowd into that space is dangerous.
The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because it was smooth process getting into the venue (if you got there 30 minutes early), and I was pretty impressed with the sound. Other than that, 210 Kapone’s needs to fix the poor ventilation issue, add fans, fix your AC, don’t oversell tickets. This venue has potential, but does management care enough about it to fix these major problems?

This venue sucks so much as precociously stated there isn’t sufficient ventilation inside for the number of people that were there to see 10 years and Breaking Benjamin. THe amount of money they could make it’s worth it to the current owners to invest in s o giant industrial strength fans that could be setup in the rear bay doors and pull air from outside. That said breaking benjamin put on a hell of a show and even they started throwing cold water on themselves and the fans due to the heat. It would take a Breaking Benjamin caliber band for me to ever go to 210 kapones the way it currently is !

Only given one star because you can’t give ZERO! Worst venue in the city besides Backstage. Went for the Breaking Benjamin/​10 Years show. It was sauna hot in there. No air flow. Small fans that pushed air to whoever was standing directly in front of it which seemed to be all the venue’s staff/​bouncers. One entry way into the GA area and staff members pushing people out of the walkway to keep it clear. Tell you what, 210, if you had a better set up or had actually put thought into the area, you wouldn’t need to keep that area clear. Lord help the crowd should there be an emergency and they need to get out of the venue quick. People will get trampled with only one way in and out. Sure, there’s a door out near back but it’s not opened and will not suffice for such a huge crowd trying to get out. I saw one large bar w/​a long wait for drinks. One table set up in the back w/​drinks that took just as long. We witnessed quite a few people being led into the back near the restrooms and out of the crowd area bcuz they had or were in the process of fainting. Scary situation. They had a medic area set up which one would praise a venue for having in the event of a medical emergency but in this case, I’m not praising because I believe the venue has it set up knowing that it’s hot as the devil’s balls in there and they’ve probably had folks pass out many times before w/​larger shows like this. I saw one set of bathrooms near the bar up front by the main entrance. Entering the venue was pretty lax. They checked IDs and tickets but didn’t give a second look or metal detector wand for weapons. This place in my opinion is just very inexperienced, staff seemed to overreact which could be due to the inexperience and the place is just overall not a venue I felt safe in or would otherwise return to. Avoid all shows here and if that’s not possible, be very aware of what’s going on, your surroundings and your exit points. Horrible. I enjoyed the show from the band but as you can see, had much to say about the venue.

NO AC! Way too hot. Crowded entry and exit. I’m surprised the fire Marshall let’s them hold concerts there. I loved the show for the bands, but I won’t ever be going back!

Flew in from Salt Lake City to see Breaking Benjamin/​10 Years. Two of my favorite bands! I have seen 10 years half dozen times at home and had never seen Breaking Benjamin before, so I thought a trip to see them would be great! But I have multiple reasons they should close this place down and why promoters should look for another venue.
First off is safety. They pack us in to a small room that is not capable of holding all of the people there. There is only one way to get out! I’ve seen many reviews about a fire marshal, and they need to look at this! At full capacity you can’t get every one out in the event of a emergency. It’s also unsafe due to improper ventilation. Hardly any access to water, but easy enough to grab alcohol…
Second is the security staff. They are over zealous pigs that want to police a fucking rock show! People couldn’t do anything but record the show and sing along. They threw me outside for participating in a mosh pit 2 songs into breaking Benjamin. All that was happening was some light shoving. I was trying to get some energy in the crow that felt like it was loosing motivation… Luckily I talked another guard to let me back in promising I’d behave.
All in all don’t go here!!! Dont play here!!! And I hope you read the reviews before you go, unlike me!

DO NOT GO HERE! DO NOT PLAY HERE! Worst venue in Texas!!! Travel if need be, a couple of extra bucks to actually enjoy the show is a small price. I won’t reiterate all the other reviews of the Mastodon and Clutch show but It is all true!!! I’ve been going to metal shows in south TX for 15 years and have NEVER had an experience like the other night, HORRIBLE!

In less than 24 hours, three negative reviews have been posted about the show 5÷5÷15… Mastodon, Clutch, Graveyard… and looks like I will be adding the fourth…
This was my first concert at 210 Kapone’s. I arrived between the Clutch & Mastodon sets. My husband arrived a couple of hours before I did and warned me about the heat but I didn’t realize what he was talking about until it hit me hard… It was like 100 degrees in the showroom, WTH? I looked around, NO ceiling fans, NO air vents, NO room to breathe. I immediately walked to the back of the room where I found two loading dock doors open with Port-​A-​Coolers running. I just got lucky and found the cool spot so I didn’t move for the rest of the night.
I will give a shout out to Shannon (male) who was very kind and was watching out for me at the end of the night. Also the big security guy watching those back doors was nice also… he humored me as I was questioning him about the air situation… Kapone’s really needs to invest in some of those BIG ASS FANS!!! (not being sarcastic, that really is their product name!) AND add some A/​C… The ceiling has enough room for both… from what I was told, they normally do not have big shows or use that room… BUT they did… and it was total chaos from what I am hearing…
I did notice a huge police presence out front but I had no idea of what happened inside. I am saddened to read from other reviews of the use of pepper spray, etc.
Parking is a huge issue down there. Be prepared to pay $ 10 — 20 for parking or walk a few blocks because street parking is at a minimum.
Beer was $ 5 16 oz Bud products. I was able to get a cup of ice tho… which soon melted into water to help keep me cool… I gotta thank the bartenders for their hospitality with that one. I saw a little bit of a line for drinks before Mastodon but I waited until the show started to get a drink… so there wasn’t a line in the ladies room either.
I have a friend that worked the show. He told me nightmare stories from behind the scene. All I could do was apologize after each one. There are reasons why those doors were not open at 6 like it was promoted and why their set was pushed back about 30 minutes. Those details are between the bands, venue, and promoter which is none of my business to share. I will say my friend works with several different bands on tour around the world. He has been to Backstage Live (a block away) a couple of times over the past few years and has never had anything nice to say about that venue which is on his list of least favorite venues ever… until 210 Kapone’s… He wasn’t surprised to find out same owner opened this club.
I saw in another review that the stage was not high enough… have you been to Backstage Live? I was actually impressed that the stage was higher here (but so was the ceilings) so I was happy to see some of the band some of the time from way back in the back while dodging heads… much better than BsL.
This tour went from playing my dream venue of Red Rocks Amphitheater in CO to playing 210 Kapone’s in SA… what a sad day for everyone involved… but let’s not totally blame just the venue for the mishaps that happened, there is also the promoter, Twin Productions, who booked the venue… In my opinion, this show should have been booked at Aztec Theatre. All we can do from here is to be proactive and ask the promoters (Twin Productions, Din Productions, etc) to please book these types of shows at Aztec (or Sunken Gardens or any where else) and not at warehouse type of venues like Kapone’s. How can you book shows in a brick oven (literally) with no air circulation and no electricity (generator is being used!)… Maybe if enough of us speak up, maye the promoters will listen. I understand there is probably some loyalty issues there, but what happened at this gig should never happen again. The bands and their fans deserve so much better than what I saw, heard, and read here from other Unilocal reviews.
At the end of the show, one of the Mastodon members gave a little thanks out to the audience for coming out. He mentioned the last show they played SA was at the White Rabbit. I was at that show. I came home to research the date and was in 2007!!! Although I have seen them play several shows since then in Austin, I can’t believe it has really been that long since SA. (The first show I saw/​meet them was Sunset Station Nov 04.) He then mentioned something about the «YOU SUCK» spray painted on the back brick wall in the show room. What a positive message Kapone’s is sending to their customers… OR maybe it was the customers sending a message to Kapone’s? Hmmm…

Terrible venue to enjoy a band. I just went to the Clutch and Mastodon show last night and it was the single worst experience I’ve had at a metal concert which is a real shame since they are two of my favorite bands. This wasn’t my first rodeo. First off the tickets said doors open at 6. They didn’t open until almost 8 while they kept a huge line of people waiting in the rain. Nice to know they care… They herded everyone around for a while until they finally let us in. Once I got in i noticed only one exit, one tiny bathroom, and no ventilation. Security, some who were police, were overly zealous and kicked out many people for merely enjoying the music, all while acting like typical tough guys, throwing people into others, calling them names while acting like authoritative thugs. I pray that no bands i enjoy ever play here again because i would never go back and i hope you don’t either.

Scott C. has said it perfectly, this is the absolute worst venue I’ve ever been to. The entire setup is horrendous. I decided to grab a beer at a bar across the street to «wait out» the line until 8:00pm (doors opened at 6:00), and I still had to wait 30 min in line to get pat down by the police. By the time I actually got up to the door to check in to the woman with the will call list, she didn’t have my name or my friends names on the list, and the just decided whatever and waved us all through. I saw that happen to over a dozen people. This place has been open since November and they still can’t get their ticket sales sorted out. Just as an example, there is a giant venue called the Bomb Factory that opened up in Dallas in March, I was there to see the Toadies on the third day of the place being open, and the place was run like a fine Swiss time piece. No excuses Kapone’s. I’m not going to repeat what everyone else said commenting, other than they are completely correct. I will never be coming back to Kapone’s again, for any event.

What a terrible venue.
My wife and I went to the Clutch/​Mastodon show last night, and had a decent time in spite of all of the issues with the place.
To list a few:
— Security was aggressive. There were off-​duty cops at the front door doing full body pat-​downs, which I’ve never experienced. People were getting thrown out of the show for no apparent reason. We were standing all the way in the back to try to get some fresh air (more on that below) and saw cops enter the crowd repeatedly to grab people. My wife started inexplicably choking toward the end of the night; when we got home and read some of these other reviews, we learned that they’d pepper sprayed the crowd during the Mastodon set (surprisingly, we didn’t see it happen). To be clear, this was easily the tamest Mastodon show I’ve been to, so there was no reason for the aggression.
— It was hot. I mean HOT. It felt like a sauna in the room with the stage. Even the bands commented on it. But, the main bar room was air-​conditioned. Coincidence? I think not. It was a pretty transparent ploy to get people to buy more drinks. There were even huge fans in the back of the stage room to circulate some air, but they weren’t running.
— There were no exits. The one doorway to the main room was small for this size of venue, and it was frequently blocked with people or staff moving gear on and off the stage. The rear exits were both blocked for «VIP access.» Not sure how they pass fire safety inspections here.
— There was no water. We got very thirsty from sweating out for two hours, so before the Mastodon set we decided to find some water. We looked around for a bit for water coolers (pretty common at Austin shows) and didn’t find any. Eventually we pushed our way through to the main room and waited in line at the bar. The bartender gave us two small cups of water, but of course it came with a scowl from ordering nothing but water.
Obviously metal shows can be chaotic, and I give venues a lot of leeway before I consider it their fault. In this case, these issues were all clearly the venue’s fault.

So, this is a completely lazy way out of a detailed review, but I second all Scott C. said in his review. I’m too tired and too pissed to put it in my own words… and he nailed it. Now, my opinion is strictly based on my single experience at the Clutch/​Mastodon show, but I didn’t get the feeling that the evening was an anomaly. I will not be returning to find out if they improved their establishment or personnel.

SORRY for the wall of text, but this needs to be said.
I went to Mastodon​, Clutch, and Graveyard last night at 210 Kapone’s​and have to share how horrifically bad my experience was. I have attended hundreds of metal shows since 2004 in venues of all shapes and sizes, but have never felt as UNSAFE, DISRESPECTED, and INSULTED as I did last night.
When we first arrived at the venue, I realized that the advertised showtimes were all completely off (tickets read doors @ 6, but people were out in the damn rain until at least 8). While I understand that set times are often not something a venue can control, the lack of organization at the venue was staggering. People were herded back & forth between lines, staff moved at a glacial pace (and were rude about it), and a significant chunk of the audience missed most if not all of Graveyard’s set. Really a huge bummer considering this band is out of Sweden and does not have a chance to play longer sets in the United States. Further, I was charged 10 bucks to park my car. I normally do not mind paying for parking at shows, but the Kapone’s staff was just shoving cars into unsupervised, empty lots. Extremely unprofessional…
After getting in, I noticed that there was ZERO signage OR ventilation in the ballroom. The damn place was a sauna and I’ll comment on the signage soon. There was also only one, smallish exit to get out to the main area. Fire hazard much?!? Any rock/​metal venue that I have EVER been to (and I have been to some shit hole venues) has disclaimer signs detailing the risks of moshing and discussing the venue’s policies. There was nothing to be found in their main room. One guy started jumping around and shoving people during Graveyard’s set. This apparently was not okay, but all the staff did was motion that it would not be tolerated. I knew this was going to be a problem later, as some @mastodon songs are quite moshable.
The next time a pit broke out, staff rushed in and forced people to stop moving. Apparently, the show was «all ages» and there were children in the audience (we were later told that moshing causes liability issues — get your story straight, Kapone’s). I have been to Coheed and Cambria shows where 10 yr old kids mosh and are just fine. As people ACTUALLY got into the venue to see the bands they paid for (novel idea, huh?), pits broke out more frequently because not many people knew (NO SIGNS) that moshing would not be tolerated. Kapone’s staff eventually escorted and removed one guy from the show for moshing during Clutch’s set. The staff went from telling people not to mosh, to forcibly stopping moshing, to sending in police, to PEPPER SPRAYING members of the audience. Staff also did not take time between sets (or during the hour we spent in the rain) to notify ANYONE of the venue’s moshing policy. Mind you, all of this was a pit of roughly 15 people (not like we were at a Lamb of God show).
People were tossed out for getting pushed and not actually trying to mosh. People waited 15+ minutes to get served at their bar. This venue should just stop hosting rock/​metal events of ANY kind until they either have a change in management or become transparent with their policies.
This is absolutely disgusting. I cannot believe I had to worry about getting hauled out of a venue (oh and PEPPER SPRAYED) for standing close to people jumping around and wanting to have fun.
Don’t waste your time or money at this establishment.
TLDR; Avoid 210 Kapone’s at all costs, travel elsewhere to see your shows. The extra time spent on travel and gas will far outweigh any kind of «experience» these people are trying to provide to their customers.

I had to create an account just to write this review… This place has potential, but they are NOT set up for big shows. I’m at the Clutch/​Mastodon concert right now, and it is packed. It’s hot as HELL. No joke. I’m drenched with sweat, head to toe (there are only two port-​a-​fans in the room)… After every set almost the entire crowd flees to the door to go outside. The thing is, the doorway is only 15 feet wide and there are, at least, 1800 people in here, AT LEAST. my spatial skills aren’t 100%… I wish I could stress enough how ridiculous this is, without sounding melodramatic…
I’ve only written about the show room thus far. To add, horrible, insult to injury, the doors opened an hour after the said they would AND they had separate lines for people buying tickets, and people who had tickets, which means, people who hadn’t paid the surcharge for having their tickets at will call got in before those who did.
I’ve never been to a venue like this… Craziness…

This is going to be a long review, but I really hope that potential performers and patrons see this. I go to a lot of live performances, a vast majority of which are at small to mid-​sized venues. In over 25 years, I have never had such a bad experience as I did tonight. Two of some of my all time favorite bands performed this evening, Clutch and Mastodon. Despite stellar performances, I left early cause I just couldn’t handle anymore of 210 Kapone’s.
Doors were posted on numerous sites (including the venue and tickets) to open at 6 pm, with the first band performing at 7 pm. We arrived at the venue at approximately 6:45 pm and the doors were not yet open. There were 2 very long lines stretching around each side of the building. After waiting in the first line we came to for about 45 minutes, we were informed will call tickets needed to wait in the OTHER line, which was approximately twice as long as the one we were currently in. After some heavy pat down by police and almost 2 hours of standing in line, we finally made it inside. The first band was about halfway through their set… incidentally we spoke to a guy the drove in from New Orleans to see them, and missed it because of the horrible chaos outside.
Things got progressively worse after this. You walk in to a fairly large bar area that takes up approximately ¹⁄₃ of the whole building. The actual performance takes place in a separate room, to which there is only one entrance approximately 15 ft wide and perpendicular to just in front of the stage. This opening is also used to move the band’s gear in and out, so when everyone is trying to vacate after the set, they are blocked by crew moving instruments. It also poses a problem getting in the room as everyone is naturally crowded toward the stage. I can’t see how this remotely passes any sort of Fire Marshall inspection. There is absolutely nothing right about this section of 210 Kapone’s. The stage is not high enough, the acoustics are atrocious, and there is virtually no ventilation. The temperature change from the bar area to the venue jumped about 20 degrees instantaneously. It was intolerable to stay in there for more than a few songs. Why any establishment in Texas would not install at least large fans is beyond me. If it were summer, there would have been some serious heat related issues.
The police and crew were extremely over-​zealous. They were throwing people out left and right for getting into the music… not moshing, just enjoying the show. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when crew sprayed pepper spray at someone in the middle of the crowd, causing numerous people to flee and even vomit. I realize there has been violence at this venue which caused the owner’s death, but there is no reason for the actions I witnessed this evening. What should have been an excellent evening of live music was tainted by the worst venue in history. If Led Zeppelin reunited and played at 210 Kapone’s I would not go, and you shouldn’t either.

Tons of potential, and the beer is ice cold. I don’t really dig the mixed drinks in plastic cups. Not too much parking, and a pretty large patio for smoking. It seems like they’ve got a great idea going, lets just see if it’ll catch on!

This review was for an outdoor concert.
210 Kapones. STAY THE HELL AWAY. I will never go back there or give them another penny no matter who is playing there, even though I promise it will not be around long. For starters the show tonight was advertised as 40, ended up being 48 with fees. Understandable. What is not is that it was cash only. What type of concert venue that has national acts does not accept cards for tickets. Luckily I had a emergency hundo in the wallet for two tickets. I get into the parking lot/​back alley they call a venue and head to get a drink. This is cash only too. I spend the remaining cash I had for 1 drink to share. After Papa Roach’s set (which was fine) I go to find an ATM, to find there is only one on property which is conveniently out of service. No food or drinks for me. They have what looks like a flea market near the back of the venue selling crappy ecigs and shitty screen printed t shirts which all are cash only. Come on people. Square for your phone is FREE. Back to the broken up asphalt parking lot for Chevelle. Mid set the sounds goes out. Still have power but all music stops. Chevelle being awesome just finishes the song as if the amps were still on. Eventually the sound gets turned back on. The crowd was terrible and small which I blame on a terrible venue, high prices, no drinks, and NO promotion what so ever not to mention the 5+ freight trains that blew by 50 ft from the stage horns a blaring. 210 Kapones you have miserably failed. I think… I know my 6^th grade dance was better put together than this shit you called Fall Ball. I’m sure the 2^nd day of this show/​pathetic attempt at a festival will be even worse and less crowded. I will not be there. I have been to hundreds if not thousands of shows and this was one of the biggest let downs. Nothing but praise for the bands they did amazing with what they had and I’m sure they were disappointed in the venue as well. I never post these soapbox-​esque rants which should show how terribly disappointed I truly was.