HQ

Good times! Watched a buddy play metal here and a nice clean venue. Very close to a lot of bars/food on Broadway so plenty to do between shows before and/or after. Nice area towards back with couches/chairs and windows to chill and plenty of space for a nice local crowd. I don't drink but the bar area was clean and inviting. Bathrooms were very clean as well. Definitely worth checking out or booking if you're a smaller band/artist looking to fill and nice spot in a busy area!

Came here for the second time for a concert and feel ready to review. First, this is a small venue, so it gets pretty crowded. However, with as close to the stage as you can get, there are great visuals! This isn't a bad side at all. The staff is great, loved that they're friendly and chat with you some. Drinks are well made and pretty quick compared to most venues. The lighting is pretty good. The downfall comes in some sound quality issues with feedback sometimes, and voices drowned out with too much bass or instrumental volume. I also adore the little vending machine with blind bags, creative and funny~

Weird experience. Went for a Motown R&B night. The door experience felt rushed, as if our being there was inconvenient, despite being very slow. Bar experience was polite enough, but was told water is 2$ when asked if I could just get a water, as the DD for the night , and then witnessed a woman come to the bar for a water 10 minutes later at no charge. Then watched incoming patrons at the door be offered coat check and a lot more friendliness. Our party was not offered coat check, despite having very obviously large and inconvenient coats with us lol, or anymore conversation than absolutely necessary. I maybe just overthinking it, but as one of three or so poc at the event, It all felt a bit exclusionary. You might think an event centered in black history, culture, and music wouldn’t allow for this separation is customer service. Outside of that however, the music was wonderful. The DJ did an amazing job, and so did the go-go girls. They were all friendly and a joy to watch.

HQ is your classic dive bar. It used to be “3 Kings” (must have changed mgmt during pandemic), and I’m not sure what they did during renovations, but it’s now very difficult to see the performances occurring on the stage as it’s lower to the floor now, plus the elevated standing areas on the sides were removed. They get some great bands in this place though.