Urban Lounge

This venue, and In the Venue, and Kilby Court (and the Stateroom more and more) are the places to see Indie rock bands where the music takes precedence over decor and other frills. Get in, get your beer, watch the sound check, and hear some amazing rock that will leave you feeling inspired or re-inspired in the music of today not saturating the airwaves and mass media. The key is to put all thoughts of it being a cliquey scene out of your mind if you don't frequent the place, and then you'll see that every single person there doesn't already know everyone else. And those who do know eachother are more likely to be friendly if you talk to them than be elitist. It's all about the music, and the sound quality is always killer at Urban. There are two basic bars that do the job, and an area out back to smoke. What more does one need if you're not out looking for that swank martini lounge or techno club... Pros: Host to great bands Cons: Homogeneously-Hipster more

Not really a venue but more like a dive bar with limited business hours. I showed up tonight at 12:30. It wasnt even packed and all i wanted was a beer and they expected me to pay a full $10 cover? The place is total sh_t inside, especially the mens bathroom. The parking is herendous and non existant. The bands that play here must be pretty desperate. Pros: none Cons: shitty parking, more

I have been here a couple times. The staff have been rude every time. Although I personally have not had an issue with staff. I have watched several times as people get treated badly going here by the bar tenders and door staff. True some people love complaining. I am not one. I look forward to hearing the music I have heard at Urban. It's too bad the staff and overall atmosphere are so negative. Pros: music & it's a bar Cons: Staff, atmosphere overall more

A friend and I went to the Urban Lounge for the first time the other day, and though there were a few issues in the beginning, we really enjoyed our time. It's a small enough place to feel comfortable, and close enough to the stage to really appreciate the music that's playing -- if, of course, you already enjoy the music that's playing; otherwise, you'll likely find yourselves bored. With those few possible exceptions, the Urban Lounge is a fine place to watch good musical groups perform. We didn't sample the drinks, however, so I can't tell you much on the selections or quality. Do yourselves a favor and attend a concert there so you can study the bar and judge it by your own standards. As for the staff: I have read a bunch of reviews here that condemn them, and I can't understand why. I didn't interact very much with them, but when they needed to get by a tighter crowd, they softly moved people out of their way and asked politely to move aside, so one can't really ask for more. Perhaps those who complain about them just need to complain about something. Either way, I didn't notice anything at all wrong with the ones who worked there. I very much recommend The Urban Lounge, but that's me. I'm pleased that more and more of the groups I listen to decide to perform there. Pros: Laid-back atmosphere, comfortable space, friendly staff. Cons: None that I can think of right now. more

Went to hear bands play. That was the good part. The staff are mid to late 20 somethings who are still clinging to when they turned 21. It's a sea of clones who are so full of themselves its nauseating. You'll hear this frequently "Oh my god...I love you, how are you?!" Then you'll see catty girls shooting glaring looks at another girl who has the same plastic rimmed glasses with or without actual lenses. F*** this place. Also, the bar tenders are so busy being meatheads in hipster clothing its pathetic. When someone orders drinks and they don't listen and give you the wrong thing it's apparently your fault so don't bother arguing. The analytical and rational logic is absent. I have been here several times, heard several people complain about the same things, but yet it still thrives because people want to be seen. Good Luck. I hope I don't have frequent this place too often in the future to hear bands I want to hear. Pros: Some good music Cons: The people who work there more

Some good shows happen in there, the location is really good too, however the bar should invest in a better decoration, it's so ugly inside. Pros: Good shows, friendly staff Cons: Poor decoration more

one of the best smaller venues to see good music in town (local and national). pretty good sound system and the sound is usually good. decent selection of beers, barstaff is fast w/ the drinks. (although they really should open the 2nd bar more often). general lack of beefcake knucklehead bro types (see liquid joes/green street). wooden dance floor is a nice addition as well as the smoking patio in the back. they used to have a foosball table but it appears to have gone missing. as far as good smaller music venues in the 300 person capacity go, this is it Pros: mike brown's bulging biceps and quads Cons: mens toilet has no door, not enough arcade machines more

no other place in salt lake gets musical acts like urban lounge Pros: outside patio, supports local music Cons: sometimes shows go to late more

Urban lounge is my favorite bar/venue to go to in slc. they host the best local bands and most (80-95%) of the best touring bands that come through utah. i have not been to a show at another venue is a very, very, very long time. i love the community of urban lounge. its sort of like cheers where everyone knows your name. the staff/owners are friendly and highly involved in their business and in the music industry. The bartenders are most always nice and extremely fast and efficient. I really enjoy the fact that they opened up an outside patio. its a great place to go to be able to talk to friends while music is playing. Keep an eye out for urban lounge. Make sure you catch it on a good night, though, because sometimes really crappy bands can play, but its pretty rare. Pros: great music, in my neighborhood, awesome staff, community Cons: sometimes crappy bands play, but whatever more

We purchased tickets in advance for a show that was on Halloween. The show was canceled due to the band being unable to travel in bad weather (I guess there was snow in Colorado, but it was a clear sunshiny Halloween here in SLC). Whatever, stuff happens.Three hours before the "doors" time listed on the tickets, my husband learned about the show being canceled via a Tweet from local paper In Utah. We attempted to call the Urban Lounge multiple times to confirm, but their answering machine was full. Clearly, no one had bothered to go in, clear out the messages, and record a new outgoing message about the canceled show. Now, here it is, two days later, and it seems that is still the case. There was a separate show scheduled later in the night on Halloween, so I know someone has been in the venue. As far as I'm concerned, it's just poor customer service not to have an outgoing message related to the cancellation, and not to care enough about your customers to maybe have someone go in every few hours and clear out the incoming messages so callers can hear the outgoing recording. Is that asking too much? In the case of Urban Lounge, I think it might actually be. Considering they took out all the seating so they could fit a few more people into the dark, filthy (don't even ASK about the bathrooms!) space, it would seem that they couldn't care less for their customers. One would think that if you're going to book acts like Dinosaur Jr. and Yo La Tengo, you might get a little older crowd who would maybe spend more money on drinks and such if they had a place to sit. At the last show we attended there, I noticed two very pregnant women who stood there as long as they could and then left. This space really seems to be suited to what a 14-year-old crowd would consider cool, but for anyone over oh say, 22, it's just icky! Some might think, "Oh it's punk rock, it's dirty." But, some would be so so so wrong. I mean most of the real punk rockers from the old Salt Lake City have kids now and want a clean bathroom! I can vouch! Anyway, I guess my points would be, think twice about booking a show here if you're in a band. They won't take care of your fans. Think twice before buying tickets for a show here, because they do not care if you know about the cancellation or not and they do not care if you're comfortable or not. Pros: None really. Cons: It's a shame some bands we like opt to play here. more

Urban lounge is by far the worst venue I have ever been to in Salt Lake. It's in a decent area but absolutely full of the biggest dirt bags the west side can bring. It is jam packed and often have horrid looking drunk women staggering their way through the bar. They cannot open their doors until the restaurant next to the bar closes...which is more than often 10 pm or after. Recently on an evening where the temp was 20 degrees, they intelligently put on the tickets that doors open at 8, then in the paper it said 9. The doors did not open until 10:45pm, then they started letting people in 3 at a time like you were in L.A. and it was the hot place to be. The main event did not start until 1 am....which by then the bar closes up and the entire club has to close at 2am. On top of it all, there were more trashy dirtbags there than any concert I have been to in UT. People stunk like old chinese food that someone regurgitated up after doing shots of crappy whiskey. DO NOT EVER GO TO THE URBAN LOUNGE FOR A CONCERT. Pros: it's close to other good bars Cons: parking is terrible, the people that work/attend the venue are terrible. more

This place has ruined many of my nights. Not to mention the time that the cops were waiting outside and giving all my friends DUI's. It reminds me why i want to go back home to Idaho. Pros: Concerts Cons: Cops. Exspensive cover more

Cool place for mostly decent music. The staff are nice and this is a good place to meet smart counter-culture types. Not a bad way to spend a friday night. Pros: Good drinks, nice staff, decent music Cons: I'm always way too cold there. (weird air conditioning use. more

This is the best place in town to check out the best bands in town. Don't expect to see you favorite jock rock or college band here. This place is for real. Great music, bad music, whatever. You take the bad with the good. Great drinks, big beers, great staff and loud music. This place is what rock & roll is all about. Pros: awesome bands, great drinks, fast service. Cons: not open every night more

I like the club for the great staff and go there often, but it is apparent that this is the premier location to showcase really bad musical talent in Utah. The sound system is horrible and way too loud (no doubt to mask the sounds of alleged music). Sometimes legitimate musicians play there, like Mary Sound Transit. Even Zion Tribe plays there. Advice to would be musicians: practice before you perform. Pros: Inexpensive, friendly crowd, fun staff Cons: sound system, bad bands more

Jared, Sartain, and the reat of The Urban Lounge crew have created a scene comparable to CBGB's, only gresier. It's better than bad, it's good! Everybody wants to go there, and everybody wants to play there....Jimmy the Tooth. Pros: Loud, Crowded, Great Chairs Cons: Not enough chalk, Toilets suck bad, ?????????? more

It wasn't a bad little bar. It is very crowded, and the service is slow. And the times I've been there the music was too loud, and not really good dancing music. There are a variety of people there, and they are all very nice. The drinks are exceptional! Pros: Good drinks, Nice people, Comfortable atmospher Cons: Music too loud, service is slow more

This is the place if you want to loose the tourists. This felt like a truely locals only type place. It's off any main streets and away from main down town. But if you want to see some great bands and REAL (not mormon) Salt Lake people, as Brigham Youngs once said, "This is the place!" Beer selection was poor. And it seemed everyone was drinking piss poor Bud or Bud Light. But hey, at least they served them in huge mugs. I was there only once and say some punk rock-a-billy. Very cool. The music definitly makes this place. Pros: Cool Building, Local Dive, Big Beers Cons: Bad Beer Selection, Off the Beatin' Path, Utah Liquor laws more

its the same bar as it ever was, only they threw a couple of couches in to try to make it "urban", don't let this fool you, the bar is still like the phat squirrel and the holy cow, and they still have yet to find a quality sound guy for local shows. to truly kick this place up a notch why not get rid of the concrete? maybe rethink the whole place. the only time i've ever had fun at this location was when Fu Manchu came thru town. ('98) more

The Urband Lounge does not only dabble in hardcore, but is becoming the major spot for this genere of music! If you can handle it you will be hanging with the coolest crowd in SLC! more