Walters Downtown

I really like this place. It was a former warehouse and they’ve kept that feel. The room is pretty wide and not very deep. There’s a bar on one end and they have pretty good prices. Tall boy Lone Stars were about $ 2.25. They have Karbach and St. Arnolds beers and liquor.
One of the downsides is that they don’t have a box office at the building. The best way is to purchase online and accept the convenience fees.(minus 1 star)

I visited for a local act called «The fault liners» who opened for «The pan handlers» and was met by friendly faces all around, including the staff. This place is one of Houston’s best venues for local acts.
I am impressed with the ease of access. Parking is relatively convenient for the location, the bar just steps from the stage with an intimate outdoor patio.
I never made it to the original Walter’s and am happy to have had this experience

Walters is a perfect venue for all ages punk shows because it has a stage that allows bands to connect with their fans, plenty of floor space for people who want to dance, a quality sound system, an area along the wall for merch tables, and ample parking nearby. In addition, the building is located on the edge of an industrial park, so you don’t have to worry about harassment from neighbors and the place getting closed down because of noise complaints. Over the last couple of years I’ve seen Bane, 7 Seconds, D.R.I., and Slapshot play there and I enjoyed all of the shows. I’m glad that Houston has Walters because it’s different than your average bar or club.

I went to here to see Agnostic Front and I was pretty excited. This was the first time they’ve been in houston in 4 years. The drinks were really cheap. $ 1 for a soda if I remember correctly. When you first walk in it’s practically a record shop where you can buy records. The merchandise for Agnostic Front, Ricochet, and etc were pretty cheap as well, but I don’t know if Walter’s had anything to do with that. The interior was dim; I liked the intimate feel of it as many others have also said. The one thing that pissed me off was that since there were no barriers, some people kept on pushing really hard and trying to go on the stage to crowd surf. Every time I was in the front, it was as if I was being pushed forcibly around, but then again I’m 5’2 and not very strong either. Even so, it shouldnt have been like that anyways. It all just depends on the crowd. After that, I just stood in the back near the restrooms. (The restrooms were very clean, and you see nice wall art on the left side before you enter.) A few people also kept on throwing beer at everyone, which isn’t a problem for me. It was a problem for my dad because when he picked me up I had a horrible stench of alcohol and cigs. I also got hit on by this middle-​aged dude, and I’m only 16 so just be cautious. All these things could happen at any venue and it’s not really the place that’s at fault, so just be aware of the people and what they do. It’s also easy to meet with the band members afterwards!

Just the best!!! Great sound, great atmosphere and always a fantastic staff! We’ve seen several shows there in the past year, and other music venues could learn a thing or two from Walters Downtown.

This is one grungy but intimate venue. Drinks are cheap and the sound quality is awesome. There are literally no lines to get into the bathroom and there isn’t a bad spot in the crowd. I’m docking 2 stars though because my friend got her car towed in the lot behind this venue on a MONDAY. I parked in the very same spot on a Friday and it was fine.
Yes there are towing signs everywhere but where the hell are people supposed to park? No, they won’t just give you a ticket, they’ll just tow you and let you pay $ 200+. It irritates me that the venue is right beneath UH Downtown so that probably explains everything.

Cats! The sound is great and the beer is cheap and the bathrooms are clean and yada yada yada. I know you’ve heard all of this before. The main thing you need to understand are the cats on the back porch. They are phenomenally sweet and I seent one of them at a Run the Jewels show and he kinda meowed at me, knowingly.
Tl;dr come for the live music, stay for the cats!

I think its a great spot for young and middle aged adults looking to experience an intimate show with basic necessities. The lighting is minimal and the sound quality is pretty good considering it feels like you are in a room with cinder block walls. I’d say the capacity is somewhere around 300. It’s a dive.
Parking is also really convenient, just follow the instructions on their website.
My only qualm with this place is the beer prices. $ 6 Karbach cans is a bit excessive. They do have Lone Star and PBR cans for about $ 3, which is fair.

Pros:
–Excellent assortment of talented artists coming through
–The venue is small and intimate, easy to gain access to musicians for pictures and staring
–The sound engineer is fantastic
–Parking is cheap under the freeway
Cons:
–Take a friend, parking is seedy
–Sound is good in most parts of the venue, acoustics are spotty

Such a great place to see New artist & fresh music always is a placer work with my Homies !!!

I feel like the only people who rate Walter’s high are young kids that can’t get into or can’t afford better venues. The place is run down and legit looks like a club run out of an abandoned house or something. Yeah, it’s cheap. Look around. If I was paying any more, I wouldn’t be there. I loved the old Walter’s on Washington. Not so much this place.

Walter’s is the best. Great shows, nice staff, awesome bands. Clean bathrooms.

I’ve been to a couple of revenues in H-​town now and I can say there is no better intimate experience then the one I had at Walters! I went to see Breath Carolina on the We Are Savages Tour. The spacing is like being in a coffee shop. I was lucky enough to get up close, but then again I also came about an hour and a half before doors open. Parking is easy to find and not too bad (about $ 6 to be under the highway) Tickets to the concert itself was 15 so great for a night to escape. It got real hot and cramped and this was the sweatest I’ve ever left a concert … and that is a good thing !!!

Super intimate venue! Great show, a lot of bang for your buck.
But just like every other concert hall it reeks of teenage angst and sweaty feet.

They let This or the Apocalypse bring their gear in and play a bunch of songs. Shit was Millhouse. Digging the picnic tables out front.
Pro Tip: there’s a shower in the band room, go hog shit in there.

It’s okay I guess. A lot cleaner and nicer than the old location on Washington. The cover is usually too much for what they have to offer and the type bands that play here. Parking is along the street.

Just an update for parking… UH Downtown took our parking lot we had across the street for the next year, so now most people will have to park under the freeway at vine and I-​10.

If you read through most of the reviews it appears like when Walters on Washington moved a few blocks to become Walters Downtown they just kept the same page (the same thing that happened to The Cajun Stop née Calliope) so here is a review for solely Walters Downtown (not the historic née Walters on Washington.)
1. It is a cool place. Like if you asked a decent author to describe a place where indie music (affectionately titled «jammy-​jams») happened it would look like the soul of this place — accessible to a wide range of high school, college, and graduate students as well as young professionals — not the $ 1,000 plate dinner investment banker crowds that are a destructive societal cancer a few blocks away on Main/​Travis the other direction downtown. It’s a place with character, worn in but nowhere near used up, and brimming with possibilities of meeting new people and discovering new music. It’s like This Side of Paradise (Fitzgerald) without being pretentious; it’s like the Mysteries of Pittsburgh (Chabon) without being dispassionately whiny; and it’s just like the kind of comfortable ambiance of a watering hole found in the bar Mexico City in The Fall (Camus.)
2. Drive down Main until you hit Naylor, take a right, find parking on the street, and watch the signage to effectively avert receiving a less than friendly parking ticket.
3. The main entrance is facing Naylor, signaled by the trash can and deck overhang area with that one door near the picnic style lawn area. The band/​staff entrance is around back so if you feel like you are in the wrong place, you probably missed the main entrance entirely so turn around and head back towards the picnic area.
4. The guy checking your ID, taking your money ($ 15 at the concert instead of reviews from 2009 saying $ 10,) and providing you with your festive and fashionable wristband accessories is actually a pretty nice guy and not one of those typical Ed Hardy/​Affliction sporting gym bunnies that stand threateningly with crossed arms that mean business at a variety of places on the Washington strip that I don’t ever go to.
5. The bar is off to the right when you walk in. The merchandising area on the opposite end. When the floor is pretty well packed in with people it is basic science that it is going to get hot. That’s why it is nice to have such a large picnic style lawn area out front since it is a good ten degrees cooler out there than inside, and also it’s less loud if your (read: mine) ears are ringing so loudly that you can’t even hear your companions telling you that you (read; Homer) should go to clown college.
6. Bring cash.

Brian said it well. I was there 7÷13÷12 to see five punk/​raw thrash bands (ABDUKTION/​VERSKLAVEN, LAZER CUNTZZ, GARBAGE DUMP, NO REPLY). Strange for a place that has punk, but it was spacious, cool, clean, and didn’t smell bad. Of course punks are thinkers and in control, sometimes straight edge. Skankers were creating a little frenzy, but if somebody fell he was pulled right back up. It does have a hard concrete floor.
The sound was great. You could hear the vocals better about 15′ back from the stage because the P/​A speakers are hanging from the cieling. The sound guy knows his job. He’s been working for Walter’s for years. Guitar amps were mic’d through the P/​A, so the P/​A sound was the full mix. I forgot to ask if he does live recordings. They would be great with this set-​up.
Staff was friendly. There’s an outdoor area with some seating on the North side of the building for smokers and to get a break from the volume. Parking is limited on the property, but there is space down in front of the Diverse Works warehouses.
I’ll be back.

This is one of my favorite places to see live music in Houston. They have no problems booking lots of the best Texas underground metal and hardcore punk bands. I will support this establishment, not just for the bands that they book, but because the staff and ownership appear to have a great attitude.
While this venue keeps a super casual atmosphere reminiscent of more divey places, it maintains a clean and clear environment. In other words, you’re not busy dodging 10 year old vomit and urine grounds. The bar area is large, and the bartenders are nice and attentive. Disregard reviews on here regarding air conditioning. This may have been the case at times for the previous location, but the current Naylor Street spot seems to have no problem with that.
My biggest complaint here is that they do not serve local beer. I would really love to be drinking St. Arnold’s or Karbach beer instead of a Budweiser or Dos Equis. I hope that this changes some time. Parking is decent considering the location. There is a lot adjacent to the club that is free for customers. This seems to be one of the areas that the Downtown culture is expanding to, and I welcome it.