The Irenic

I came here for the Stuff You Should Know Live: Warmer Climates Tour. Will call was a lot easier than what the ticket’s instructions led us to believe. It said to bring your card you purchased your tickets with but they just asked for my sister’s name and checked her off. Since it was a sit-​down show, we sat in folding chairs. The tickets said that Will Call opened at 7 P.M. but didn’t say anything about when the show would start. After two hours, sitting in those chairs was very uncomfortable. Aside from the chairs, my only other issue was the bathroom. The toilets in the women’s bathroom were underwhelming and not going down. Other than that the show was good and acoustics were fine. I did find that big screen tv clock pretty neat for a venue that used to be a church.

My boyfriend and I decided to take a weekend trip to see Tennis for the 3^rd time in one year. The first few times we saw Tennis at venues in L.A. – namely The Troubadour. I’m not sure if it was the fact that spring break had me feeling some type of way or not but I actually preferred seeing Tennis here. The acoustics were a lot crisper and of course The Irenic is so much more intimate than The Troubadour. I had a great time and will be returning to see Ra Ra Riot in March: D

I can’t even verbalize the incredible time I had at the irenic tonight. The people working the venue were all incredibly warm and personable. I got the sense that the workers of the venue were trying to create safe place for people to party their asses off. felt the love here big time.

this place is super cool… really brought me back to my grungy live hard rock shows I used to attend around town.
why its awesome:
non-​profit… proceeds go to program helping homeless youth within SD. awesome! really a community venue rather than all the other for-​profit money-​makers in town
right in the middle of residential north park, parking easy and low-​key vibe.
Acts as a church on sundays so it has a really unique appearance for a music venue.
ALL AGES! .it’s so important for the youth to have positive and affordable local spot within their community. I wish I had a place like this when I was growing up (note that you can still buy alcohol — at least was the case when I went).
Brings up and coming performers. check out their website for the extensive list of all the now big names who have performed there. i got the privilege of seeing Wolf Alice perform. I had never heard of them but fell instantly in love! here is a video I took of their hot single:
very decent sound within the space. it gets loud, be warned!
cool garden patio on the side as smoking area /​chill /​get away for the noise and have a convo
Big fan! cant want to check something else out there.

Irenic, how i want to like you. Nice small venue but the acoustics are way off. I like how they have beer\wine and can pay with cash or card via ipad for $ 5. Parking is a nightmare since its all on street that is already filled with cars parked. Drove around for a good 15 mins looking for a spot. I’m catching Tanlines in Dec but dont see myself getting tix to any future shows.

Quite frankly the venue is odd. Its a church, not a cool looking church… you know what, try it out once and I’m pretty sure you won’t be going back again.

What a hidden gem! Got tickets to see comedian Jen Kirkman and walked into this venue and was very happy. It is literally a church! Small, intimate venue. The individuals running the show and the concession stand were great. If you have a chance to see a show at the Irenic, don’t pass it up! It was so cool to see a comedian we love in such a small place. And don’t get me wrong– it is small, but there is plenty of room. Can’t wait to see a music show here!

Location is fine, parking is feasible, sound is subpar.
I’ve never really had The Irenic on my venue radar. A band from my youth booked a show here, and the tickets were affordable and it was an easy find. It’s a multi-​functional building – you’ll recognize it as a church from the outside. Got lucky with a parking spot 50 feet away from the doors along the street. As it’s within a residential area, check for street parking around the neighborhood or along the city streets e.g. 30^th. Security staffing were a little rude and inefficient (one line for both will call and ticket holders) and though I had a wristband from an earlier meet & greet, I received some attitude about being out of place.
The show was sold out, but there was still enough wiggle room left to have personal space. Acoustics weren’t the best, but somehow I wasn’t expecting the sound to be spectacular. The intimacy of the space to get up close and watch your favorite bands was a plus though.

I went to see Active Child and it was my first time here. The venue, is indeed, a church. For an intimate performance, I think it’s totally perfect! The sound was great, the stage visibility is also great, and I was towards the back.
Although there isn’t a real bar, they did have a variety of beer available for cheap so that was nice.
Being in the middle of North Park, parking wasn’t the best, but that’s what Über is for.
I’ll def come back and see future shows here! Glad I found out about it!

Spoiler Alert. I don’t have much to say about this place, so I apologize if you like my typically wordy reviews.
Acoustics were good from high to low and throughout the venue. Bathrooms were ok in that this is a church with a school.
It was a tad warm, they definitely weren’t near capacity, but it’s those damn Fire Marshall’s. Maybe it was the fire’s of hell or that Catholic Guilt in my had me sweating. Only beer and nudity could cool me and by Nudity that means me unbuttoning my shirt another button.
Snacks at a concert, what is this HS? Beer in a Church, what is this HS? I know it was North park so I wasn’t that surprised seeing PBR $ 3 but Lagunitas $ 5 was my go to cooling beverage. It wasn’t cash only too. They took card, but no tabs, so I ended up with 5 e-​mail receipts.
The smoking area was oddly still on the grounds, but very prison yard esque. No re-​entry. Parking in North Park sucks, so that’s not the Irenic’s fault, but making everyone wait with limited staff at entry was pretty weak. Will Call waiting in line with everyone else. Maybe you would see the situation if you weren’t on your phone double tapping IG pics instead of doing your job. It would have been super easy to do will call line and ticket line.
Nothing outstanding, nothing downgradable, just some dumb rule on the will call line that annoyed me.

This venue was interesting. Everything about it was cool, but I think the crowd threw it off. I guess I haven’t been to an all ages show in a while, and forgot was it was like to hang with people under 21. :-/
The band was great (Tennis). The sound was great. The stage was hard to see because there was a step up right in front so, everyone standing in front was elevated. If you like to stand right up against the stage or if you are short, get there early to step up there. Otherwise, you probably won’t be able to see the band very well. I think I probably spent most of the show hopping around trying to get a glimpse.
Beers were pretty cheap and there was a small selection. I think it was PBR and Sierra Nevada. There was also wine, I think.
I think everything about this venue was pretty good, but I would have been better if there wasn’t a step right in front of the stage.

I’ve been here twice now — first to see Crystal Fighters last year, then Andrew Jackson Jihad last night, which was an awesome show! Yes, this place is a church. If you can get over that factor though (which really is not that big a deal at all) then you’ll see what makes this little venue so neat.
Firstly, it’s right smack in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, which I actually like a lot. Going to a show here doesn’t require dedicating an entire night to getting dressed and going out. It’s chill — just see a show and that’s it. There’s bars, breweries and restaurants within blocks of the venue, as it’s right between El Cajon Blvd and University, in case you do want to make a night of it.
They serve beer — $ 3 for PBR, $ 5 for Stella and others. They also have red/​white wine. No food.
The audio was great both times I went. There’s a huge smoking patio area and the bands often come out and chill there after sets.
If you’re only into grimey venues with stickers and graffiti littered on every square inch of the place then I wouldn’t recommend this spot. If you don’t mind a pristine and clean environment while listening to bands play then you’re in luck!

This tiny theatre would be great if they turned up the AC. It’s cooler outside! I’m here for a Burlesque show & it’s only gonna get hotter! ;)
Now it’s intermission; the show is fantastic, the acoustics are great but damn it’s hot!

The Irenic definitely deviates from typical music venues, as it is not 100% a music venue. It’s not an old abandoned church. It is an active thriving church in an old building, and the church rents out the space to the Casbah some nights for live music shows and puts on a different banner when it does.
I recently saw a show here and the singer-songwriter’s plans to have clever lights during her songs just wasn’t happening so she joked to the audience that the lights were merely metaphors. As the Irenic is an old building, there were electrical issues that prevented this unfortunately. Also, while sound issues weren’t terrible, we definitely noticed that the singer’s mike needed to be turned up at times. I have seen this singer perform three times before and this was probably not the best in terms of sound quality but it was good enough. Given that the tickets were only $ 20 and that the Irenic is convenient to get to, I didn’t care. It’s much better then having to catch these smaller singers up at a tiny bar in Los Angeles.
They set up a bar at the back with beer and wine for $ 3-​$ 5, sodas for $ 2 and bottled water for $ 1.
The open standing-​room-​only space in front of the stage is at an incline, so I like that I can stand in the middle of the room and have a good view of the stage.
I noticed that it was super hot during the show as the building probably doesn’t do so well with air conditioning so many people. The bathrooms (oh so pink!) also have old plumbing but are clean.
Parking is not hard as you can just park in the neighborhood and along El Cajon Blvd and while it’s not the safest part of North Park, it’s def not as sketchy as City Heights.

This is a very odd place to have a venue it’s at an old church that’s in the heart of a neighborhood complete with a grocery store and many family homes.
We came here to see Hot Water Music & Flatliners the show started super early 6:30 on a Wednesday night and was over by 10:00 a bit early for a show and it made it kinda difficult to get down to SD from OC before start time and go to dinner.
The venue was all ages so that was super cool for those kids who wanted to go and it was rad that they sold beer inside because a show and a cold beer go hand in hand!
They had a mellow outdoor area that was perfect to escape the warm atmosphere that the show created inside.
The sound wasn’t amazing but definitely not as bad as it could have been it sounded good for being inside the strange area that once was a church.
Hot Water Music was awesome and played a good amount of the favorites the crowd was mellow with a few crowd surfers nothing out of the ordinary. Overall this venue wasn’t that bad and I’d possibly think about coming back here sometime if someone I like is playing again.

Four stars for the venue. It’s small, cramped and hot. It was a church. Get over it.
One extra star to irritate the jaded, edgy hipsters with unreasonable expectations.

Honestly, this venue gets a worse rep than it deserves. Like some users noted, when you’re paying $ 10-​$ 20 to see a show you’re not going to get a first class, Broadway experience. But The Irenic is unique and has a fun atmosphere. The lights and music are decent, definitely not something to complain on end about. The proceeds benefit Urban Angels, which is a nice touch. And drinks and food are CHEAP! $ 4 wine and $ 4-​$ 6 beer (even IPAs!). Also, you can get reeeeeaalllyy close to the band and sometimes meet them afterwards, which is always a good perk. Overall, a solid 4 star experience!
Ps– parking does suck though, so leave early!

This place always has good music, and that’s the only reason why I came.
Tickets are overpriced
It gets extremely hot inside
The sound isn’t good
The employees are ass holes
Parking is horrible
Curfew is at 10…
Overall I will never be coming back to San Diego for any Soda Bar events

Ok, so here’s the skinny on the Irenic.
Went to see Crystal Fighters — only about 100 people there on a Tuesday night.
Parking totally sucked. Stupid North Park it’s the new PB when it comes to parking.
A/​C was kicking and it was never stuffy.
The stage is pretty roomy and deep to hold a decent sized band, but the drummer was kind of lost from where I was standing.
The outside area for smoking is the courtyard of the church compound. It was ok and well lit.
The bar is a folding table with a beer/​wine setup.
The bathrooms were very similar to those in my high school. Old school tile and adequate.
The architecture is very interesting, because it actually has some character; unlike most venues in San Diego (SOMA, I“m talking to you).
The sound was absolutely awful. The band I saw is known for their full sound and it was completely washout out and treble heavy. I don’t know if it is because there didn’t seem to be a serious/​permanent set up or because of the fact that the building is one big room with a balcony.
I would love this place if they could figure out how to fix the sound problem.

All ages music venue in what is (used to be?) a church. Shows start early and end by 11 pm, which I’m a fan of — those midweek shows really put a damper on my next-​day work productivity.
A-​OK.