As I wait here for my ride home from the Detroit Bus Co., I reflect back on the time that I had tonight. Ugh.... I wish I remembered it. Â Anyways, this place freaking rocks! Its a total punkers bar. I completely felt at home on Fat Tuesday while the classic rock polka band (Polka Floyd) played my favorite Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd songs. The jukebox rocks, the bartenders rock. The girl covered in tattoos serving Polish brandy shots that taste like Robitussin rocks! I completely, totally love this bar, except it is a long way from home and not one cab company will pick my ass up. Damn.
Anyways, I will be back, but I know now to bring my car.
Smalls has a great sound-system. Loud rock music, in an intimate venue. Good selection of alcoholic beverages. My favorite band comes here when they pass through town. Major kudos to this establishment for making the purchase of tickets to events they host as easy and painless as humanly possible. No Live Nation, no Ticketmaster. I hope they never change the way they do business.
Review Source:Any place where I can see The Muggs on stage is awesome in my book! Great bar with great atmosphere! Â I do have to deduct a star for the bartender's response to a slight drink situation however. Â I orderd Stoli and Seven and he heard Stoli and Soda, honest miscommunication. Â Now rather than earn big points by chalking it up in the loss column, dumping it and making what I had originally ordered he opted for another solution - pour the Stoli and Soda into an oversized cup and top it off with Seven. Â I do understand and this really does strike me as a resonable solution but reasonable rarely earns 5 Stars.
Review Source:When you enjoy something or somewhere as much as I enjoy Smalls, it's hard to find the right words to describe it. My first time there was about 10 years ago to see my boyfriend-at-the-time play a show with his band. I was in love immediately.
Seriously, this place has the perfect amount of space. Not too big, not too small. I also love the fact that there are three separate areas to hang out in, so if the band doesn't turn out to be your cup of tea, you can always mosey (stagger?) back to the bar area for another drink and you're able to hold a conversation (slur like a sailor?) because it's not too loud. This area also has a killer jukebox which I've spent many a dollar on because I decided I just HAD to hear that damn Johnny Cash/Social Distortion/whatever song for the bazillionth time. (No Ma, I ain't been drankin'!)
The bathrooms? Kinda divey, but nothing so scary that you want to soak your hands in bleach after using them. My favorite is the graffiti in the ladies room. Always seems to be two psychobilly/rockabilly girls arguing over what band or group is a poser. Hysterical!
Variety is the spice of life here, when it comes to live shows. I've seen straight-up dirty rock and roll bands, grimy gutter punk bands, greasey rockabilly bands who love singing "Whoa-oh-oh!" more than they love their leathers and pomade, stompy black-clad industrial bands wearing enough eyeliner to make Nikki Sixx blush, alt-country bands singing about how too much whiskey made their wives leave them, dancey european electronic and ebm bands with great visuals projected on screens, etc. The sound guy, Anthony, has got mixing bands down to an artform. My ears are never angry at me the next morning.
The beer and liquor selection in pretty damn fine and beyond reasonably-priced. Do yourself a favor and try a drink with one of the Hard Luck Vodkas. The Red Fish shots are delicious (which can be dangerous), and The Root Beer Barrel vodka goes nicely topped with soda and a splash of coke. One of the owners, Mike, also makes an amazing margarita.
This place is no stranger to a good cause, either. Mike and Natalie always seem to be getting involved with a ton of great benefit shows, which I think is pretty cool. (If you ever get a chance to sit down and have a drink and chat with them, I urge you to do so as these are two of the most genuine, funny and entertaining people I've ever met. )
In closing? Don't go changing, Smalls. I love you just the way you are.
this place is very laid back. the space is bigger and open and  during shows, it reminds you of "teen night" when in middle school  you had some venue all to yourselves and you walk around the building like idiots and try to be cool with the girls. the PA system here is horrible and they're probably blown out, i mean they fart sometimes. but still the fun factor makes me want to go.
Review Source:Great bar to see local and some national bands at. The concert stage is separate from the bar area so it is great if you are not interested in the band but still want to chat. Â Seen Isis here and it was so bad ass. Decent sound.
The only complaint I have about the place is that one of my bands played a benefit show for our singer, who has diabetes very badly, where we did not get to finish our set because it ran a little past the scheduled time. If it were not a benefit for our singer to help pay back for the free dialysis care that he was getting I'd understand.
Small's is quickly becoming my new favorite place to see bands play. I was at the recent Alkaline Trio (secret) show there, and it was by far the best time I have had at a show in years.
I like that Small's does not over charge for non-domestic beers. I like the whole Hard Luck Candy Vodka thing and I like the juke box. I know for a fact that this place is owned by some really great people.
Really, where this place truly shines is as a live music venue. It is just the right size, the sound is pretty decent and when packed, shows at Small's give me that 'old school' concert feel. You know, the feeling of being 17 again and blowing off all of your adolescent rage? They have been booking some fairly large national acts lately and I hope the trend continues!
I have also had the chance to play a few shows at Small's in the past and while it is a great place to see a show, the sound on stage is really weird. The sound guy could have given two shits about our band (and, eh, who could blame him). But in his attempt to rush us off of stage he asked my fellow band mate to "hurry up and get the fuck off the stage" - this is why Small's gets 4 stars and not 5.
Great place, and owned by great folks. Go check it out!
It might have something to do with the fact that owners, Melody Baetens and Dave Malosh, also happen to be musicians, but Smalls is one of the best places in metro Detroit to experience live music.
The set up is two-fold. Stroll in to the front room and belly up the art deco bar for drinks and conversation with friends - you'll find  both new and old ones here. Then make your way to the back room where you could encounter an impromptu dance party, discover a brand new band or catch one of the best live shows around.
You never know what you're in for at Small's. That's part of its charm.
The drinks are strong, the jukebox is stocked full of songs I want to hear (and always makes it around somehow to Johnny Cash "Ring of Fire" before the night is through) and the bar offers everything from local art to memorable fundraisers, giving right back to its home, Hamtramck.
Why a princess like me likes a divebar like Small's:
1. The owners make this line of rootbeer flavored vodka that is quite possibly the most delicious vodka-like thing I've EVER tasted. And the most I've ever drank without a screaming hangover. Root beer vodka + seltzer = set. They are NOT stingy on the pours either!
2. They separate the stage section and the bar section. Love that. You can have a conversation or rock out with your c**k out.
3. It's got the right hipster to normal people ratio.
4. The guy who takes your cover charge is pretty damn funny. He asked me if I knew what was under V's turban. I told him a pot of gold.
5. Ladies rooms are well... dive bar worthy.
6. Got to see Liz mothereffing Hill and the Modifiers perform on her birthday and it was AMAZEBALLS.
Love the crowd, love the people, love the vibe, love the rootbeer vodka (which you can buy right across the street if a day later or so you find yourself having a craving).
PS - Rumor has it they make a SWEDISH FISH version of vodka too! They don't sell it across the street but I'm not even sure if they have it at this bar... but SWEDISH FISH VODKA! OMFG!
(For the record -- I had at least 4 maybe 6 of these rootbeer seltzer drinks? Yeah... totally not hungover the next day! WIN!)
Smalls a great place to see a show and escape from the same old same old of whatever neighborhood. Â Its also a great hangout every other night of the week. Â The drinks are always strong and never too expensive. Â My favorite night of the week there is Trivia night but if you just want to have a good drink at a cool bar, any night of the week will do!
Review Source:went to smalls this saturday to see the muggs and the hentchmen.
i have to say the last time i went to smalls was probably 8yrs ago and i was so drunk i fell asleep on the bar. Â they let me sleep until my friend was ready to go, so kudos to them.
the cover was cheap and the drinks were cheap. Â i bought a couple drinks for the bf and me and let some friends put a drink or two on my tab and it was 10bucks when we left. Â awesome for a place that has live music.
the crowd was also so much more interesting than at say, the majestic. Â no hipster quotient here and everyone was different. Â so refreshing to go to a bar in detroit that has shows and there isn't a bunch of american apparel idiots.
it is smoky, but i like bars that way. Â the stage is so small and you have no trouble hearing the band in any room.
love, juston
Not that much money to get in and it feels like you are a member of the band because the band room isn't that large.
Good place to hang out if there isn't a band that night as well.
When this place first started the sound system was way too loud but now it seems to be just right.
Get up and go to this place.
I enjoyed my self at small's tonight. they have fresh PBR's and a great sound system. Saw a band called "Hobo Gangbang" that claimed it was their first appearance in the D. They were hardcore punk and they freakin ROCKED. The sound was NOT oppressively loud which is generally my main complaint with bars that have live stages. There is a piece of art in the room with the stage that is so incredible (IMHO) that it is worth going to Small's JUST to see that. Â Great club bring your grandma she likes live punk doesn't she?
Review Source:I love this bar and have been coming to Hamtramck to enjoy the wonder that is Small's for quite awhile. Before I was able to enjoy a beer at the bar, I was coming in to check out some of my favorite local bands. Small's is more than just a music venue, more than just a bar, it's a sort of indie/punk Cheers with the raddest jukebox selection. With everything from Marvin Gaye to the Descendents this is the perfect place to wind down, have a beer, listen to some tunes and engage in some bar banter.
The bartenders know their people and they know their drinks. And they book some of the best local bands around. So, whether you stop in for a few cocktail with friends or are enjoying some local music, Small's will indeed leave you satisfied (with some cash left in your pocket, prices are sensible).
Small's isn't small!
Small's has a retro feel to it, something that I can't explain. It's not the decor (though the ceiling fans are fabulous), or the patrons... just something about the place takes me back.
There's three separate rooms to Small's: the main bar room, the mezzanine (where merch usually sells their wares, and a second bar is set up), and the stage room. Some nights there's no music, some nights there's a big show going on.
I've seen more than a few shows here. I can say that it's my favorite bar in Hamtramck; the sound system is fantastic, the prices for the shows are fair (around $10), and the bar is stocked full of anything and everything I want.
The thing I like the most is that Small's doesn't cater to a single crowd (read as "scene"); I've seen rock shows, ska shows, industrial/goth shows here, and each respective subculture packs the place everytime. It's such a great feeling going to a show that's full (I've done the Alvin's a couple times, and it was quite the contrary) .
And now they have WIFI! Why... I'm not sure. But hey, who can argue with free internet?
If you have a chance, or you're in Hamtramck looking for a place to have a couple drinks... definitely check out Small's. It's always an awesome time.
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