This is the third time I've been to Crowbar and I'm in love…read more My first experience was a Saturday night. They had a stellar line up of girl bands on downstairs and upstairs was starting to get busy. We grabbed a mix of cocktails and spirits a were lucky to nab the last table. The crowd was the expected mix of hipsters, punks, rockers and general awesome humans. We had a mix of cocktails and Jack's cans ($10? Why, thank you, sir) and grabbed the last table upstairs. Downstairs was filling up quickly with people there to see the all girl live music line up for the night and I was a little saddened by the fact that my friends and I had plans so we couldn't head downstairs and rock out. The second time I went to Crow bar was for the secret and impromptu gig for #keepcommunityradio, featuring Smith Street Band and Violent Soho. First off, they managed the crowd so freaking well. The gig was announced at about 12.30pm and they opened to doors at 3pm. It was at capacity by 3.10pm. From a logistical point of view, they completely nailed it. From a line up point of view, it was killer. The vibe was outstanding and everyone was just there to have fun and support their community. Also, the accoustics in that venue our outstanding. I popped in for a quick drink before I met a friend on Wednesday night was met with the great surprise of a movie night. The crew open the doors and put on pizzas and a movie for free from 5pm every Wednesday. This week they were showing the Pussy Riot film and I grabbed a seat the bar, sank a drink and enjoyed the movie until it was time for me to head off to meet my mate. Every time I've been to Crow bar the staff and the clientele have been freaking' awesome. Helpful, relaxed and inviting, they break every stereotype that a metal venue would unfortunately have. If you head to Crow Bar, be ready for your expectations to be blown out of the water. My next visit will definitely be on a Thursday for ladies night. $4 drinks, bubbles on arrival and I need to try their toasties.

One of my favourite live music venues. Metal, hardcore, punk, indie even cooking demonstrations!…read moreIt's a great intimate venue. Local bands usually on a Friday night costs a meagre $10. Great value. Lots of recent renovation means this bar has a lot to offer that sets it apart from other venues: A camera that livestreams the stage to the back of the venue onto wall TVs behind the bar so that you can watch the band. Handy for short people like myself! A small kitchen - Crowbar have recently partnered up with Bread and Meat Co to offer $3 sliders! The staff here are super friendly and no one is judged here! You'll find young and old alike here. Come here after bands on Saturday night for a go at Crowieoke/karaoke and sing in front of strangers.

As it was my first time, I didn't know what to expect. The location is great and easy to get to in…read morethe Valley. When we first walked in, the place wasn't too crowded. A few minutes later, the band got on stage and the place started filling up! The music was pretty good and everyone was dancing. Great place for groups to grab some drinks and dance without feeling that you need to dress up or anything. I didn't make it to the outdoor area so I would definitely be open to going back to check that out. A good place to stop on a pub crawl or start the night off. It's casual and everyone is welcome!

At first glance the Elephant and Wheelbarrow looks like just another old English pub with a typical…read morewooden interior and a carpeted floor. However there is much more to this pub than initially meets the eye. If you walk through the British style pub it leads you to the biggest beer garden in the Valley which is quite a nice surprise. The beer garden is perfect for nights out and accommodate allot of people which makes it prefect for those group nights out. The great thing about the Elephant and Wheelbarrow is that it has something happening every night of the week. The most noticeable of these are the great food deals. This includes 2 dollar steak nights on Sundays and 1 dollar taco nights on Tuesdays. These are just some of the examples of meals for under 10 dollars every day of the week. Don't be fooled by the cheap price however because the food is definitely up to standard. On Fridays there is also a great deal for groups of 5 people or more, this gives a group a meal platter worth 80 dollars when you book in. The Drink prices are fairly pricey however so this is where people wanting a cheap night out need to watch out as the cheap meal deal can quickly get pricey. There is also a wide range of live music nights such as Monday karaoke, live music on Sunday and a great range of other live local acts through the rest of the week. Personally I enjoy the Elephant Unplugged on Wednesday nights. The Web site is updated regularly and is a great way to find out more about events that are hosted by the Elephant and Wheelbarrow.

Music is just your run-of-the-mill dingy kareoke bar but that is exactly who karaoke bars should be…read morelike- especially if you are planning on adding alcohol consumption to the equasion. Going to Music City is a nice alternative to going to Fat Louies, a few blocks away. Like many Karaoke bars, rooms can be hired of various sizes depending on how many people you are, I find that a minnimum of 5 people makes a good night. These rooms are very basic; seats, a TV and some microphones. You can buy drinks and drunkedly sing the night away. Obviously, if you hate karaoke than you may want to avoid hanging out at Music City. For anyone who wishes to participate in the joys of karaoke- Music City is an alright place to go.

Cheap karaoke! $45/hr for up to 10 people and then $5/hr each additional person (though it can…read morebegin to get squishy after 12 people turn up)! It's BYO so this could be one of the cheapest ways to have fun in the city. You get two microphones, a tambourine and some maracas. The songs are listed in a display folder, with Korean and Japanese songs as well as lots of English songs from everything like Megadeth to Rick Astley to Backstreet Boys to Lady Gaga to Adele to Fall Out Boy! Unfortunately the songs are listed in alphabetical order by song title and not artist which makes it a little difficult. The remote has way more buttons than it probably needs but you are able to line up songs easily. The music videos appears to be stock cheesy Asian music videos and occasionally fish (hahaha !?!) which for some reason is way more hilarious than it probably is (alcohol-fuelled thoughts). This was my first time at karaoke and whilst I was a bit apprehensive at first. However, with good company and All The Small Things by Blink-182 playing I quickly was handed the mic and got into it! We booked for two hours but was allowed to continue for 20 minutes past our time even on a Saturday night! I know I'll be heading back for future cheap nights.

Fat Louie's is such an odd dingy place but for some reason, I keep coming back every couple of…read moremonths or so. This is a run down dingy looking karaoke/ pool hall that sometimes puts on punk and hardcore gigs (I find this really random). I do not think I could ever make this place my local but it has its perks. For instance- really cheap drinks. First time I came to Fat Louie's was for a friend's karaoke birthday event. Since it was a large group of us, we were placed in one of the larger karaoke rooms which consisted of a few tables, plenty of seating space and a descent size area for us to dance and groove away. The place looked like it had not been refurbished since the mid 90's but whatever, we all had a blast singing our favourite 90's tunes whilst sipping on $4 basic spirit drinks. Since that first experience, I have been here for a couple of drinks, punk shows and to play pool. That's another good thing about Fat Louie's- they have plenty of pool tables (I suck at pool, but I find it to be lots of fun anyway). Apart from the nights that they host gigs, the music they place here is really not my cup of tea- RnB, Hip Hop, Rap. I endure it though, because no where else in the city sells drinks as cheap as this place. Dispite its dinginess, Fat Louie's seems to have a strong following. At the end of the day, if you are having fun who cares if the walls aren't clean of the carpet is sticky.

This place has been here for what seems like forever. You almost have to know where it is to find…read moreit, heading into a small doorway and up some narrow stairs. If you want live music (bad metal bands with equally bad metal hair), cheap drinks, cheap pool and karaoke rooms, this is your place. Don't get me wrong. I'm rather fond of Fat Louie's. But it's incredibly dodgy, which is part of its charm. You WILL stick to the floor. There's an area with couches around booths, with vinyl seating for no doubt easy cleaning. It's dark, dingy, and feels like you're going to die if there's a fire. Just what you want for a late night visit to a bar. If you've never been, get down here.

I hate that I love Rics so much…read more I am loyal to coming here every Saturday night after my routine bottle of pink passion pop with my partner who I also met at Rics. (Can be a good place for socialising with young singles.. if your type is a struggling artist). The bar can pretty aesthetically pleasing in a teen angst kinda way. Watch out if you get secondhand ciggie smoke spewing sickness. The outdoor area resembles how I imagine a durrie factory on fire to smell. The bathroom situation is a bad time!!! One female toilet downstairs with no toilet paper is absolutely horrible. Also major warning: security guard 156 is transphobic, so pee with one eye open!!!!! If he finds you, your only options are to listen to 40 minutes of mansplaining or get kicked out. Choose wisely.

Walked in with a flyer from the bar saying it was happy hour from 9-10 at Ric's Karaoke and Ric's…read morebackyard, and when we asked if it was the right time were essentially told to fuck off by the bartender with shit all over his face. Would've been perfectly happy paying full price but completely ruined the vibe. Other bartender was nice enough explaining that he wasn't aware of the happy hour deal but we didn't want to stay because of the experience. Perhaps don't treat customers asking a simple question like shit, or maybe communicate with whoever is advertising happy hour deals AT THE BAR

I quite liked this pub, but maybe because not only was it quiet, and out of the way, but it was…read morealso rather large. Then again the fact that it was quite probably had more to do with me being there on a Monday than anything else. However, this pub was pretty cool and had some rather nice beers on tap as well. Oh, and they also had a circular pool table, which was rather odd.

The Brunswick Hotel is conveniently located on the corner of Brunswick and Kent Streets in New Farm…read moreand is a great place for a bargain. Endearingly rough around the edges, the Brunswick Hotel does not deal in pretension. Drink prices throughout the week are very reasonable, and the $10 lunch specials are great value for money. It can seem more of an older man's pub during the days, and is brightly lit inside with sports screens keeping the patrons up to date on every score you could imagine. It's not a bad place to catch up with a friend or two but if you're thinking about going, make it Thursday night - the karaoke is the stuff of legends

I went here one time with my legal teachers party on the veranda one after noon and it was nice old…read morebuilding and the food was good.

Now, depending on my mood, I can be a sucker for dive bars. Don't get me wrong, I relish the…read moreopportunity to dress up and act like a lady. But sometimes it's good to get reckless and a bit silly over some beers and some really, really terrible love music. Irish Murphy's doesn't necessarily have bad music (I'm also a sucker for an accent, especially Irish) but they certainly have the collective crowd keen on getting drunk and roaring along to an inaudible and stereotypically perfect karaoke song. Maybe it's the fact that Irish Murphy's adopts an appearance actually like an Irish pub, but I can't help but have a little fondness for it. I have to search for the fondness a little but believe me, it's there. It's just an ideal place to gather around a table and sling back a few casual (or not so casual) beers and get a little messy and fun. And when you've had a few, who can't join in with the crooning and tuning of the blokes on stage? The beer's fairly cheap, the company's not half bad, and the entertainment isn't sot stale either. I'm not trying to sound begrudging here, because like I said, I do have a soft spot for Irish Murphy's. I just like to be with a larger group of people and get a little silly in the name of fun. If you're after slurry banter and Irish accents, Irish Murphy's is the place to be.