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| - For those of you who hate to read long reviews (which I like to write), here's a "too long, didn't read" version:
* New decor, new dance floor, new seating, pretty awesome
* Local DJs who play decent dance music
* Go here if you like to dance (or at least attempt). Otherwise avoid.
* The drink specials are pretty awesome, especially Tues and Thurs
* The bartenders are cool, until a ton of people show up
* Nice crowd, though it can get packed
* Get here before 10 if you want to avoid a line, and before 8:30 if you want to avoid cover.
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Note: This bar doubles as a coffee shop during the day, but I don't drink coffee, so I cannot review that part of it.
This bar closed down in 2007 for renovation and reopened in Spring 2009. And wow is there a difference. The space has been optimized. There is more seating than there used to be, and it has that "new Champaign club" smell. Even now in 2010 it still sets itself apart from other dancing bars in the area.
In fact, this bar seems DESIGNED for dancing. Though there is a lot of seating, the people tend to filter to the dance floor in the back of the bar. The dance floor is not actually particularly large and it is cliché, from the dark room to the rotating lights to the stripper poles in the corner. But its cliché done right. The DJs tend to be local (though recently DJ Flipside from Chicago has made several appearances), but are they are generally pretty good at giving the people the dance music that they want and keeping them in a dancing mood. They tend to have a large number of songs, and in general, unless requested will not repeat a song once in the night. One thing that does bother me is that many of the DJs seem to have a problem with playing anything hip hop (and no, this new electronica/R&B fusion craze is not considered hip hop). I don't know if this is because it's harder to mix than the normal *boom chic boom chic boom* base beats that all dance music seems to be made out of these days or if they are trying not to attract a certain clientele (which doesn't really work). The music is played pretty loud, but in my opinion it isn't overbearing. If you're looking for a bar to just talk to people though, you should prob go down the street to Murphy's.
I have to say that the bathrooms are pretty decent. I have never been in this place when the bathrooms were a complete disaster, though I'm sure it happens.
The drink specials are nice in my opinion. Tuesdays are wine night, where you can get bottles for $8. Thursdays are $2 Skyy/Wild Turkey and chaser night. And even Saturdays the pricing is decent. There isn't very much selection, but welcome to campus bars. You'll have to go to downtown Champaign for that. You will pay $5 cover from essentially Weds to Saturday night.
The bartenders on uncrowded days are surprisingly personable, though expectedly this dies off as the crowd gets larger. There have been times where they can take forever to get back to getting you a drink, but for me this has been pretty rare.
The clientele in there ranges from nerds to the simply fratastic. But in my opinion, it tends to cover the whole gamut of those who like dance music. Girls that tend to frequent this bar seem to be pretty friendly to me. I never did the random hookup thing though, so I don't know how your luck will fare if that's your ultimate goal for the night. It can get really crowded really quickly, and sometimes, it can take a bit of time to get from one side of the place to the other. To ensure that you get in without waiting in a line for an hour, get here before 11pm...preferably before 10. If you want to avoid cover get here before 8.
All in all, if you like a lot of dancing combined with decent drinks at a reasonable price, The Clybourne is the place to be. It's not the most amazing bar I've ever been to...but it's pretty high up on the list bang-for-buck. 4/5 stars.
If you are interested, here is their website, complete with drink specials: http://www.theclybourne.com/
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