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.

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

The food was horrible! It wasn't as expected & quality was poor. Dominoes opposite was looking…read morebetter by the minute. Lift your game guys! Fries were nice, and it was open on a Monday. Disappointing for us travellers.

No swamp juice ... One (1) star! Really wanted a swamp juice, which is why I purchased a $30 ticket…read more(plus booking fees), only to find out there was none left! And at 20:30 to boot! Disappointed! I will, however, be coming back for the Over and Over Indie Night, cause y'all know I'm a slut for Miike Snow!

As a young adult who never quite grew out of that awkward "college rock" or "scene/emo" phase, this…read moreis one of my favourite places. Before moving I was a Regular - a status earned after attending for six weeks in a row every Thu-Sat night, or when other Regulars recognise you despite being in some sort of costume. There are always themed nights, so look them up on Facebook if you want to get the most out of your night. They run Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights, and occasionally on Sunday evenings. The beergarden and smoking area are free, and there is a fully-stocked bar in the beergarden plus excellent coverings for rainy weather. Music such as Fall Out Boy and Blink-182 is always coming through the speakers in this outdoor area, loud enough to be heard yet not so loud that you can't talk at a regular volume. There is also access to the toilets from the beergarden. It costs between $15 and $25 for entry into the main room where the bands play. Inside you'll find the main stage, a large dancefloor, a "makeout corner" with appropriate lighting, and another fully-stocked bar. The DJs usually play a variety of punk, emo/scene, hardcore, metal, and party hits, enough to keep you dancing all night, and rumour goes that if you buy the DJ a drink, you are likely to have your requested song played sooner rather than later. Drinks aren't terribly pricey, and there is an ATM available in the sitting room. On certain event nights (Halloween, New Years', Australia Day, etc), a third section in a car park is opened with a second stage and third bar. The vibe is very much like a house party gone wild, and I have never heard of the venue closing before 4am. In order to maximise your nights' fun, I recommend looking up the Facebook page and searching the event. There are hosts who can also provide you with VIP cards, which means discounts on drinks (standard price ranges from $6 for beer to $20 for cocktails) and other bonuses. If you're a fan of any Destroy All Lines club, this is the ideal party place for you :)

If you didn't know this place was here, I doubt you would find it. And that's part of the appeal…read more Walk into the very unassuming doorway under the simply lit "BAR" sign, wander down the dimly lit stairway, and all of a sudden, you're in a whole different country. Brooklyn Standard is a very cozy underground bar, themed (as per the name) in a very American way. Having just come back from a 3 week holiday in America, this place just totally appealed to us in just the right way :) It has a very casual feel to the place, and you can easily sit at the bar, or hideaway in a booth. They've got a good selection of beers including our personal favourite American Beer - Blue Moon. Some on tap, some in bottles. They've also got a very interesting selection of cocktails, one that even includes root beer, which is absolutely delicious! To make things even better, they have live music every night from about 7.30pm, and serve free pretzels. Beers are about $8.50, cocktails range from $14-$16. Note though, and this has also been mentioned in other reviews - those pretzels are the only food that you will find here. This is purely a drinks and cocktails bar. Still, I rate this 5 out of 5, and will definitely be back.

What better location to stay out a looming storm than a bar that instantly feels like everyone…read moremight know your name? Brooklyn Standard is classier than Coyote Ugly but not the type of place to have an exclusive guest list, this "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" venue gives the CBD a cool and classic bar to enjoy a few brews (or cocktails) with a live band playing. It's frills and whistles are few but, you know, when you're the cool kid you just are. You don't need to do a song and dance about it. And that's Brooklyn Standard. It was a grand spot to catch up with a girlfriend and we enjoyed table service. There is no food menu - it's a bar in the truest sense and the most you'll get to devour is a bowl of tasty pretzels. Between her beers, my one cocktail and a cider we left satisfied and surprisingly not a lot poorer. The prices are reasonable and not about to skin your purse alive. The underground cavern is cosy and there's table & chair dining or booths for the more romantic gestures. Of course, it's early days but I can't wait to return. It's the friend you don't have to pretend around - you can just be yourself.

This place is nothing short of awesome, but a part of that probably has a lot to do with it being a…read morelive music venue. In fact, from a quick glance around the place (and based on my limited knowledge of The Valley) this literally appears to be 'the' live music venue in the Valley. Okay, when I was there, the band room was closed, but that probably had something to do with it being midday. However, the beer garden down the side was awesome, and not only that but they also had a great range of beers. This is certainly a placed I'd want to return to.

Good live music venues are one in a million and The Triffid is definitely heading up that category…read morein Brisbane. I headed there for the Secret Sounds Big Sound Launch Party and the venue was filled with industry and music lovers. I was impressed with the management of queues with that many people there. I easily grabbed a drinks, which is hard at any bush music venue, let alone one filled with a room filled with about to embark on a week long live music party. They had an inhouse food truck and my veggie nachos were bloody delicious. We went inside to watch the bands and I was wowed by the hanger the stage is held in. The acoustics were perfect and while it was busy, you could move easily. Getting drinks inside the live room was just as easy. The bar staff were quick which was a relief as I wanted to concentrate on the music rather than lining up. I didn't realise how diverse the venue was. It seems they have live music in the garden regularly, and after a great time last night, I'll be back.

When I first heard about the opening of Oh Hello, I was pretty excited. Mostly because I hated…read moreMonastery, and I was really interested to see how they were going to utilise the space it left. Really, it's essentially still the same place without the far-too-heavy, mind-numbing beats and laser lights. Oh Hello is still a little pretentious too, but in a slightly classier way I think? Considering the few times I've gone, I've seen people in bowties and ball gowns, obviously swinging by after an event. But then I suppose within a glance you can see these types of people and then see others with ratstails so, maybe Oh Hello is a place for everyone? In saying that, I probably would go there willingly for a night of dancing, plus their Thursday Cobra Kai club night showcases some pretty excellent international and Australian bands like the Jungle Giants, Oscar N Martin, The Aston Shuffle, Jinja Safari, some pretty excellent themed nights, and fashion showcases. So on any given night/Thursday/Saturday, Oh Hello has something to offer everyone. The outside sitting area is simple with milk crates as chairs, but I'm liking this simple trend and I think it works for Oh Hello. Only go if you intend to stick around for more than ten minutes because on the weekend entry costs at least $15.

Oh Hello boasts some pretty powerful Australian and international acts most weekends. Even though…read moreits extremely small (but let's talk about how the ladies bathroom is huge. HUGE!) I really like the atmosphere. I've seen The Aston Shuttle, Last Dinosaurs and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs just to name a few. I like the fact you can see the act from pretty much anywhere due to the raised stage. The bar runs along pretty much the whole left wall so it doesn't take very long to squeeze in and get a drink. I can't pretend I ever went to Monastery, but I think Oh Hello is a great addition to the Brisbane music scene despite it's size. I'm not sure how many good years it has left as it seems to be more on the backbench now in relation to new clubs such as Alhambra Lounge and Bowler, but I'm sure The Arcade Creative, the team behind the venue, has something else up their sleeve.

I remember how much hype there was behind this bars opening,…read morebut I was mostly excited for Brisbane to have another alternative music venue in the Valley. Woodland's is a bar/venue run by the owner of the Outpost so you know it will have that indie flair. The decor is pretty, with woodland paintings behind the stage (and in one instance a giant dinosaur in honour of the Velociraptors show.) ...The 1000000 stairs leading up to the club however, frankly terrify me when sober and turn into a bit of a mission after 2am. The acoustics can also get pretty terrible, you have to be prepared for minor hearing loss as your friend's communication methods resort to a mixture of YELLING LOUDLY into eardrums and hand signals. That being said I've been pretty impressed by the number of really good gigs I've seen here and the effort the club put's into the promotion. (some of the club posters are real works of art.) Some nights are free before 10pm but can be $5-20 depending on who's playing. Don't forget to say hello to the fabulous doorman/resident coolguy Miguel and enjoy your night in the Wood!

Wanna dance, but sick of Ric's (gasp!)? Want to see some interesting live music? Want to linger…read morearound at the end of an alley smoking with your friends? Woodland is your man! Not even two years old, Woodland has quickly become the hang-out of choice for the Valley's indie scene. When the Depot died, they headed to 299, when 299 died they headed to ennui, and now Woodland has come to save the day. Although the cover can sometimes be rather too much, once you're in you're guaranteed to have a long-lasting good time. Woodland is basically a big warehouse type room upstairs behind the Mustang Bar. You have to go a block back from the street and down an alley to get there, but if you just follow the cool kids you should find it with no trouble because these days it's definitely the place to be. I can count on waaaay too many hands the amount of times I've lurched down Woodland's back staircase in early daylight when I was meant to be 'just going for a few songs'. But if that's not a good indicator of a fun venue, I don't know what it. One of the best things about Woodland is that you never quite know what you're going to get, but you can bet that it'll almost always involve a lot of dancing and a lot of drinking!

It's not so much the pub that draws me in to the Step Inn as much as it is the bands. It was one of…read morethe better venues for local bands to play at for a while there. Now it's home to some trance nights and I hear strong reports that the Step Inn is still a good place to get loose. The space is a little awkward in that the different sections of the pub are organised strangely. There's not much seating in any of the rooms outside of the corner bar, and even then it's not really comfortable. The beers are relatively cheap, and if you see a good gig, you won't have that much to complain about. It is a rough and ready pub, and you should perhaps come there a little rough and ready yourself.

I've been to the Step Inn a few times to see friends play and it's always been a great experience…read more (It's clean, central, and the drinks are relatively cheap.) They've got a few areas packed into the space; the first, a separate bar area where more unknown bands play, the other an open area complete with a stage, snooker tables, old school arcade games, and pokies. It's a great venue to frequent if you want to support local Brisbane bands, but make sure you eat dinner beforehand. They don't serve food here and don't welcome it either; my chips and I were booted out the door. Besides that, they don't have many strict rules besides wearing hard soled shoes.

It doesn't look like much of a club from the outside, more like an old Beach House... but on the…read moreinside, it is a classy little Jazzy dive. I went here for the Ozmanouche Festival Final night, it was amazing. The sheer talent from all over Australia which comes here during this Festival to play is amazing. If you are a jazz lover like I am, you should definetely check this place out. It is the Brisbane hub of all things Jazz, events through the year, you can go as a member/non-member, usually there is some sort of fee to go to an event, but it's a reasonable price. You can even volunteer if you have free time to give. The prices may be a little up there for the food and drink with a lemon lime and bitters going to $4. But for the ambience, music, talent and experience, it's worth it.

The Brisbane Jazz Club is a not-for-profit that has a house band, it's own building (a former boat…read moreshed) that survived floods of 1974 and 2011, and which books national and international acts. The place is attractive for its location, as an alternative night out, for the good drinks, but first of all of course as a live Jazz venue. The setting feels like a real venue of old with a series of tables placed on a sloping surface toward the stage. With a glass half-empty outlook one could say that it feels a bit cramped; I'd prefer the glass half-full approach where it is clearly nice that some extra space between rows of chairs allows for dinner and a more total experience. That dinner was not the highlight in our case (with uber-mild green curry - but very nice pork fillet with sweet potato) but the bar was excellent. Add to that the unique riverside location with great views of the city skyline (and the CityCat serenely gliding by at regular intervals) from the deck but also from inside the club during the performances, and you're bound to have a great night out.