i LOVE the barbary. go there to dance your face off, get drunk off of cheap strong drinks, make out with a stranger, whatever, just have fun! i'd much rather go here than listen to top 40s bullshit with weird stupid bros and teeny bopper girls. the barbary will always be my favorite dance bar in philly! soooo many good times and epic stories from this place. oh yeah, and it's a cesspool.
downside... answering machine is full so they clearly don't give a shit about helping people out with lost items. i lost my scarf. pretty sure I'm never getting that back. but i still love the barbary! there's nothing else like it, not even in nyc or chicago. it's a philly gem!
Small, sh*tty hole in the wall bar with good noisy shows that makes me pretend that I'm still in my 20s but yes, I'm well in my thirties. Â When I was there some dude mixed me a drink that had PBR, grenadine, cherry juice, some sort of hard alcohol... and it was amazing. Â He called it the lunchbox.
The biggest bummer is that the "city wide" is more expensive here than any other place in town. Â Not much of a special for $5.
The Barbary is HANDS DOWN the best place to go for super cheap drinks, a well known "City-Wide" consisting of a PBR can & shot of whiskey for $5, and a fun night of sweaty dancing and meeting tons of cool "Hipstery" people. Â Its just a bunch of kids into alternative fashion, books, movies, and art. Â Do not be discouraged, strike up a conversation! Â There is a different party happening every night. Â Check the online calender and pick a night of your choice!
Every time I am at this bar, whether alone or with friends, I leave a happy girl. Â
I always leave big tips, you should too!
PS The upstairs bathroom is always less crowded.
Context: Dance my face off
Time of Visit: Saturday, 11:00PM
While I still have trouble defining a "hipster" and what we might have in common, The Barbary is a place we can definitely agree on.
This is a great place. Â LOVE the $2 PBR's and cheap drinks: While I might not be a fan of PBR, my assumption is that the blue ribbon isn't given to just anybody, so I should appreciate that I got it for $2...
The music was great for dancing and I had a great time. Â But why did you only give it 3 stars? Â Only after I paid a $10 cover did I realize that there are 2 floors at The Barbary: the level with the house music had the cover, while the upstairs had a DJ and no cover. Â This upset me, because $10 could get a lot of work done...
In short, The Barbary is a solid choice for your evenings' dancing shenanigans: just make sure you know which level you want to enjoy.
My review is a bit delayed but better late than never.
I came here at the end of a drunken evening with friends a few weeks ago and it was an awesome dace party!
I had never been here before so I had no clue what to expect.
It was a friend's birthday so I went up to the bar and asked a bearded gentleman for some champagne. He opened me up a can of PBR and said "That'll be a dollar sweetheart" - It was hysterical!
I had a blast and cannot wait to go back!
I'm giving this place five stars because I saw in another review they turned away someone on St Patrick's Day for wearing green. RESPECT.
That said, I've only been here a few times. Lots of young arty kids (I think the racial epithet is "hipster"), decent music, decent bar. Not my everyday scene, but fun every once in awhile.
If you're looking for a meat market with the DJs playing top 20 hits you've heard a million times, then you've found it! PBR drinks and hipsters galore! Unfortunately, this isn't my ideal place! It's also not ideal for live bands to play either! It seems the owner, booking agent or whoever, books events next to each other a bit too tightly (without any leeway) which results in performances being cut short or not happening at all. This was the case with the Void Vision show last week...
Go here for the crowd and drinks, but don't go here if you care about the music!
The Barbary is good for the following reasons:
- great music
- fun & dancey
- decent beer selection
- cheap
- the bathrooms are surprisingly not gross
But what about THE HIPSTERS???? you say? I'll take a hipster over a Brad-the-Bro or Ugg-Boots-Brittany ANY day. Look, I don't drink PBR and I don't live in a loft-commune with 10 art school friends and I STILL like the Barbary. So take my word for it, the Barbary is fun! Four out of 5 stars (minus a star cuz it sometimes smells like armpits).
Residing off of Columbus blvd in Northern Liberty/Fishtown and across from Sugarhouse Casinos, rest this divey-artsy-hipster bar.
PRO's:
-5 minute drive for me, 10-15 min from center city, 2 blocks away from  I95s. exit
-No cover
-cheap, well made drinks (I've gotten 2 shots and a beer for $10)
-room to dance,3 dance floors
-good music!! (indie,electro)
-fun crowd, easy to make friends here
CON'S:
There is NONE! BUT, if you're Ronnie from The Jersey Shore and are looking for house music and tan chicks with huge knockers then I can see why u would give this 1 star.
If they had appetizers/food I would be set. Wait, do they??? lol
Dont bother coming in a suit or cocktail dress, just put on comfy dancing shoes and you are set.
I love a place where both me and my parents can dance. I swear when the Beatles came on and a hipster jumped on stage sans bra in ill fitting clothes and started spastically dancing like they did in the 70s... I seriously fell in love with this place. There's something about being able to dance freely without being grinded on and/or severely judged is really freeing.
I happily paid the $5 cover-- the drinks were cheap, a DJ was actually spinning, and the bathrooms were surprisingly clean. Pool table upstairs.
Randomly found ourselves at The Barbary one Thursday. At least I think it was. (Either way, there wasn't cover.) Walking in, we took stock of the situation:
Photo booth? Check.
Dance floor? Check.
Good DJ? Double check.
This bar is two floors of awesome. Took advantage of their friendly bartenders, then took advantage of the photo booth. Next time I'll be sure to play some pinball, indulge in falafel, and dance on a table.
If you ever wanna dance, dance, dance while you're covered in sweat(yours and others'), this is the place to be. It can get ridiculously hot because 1. the dance floor is always packed, 2. the DJ usually spins tunes that are purely awesome, and 3. the loud music literally commands your body to move.
The crowd is fairly young or young-looking. Totally love all the cute hipster boys and girls.
Oh, almost forgot. The upstair bar is open - not sure if it's just open for the summer but it's a chill place to hangz with friends even on a weekend night.
The past year or so has largely been the story of my coming to terms with being an old head (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.urbandictionary.com%2Fdefine.php%3Fterm%3Dold%2Bhead&s=5dc0edbcd1b37de726e5a785b7a5a984da12cd7859051460efa1a433df3d32a4" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.urbandictiona…</a>) at shows.  You know, the type of person that I, as a snot-nosed youth in the not so distant past, would snicker at with derision among my ("poor choice of") friends.  This aged feeling is most acute at The Barbary.
The layout evokes the shows of yesteryear, in that the room is hot, tiny & grimy. Â This echo of my youth is reinforced by the fact that the downstairs bar is closed during shows; the older crowd drinks upstairs* and so during the opening acts anyone over 21 is like a chaperone at the junior prom.
Then there's the early shows, which must end by 9:30.  I really appreciate being able to party my face off to awesome bands like Japandroids and Titus Andronicus (videos from the show - <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstyrofoamdrone.com%2F2010%2F04%2F16%2Ftitus-andronicus-w-the-babies-live-in-philadelphia-41510%2F&s=80d9bed8301f88f7f4db7409513187567070339646f2d5fa724ba696f05bdd9a" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://styrofoamdrone.co…</a>) then still get to bed at a reasonable hour. Â
The reason these shows end at 9:30, by the way, is to make way for a dance party. Â It provides some emotional reassurance when I exit a show and see people even older and more desperately clinging to their youth waiting to line. Â
* The bar offers a modestly satisfying selection of drafts under $5, in addition to the ubiquitous cans of PBR for $2. Also: RAMPAGE (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FRampage_%2528arcade_game%2529&s=17f717267c9f3a0571e95b8c08dc5937cffffe81e943a44537546dff3988090a" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/…</a>) and a pinball machine.
For what it is, the Barbary is the best game in town. It provides themed electronic dance parties 6 nights a week. The music is accessible, but not completely vanilla-fied. The Subdivision (dubstep, deep bass) parties are the most under-recognized since they usually fall on a Tuesday, which is a quiet night. I avoid the pop dance nights, but I imagine they are perfectly fine. The Barbary is dirt cheap with free early admission and open bar on weekends. Cover rarely is greater than $5.
It can get very crowded, but somehow people manage to dance crazy and get sweaty. I have never seen a line to get in, but then again, I usually get there on the early side. Also, it's friendly. I have met many people there- often I'll dance with strangers and we'll make introductions afterward.
What I love about the Barbary is that it is completely about dancing. There is space in the back to hang out and regroup, but dancing is front and center all of the time. This is not a place to have a deep meaningful conversation.
I can't think of a single complaint. Even the bathrooms are adequate and I never have to wait in a long line.
I am mostly against karaoke. I have never been a fan, especially when the people take it super seriously. It makes me uncomfortable and a little sad to see someone on the stage, belting out Total Eclipse of the Heart with tears in their eyes.
But, last night at the Barbary was a different kind of Karaoke. As I walked in the door, there was a man singing I Would Do Anything for Love. Yes, the Meatloaf song. And he was doing quite the job sounding like the one, the only, the man, the myth, the legend.
The beers were cheap, at $3 for a High Life, I think I can dig. I can dig on this place real hard.
I'm here to rescind my previous 2-star dissatisfaction with The Barbary. My last experience?
People making out: check
Nudity in the photo booth: check
Girls motor-boating each other on the dance floor: double check (get it?)
My friends and I had a drinking head start so we weren't being stingy with out wallets, but c'mon, $10 cover for any party at The Barbary is just obnoxious. DJ Deejay was spinning, unbeknownst to us. Was it worth it? Maybe? But quite frankly, I'm over this bizarre MMP (Michael, Madonna, Prince) fad. I say we move on to WAP (Whitney, ABBA, Paula). Uh, yeah. I definitely think a change is in order.
Everyone and anyone who wants to be in the Do's and Don'ts Vice Magazine should line up to the biggest clique that has somehow grown so big that it has imploded on itself from it's own self-loathing and non-conformist lifestyle of being an oxymoron in perhaps what looks like it's surroundings to be... hell.
There is nothing pretty or glamorous about the Barbary. But it has somehow captured the hearts of many to drive, bike, walk, or blog their way here. Watch homo-erotic djs in spandex who look trapped in the year 1991. Or every dude you ever seen, wearing a beard and a hat of some sort, looking at you. Or a bunch of girls talking about coke prices going up. Gee, the economy is pretty rough huh?
This is a place you have to experience at least once or more. So you can leave with the satisfaction that you are a million times more real than that guy over there dancing with a tiara made out of tampons.
I have been hearing about the barbary for a while now and recently decided to check it out.. and love love love it..
What can i say! Theres a photo booth.. $2 dollar pbr
strong drinks.. places to sit. and great djs.. i went for the funk soul night.. turnaround vs immediate and loved the music and a big crowd .. but you have to wait till about 11 for the crowd to be there got there at 10 pretty dead...
I danced my booty off .. very sweaty and alot of fun.. cant wait until i go back
plus free parking .. holla
I came here with a friend on the 4th of July as a stop-over trying a few places I've seen on Yelp in Northern Liberties. Â It happens that I didn't check the theme of the night and I was winging it, but it couldn't have worked out better; Reggae and Soul. Â I am honestly not a very big fan of the type of music that most clubs play; hip-hop, electronic, current pop; really not my thing. Â The Barbary has those nights, Â but this night, it was such a bizarre, fantastic experience in a packed house of those my age enjoying and dancing to the music I like. Â And the DJ was great; the music selection and mix was top-notch.
The drinks are fair; it was something like $2 for a PBR and $4 for a Red Stripe (first time having one, it was actually quite good). Â My friend got a rum and coke for something like $5.
They've really got something here. Â I doubt I'd be here on nights I don't like the theme, but nights like this one, I look forward to coming back.
A few important points of note regarding the Barbary:
- It is THE place in Philadelphia to butt-grind with cute hipster girls (or otherwise make a complete fool of yourself).
- Don't even think about showing up unless you're already drunk. Â The place just won't make sense in a sober state.
- You generally won't have to worry about your girlfriend being hit on, because everyone there is AT LEAST as dorky as you are.
- The funk/soul nights are the most fun. Â The hip-hop ones can be good. Â The indie rock/electro stuff can be hit or miss.
- Get ready to become so sweaty that you'll literally have to wring your shirt out before you get in the cab / on your bike to ride home.
- It is the perfect spot to wrap up a 14-hour bender.
- 9 out of 10 times, you will have a really great time.
It's been a long time since I was at The Barbary, but after working as a team of one for the past two months to organize the Yelp Sideshow Adventure party and then actually pulling it off last night, I was in serious need of letting loose. This was the most perfect place in all of Philadelphia for me to do that.
I love that it's crazy dark inside, which means you don't have to make eye contact unless you really want to. And there were some good looking people in there, FYI. At one point when I was dancing to Hot Chip (yes, I really, really like Hot Chip) I had an epiphany: if my brain had a club in it, it would be The Barbary. Photo booth and patrons included.
I love The Barbary. I'm going to put it in my heavy rotation.
THE place for down and dirty dancing in Philly, if not the world. If you've been disappointed with the selection in the city The Barbary is the remedy. Every time I go (often) I hear a song I love, used to love, or have been recently playing on repeat.
There is an evolving calendar of genres and DJ nights to satisfy everyone -- New Wave, 80s, Hip-Hop, Electro. indie, rockabilly etc, etc. Designer Drugs, Broadzilla, and Sorted are all worth your night out.
There are a good amount of live bands/dance troupes that come through to make the night interesting.
One time I went and there was NO cover and FREE drinks. I didn't quite understand how that worked out to their advantage but I went with it. Check their MySpace for these types of promotions.
The Barbary has a pretty relaxed atmosphere even when it's a wild dance party. The bartenders are really nice and will help you out if you only have a few minutes to make the special. Nothing fancy shmancy... think vodka and cranberry, cans of PBR, shots of Jameson... trust me it's what you'll be in the mood as soon as they stamp your hand.
+Lots of on-street parking right in front. As well as spots for bike locks.
+Right off of Del. Ave for easy access from S. Philly.
+BW Photobooth!
+You can dance crazy and no one gives it a second look.
+Anything goes dress code. Literally, anything.
++Low-key atmosphere allows for you to see where the night goes. And due to the cheap drinks is usually straight to hell.
-A mostly hipster crowd might turn some people off but it is not pretentious or overbearing. Although you may want to leave your Abercrombie polo at home.
I've been to the Barbary for the first time to see the all ages Millionaires show (LOLs all around).
The venue is pretty small but in a good way. The bar is right near the entrance, the stage right ahead, and a little room off to the left that had a photo booth and merch tables. I didn't get to see the bathrooms.
The sound was nice and loud, something I like about smaller venues. The bar was closed down and they had water ($1), vitamin water, and earplugs for sale. I love the low prices (where do you find $1 water bottles these days?!) and that they had earplugs available.
The Barbary is conveniently located near Columbus Boulevard, the Septa bus #25 drops you right out front (northbound - southbound bus is a stones throw away).
I've been to the Barbary on a handful of occasions now and from what I recall, I've had a consistently good time.
The sound system is loud but fairly clean, the bathrooms are not entirely unusable and the drink prices are pretty reasonable. Â Also, photo booth!
It can sometimes feel a little hipsteriffic, but generally everyone seems to be there to have a good time and get a little twerk on. Â Definitely worth a visit. Â You'll probably drink too much. Â Just take a cab home, k?
Went there for an 80's night full of dancing to Madonna, MJ, and Prince. I guess there was other music in there, I was too busy dancing to notice.
What I did notice is the crowd. This place is about 50/50 on the douche bag to normal people ratio. In other words this place is small enough to garner the fun-lovers and well meaning hipsters, but popular enough to attract the punk-ass dudes, frat bros, movers, shakers and playa's that I wanted to set some people straight with mic 1 (testing, testing), and mic 2 (testing, yeah, this thing works)... if you follow my meaning. I mean seriously I can only handle so much of getting elbowed and kicked by an idiot who thinks it's cool to flail about helplessly on the beer-soaked-in-dirt floor and calls it "break-dancing." Enough already.
Drinks were decent and not too pricey. But I danced more than I drank.
Oh yeah and I really have to give a shout out to DJ DeeJay. He did a great job.
This is one of my favorite places to go dancing in the city. Â Everyone who's there comes out to drink and dance. Â It's never been so crowded that I have to rub up against a million sweaty people just to get from place to place, or so crowded that I can't get a beer. Â But it's definitely crowded enough to lose yourself in the sweet beats of whoever might be spinning that evening. Â I've been for the Jang night with Spank Rock, the Colt 45 & Vice party with Drop the Lime and Gang!, and a few other great nights.
The drinks are super reasonable ($2 PBR), I've never had to wait longer than 3 minutes to use the girls bathroom and there's a freakin photobooth for you to record it all. Â Depending on who's playing, the music could range anywhere from house to indie to hip-hop and rap. Â Tell me, what's your flavor?
Shhhhhheeeeeeeeiiiittt.
The place is black and graffiti. I love it. It has all the makings of a great small venue. I went for the Jang Night with Spank Rock and friends. Good B-more club banged out of their surprisingly awesome sound system. I also appreciated the projector. The bar portion was pretty rad too. They had your run of the mill hipster beers and a few good beers on tap. Also the prices were cheap. I'm talking liver damage cheap.
I'll be back to shake it again Barbary. Thanks.
SO I finally got the Barbary last night for the Circle reunion party. It was definitely a blast - saw soo many people I haven't since my raver days. The place is cool - very small but they have a surprisingly decent house sound system. The booth was a nice touch and the bathrooms were..interesting..havent seen that much bathroom grafiti in a looong time. The drinks were super cheap $1 wells and pbr til 12. From what I am told its like a hipster haven on the weekends and I am not one for painted on jeans, a beard and flannel shirts so I have yet to experience it on a "normal" night.
all in all good times last night
Just got home from Sorted. at the Barbary and have to say, this is the only place to go if you wanna dance. Â
The Barbary pulls in a variety of djs who spin all kinds of tunes... dance, electro, indie, britpop, reggae, hiphop, whatever you like there is a night for it at the Barbary.
Cheap beers, frequent free or $1 drink specials and low covers make it a guaranteed fun night out. Â There might even be a local photog snapping pics of you to add to the glam atmosphere.
John Redden, who gave us the infamous Hands and Knees party, keeps it fresh at his own club, the Barbary. Â Check it out if you dont mind getting sweaty and freaking out.
p.s. frankford avenue isn't too shady, compared to a few blocks away. dont' be an obvious target and there is nothing to fear.
JHN RDN and company did a fantastic job turning the place around - nice bar, good-sized dance floors, and plenty of areas for lounging. Â I particularly like the lounge area in the back overlooking the dancefloor. Â And the photo booth. Â Love it.
Last night I went up for the "Ten Commandments" night - nothing but reggae, soul, and a taste of early ska was played. Â There was a $5 cover - but free Red Stripe was served up 'til it was gone. Â The bartender had no qualms with me taking advantage of the opportunity to take two at a time. Â Ha. Â People were dancing like crazy - myself included. Â
Their beer selection overall is STELLAR, from the tap to the cans and bottles. Â They have Strongbow, which made me very happy. Â All in all, as much as this place gets pigeonholed as a "HIPSTER CLUB", it's just a no-frills club for dancing - and I'm down with that.
I've only been living in Philadelphia for a little over a month now. Â I came from San Francisco and my favorite party is something called, "Saturday Night Soul Party" at the Elbo Room. Â I would attend this every other Saturday and I can honestly say that I've never had a better time in my life...until I stepped into The Barbary for "Turnaround vs. Immediate".
This is the ULTIMATE soul party. Â Do everything in your power to find a schedule for The Barbary and attend this party. Â As soon as I walked in the door, I felt like it was a portal right back to San Francisco. Â Of course it caters to the Pabst drinking crowd, but everyone was dancing and having a good time. Â I don't think there was a song I didn't dance to (I'm pretty sure I was dancing while buying drinks). Â You will hear groups such as The Sonics, The Four Tops, The Isley Brothers, Ray Charles, The Marvelettes, The Supremes, Jr. Walker and the All-Stars, etc. Â I'm definitely breaking out my best Motown digs for the next one.
The bar has a pretty decent sized dance floor. Â My friends and I had no problem trying to find a spot to dance. Â The drinks are reasonably priced. Â I think we paid $16 for two shots of Jameson and two cans of Pabst...not all that bad. Â There is no coat-check, but there is some space to hang your coat. Â Also, this place is full of pretty girls. Â I think I proposed to about four different girls during the course of the night (I got three nos and one maybe).
I can't speak for other nights, but I plan on changing that in the near future. Â I'm only basing my review on one night, but what a night it was. Â I plan on frequenting The Barbary often, and I suggest you do too.
How has nobody added The Barbary to the Yelp mix?! Â Don't worry folks, I've got you covered.
The Barbary has been newly revamped by JHN RDN (seriously - all caps, no vowels) of Hands and Knees and Crescendolls fame (or infamy, depending on your perspective). Â The Barbary has deep roots and been in existence since the late 60's. Â From what I've heard, the bar used to be a rock and roll bar that hosted a lot of not-so-well-known bands.
The entrance opens up right on the dance floor with the bar lining the right-hand wall. Â The space is divided by a wall which creates both the dance floor and a sitting area with a few couches for lounging. Â There's also a photo booth and an ATM, which makes this homegirl's life better since the bar is cash only and my pockets are always empty.
Now under Redden's reign it's become more of a dance venue for your local PBR-drinking, leggings-wearing, beard-sporting, tight jean-loving crowd.  There's some type of DJ almost every night.  Serious.  Check the sched, it's pretty much every night (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fi99.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fl313%2Fgreggforeman72%2Fbarbs_jan2.jpg&s=742918d0c7952f0e6b5532320148d53db567dc36036d39f3fd011d3f4620fbfb" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://i99.photobucket.c…</a>).  I'm not saying they are all fantastic DJs, in fact some are definitely iTunes DJs, but they're the jockeys of the discs/mp3s, so I guess they can get away with using the title. Â
I've been the bar on varying nights during the week and on Fridays, and there's been a decent crowd each time. Â Even on weeknights it seems like a late crowd with people not wandering in until after 11pm. Â This past Friday was the most insane I've seen the bar yet. Â So packed it was difficult to even get in the door. Â The dance floor was completely insane with everyone rocking their shit to some sweet 60's rock. Â It was a great time until some jackass decided it would be funny to assault me on the dance floor. Â Screw you, jackass! Â You made my foot bleed!
The walk is a bit unsavory if you're coming from Northern Liberties, as you have to walk through what I like to call The Abyss of Philadelphia - the intersection of Germantown Ave, Front Street, and Laurel Street underneath I-95. Â Honestly, just take that walk once. Â Even in broad daylight it's a little nerve-racking. Â So many roads converging in one place, yet there is never a single soul under there. Â The roads look as though they haven't been cleaned up in just about 3 decades. Â There's always garbage, broken glass, clothing, and weeds growing up out of the sidewalk. Â You'll want to watch your feet along the way.
In fact, John Redden, if you want to start a clean up project around the bar. Â I'm in. Â Anything to make me less afraid of contracting Hepatitis along the way to a night out.
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