Gabe's — Local services in Iowa City

Rolled through Gabe’s for an EDM night, and honestly, it was a vibe. You walk in through a laid-back beer garden where a DJ was already spinning—instant mood setter. The upstairs dance room had that nostalgic, worn-in charm: stickers on the wall, low ceilings, and just enough grime to remind you it's not trying to be Vegas. It’s not fancy, but it’s got character.

The crowd? Mixed, playful, and full of good energy. People were there to dance, connect, and have a good time — definitely one of those rare nights where strangers don’t feel strange. Great crowd to move with and share some floor space.

Now for the real talk: the sound system was just okay. Not trash, but not quite festival-worthy either. It got the job done, though the bass could’ve used a protein shake. Feels like Gabe’s is more built for rock and alt shows, but props for branching into EDM. They should do more.

Only real buzzkill was the bouncer/security/possibly-manager guy — came off like someone who’s been doing the same job since dial-up internet and resents every second of it. Grumpy energy, like “yeah this is my bike and no, you can't touch it.” Not enough to ruin the night, but definitely threw off the vibe for a sec.

All in all? I’m glad I went. The energy was right, the crowd was great, and it’s cool to see Gabe’s stepping into the EDM ring. Just give that man a vacation and maybe upgrade the sound while...

0/10, never going back. I saw a sign on a lamppost advertising a 60s vinyl night, which looked like good fun, so I walked in with my brother. First thing I did was ask the location of the bathroom, cause I had to go, so went in and did my business. When I came out I thought I’d check by the front desk, just to ask if there was an entrance fee before I checked out the vinyl area. Immediately, a hostile bearded man told me I had to leave and my brother was nowhere to be seen. He refused to give any reason why he had thrown out my brother, and similarly refused to explain to me what was going on. Instead he laid hands on me, pushed me out the door, and got one of his tough guys to further refuse to answer any questions, instead laying hands on me and ripping my glasses off my face. As someone who is genuinely passive, though stubborn for justice, this whole episode tramautised me and I am currently looking into filing charges for assault. And to think, all I wanted to do was hear some cool 60s records. I’m genuinely at a loss right now, but the police have been called and I will be meeting with them shortly. Absolutely stunned by my...

I have never been treated so poorly by a venue in which I was playing. The little twerp of a sound man absolutely got off on making my band do their work for them, which included, but was not limited to fetching the PA system from upstairs, setting up the DJ’s (another grown man) PA after our set. This awful little excuse for human being made us so unbelievably uncomfortable every moment we were there. Lording over our every move with a vacant stare. Not to mention they were not wearing work appropriate attire (the shirt didn’t cover his belly and his disgustingly dirty sweat pants were so low you could see his pubic hair) The venue didn’t promote or even mention that we were playing anywhere on social media, or really anywhere else for that matter. The staff made it painfully clear that we were wholly unwelcome. They refused to pay us until we made it loudly and obnoxiously apparent that we were not leaving before payment was received. Don’t got to this place. It sucks. Iowa City might be awesome. I couldn’t tell you. My experience here was that of dried dog excrement thanks to this pathetic excuse for a...