Every time I have gone to Art Bar, I have an unpleasant experience. Â The vibe there varies significantly from night to night, and I have witnessed some fist-fights. Â I don't necessarily feel safe at Art Bar. Â The drinks are a little expensive, and frankly, not very good. Â Live music is fun on occasion, but the cover charges get me down. Â I think Art Bar could be a great place, but something about it just makes it kind of depressing and scary.
Review Source:I've only been to Columbia a few times. Â Usually because I get free tickets to watch the Cocks play some football. Â Never ventured outside of that realm until now. Â The Art Bar is something Greenville needs. Â Reminds me of a hole in the wall in ATL or even NYC. Â Diverse, yes. Â And glad to see it thrive. Â I can hang here because no one here gives a damn who you are, what you are and what business you have. Â The way it should be where being judged isn't anyone's concern.
Review Source:My absolute favorite place to hang on the weekends! Â You don't have to fit into the 'alternative' crowd to play nice here...! Â Atmosphere is a 10 out of 10! Â Drinkability is even higher! Â Great staff, amazing atmosphere, outstanding bartenders, and top-notch clientele make this the hands-down best bar in cola town!!!
Review Source:So, let me preface my review by admitting I only really come here on Friday nights when I'm in town. Â It seems to be the night that the gay boys come out and we all know I like me some gay bars. Â To my understanding this place is much more heterosexual every other night of the week.
I love this bar. Â There are a lot of good things about it and only a few negative things. Â First of all, it's spacious. Â I could deal with the dance floor being bigger since it is PACKED on Friday nights. Â But other than that, this bar can be at capacity and still feel like there's plenty of room to move around in. Â The bartenders are all super sweet and efficient. Â The crowd is friendly and non-threatening. Â The drink pricing is normal, with a few good specials littered throughout the week.
I love the outside area, and a lot of people seem to gravitate to it. Â The crowd is pretty artsy, not really a frat style bar. Â I like that, other people might hate that. Â People aren't shy about dancing here, which is always great
My only negative was the line to get in that happened a little after midnight. Â Pain because I had to piss and ended up behind the building doing my thing. Â Not a huge issue because there's a cash only bar outside when this happens.
i've been to the art bar on several different nights and have always been disappointed in the music. Â the dj's always play electro-pop-rave-bass-something-or-other in which there is only a bass beat thumping and no real danceable rhythm. Â this is fine for about 3 songs, after that its snooze-inducing. Â then, after about 6 more songs of this, there's a hip-hop song that interjects rhythm and groove and a large crowd rushes to the dance floor and dances their asses off and sings loud. Â this is when i really enjoy it! Â after about 2 or 3 of these dance songs, the music then goes back to the bass thumping and the crowd leaves and/or just stands around. Â it just feels like the dj plays what he wants, not what the crowd reacts to. Â of course, this could be a business strategy - get people up and dancing, then get them bored so they go to the bar and drink. Â my business strategy would be more along the lines of get people to constantly dance, then they'll take their own selves to the bar to drink, and then tell their friends what a great dance club it is. Â but, its not my business so i cant say how to run it, i can just dance or be bored! Â on the upside, i do like the other things this bar offers - improv comedy and poetry. Â you should check their website before you go to the bar, because they may not be doing what you think/hope they're doing! Â so, sorry to be such a downer, its a really great people-watching bar that offers other activities, but they need to work on getting their dj's to pay attention to the audience and give them what they want... DANCE!! Â so there!
Review Source:Art Bar is not only my favorite Columbia venue, but one of the best bars I've been in period. It has a very vibrant, welcoming, and creative atmosphere that's cozy with a lot of seating. They have fabulous live music line-ups, fun events like Alterna-cirque, and the best karaoke in town on Wednesdays. It's even been voted as having the best "bathroom wall wisdom" in Columbia. It's refreshing in the South to find a place where alternative lifestyles/appearances are not only accepted, but embraced.
Review Source:Of course I like the art bar! Â I grew up in this bar. Â Honestly cannot even count the number of times I have closed it out. Â I was in there this past weekend while passing through and it was pretty dead- I think just because it was the weekend of the fourth. Â
If someone tells you the art bar is a gay bar- do not believe them. Â A long time ago it was percieved as one because the artsy crowd would hang out there and, well, there are more gays in the artsy crowd than in the frat boy crowd. Â Go figure. Â But trust me- the vast majority of the crowd are single heteros. Â They have bands and DJs frequently so check the free times to see what is going on when you want to head downtown!
Tim is a great guy and if he is your bartender you better tip FAT!! Â Actually they have all been great in my experience so tip fat regardless of who it is.
If you are from out of town I definitely recommend art bar- try it on a Wednesday for "Mr. B's goodtime karaoke explosion"!
"Run Jesus Run!" Â If this offends you, this is not the place for you. Â These are the words inked on the stage located in the back room. Â And I suppose that these words are the mantra for the crowd and vibe at this place. Â There is nothing holy about this place. Â
While the Art Bar is known as a Techno Indie Kid spot, the crowd tends to be somewhat diverse. Â I went recently and experienced a wildly funny and entertaining improv group. Â This place has been around for years and will probably be around for many years to come.
I went here to see Venice is Sinking um... a while back. Try to get a spot under an air vent. I was permitted to both smoke and draw naked ladies on the wall, which is an automatic A+ in my book.
And the giant robots = awesome, though it would be better if they would occasionally shoot lasers out of their eyes and/or try to take over the world. Alas, we cannot have everything.
I havn't been back to Cola in a couple of years, but this was prob. my favorite bar. Â Tim the bartender is/was? great, and so were most of the patrons. Â Except for some. Â
you know who you are
Also, the only place where a friend of mine puked into his own lap with a calm, stoic demeanor
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