The Pickle

This week we had intended to take a couple nights off from the reviews and just relax. But of course I'm sure you already know that won't happen! Already last night we were out and about taking lots of pictures and more video footage of the Eau Claire Night Life. To keep the reviews going we have some data from the last time we were at The Pickle. For those of you that don't know (however few you might be) The Pickle is located at 341 Water Street, you can also find them at their Myspace page.


There were a lot of bachelorette parties going on the evening we wrote down this information. Congratulations to Emily, Hope, and Casey... we hope your new husbands are treating you well! These three ladies were able to drink free on this wonderful evening and I'm not sure if this is policy, but if you are in need of a venue for your bachelorette party you may want to throw The Pickle onto your list so that the lady of the evening gets some free drinks. The funny part is a fourth bride-to-be, Leslie, shows up a bit later in the evening. She must have gotten the word about the free drinks!

We had arrived a bit late that night and so our first count happened at midnight. The Sausage Factor was great, with 35 guys and 39 girls we were sitting at a comfortable .90 guys to each girl. Perfect! The attractiveness rating according to our panel was a solid 9/10.

The next great part of the night occurred when we bought our first drinks. Thirsty Thursday is the name of the special and $1.25 domestic bottles are on the docket. Apparently Thursday is a great night to choose to head down to The Pickle!

We haven't really suggested any drinks up til this point, but one shot you need to make sure that you don't miss when out at The Pickle is the "Brett Favre Shot." The only ingredient that I was able to get out of our bartender was Red Bull. So Red Bull and some other fine liquors create a very nice shot that tastes just like your grandma's famous apple pie. Make sure you try one if you stop in!


Music at The Pickle is loud enough to be enjoyable, but not so much that it is over-bearing. This dance music creates a lively experience for the crowd and much of the standing area blends into dance floor as people pick up and move with the music wherever they happen to be.

As far as the layout goes we found 2 large LCDs with sports playing and 3 dart boards being used off to the side in the main bar area. In the back of The Pickle we find a pool table, foosball table, another dart board. There is a smaller bar back here as well and a small outside area where patrons are able to enjoy the fresh air.

Here are some pictures of our fun times last night at The Pickle:








We weren't able to stay all night this time and so we're going to have to go with the current numbers. The 9/10 Attractiveness Rating and .90 Sausage Factor are the biggest pluses. The music is enjoyable and people are almost always dancing. We're going to have to go with a 5/5 Beer Rating this time. We'll have to take some more time out soon to see if they maintain this rating throughout an entire evening.

Beer Rating: 5/5
Sausage Factor: 0.90
Attractiveness Rating: 9/10

Friday Night Fights Under the Lights - Week 2

Lots of great fighting occurred this past weekend and we know that many of you have been coming to the site looking for some of the matches. We've been producing the video footage over the past few days and have just finished up last week's Iron Man Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts DVD which will be available at Whiskey Dicks very soon. Remember that you can still pick up the first week of Semi-Final matches for $10. By this Friday the 2nd week of Semi-Final matches should be available as well. Just give a call to Whiskey Dicks or stop in to get your copies. This past weekend's DVD includes over an hour of footage and some explosive matches!

Those of you present for the fighting will remember these results but for those of you not present here we go:

Iron Man Kickboxing
Match 1: W - Allen Norris, Hvywt.
Match 2: W - Reed Pecha, Lt. Hvywt.
Match 3: W - Josh "The H Man" Timmons, Hvywt.
Match 4: W - Adam Kmivcrak, Hvywt.

Mixed Martial Arts
Match 1: W - Eugene "The Vanilla Thrilla" Bertrang, Mdlwt.
Match 2: W - Allen Fike, Mdlwt.

Main Event - Iron Man Kickboxing
Main Event: W - PJ "The Lionhearted" Picotte

We will be cutting some footage for those of you that wish to catch it here on the blog, but it will take some time as we decide which pieces to show. Some of you may not realize this, but we are only able to stream 100MB worth of footage through Youtube at a time. This much footage equates to maybe 10 minutes of fighting. The amount of video we took last Friday is over an hours worth of fighting. We may have to cut some of the footage short, or at least break it down into segments. Watch for this footage soon and remember to email if you think some clips might be missing. Instead of breaking up matches in a fashion that makes them difficult to watch we may just pick highlights from each match. We'll see what we can do!

For the time being what we are going to do is throw up some footage of the wrestling matches from Saturday night's AAW Pro Wrestling matches. Along with this footage we'd like to remind you that the weekend of the 28th is going to be another great one for fights. Not only will there be the Grand Championship matches for the winners of the Semi-Finals over the past two weeks for the Iron Man Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts competition on Friday the 28th, but there will also be another great night of Professional Wrestling on Saturday the 29th, again from the AAW. The word on the street is that Haystacks a 600+ lb. wrestling giant is going to be present for that evening's wrestling action.

The first footage from this past weekend will be up soon. This wrestling match took roughly 20 minutes from start to finish and so it is broken up into two clips. The stars of this match include David Bonner who you will recognize as the Scottish man in his kilt and "Superstar" Steven Stardon. Watch for these clips to pop up within the hour as I upload them to Youtube:

Dewey's Roadhouse - Crusade for Chaos Tour 2007

Last night we made our way up HWY 53 to Chippewa Falls for Cooper's Crusade for Chaos Tour 2007. Lots of pictures and video footage were taken and we're going to start off by throwing some of that footage up on the blog. The review and commentary for Dewey's Roadhouse will come a bit later.

Our host and hostess for tonight's Crusade for Chaos Tour were Cooper from 99.9 "The Carp" and Hannah Harper Penthouse Pet & Adult Film Starlet respectively. Bands for the evening included Livid, Bitter, and Suidice. Here we find Cooper and Sleaze looking over the merchandise Hannah has brought with her this evening.


Our hostess for the evening is Hannah Harper, Penthouse Pet and Adult Film Starlet:



I was able to get some alone time with Hannah Harper to answer some questions about the Adult Entertainment Industry. This is what she had to say:

EauClaireBars.com - What advice do you have for anyone interested in entering the adult film business?

Hannah - Sit down alone and set your boundaries. Make sure to write them down. Do this because there will always be people trying to push you beyond them. I think this is the key to having fun in the industry. The industry is a very social and fun environment.

EauClaireBars.com - What made you decide to go into adult entertainment?

Hannah - Actually, typical porn girl story. My ex-boyfriend thought it would be a great idea. I did a couple of shoots back in the UK and loved it.

EauClaireBars.com - How long have you been in adult entertainment?

Hannah - Hah! Longer than I'd like to admit at this point - 7 years.

EauClaireBars.com - How does the adult entertainment business work its way into this concert event?

Hannah - I think the music industry and adult industry have always had a fascination with each other. Rock stars love girls and girls love rock stars. Plus, they live a very similar lifestyle.

Cooper and Hannah introducing the bands:


Some live Livid footage:


Live Bitter performance:


Live Suidice:









Hannah gave us a couple autographed pictures, here's the one we can show on the blog:


We'd like to thank Hannah Harper for her time spent answering our questions. If you would like to know more about Hannah you can find more information on her website hannahharper.net. We'd also like to thank Dewey for having us out for the evening to enjoy this great live music. We had a great time and Semper Fi!

Hopefully that footage will keep you satisfied while we get ready for Friday Night Fights Under the Lights at Whiskey Dicks. This week is the second set of Semi-Final matches for this month of great fights. Another evening of Iron Man and Mixed Martial Arts competition courtesy of 'Nuff Said Fight Club along with Whiskey Dicks and Budweiser. Something fun to add is that we've been able to throw together some DVDs containing footage from last week's Semi-Finals. Those DVDs will be available this evening at the fights so if you want your own copy ask Brad for more information. That's it for now we'll see you out at Whiskey Dicks tonight!

O'leary's

After starting out at Clancy's our party made a trip up to O'leary's last Saturday night to catch the music of the Elements. O'leary's is part of the Quality Inn Conference Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Much of our time spent at O'leary's was listening to and videoing much of the music from the Elements. You can find the Elements often at their Myspace page.

Upon arrival we took a quick head count to find 76.5 guys and 48.5 girls present. Don't ask about the .5s, or rather, if you do make sure you ask Joey... he'll be able to assist you more than I at this point in time. This put us at a Sausage Factor of 1.58 which isn't the best but isn't all that bad either. The Attractiveness Rating weighed in around 5/10. The crowd varied a lot in age we found. It seems that anyone and everyone is able to call O'leary's home. If we were to guess we'd say the crowd aged from 21 to 65, but we can't be sure.


The layout of the bar facilitates the live music this evening. You will find a number of tables and chairs set up right behind the dancing area that resides directly in front of the band. This dance floor is so close that at times girls would hop right up on the stage to dance with the band while they are playing. There are other tables along the sides of the room and wait staff can be found walking around to see that you are taken care of. The bar itself is located directly in front of the doors as you come in. The restrooms are located down a hallway outside of the main bar area. Probably the only bad part of the evening occurred when there was no toilet paper to be found in the women's bathroom by our female counterparts. The men's restroom wasn't really up to par either. One patron was overheard noting that one of the stalls no longer possesses an attached toilet.


The greatest thing about O'leary's this evening is the music and the greatest thing about the music is that it causes the dance floor to always be full. Many, and I mean many people were enjoying the live music by moving their feet and singing along. The Elements are a high energy cover band and they really bring some great sounds to the table when they play. We enjoyed a great atmosphere with an interesting and diverse crowd make-up. O'leary's does a nice job of blending the dance floor and bar into a nice lounge feel.

Here are two clips from the evening detailing the music of the band and the dancing of the crowd:





After the band stopped playing the crowd began to dissipate. At 2am there were 40 guys and 26 girls left finishing up their drinks. The Attractiveness Rating had risen to about 6/10 and the Sausage Factor now weighed in at a 1.54. Overall we would have to say that we really enjoyed the live music and dancing. This is yet another great spot for live music in the Chippewa Valley area.

As the night ends we find the music to have been great, but the experience outside from that to be a bit lacking. The restrooms along with some not-so-great readings weighed the experience down and we still ended up with a 4/5 Beer Rating. Though the experience is very close to a 3... we'll have to stop in again to see some more great music and if the restrooms have improved.

Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 1.56
Attractiveness Rating: 6/10

Clancy's

Saturday evening we decided to take a trip to historic downtown for an evening with those of you at Clancy's. Clancy's is located at 414 South Barstow Street in downtown Eau Claire. Known in some circles as the "Irish Parrot Bar", Clancy's is a place where you can find sports on the tube, socializing, drinking, smoking, pool, darts, and most often closing time...

Five us made the trip down to Clancy's tonight and at around 10pm the bar contained 10 girls and 10 guys for a nice 1:1 Sausage Factor with a nice Attractiveness Rating of 7/10. The first thing we noticed was that the music here is different than most bars we frequent. Instead of being over-bearing the music at Clancy's is just loud enough to enjoy, but not so loud that the crowd produces a dull roar from having to yell conversations back and forth.

At Clancy's you will find 2 dart boards, 3 video machines, 2 arcade games, 2 TVs playing sports (football this evening), 1 pool table, and a jukebox. There isn't a kitchen at Clancy's so if you're hungry for sit-down food you'll want to have it enroute. The bar's layout is somewhat small, but that's normal throughout the historic downtown area. It's great for socializing but may not be suitable for large parties.

We spent a lot of time doing what Clancy's is good for, socializing with our friends. This is especially nice after a long day. At midnight there were 19 guys to the 15 girls present for a Factor of 1.27. The Attractiveness Rating stayed strong at a 7/10.

We really enjoyed our experience at Clancy's, the bartenders are great and ready to participate in a round of shots whenever the opportunity presents itself. The restrooms are kept up and the history of the place sets the mood as soon as you enter the doors. We came up with a 5/5 Beer Rating for one of Eau Claire's great closing-time bars before heading up to O'leary's to catch a local cover band, the Elements, for some fun song and dance.

Beer Rating: 5/5
Sausage Factor: 1.14
Attractiveness Rating: 7/10

Friday Night Fights Under the Lights

The first of three fight nights took place last night at Whiskey Dicks. There were many different styles exhibited this evening and many great fighters present. Everyone had a great time watching these great fighters participate in the first of what is destined to be an annual event here at Whiskey Dicks. All of this action was brought to us by Budweiser, Whiskey Dicks, and 'Nuff Said Fight Club - Feed My Addiction Tattoos and Body Piercing here in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. You can find more information about these fight nights along with other local events at the 'Nuff Said Fight Club Website.



There were so many great fights tonight, but if you weren't present to see them don't worry because you still have a couple of options available to you. The first of these options is for you to come out next Friday night to Whiskey Dicks for the second set of Semi Final matches and then again the following Friday for the Grand Championship matches. The second option is for you to stick around as I produce footage taken of the actual fights. You will be able to find them here at EauClaireBars.com as soon as they are complete!

I'll go ahead and start you off with our Main Event for the evening, "Gibby" Gibson vs. Picotte.



And more fight footage:













Ok I should finally have all of the fight videos cut, if there is any footage that you think might be missing email me at bars@eauclairenetwork.com thanks! These Eau Claire Iron Man and Mixed Martial Arts fights are brought to you by Eau Claire Bars - the Blog.

Some more pictures from this evening:

Orestus - No Loving Place - Jaggernauts

Last evening was a night of hard rocking music and great fun at Whiskey Dicks with the guys from Orestus, No Loving Place, and The Jaggernauts. All three of these bands are hardcore rockers with a lot of presence and energy. Apparently Whiskey Dicks is going to be having live music throughout the year on Thursday nights. We'll have to stay tuned for more information about these local music events.

Leading off for the evening are The Jaggernauts with their energetic hard rock sounds. Their Myspace page is located here. Band members include Noel Hanson, Chris Ramey, Matt Florence, and Joey G. They describe their sound as "Power Pop with an experimental flair. Remember F*CK the word Experimental!!". On their calendar you can find two more gigs later this month at The House of Rock on the 15th and 28th.




Second to play this evening are the guys of No Loving Place. Their music has been described as having "heavy crunching guitars with hypnotic melodies". Band members include Rick St. Germine, Tony Stamm, Rich Till, Lance Harris, and Brad Hanson. If you want to sample their music head on over to their Myspace page. They will be playing on the 22nd of this month at The House of Rock.




The final band playing for the evening was Orestus. You can find them at their Myspace page. Band members include Michael Kording, Jason Ulwelling, Michael Johnson, Michael Donaldson, Rob Zimmerman, and Enricho Poehls. Their music has been described as "a rollercoaster of sound and imagery from start to finish". You can find them at their next gig down on Water Street on the 15th and again on the 28th of September at The House of Rock.




Jäger Bombs with the guys from Orestus:



For a Thursday night there was a nice crowd out enjoying the hard rocking sounds of these three bands. It was a great experience for all and an awesome opportunity to hear some local music!

Tonight we're going to be heading out to Whiskey Dicks yet again! This time for their "Friday Night Fights Under the Lights". This event is a three night long competition for the 2007 Iron Man Contest - Kickboxing Tournament sponsored by Whiskey Dicks and Nuff Said Fight Club out of Eau Claire, WI. If you're looking for a great time and some heavy-hitting action then head out to Whiskey Dicks. Tickets are available at Whiskey Dicks and Nuff Said Fight Club. Ringside tickets are $20 and General Admission is $10. In addition to the fights there is also something for the girls. In between matches there will be a Wet T-Shirt Contest with $100's in Cash and Prizes. This event will span over three days with Semi Finals tonight and then again on the 14th, and the Grand Championship on the 28th.


For now I'll go ahead and leave off with a few pics of the rest of the evening and the crowd that was out for this evening's fun and festivities.

Whiskey Dicks - Take Two

Wow what a busy week is was last week! Classes start up again soon and you can definitely tell by how busy the night life in Eau Claire has been recently. We spent this past weekend out and about on Water Street but I'll have to write about that a bit later. Right now we're going to go into last Saturday night's fun at Whiskey Dicks. It was the 25th of August and we arrived around 10:30pm after a primer at Double Days. This was our second review of Whiskey Dicks. Since we hadn't been there in a while, we thought we should see if they were still living up to their reputation.


The entrance area was not so busy this evening. Most of the action was in the main bar on the dance floor and out on the patio where many people were playing the bean bag toss game. When we took our head count we found a Sausage Factor of 1.24 with 41 guys and 33 girls total. This was pretty good and not far off from the last time we were here. The Attractiveness Rating starting the night out was close to a 9/10 which was definitely nice.


To start the evening out we headed straight for the patio and the tiki bar. I would have to say that this area is our favorite. There was a total of 11 of us out this evening for drinks and fun. Some of us reviewing and the rest just participating in the festivities. Of the many quotes we hear from those around us the most often spoken was that this is the best tiki bar in Eau Claire and that the tropical island feeling is definitely present. Some even say that it doesn't feel like you're in Eau Claire anymore when you're on that patio.



We spent the majority of the evening out in the tiki bar. It wasn't until our midnight readings that we finally left and moved into the main bar. We took some polls from the crowd and according to our panel of judges as well as the crowd the Attractiveness Rating had dipped to a 6/10. However there is a silver lining on every cloud because our head count produced the following numbers: Sausage Factor = 1.10 with 76 guys and 69 girls.



Some of the music is popular older songs, but for the most part it is primarily top 40 dance and rap music.


While we were in the dance floor area we were also able to meet up with a couple of the Carp Calendar Cuties for 2008. Lindsay and Sadie, Miss October and November respectively, were out for some wining and dining this evening. Apparently Whiskey Dicks is on their list of places to dance and have a good time. You'll find Sadie on the left and Lindsay on the right:


And here's Sadie again with Whiskey Dicks owner Brad:


Soon we began to long for a release from the loud music and dancing in the main bar, and so we moved out to the front bar and grabbed a couple tables. This is when the Paulsrud and Severson Massage Parlor opened up. The services are highly recommended, though the waiting list is always long!


The layout is the best part of Whiskey Dicks and we went into much detail with our first review. There are not a lot of places where you can find three entirely different experiences within the same establishment. If you're up for loud music and dancing it's there. And if you want to totally forget about the loud club scene you can by moving to the patio or the entrance area. This is be biggest plus for any group heading out to Whiskey Dicks. It was also good for us when we reached the end of the evening.


Close to 2am we took the final readings and found a Sausage Factor of 1.07... this is very consistent with Whiskey Dicks. 74 guys and 69 girls present, these are the types of numbers that guys like to see. However, we did find that the Attractiveness Rating had dropped to a poor poor 3/10... Everything had been looking so good at the start of the night too! Our panel of judges for the evening included the six girls in our party so this rating wasn't biased.


Tonight we found Whiskey Dicks to be another one of our good experiences. We had a great time right up until the Attractiveness Factor dipped to a 3/10. The Sausage Factor was great for the entire evening. It took a lot of thinking to come up with the final beer rating for the entire experience. For those present with us this evening there were many mixed ratings, but overall we had a great time. It was obvious that we wanted to leave the dance floor at the end of the night and the beauty of Whiskey Dicks is that we were able to by just traveling a few feet to the front bar. I think that we're going to have to rate it another 5/5 night. We will have to keep tabs on them to see if their late night starts looking better tho!

Beer Rating: 5/5
Sausage Factor: 1.14
Attractiveness Rating: 6/10