The Waiting Room Lounge — Local services in Omaha

I never write negative reviews, but Google prompted me to rate this venue, and after several months I am still dumbfounded at how terrible the sound was at this venue, so here goes:

We drove 3 hours to see one of my favorite (living) bands at The Waiting Room, and after hearing the first few songs, we seriously considered just turning around and driving home. The sound was so muddy and bass heavy that it reminded me of listening to music while driving on the highway in my old Corolla: You couldn't really hear the music; rather, if you played a song you knew really, really well at the highest volume, the bassline might clue you in as to which song it was, and you could "play" the song in your head. The sound at this concert was exactly like that. I listened with and without earplugs; we moved around to try to find the least offensive location (the best sound was as far away from the stage as possible, inside the women's bathroom); I constantly asked my companion if I was overreacting and if the sound really was this bad (he agreed it was) because I couldn't believe the venue would let this poor quality sound proceed. We ended up behind the sound "booth" so we could at least see the band, and also, out of curiosity, observe whether the sound person was doing anything to ameliorate the poor mix. After driving so far and because it was a special gift-trip, we ended up toughing it out on principle, but it was the worst sound I've ever heard at a live show--and I have a musical performance background so I've played/caught shows in plenty of bars with lesser setups and resources than this historic venue. That being said, people whose focus seemed more to be on socializing than on listening seemed to be enjoying themselves, and there is a wide bar at the back if you're into that sort of thing. I also appreciated that the venue had a cooler of water available on the bar for easy hydration.

I asked a door person if the sound was always this bad and she said no, never--agreeing that it was particularly terrible. So, this is a sample size of two people attending one concert and I know that's not the best way to judge a venue: maybe the sound person was off, was a sub, or just didn't care (I watched him do almost no adjusting the whole night); I hope that you have a positive experience there and if you're local, it's likely worth the trip. The environment was pleasant, with lots of standing room and some comfortable-looking booths along the streetside, windowed wall. Unfortunately, due to the impressively disappointing sound and the length of the drive, our experience with The Waiting Room will likely remain limited to a sample size of...

We recently were at a smaller show, where the crowd was maybe only 4-5 rows deep. The group of people around me had been standing near the stage with adequate, but not excessive room for the 2-3 openers. Right before the main act came on, a woman from the back of the crowd loudly announced “let’s shove our way to the front now”. She then started throwing elbows and shoving us all from behind. Until she ran into a guy near us & he held his ground. She started to get loud & volitle & those of us around her, told her to back off. This got the DJ on stages attention & security was called. When security made their way to us, the entire group around said she and her group were the issue. Security asked us to move from our spots to “get away from her/them” to which we refused because then she was continuing forward to the stage. Security said some things to their group at that time & stood there “protecting their group”from those of us around them. Security seemed to ignore the 10+ people around asking them to remove the woman and her group. I went to try to get a manager & didn’t get to speak with one since security wasn’t doing their job. When I came back they had made their way to the front row & weren’t asked to move or leave the remainder of the show. Upon further reflection of the incident and talking to others who were still upset after the show - it seemed like security may have been prior friends with that group, which would explain their behavior and the lack of action taken for their poor actions toward the rest of us in the crowd who paid the same amount for tickets. I probably won’t be coming back to the waiting room for future shows because of this, and other incidents, but this was the final straw for me.We frequent smaller shows at other local smaller venues, so I know what other local venues do to enforce crowd safety, so I’m just totally flabbergasted at the response of security at this show. If you’re getting paid to be security, then make the majority of the Crowd feel secure during the show & don’t blatantly allow others to bully their way to front. That’s the...

It's decent for Omaha, passe if you're from out of town and live in a bigger, modern city.

Parking is atrocious on the weekends, especially during winter. This is no fault of The Waiting Room establishment. The city of Omaha is plagued with extremely poor planning. Benson is a perfect example of this.

The sound is a mixed bag. Some nights it's fantastic, other nights it's been 'okay'. I consistently find the sound-engineer pumping the lower frequencies when it's inappropriate, almost as if they were trying to show off the audio system. Ear protection is a must if you don't want tinnitus or hearing loss.😁

If the attendance is high, be ready to stand in line for beverages as they rarely have adequate service to meet a high volume demand. There's no food available or kid friendly amenities, it's a bar after all. Clean bathrooms are a plus and the venue itself is quite nice! It has a great vibe and feels spacious considering the size.

As one of the main draws for many great touring bands and local artists, the waiting room will definitely be a hotspot for townies and visitors alike, especially since it's located on the Benson main strip. Cover prices seem reasonable most nights. Rarley have I felt overcharged.

The staff, for the most part are friendly. I do find them to look extremely bored most of the time. Security on the other hand can be arrogant if you unintentionally get in their way. This is a commonality in most entertainment venues.

Seeing as there is absolutely nothing to do in Omaha, I was hoping the nightlife here would be exciting. It's not. Natives I've spoken with find it acceptable and feel the Waiting Room is a Hallmark of the local music scene.

That being said, I gave 'TWR' three stars when it stands with other more contemporary fair this country has to offer. Yet in comparison to the other venues in Omaha, it's 5 stars and your best bet...