This is a bar I've been dragged to way too many times and for reasons I still don't understand. If it's up to me, I won't be back again. It has a basic problem that there's no good place to sit anywhere if you have a group of friends with you.
Assuming there are seats open at the bar at primetime, when you most want to be out drinking (and that's a big assumption because there probably won't be seats open), your group is spread several people wide and not everyone can hear everyone over the music and other people. You want to be in that room because it's where the beer is, and where most of the people are, but it's hard to hang out in there because the space is too narrow and awkward. Then of course because you're having to stand behind your friend who's sitting at the bar, you're constantly moving out of the way of someone who's in line for the bathroom.
The upstairs is never open (that I've seen), so forget about that.
Then, on the ground level past the room with the bar and bar stools, you've got the big open room with ample tables and seating where they put bands. Whenever a band is there, the band usually sucks, so it's no fun to sit there then. Whenever no bands are there, the room is too dark and empty to hang out in and not feel like a weirdo. Or they turn on the light and then it's too bright. You're never in the sweet spot when you're in that room, with the right amount of lighting and non-shitty music.
Ironically, the best place to hang out at Big Muddy is outside the back door of the bar. Sometimes you can get away with taking a drink out there with you, and it can be fun to stand there and look at what's left of downtown Alton's industry. But I find it funny and telling that the best place to hang out is not actually part of the business. It's just a place where people stand when they go to Big Muddy because the bar itself isn't much to speak of, and yet all your friends want to go there anyway, so you can't just leave without having a drink. read more
