The Max

I love this bar! This is an old timers bar (which I prefer). The Max has been around forever and it is known as the place to go to hear great live music. You will see on almost any night older couples dancing the night away on the dance floor whether there is a live band or just the jukebox playing.

Think retro 80's bar atmosphere with their red lighting and old wooden bars. The bar is open 24 hrs and they have 2-for-1 drinks everyday from 6am-6pm (how awesome is that?!!). The bar patrons here are all courteous and upbeat.

One of the best nights to come is Sunday night when The Yat Pack is there. They are there every Sunday and they play incredible swing and big band music. I've been listening to big band music for almost 20 yrs now and it is great music....classic.

Good bartenders, cheap drinks, great atmosphere, and awesome big band tunes! Now you know why The Max has been around so long!

Ladies, I can't be the only one looking for places to go wearing my "Mad Men" clothes, right? You can totally rock that Betty Draper dress in this place and not feel weird. A lot of the men wear suits here! It's so cute in a throwback way . Seeing older people dance and flirting with each other never gets old. Just go once on a Sunday night- you'll see.

*cough* *cough* *cough* *hauck* *cough* *snort* *cough*  That was me the next day from an evning at the max. And that's even with the front door open all evening.

The Max is one of those divey places where I used to be a regular to see my buddy Jerry Embree every week or so. Once a simple piano bar the max has morphed into a lounge atmosphere with couches surrounding the stage a second martini bar and less dance space than I remember. The main horseshoe bar remains as soon as you walk in the door with tables and video poker on the right and more tables, the stage and martini bar on the left.

My only big complaint is the smoke. I get that it's a bar and smoking is allowed and I can go elsewhere, so the Max won't be a regular spot. Maybe if they went smoke free, or had a couple nights a month where they try no smoking like at Finn McCool's I can see going more often. It's a neat place and only a short drive within the Metrys.

Sundays feature the Yat Pack, a swing ensemble with a Rat Pack vibe. Apparently one of my friends wants to do naughty things with Tim, but that's outside the scope of the review. They were fun and it was fun watching them trying to drink from a stem glass at the end of the mic stand.

Finally, one small complaint. somehow the staff overcharged My Favorite Vegan 50 cents. While 50 cents may not be much, if everyone overcharged 50 cents on every credit card transaction we'd be broke... well more broke.

** + * for the memories and the hopes they'll try out that smoke free thing.