Painted Lady Lounge

If you are looking for a dive that doesn't sacrifice warmth for character, is still somewhat classy and above all kick-ass, I would definitely check out the Painted Lady in D-Ham. Good drinks and company, plus I hear the DJ on Wednesday nights is pretty groovy!

The Painted Lady has everything you would want in a dive bar: indoor smoking, dim lighting, lots of character, reasonably priced drinks, hit or miss bands, a juke box, and a pool table. There are even a couple of arcade games (one of them is Pacman, if I'm not mistaken)

There's a front entrance that is only for bands, and a side entrance for patrons, so sorting the regulars from the newbies is easy(funny) when you see people walk right up, hesitate, look around and then shuffle into the parking lot behind someone who knows where they are going.

The bartenders are friendly, funny, and tattooed. The whole place is a delight for the eye, with stickers and scribbles all over the place in the bathroom, and posters/flyers of previous bands on the walls in the main room.  There's even a projector to play movies in the background.  

Even though you'll leave reeking of smoke, at least you won't have to worry about weak drinks.

Ignore how seedy the surrounding neighborhood looks and go there!

Great place to catch an occasional good band, but the plumes of smoke, angst-ridden crusty punks, and too-cool-for-school bartenders ruin it.