I'm just going to say it-I like this venue better than Cat's Cradle. Â It actually feels like a venue rather than a big room with a bar in the back. Â It is the right size for most artists that I want to see and gives it a concert feel with the main floor, places to stand on the sides and a balcony. Â I recently saw Shiny Toy Guns et al there and was impressed with the flow, the stage and the ability to get up front without getting some kicks. Â The only negative would be the sound system seemed a little wonky at times. Â I was in the third row and still couldn't hear part of a few solos so definitely that needs to be addressed.
The bar is hopping but the staff manage to keep things moving and I never had to wait very long to get served. Â They only serve beer but pretty good beer at least. Â The bathrooms are atrocious but never really a long wait for that either. Â Or everyone was holding it.
They have a nice foyer where the bands can put out the memorabilia and often you'll find the after a set so you can say hi. (kicks self for being too shy).
Parking was a snap-large parking structure across the street and easy to find off the interstate if you aren't from Raleigh. Hope to go back again soon.
I gave the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro 5 stars, I think it's mostly due to nostalgia, since most of the memories of my misspent youth were made there.
Now, for the Lincoln. Â It's a GREAT venue, what it may lack in my nostalgic eyes, it makes up for in sheer acoustic quality. Â I've seen acts as various as Clutch, Hank Williams III, Fiery Furnaces, and Hanzel und Gretyl here, the Lincoln pulls acts that are HUGE in their respective genres, and it's a good sized general-admission venue with, I'll say it again, GREAT acoustics.
If you see that a band you like is playing here, make it a point to go see them, you'll not be sorry.
Recently saw Minus the Bear at Lincoln Theatre; great show, great crowd atmosphere! Â The venue itself is pretty relaxed, along with decent prices on beer, accessible/clean bathrooms and stadium seating so getting a good view was easy. Â The staff was very cool and seemed to appreciate us being there rather than the usual entitled jerks most places have. Â Parking is easy and there are tons of cool places to eat/drink before and after the show. Â The bands that they are lining up are much better in quality than in the past.
Two complaints that lead to the 3 stars instead of 5:
The sound was just too loud to endure over 4 hours... not sure why, it's a small place, easy to adjust the pa, maybe they want your ears to ring when you leave, lol!
Secondly, the headliner was supposed to start at 8... they didn't hit the stage until almost 10. Â We stood through 2 hours of sucky bands and stage resets when we could have been at a restaurant, bar or at a friends place. Â It was a freaking Monday night, ha! Â
There are easy fixes if they care...We'll definitely go back for the right band
Great place to see a show. If you hear an artist you love is playing here, don't miss it. You pretty much won't get a more intimate venue to see nationally known acts, especially in Raleigh. They also feature many local and regional bands and entertainment. Saw Butch Walker play there and he came right out into the crowd. Also saw City & Colour do a song just vocals and one acoustic guitar and it was clear as a bell.
It gets crowded quick so if you want to be close you better be there early to get in line. I wish there was a better process for checking tickets and getting into the show. That's the worst thing about the place.
There is normally plenty of parking in the deck directly across the street from the venue, I don't chance their lot or street parking. It's super convenient and safe from my experience.
Sound is great. I've thoroughly enjoyed every show I've seen at Lincoln.
Pretty good venue.
On the smaller side, but I like that...leads to a more intimate concert. Â Place is pretty clean and well taken care of.
One of the cleanest bathrooms at any venue I've been to.
Service is quick and nice - I've never had a person with a bad attitude at all
Sound is pretty great here too - never been upstairs so I cant really speak on that - but its cool they have the option
Their lineup leaves something to be desired for my liking...but thats personal preference.
Loved this venue!!! I saw the Foreign Exchange here a few weeks ago and not only were the acoustics great, but the intimacy of the venue was also a pleasure. Â Often, when I see a band live and it's standing room only it's usually at Cat's Cradle which can feel too intimate (namely crowded) quickly. Â But the Lincoln Theatre was excellent! Â I also liked how they had some bar stools in the balcony and risers on the floor. Â Also, not having a barrier in the front of the stage allowed me and my friends to get up close and personal with the band. Â
Being able to reach up and touch and dance with one of my favorite bands has made me a fan of this place.
This place is fine, I guess. The layout is freaking weird for concerts. Too many stairs and levels. The sound was good. Â It's your standard semi-comfortable mid-size venue.
The tickets said the doors were at 8. Cat's Cradle's website said doors were at 8. Lincoln Theatre's website said otherwise. It was 40 degrees outside. They opened the doors at 9. So a huge crowd of people lined up outside the door for an hour. Common sense dictates that they might want to go inside and buy drinks and stuff, rathering than suffering for an hour because a venue can't coordinate with a promoter.
It also appears to be the only late night business in the neighborhood other than a ghetto mcdonald's.
I had the pleasure of seeing HANK III play a set here. Probably one of the top 3 sounding venues i've ever been in. I don't know if it was the acoustics of the building or the sound engineer, but regardless....top notch. It's best described as a smaller, mid sized club. Has two floors. It's hard to review a bar staff when all you ordered were Pabst Blue Ribbons all night. They were quick and attentive.
One of the best things about the night was the crowd. I know that this has little to do with the physical venue itself, but it was a nicely mixed crowd. Older folks, biker dudes, punker types, regular joes, college girls, and frat boys. It was pretty cool.
I would recommend seeing a show here. Thumbs up.
One of the most intimate venues Raleigh has to offer. It's not too small that it doesn't get larger acts, but it's not too large to the point where you feel disconnected from the music. If you want to see your favorite group up close and personal, this is the place!
I recently went to see Coheed and Cambria (rock band) and I can say that it was one of the best live music experiences in my life, and I have the venue to thank for that (as well as the band, of course).
I ordered several drinks there as well ($4 16oz PBR -- hey, when I'm going to a live show, the last thing I care about is quality beer and PBR is just fine). The bartenders were very attentive and it was very easy to get my drinks, even though it was a sold out show.
If one of your favorite bands/artists happens to book this venue, immediately buy the tickets. You won't regret it.
Meh, not exactly the cleanest place to see a show, just don't sit on anything or lean against anything that might have had a beer on it. Â Also wear some good solid shoes, nothing open-toe, because I heard quite a few beer bottles break. Â The sound was decent enough, and I really liked that there was free parking across the street.
Review Source:This is a strange place to review. It's an amazing venue, and I love seeing shows here. If there's a good show, it's a great place to see it.
But...the lineup schedule is baffling. This should be a great place for indie and local music. It has some of that, but it also has a ton of Michael Jackson/Led Zeppelin/ similar stuff cover bands. I have no idea why the schedule includes so many cover bands.
Oh, if you get a chance to see a show (like the Rosebuds at Hopscotch) outside Lincoln, do it
I spent the first night of Hopscotch at Lincoln Theatre an was pleasantly surprised. Friendly staff, and lots of nice, clean airy spaces to sit, stand or lean. Lots of different places to hangout with good lines of sight to the stage.
There's a bar upstairs and down.
The sound quality is better than average.
I don't like bar machine measured shots, and was somewhat disappointed with my miniature shot glass of Maker's Mark, but that was my only complaint.
Overall, a great venue, I would happily return.
With all the new music venues in Raleigh (Kings, Southland), there's nothing wrong with appreciating an old-school venue like the Lincoln Theatre! Â Walking up to the place you immediately notice the mural on the side of the building and the retro signage in front. Â Inside you'll find a full bar before hitting the theatre itself. Â Lincoln Theatre is primarily standing room only, they've got a stepped, spectator area leading to a flat area up front for dancing or moshing. Â Acoustics are pretty good at the Lincoln and there's some seating on the 2nd floor balcony where you can look down on all the action. Â
The Lincoln has great bar service and its clean, clean clean! Â The biggest complaints I've about the place is the music line-up. Â They book a lot of cover bands but do have some good indy rock. Â I've been here for Drive-by Truckers and Band Together's Battle of the Bands. Â But no big deal, while it may not everybody's cup of tea music-wise, Lincoln Theatre rocks it out in so many ways. Â Great space, reasonable ticket prices and good service always works for me!
I really love this venue.
As you enter you'll see the bar.
Stop.
Get beer.
Now, venture your way around said bar into the "theatre". This is a decent "medium-sized" venue which in my book is the best size. You'll notice tiered levels and a bottom floor in front of the stage.
If you look up you'll see an upstairs with a balcony section for a higher view. You'll also find restrooms, a small bar, a pool table and Pac-Man machine (which ate my quarter! ::grumbles::). I actually found it warmer up top but then again, heat rises.
If you head back downstairs I recommend finding somewhere to perch or lean. I had a great view of the stage from the side wall but found it somewhat unnerving that when people in the balcony above would stomp their feet or dance and I could hear it above my head.
As for parking, there's a parking deck directly across the street from the theatre. So park there, not on Wilmington like I did! The only plus side about parking further away is when leaving there is no battling pedestrians crossing the street or waiting for other cars.
All in all, this place reminded me of some venues in DC I used to go to, which always makes me happy. I think this shindig has the potential to be great if better bands and acts were scheduled here. I shall keep my fingers crossed for that day.
The Lincoln competes with King's for medium-sized tours. Usually you won't catch emerging artists at these venues, unless they're opening for another band. So, the calendar always seems to be filled with cover/party bands and bands I haven't listened to in 5-10 years. Indie rock tours almost exclusively always land in Carrboro (at Cat's Cradle), so I don't visit Lincoln that often.
As Matthew mentioned, the sound isn't great. But, the good news is that it's mostly a decibels issue. Just get yourself a good pair of earplugs (I got mine at <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fearlove.net%2F&s=8ff4de6cbc64724b77319242c397f9f6fb400edf1617e297eb2cd92f4171f553" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://earlove.net/</a>) and you'll be good to go. Then you can stand on the sides near the speakers and your ears won't be ringing for 2 days.
The bar serves liquor, beer, and has drink specials. Parking is great (as long as you manage to find the other side of Cabarrus :-). There's a balcony and a pool table up there... But due to the quality of tours that are booked, I just can't give four stars to Lincoln.
Raleigh, in general, needs to do a better job attracting the good tours.
A bit of a side note: Lincoln did a phenomenal job with the BandTogether Third Eye Blind show. They set up an stage outdoors and hosted the after-party inside. I hope they set up shows like that more often.
The Lincoln Theater is a great place to celebrate live music, have some beers, wine, or mixed drinks (I'm pretty sure they have a full bar now) and get up close to the band, whether they be local or big time. Â The sound system is fine, and I hang out with a lot of folks who are into audio (I'm not too picky) and haven't heard any complaints. Â I can't even begin to count all the bands I've seen there, its a good time place with good people and always good service. Â I'm SO glad we have it in Raleigh, we'd definitely be missing out without it. Â Oh, and I met my boyfriend there too! Â :-)
Review Source:Raleigh needed a great music venue, and the Lincoln Theater fits the bill. Â Set on the outskirts of the downtown area, the Lincoln Theater is one of the best things about the area. Â It has a great stage with plenty of room to dance or hang out. Â . Â The sound system is one of the best around for shows. Â Booking is always great. Â The bands that come are nationally known, but small enough to make a venue seem huge. Â Always high energy to have a great time.
The bar is good. Â Always attentive bartenders are readily available to help you get your drink on. Â They do let you run tabs, but will also sell drinks based on cash. Â Also, great parking around the area that is normally open free at night. Â Take the weekend off and come see your favorite band.
I've been to several shows at the Lincoln Theater. Â This venue has the potential for greatness, but I have to deduct a few stars for the very poor sound quality I've endured during the last few shows. Â Zoso sounded great, but things were less than perfect for Stephen Stills, and David Allan Coe (on my most recent visit) was nothing short of atrocious. Â Live music is all about the sound, in my opinion. Â I could care less whether there's a bar in the building; if the mix isn't right, nothing's right. Â Another downside is that the tickets are almost always too expensive, overpriced by about $10.00. Â Other reviewers have already pointed out some of the very good things about this place: great parking, interesting charm, and an improved interior space thanks to renovations a few years back.
Review Source:Lincoln Theatre is a good place for a more popular band to play that keeps the small club feel. Â Lets face it there are bands that you definitely don't want to see in an arena show but they are getting that popular and places like Cats Cradle sell out in minutes due to the small size of the venue. Â The Lincoln Theatre may not look like much more than a warehouse in the middle of an office park but the inside is pretty nice. Â There are two floors and I really never had a bad time at any of the shows I saw there. Â Plus it doesn't hurt that it's location was great for where I lived in North Raleigh. Â I never bought drinks at the bar there so I can't say anything about the prices but this was always a nice place to see a show.
Review Source:I went to the Lincoln Theatre for the first time back in December. I knew nothing about it whatsoever so I did not know what to expect. When I pulled up I originally thought what a dump. To be honest had I not really wanted to see the show that day I might not have even gone in, as it did seem to not be in a great part of downtown.
When you first walk in you see the bar and not much else. Pretty standard bar, and the prices were not bad at all. I grabbed a drink and went to my seat, which is down the hallway. The actual theater part of the building is a lot bigger then it seems on the outside. There are two different parts, the upper part is for standing room only, while the lower part, or dance floor, has seating. Overall the entire time I spent there was great. The show was awesome and having a bar just a couple steps away was great, I am certainly glad I went, and I will for surely go again sometime soon.
Neat place for shows, similar in style to Amos Southend in Charlotte. The people running this place are sort of rude but that comes with running a music joint, and tons of kids who try to sneak in or cause ruckus.
I really enjoyed seeing He Is Legend with Between the Buried and Me here, but would rather see Legend at a smaller place. I heard Matisyahu was pretty cool here last year too.
Awesome! Driving up, the place looks like a complete hole which is part of its charm. There is a parking garage literally across the street, which is free after a certain time - bonus! Upon entering the venue there's a foyer with merch tables, which opens up to the bar area. I can't rate the bar as I didn't utilize it that night but I actually liked that it was located out of view from the stage. Less crowded that way.
After passing the bar, the venue opens up to be quite large with tiered risers sloping down toward the open floor space in front of the stage. There's a balcony area hugging the back & side walls, which looked cool from below though we didn't venture up there. Having grown up in NY and seeing countless shows in NYC, I was actually really impressed with the space.
My only gripe was mentioned in an earlier review, and that's the placement of the merch tables near the exit. It makes for a bit of a wait trying to leave the venue, especially when standing near the restrooms (and their not-so-fresh post-concert scent).
I'll definitely be back!
A Sick little 2 leveled place. Â Live music. Alcohol. Pool. Great Sound. This venue can hold a good sized event.. Â The place looks tiny on the outside , but when you go inside it opens up deep[that's what she said*]. Â I wasn't aware Raleigh had cool spots like this, but I haven't explored it as much as I should.
The drinks cost a little too much at the Bar, and I wish the bar was somewhere where I could get a drink and see the stage - other than that - I have no complaints. Â I was looking at their upcoming band list, and I wish I could stay in the area longer and see some. Â
There are sitting and standing spots in the balcony and lower level  - there really isn't a bad seat in the house. The restrooms don't have a men's or a women's sign on the doors so either wait outside until you see someone go in or out - or just guess. You've got a 50/50 chance, no worries.
Went to see Company of Thieves open for Plain White T's - so I had do deal with a lot of emo teenie boppers, but all was right with the world when I caught the drummer for CoT at the bar and was able to take a picture with him. Â The bar is in kind of a weird spot (but so is the theatre itself),but again other than that I have no complaints about this place.
If someone you want to check out is going to be here, it is definitely worth the show.
I recently went to a show at the Lincoln Theatre for the very first time. I was pretty impressed with what I experienced. It was larger than Cat's Cradle and actually sounded better too. Most of the standing room is downstairs but there's also an upper level with its own bar, and you can smoke on the upper level (until the ban kicks in of course).
The parking situation is pretty great as the theatre is across from a big parking deck..and its free at night.
The huge problem with the Lincoln Theatre; however, is that they RARELY book any quality bands or performers. It's run of the mill college town stuff: hippie bands, tribute bands, bad metal etc. I'm sure I won't find my way back here any time soon, but here's hoping future bookings are better. Raleigh needs a great music venue..and the Lincoln could be it with some changes.
A really great venue for live music. I really liked the option of being upstairs and being able to look down on the band and the crowd or being downstairs in the crowd. I went to Lincoln for the first time a couple of weeks ago to see Toubab Krewe (who are amazing if anyone ever gets the chance to see them) and had a great experience.
The staff were nice and there were plenty on hand. The bathrooms were also fairly clean which was a nice surprise. The whole place was kept up and not dirty. The only thing I did not like is the fact that you can smoke inside of the venue which is always a downside for me. Other than that I have no complaints. This is one of the best live music venues I have been to in Raleigh.
One of the best shows I've ever seen were at the Lincoln Theatre. Â This was They Might Be Giants, with Corn Mo opening.
It was my second time seeing them, and it blew the first (at The Ritz, pre-Rodeo days) out of the water. Â There is nothing like being blinded by intense flashes of light and deafened by bizarre sonic destruction for two hours and then wandering out into the city streets to try and find your way home. Â In a bigger venue, or one with a slicker aspect, this show would have just seemed like any big rock show with lots of flashy stuff and loud noises. Â But in the close environment of the Lincoln it really seemed like John and John were trying to kill us. Â It was awesome.
The Theatre is the only remaining cool building downtown that hasn't been refitted with hardwood floors, halogen lamps, and pictures of old things (you know what I'm referring to). Â It stands as a monument to rock, and to the once and future greatness of the downtown music and entertainment scene.
Most shows are pretty reasonably priced, although big acts can tend toward the higher side of my small-venue budget: $30 dollars or so. Â The sound is great, or at least way better than a certain other - now defunct - famous Raleigh venue.
I like watching live music. Â The Lincoln Theater is my favorite spot to do that listening in. Â If it was difficult to find a bad spot to watch a show from pre-renovation, it's downright impossible to do so in the new, balcony-improved duds.
It seems to be destined to stay on the edge of Raleigh's downtown renaissance, but honestly, isn't that were we all want it? Â It wouldn't quite fit on the new Fayetteville St. or in between trendy Glenwood bars, not if it is to grow into a venue on par with some of the Triangle's other small rock n' roll show homes. Â
And I do believe that's where the Lincoln is headed. Â What was once a place where the biggest acts they could find were cover bands keeps snagging better and better acts each time I read down the listings in the Independent.
My only knock on the Theater, as another poster has already tossed out there, is that the show virtually disappears when you go back to the main bar. Â The stage is gone, and the music is drowned out by what is always an amazing number of people just milling around and chatting it up in the area. Â My solution? Â Double-fist the show.
Lincoln Theatre is one of my favorite venues to see live music. I'm not much for the acoustics and don't have a perfectly trained ear for music - I just love the live music experience, and that's something Lincoln does very well. I've been frequenting shows there for about 6 or 7 years, so I remember the old one-story layout very well. While I agree that the balcony does make it easier for a lot of people to see the show, i think it takes away a lot of the intimacy of the shows. Also, as a smoker I was a bit disappointed when smoking was relegated to the far back edge of the balcony (where you can't possibly see the stage).
The bar, while usually crowded, is always fast. The bartenders do a great job of moving people along and you'll find a much shorter wait here than at most other downtown bars on a busy weekend night. The drink prices are definitely a deal by concert venue standards, too.
During the time I've been visiting the Lincoln, I've been on stage with Andrew W.K., gotten sprayed with champagne by Far Too Jones, been sweated on by Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth, found out why nobody does it better than 2 Skinnee J's, seen patrons surfing on a crowd of about 40 people to a Led Zeppelin tribute...and I've loved every minute of it. If you're headed to the Lincoln for a show, there's a good chance you'll see me there...especially if Butch Walker is on the bill.
When a band is too big to play The Pour House, but too small to play for an amphitheater crowd, they end up at the Lincoln. The venue is pretty substantial and has a balcony for music watching as well as a pretty big open space downstairs and a raised area with some tables and chairs.
My only complaints about the place are:
1 The bar is really small, so you inevitably have to wait a pretty decent amount of time before you can get a drink. The bar is also inconveniently located right where you would need to walk to get to the stage, so you end up having to trudge through masses.
2. Speaking of masses, they always set up the merch tables in the small hallway where the exit is. This means that is more than 5 people are looking at CD's or T-shirts then you are going to have a horrible time trying to get out of the place
3. There is very very very little seating in the place. Of course you're at a venue where you should be standing up and watching a band, but if you did need to sit for any reason, you're pretty out of luck unless you're one of the first 10 of so people who make it inside.
Lincoln got a huge facelift about a year or two ago, and in my opinion it makes a hell of a difference. In addition to now having a full bar, you can get a better view of the stage from anywhere in the house then you could before the remodeling, when it was a one floor affair with booths and benches.
This is a nice alternative to the abysmal Disco Rodeo in North Raleigh, and attracts bands of about the same caliber. Â While its not the swankiest club I've ever seen a show at, it does have about average sound and a good view of the stage from anywhere in the club.
All in all, one of the best places to see a medium sized band in the area.
The good thing about Lincoln Theatre is that it has 3 levels- allowing you to see the show from any angle. Â The have bigger names than some of the other local venues in the area, but also have local bands as well. It's always easy to get a drink here because it caters to a younger crowd, so the bar obviously isn't crowded. Not as good as the local venue called The Brewery, but if your favorite band is playing here, you'll still have a good time.
Review Source:I like the Lincoln for a show -- especially since they renovated the place and added an awesome balcony with more seating and even pool up top. There's no liquor sold here, just beer. The best show I saw here was Pete Yorn. It's the perfect venue for a more mellow concert. Among the crazier atmospheres, though, were the couple of drag shows I've attended. Look for The Queen of the Triangle drag pageant which happens in the fall. Not only is it purely great entertainment (a little song and dance, a little comedy, a little competitive action, part fashion show) -- you also have a chance at scoring some free swag (no-no, not to be confused with slag). Each time I've attended, Expressions (the sex store in Chapel Hill) has co-sponsored the event. The owner brings a treasure chest of goodies that he throws out into the audience and raffles off. Among the things I've wound up catching: edible undies, herbal libido enhancers, pocket vibes, condoms, lube, and gay porn. It's a win-win.
Review Source:The Lincoln Theater does its job well. I went with a smoker so we sat upstairs but we could still see/hear the band pretty well. The acoustics were acceptable (though I was a few beers deep so my expertly trained ear wasn't up to par); all in all, a very workable venue. It's a boon for the city to have a place for bands to come and share their culture, but I won't give it 5 stars until Gwar's on stage feeding slaves to the Conqueror Worm and spewing a facsimile of their vital fluids all over the crowd.
Review Source:I've been going to the Lincoln since high school. Fairly recently renovated. Â The place is laid out really well with plenty of standing room on the floor as well as a great view from the balcony. In the back of the balcony there are pool tables and a bar. Ticket prices range from about 10 dollars to 25 or so usually which I don't think is bad at all for an well maintained and intimate little venue. Drink prices are very reasonable for a concert venue and the bartenders are very quick. I hardly ever have to wait for a drink. It can get very packed and very loud which some people see as a downfall... but I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a concert hall... if you don't like packed and loud go home!
Review Source:Lincoln Theatre has established itself as a Raleigh ancor for live music. Â It is a great theatre. Â It's nice and open. Â Seating is available for some shows with plenty of standing room. Â Smoking is in an upstairs balcony which keeps the cigarette smoke under control. Â There is a bar downstairs (and I've seen a bar upstairs, but haven't seen it open). Â They only serve beer and wine, but have a pretty good selection. Â
Can't view the stage from the bar. Â But all in all, it's a great venue with good bands.
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