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| - I've been to both the upstairs and downstairs sections of The Sett, each with their own charm. I'll tackle the upstairs first, which hosts live shows and has a more extensive food menu. The Sett as a music venue is a big open space two stories tall, with a large balcony circling the area around the stage. For those shows where I don't want to be up front dancing, the balcony is great. I've always been able to find a seat there with a great view of the stage, and the acoustics are nice. They do bring in some great acts (in recent memory, I've been able to catch both Yacht and Sims for free), although the size of the crowd varies wildly. The acoustics are great, loud but not too echo-y. I do recommend earplugs if you want to preserve your hearing, though - even in the balcony. Note that you'll have to bring them from somewhere else (the closest place to buy them is the Walgreens on East Campus Mall about a mile away) since they don't sell them at Union South at all. There are also a number of TVs in the room, and they often have a large projection screen above the stage showing sporting events when a show isn't going to be happening.
The beer selection is impressive, featuring some good deals, as well as some fantastic local micro-brews for a few dollars more. Make sure you bring your ID, though. They are fairly militant about carding, given the high volume of college students. The food is better than the Rathskeller's fare, especially the snacks and side dishes. If you're looking for great local flavors, grab a Klement's brat (they're the folks who sponsor the Sausage Race at Brewer games, and their sausages are head and shoulders above Johnsonville) on a bun from Clasen's, one of the best bakeries in Madison. The spicy catfish sandwich is crunchy and flavorful without being too greasy, and the BBQ pulled pork sandwich is pretty good (Sweet Baby Ray's is the best commercial BBQ sauce you're going to find north of the Mason-Dixon Line), though I always get it without coleslaw. The garlic fries are a personal favorite, almost as good as the Gilroy Garlic Fries at AT&T Park. The cheese curds are crunchy and not greasy at all, more like Culver's than the Old Fashioned's. The condiment bar is extensive, with a veritable buffet of options. My boyfriend shudders to think what would happen to it if Gwar ever plays there.
The downstairs area has more limited food options (I suggest you bring down food from upstairs or wait until after you're done downstairs), but this is where the pool tables, air hockey table, climbing wall, and bowling alley are. It's a huge improvement on the old gaming/recreation area, which was a dank pit of skeeze (although there aren't any arcade games anymore, boo). It's much cleaner, doesn't have any weird smells, and the students who work there are attentive and courteous. The quality of the music varies wildly depending on whose shift it is. Some days I love every song playing, but some times I want to throw knives at the speakers, because there are only so many times one can listen to Smash Mouth's "All Star" without feeling homicidal twinges. The bowling alley is great fun and probably the cheapest in town, especially before 5 p.m. There are bowling balls of all sizes and weights (a much better selection than Schwoegler's), and TVs located over the pins and the seating areas are usually showing live sporting events or other ESPN programming (sound is off, but subtitles are on, which is a good compromise). They do sell inexpensive socks, which is great for when you forget to bring them while wearing sandals. You can also host parties for a fairly low price. One minor problem is that sometimes the area is overrun with kids or parties, which can get loud, but it's not as much of a problem in the evening. Also note that you can't buy pitchers of beer downstairs, just individual cups.
Overall, The Sett is an enormous improvement over the Union South of yore, and a great place for some inexpensive non-frat party entertainment in the campus area.
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