Clubline - Babes Restaurant

Babes Restaraurant & Cocktails
5614 Schroeder Road
Madison, WI 53711
Telephone: (608) 274-7300

Named after one of baseball’s immortal athletes (the ever-colorful 1920’s home run superstar (whose reputation even survived a cheesy 1990’s biography with John Goodman), Babe Ruth) and in their third decade of business, Babe’s Bar and Grill on Madison’s near West Side has turned started adding live entertainment into the mix on weekends in addition to their traditional sports bar offerings. Originally conceived in 1988 by owner Lynn Haker as the ultimate place to “watch the game” in the Heritage Square strip mall on Odana Road, kitty corner from the Westgate Mall, Babe’s moved to a larger location on Schreoder Road just a few blocks up Whitney Way.

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Clubline - Argus Bar and Grille - Madison

Argus Bar and Grille
121 E. Main Street
Madison, WI 53703
Telephone: (608) 256-414

Madison’s Argus Bar and Grille endeavors to be something a little different on Madison’s Capitol Square. It’s not only the oldest commercial building in downtown Madison (built in 1847, but no haunted stories yet!) but also also create an affordable bar and grill in an area of the city not known for being welcoming to the budget-conscious.  The bar has been called The Argus (a Greek word meaning “vigilant guardian”) since 1990 and it’s namesake was a newspaper, The Wisconsin Argus, that was run out of the building in the early 1900’s. Current owner, Rick Brahmer, took over the place two years ago.

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Clubline - Scatz on Madison’s West Side

Scatz
2248 Deming Way
Middleton, WI 53562
Telephone: (608) 203-825

The far west side of Madison is the fastest growing area in the city. There are new ways to see live bands and party out there in places that were previously just cornfields and open space. Which is good for an expanding population where people don’t necessarily want to take the risk of driving downtown when they’re drinking or the expense of a pricey cab ride home.

Enter Scatz, a big new sports bar and live music venue in Middleton that opened in November. And according to the owner, Pat McCulloch, opening a new nightclub “is the most exciting thing to do besides play shortstop for the Brewers…

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Clubline - Inferno - 12 Year Anniversary

Inferno
1718 Commercial Avenue
Madison, WI 53704
Telephone: (608) 245-958

Inferno Nightclub in the Madison suburb of Maple Bluff (smoking allowed!) has been a mainstay of the area’s goth, punk, and DJ scene for over a decade now and this December celebrates its twelfth anniversary. Apollo Marquez, the owner of the club, has been a constant and steadfast supporter of live entertainment in the area and has shown his commitment to putting on as diverse a selection of events as you’re likely to get anywhere. That’s the kind of club he was inspired to create, as Apollo says, “I used to live in Denver and got a lot of ideas from going out to clubs there. I started going to punk rock shows when I was 15 in places like The Loft in Madison, and always roadied and helped out friends that played guitar or drums. My parents had bought the building and said that if I’d help them out, we’d see where it went. Then I leased it from them and turned it into the Inferno.” It’s almost always under what he calls “constant remodeling” (if you haven’t been there for a little while, you might be surprised about how different the layout has changed since its beginning. “We have three bars here now, the building was built in 1939 and there’s been three additions since then. It’s a lot better than it was when I got in here.” And initially, he didn’t expect to be so successful for so long. “At the end of 5, I was happy to make it to 10,” Apollo says…..

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The Project Lodge

Project Lodge
817 E Johnson Street
Madison, WI 53703

Filling an important gap in Madison music venues, serving a crowd hungry for all-ages shows and concerts outside of bars, is The Project Lodge on 817 E. Johnson St. It was founded by recent Madison immigrants (via Portland, Oregon), Christopher Buckingham (a multi-instrumentalist that played music in Portland who also performs locally) and Kendra Larson. The Lodge opened in February and has been hosting at least one show a week since.

Buckingham explains the idea behind the founding, “In Portland we put on shows in our house, music shows and art shows, moved all the furniture into one room and put up artwork and let someone play for a night. I’ve been involved with art for awhile and wanted to get something going in Madison too that would involve the music and art scene.”

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The Frequency

The Frequency
121 W. Main Street
Madison, WI 53703
Telephone: (608) 819-877

Darwin Sampson has been a fixture in Madison music through bands during much of the Nineties and aught in bands like Uncle Eddie, The Skintones, and Helliphant. He used to book The Anchor Inn, but his most recent stint was booking The Annex. Now he’s set to open his own place. We talked with him for a few minutes about the new club.

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Cafe Montmartre

Cafe Montmartre
1227 E. Mifflin Street
Madison, WI 53703
Telephone: (608)255-5900

Madison’s Cafe Montmarte (or The Momo as it has been affectionately nicknamed) has been the epicenter of the city’s hipster culture for years. Named after a hill in the north of Paris (and meaning “Mount of the Martyr” because France’s patron saint was decapitated there in 250 A.D.), the Cafe is one of Madison’s great survivors…

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IQ’s

IQ's
2105 University Avenue
Green Bay, WI 54302
Telephone: (920) 437-295

This Month: IQ’s on University Avenue in downtown Green Bay is a fun place to play, eat and listen to bands.

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