The Chippewa Valley has only a few extreme party events throughout the year. You know when they are and what I'm talking about: FATFAR, Halloween, New Year's Even, and the unforgettable Decadent Cabaret. We're going to talk a bit about this year's Decadent Cabaret which is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 6th and end on Saturday, March 7th.
What do events like these have in common?
Lots of Beer!
Great Live Music!
And... Lots of Scantily Clad Ladies Parading around in "SKIMPY" Costumes or Clothing
So what does this mean for you? What can you expect at the 30th Annual Decadent Cabaret? And how can you prepare?
Well first of all - you need to know where to go and what to bring with you for this great night of debauchery. The 2009 Decadent Cabaret will take place at the House of Rock on Water Street in Downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The cover charge is just $5 at the door for music from 10 different bands each night. Yes you heard that right - just $5 for 10 different bands!
Read more about the Decadent Cabaret...
Showing posts with label water street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water street. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Adrian Klenz & The Sextet - House of Rock
Last week we were able to experience an invasion down on Water Street. No, there weren't little green martians coming out of silver discs tromping all over the bar district. Instead we witnessed an invasion of music, great music, music not often heard in an Eau Claire bar. Last Thursday we participated in Jazz Night at the House of Rock. The talented musicians of The Sextet gave us an experience in music that has not often been represented in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The Sextet consists this evening of Evan Benidt on Saxophone, Keith "A Town" K. on Trumpet, Brandon C. on Keys, Jeremy Boettcher on Bass, and Sean Carey on Drums, and of course Adrian Klenz at Vocals.
Enough with the chatter let's get to the music. Here we have a song familiar to so many of us - Frank Sinatra's "Angel Eyes".
Let's not forget the instrumental talent featured this evening, here is a nice set of music from the band members as well as some footage where we were able to capture a great bass solo from Jeremy Boettcher.
If you liked this music and Jazz in general you will be happy to hear that The House of Rock will be continuing this venue and you can see The Sextet perform again on December 6th and 20th starting at 9pm both nights. All footage and content found here on the blog is, as always, courtesy of Eau Claire Bars - the Blog. We hope you enjoy the footage!
Enough with the chatter let's get to the music. Here we have a song familiar to so many of us - Frank Sinatra's "Angel Eyes".
Let's not forget the instrumental talent featured this evening, here is a nice set of music from the band members as well as some footage where we were able to capture a great bass solo from Jeremy Boettcher.
If you liked this music and Jazz in general you will be happy to hear that The House of Rock will be continuing this venue and you can see The Sextet perform again on December 6th and 20th starting at 9pm both nights. All footage and content found here on the blog is, as always, courtesy of Eau Claire Bars - the Blog. We hope you enjoy the footage!
Friday, September 21, 2007
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
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
Monday, August 20, 2007
Water Street Stumble
This past Saturday evening brought out a new type of outing. Water Street is a major part of the Eau Claire Bar scene and we hadn't been there yet for a review so we decided to give it a go. However, we really couldn't come up with just one bar to review since we had a couple that we wanted to go to. So instead we went on what we'll refer to now and possibly in the future as a Water Street Stumble. I'm sure most of you will recognize the connotations behind this phrase because that is basically what you can witness most weekends if you happen to be traveling along this historic street late in the evening. Hundreds of people will oftentimes start at one end of the street and continue down the path until they reach the bar that serves them until closing time.
Our group numbered 9 this evening, the most since we began our review process. Our stumble began at Dooley's Pub which is located on the corner of 5th Avenue and Water Street. Probably the most notable feature at Dooley's Pub is the non-smoking atmosphere. I could be wrong, but I'm probably right in saying that Dooley's is the only non-smoking bar in Eau Claire. There are also many other things to do besides drinking at Dooley's. You can play cribbage, pepper, and dominoes, or you can even bring your laptop and use their free Wi-Fi. During the summer they have their volleyball courts open as well. We chose to head upstairs and bought a pitcher of Miller Lite for $5.
The menu at Dooley's includes the normal Appetizers, "Emerald Isle Greens" otherwise know as salads, 7 different burgers including a Veggie Burger, 10 different sandwiches such as the Ribeye Sandwich, and even dessert options including different cakes and cheesecake. You may want to drop in for their Happy Hour which runs from 3pm to 6pm Monday through Friday as well as Every Night from 9pm to midnight! I had to read it twice too when I saw that their Happy Hour runs that late.
Upstairs at Dooley's Pub you will find 8 tables and 3 TVs that are usually playing news or sports. Downstairs they have around 7 booths, 2 dart boards, 5 TVs, and a video machine. There is also a separate room in the back with a Big Screen TV that looks like it is used for private parties so if you need to schedule something for lots of people you may want to consider this space.
Since we were intending to hit more than one bar along the north side of Water Street, we decided to do just one Sausage Factor and Attractiveness Rating for each of them. It was 10:30pm when we took the readings at Dooley's Pub and found a total of 30 guys and 20 girls for a factor of 1.5, not too bad. The guys with us rated Attractiveness at around 7/10, but the girls with us said it was more like a 5/10... Hopefully they weren't biased! Our quick take on Dooley's is that their Beer Rating would be a 4/5, yet very close to a full 5 beers.
Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 1.50
Attractiveness Rating: 7/10
The next bar we went to was the Grand Illusion. We arrived around midnight and started with our readings to find 61 guys to the 31 girls present or a Sausage Factor of 1.97, not the greatest, but certainly not our worst. The Attractiveness Rating seemed to fall right around a 7/10. While taking these readings we met some great people, one young lady made sure to let us know that the Grand Illusion is "The best bar in Eau Claire" and that everyone needs to "Pound it!!!"
The Grand Illusion is a nice bar for getting together with friends and there were a lot of you out there this evening doing just that. We got to know a few people here at Grand Illusion, including 3 girls that we coincidentally run into for much of the night. I'm sorry that I don't remember all of your names, but I'll give a special hello from those of us at EauClaireBars.com to the one I can remember, Jenny!
The Grand Illusion is known for their Delusion which is the House Drink and involves many different liquors and pretty colors. A number of our party ordered up some Delusions, all of them noting that they were very good. A bonus is that every time you buy a Delusion you'll receive a ticket and once you've accumulated 10 of these you can turn them in for a free shirt!
There isn't a kitchen at the Grand Illusion, but popcorn and peanuts are readily available. We also took note of the layout which includes the main bar with barstools and booths, an upstairs area or mezzanine with more booths, and a back area near the restrooms with 2 dart boards, a pool table, and a foosball table. The restrooms aren't really spectacular and you won't find a mirror in the men's restroom, but the toilet does have a seat. The 2 bartenders working were kept busy most of the time that we were there. Our short take on the Grand Illusion would be another 4 out of 5 beers, our experience this evening was a good one.
Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 1.97
Attractiveness Rating: 7/10
Next on the docket was the House of Rock. A friend of ours, Noel Hanson, sings in a band named the Jaggernauts and they were playing here this evening. We made sure to get plenty of pictures of the band while we were there, we also took a few of the crowd.
When we arrived there were 27 guys and 14 girls present and it was probably around 12:45am. Sausage Factor = 1.93 and Attractiveness Rating = 6/10. The bar itself is in the center of the building with seating on both sides. The restrooms are ok, but the men's is kind of cramped. Our female perspective noted that they have a "friendly girl's bathroom". There are tables set up throughout the bar and a stage in the back right-hand side of the building. The music pumped out on this stage is definitely loud, so loud in fact that they offer ear plugs at the bar! This is definitely the place to hear Loud and Local Bands. We enjoyed the music right up until almost bar close. The House of Rock was a good experience for us and the consensus was they came in at a 4/5 for a Beer Rating.
Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 1.93
Attractiveness Rating: 6/10
The last bar of the evening would end up being Brothers. We didn't have a lot of time to review them since we arrived just after 1:30am. We did, however, find some nice TVs to watch sports and news on. Brothers also has 2 dart boards, a pool table, and a foosball table for those of you interested in recreation. The Sausage Factor at Brothers was pretty good, we took our reading at 1:44am and found 15 girls to the 18 guys present for a factor of 1.20. The Attractiveness Rating was an 8 out of 10. We were unable to spend enough time at Brothers and are undecided on the Beer Rating, but hope to do a more extensive review of their bar soon!
Once bar close came along, we all ventured over to Buzzy's Pizza Emporium to get something to eat. Buzzy's is open from 4pm to 3am Monday through Thursday and until 3:30am on Fridays and Saturdays.
With so many bars in such a small area, it is definitely easy to patronize more than a couple of them when you are out on Water Street. We were able to spend some quality time at 4 of them this evening and all of them weighed in at pretty much a 4 out of 5 on the Beer Rating Scale. We were definitely happy with all of our experiences this evening.
Averages for our Water Street Stumble are as follows:
Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 1.65
Attractiveness Rating: 7/10
Our group numbered 9 this evening, the most since we began our review process. Our stumble began at Dooley's Pub which is located on the corner of 5th Avenue and Water Street. Probably the most notable feature at Dooley's Pub is the non-smoking atmosphere. I could be wrong, but I'm probably right in saying that Dooley's is the only non-smoking bar in Eau Claire. There are also many other things to do besides drinking at Dooley's. You can play cribbage, pepper, and dominoes, or you can even bring your laptop and use their free Wi-Fi. During the summer they have their volleyball courts open as well. We chose to head upstairs and bought a pitcher of Miller Lite for $5.
The menu at Dooley's includes the normal Appetizers, "Emerald Isle Greens" otherwise know as salads, 7 different burgers including a Veggie Burger, 10 different sandwiches such as the Ribeye Sandwich, and even dessert options including different cakes and cheesecake. You may want to drop in for their Happy Hour which runs from 3pm to 6pm Monday through Friday as well as Every Night from 9pm to midnight! I had to read it twice too when I saw that their Happy Hour runs that late.
Upstairs at Dooley's Pub you will find 8 tables and 3 TVs that are usually playing news or sports. Downstairs they have around 7 booths, 2 dart boards, 5 TVs, and a video machine. There is also a separate room in the back with a Big Screen TV that looks like it is used for private parties so if you need to schedule something for lots of people you may want to consider this space.
Since we were intending to hit more than one bar along the north side of Water Street, we decided to do just one Sausage Factor and Attractiveness Rating for each of them. It was 10:30pm when we took the readings at Dooley's Pub and found a total of 30 guys and 20 girls for a factor of 1.5, not too bad. The guys with us rated Attractiveness at around 7/10, but the girls with us said it was more like a 5/10... Hopefully they weren't biased! Our quick take on Dooley's is that their Beer Rating would be a 4/5, yet very close to a full 5 beers.
Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 1.50
Attractiveness Rating: 7/10
The next bar we went to was the Grand Illusion. We arrived around midnight and started with our readings to find 61 guys to the 31 girls present or a Sausage Factor of 1.97, not the greatest, but certainly not our worst. The Attractiveness Rating seemed to fall right around a 7/10. While taking these readings we met some great people, one young lady made sure to let us know that the Grand Illusion is "The best bar in Eau Claire" and that everyone needs to "Pound it!!!"
The Grand Illusion is a nice bar for getting together with friends and there were a lot of you out there this evening doing just that. We got to know a few people here at Grand Illusion, including 3 girls that we coincidentally run into for much of the night. I'm sorry that I don't remember all of your names, but I'll give a special hello from those of us at EauClaireBars.com to the one I can remember, Jenny!
The Grand Illusion is known for their Delusion which is the House Drink and involves many different liquors and pretty colors. A number of our party ordered up some Delusions, all of them noting that they were very good. A bonus is that every time you buy a Delusion you'll receive a ticket and once you've accumulated 10 of these you can turn them in for a free shirt!
There isn't a kitchen at the Grand Illusion, but popcorn and peanuts are readily available. We also took note of the layout which includes the main bar with barstools and booths, an upstairs area or mezzanine with more booths, and a back area near the restrooms with 2 dart boards, a pool table, and a foosball table. The restrooms aren't really spectacular and you won't find a mirror in the men's restroom, but the toilet does have a seat. The 2 bartenders working were kept busy most of the time that we were there. Our short take on the Grand Illusion would be another 4 out of 5 beers, our experience this evening was a good one.
Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 1.97
Attractiveness Rating: 7/10
Next on the docket was the House of Rock. A friend of ours, Noel Hanson, sings in a band named the Jaggernauts and they were playing here this evening. We made sure to get plenty of pictures of the band while we were there, we also took a few of the crowd.
When we arrived there were 27 guys and 14 girls present and it was probably around 12:45am. Sausage Factor = 1.93 and Attractiveness Rating = 6/10. The bar itself is in the center of the building with seating on both sides. The restrooms are ok, but the men's is kind of cramped. Our female perspective noted that they have a "friendly girl's bathroom". There are tables set up throughout the bar and a stage in the back right-hand side of the building. The music pumped out on this stage is definitely loud, so loud in fact that they offer ear plugs at the bar! This is definitely the place to hear Loud and Local Bands. We enjoyed the music right up until almost bar close. The House of Rock was a good experience for us and the consensus was they came in at a 4/5 for a Beer Rating.
Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 1.93
Attractiveness Rating: 6/10
The last bar of the evening would end up being Brothers. We didn't have a lot of time to review them since we arrived just after 1:30am. We did, however, find some nice TVs to watch sports and news on. Brothers also has 2 dart boards, a pool table, and a foosball table for those of you interested in recreation. The Sausage Factor at Brothers was pretty good, we took our reading at 1:44am and found 15 girls to the 18 guys present for a factor of 1.20. The Attractiveness Rating was an 8 out of 10. We were unable to spend enough time at Brothers and are undecided on the Beer Rating, but hope to do a more extensive review of their bar soon!
Once bar close came along, we all ventured over to Buzzy's Pizza Emporium to get something to eat. Buzzy's is open from 4pm to 3am Monday through Thursday and until 3:30am on Fridays and Saturdays.
With so many bars in such a small area, it is definitely easy to patronize more than a couple of them when you are out on Water Street. We were able to spend some quality time at 4 of them this evening and all of them weighed in at pretty much a 4 out of 5 on the Beer Rating Scale. We were definitely happy with all of our experiences this evening.
Averages for our Water Street Stumble are as follows:
Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 1.65
Attractiveness Rating: 7/10
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