Destination New York: The LES Bar Crawl

Stop #1: Before the guitar solos start, it’s important to elevate that energy level with a little bit of liquor. So get yourself over to the corner of East Houston and Orchard Street (200 Orchard street in fact), for a pregame at the chill neighborhood dive. You can’t go wrong with the microbrews on tap or a stiff mixed drink amidst 200 Orchard’s homey old-fashioned décor of antiques and old photos. Hang out with the hip locals and college students who mellow out here before hitting the streets, or file into the backroom for a rowdier scene of drinking games and mingling. You can even play your own IPod playlist before things get busy, so organize that library to pump yourselves up.  

Stop #2: Now that you are properly prepared, take a right on east Houston and head a block down to the legendary Mercury Lounge. The intimate venue space is known for booking some of the best up-and-coming bands and artists in the region, with the likes of Arcade Fire and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performing here before they got famous. Join the casually dressed music-lovers at the front bar for a couple more rounds, and then proceed to the stage for the first act of your night. You might just be able to brag that you were five feet away from so-and-so once the band blows up. 

Stop #3: Maybe it’s called Pianos to scare away passersby who don’t know any better, but the two story music venue is an indie-rock and progressive music-lovers haven that gets a whole lot louder than any piano bar. At the back of the first floor is an all out rock show, while the main bar in the front lounge, with a bohemian crowd mingling over cocktails and beer, is a nice respite once the heat at the stage becomes as high as the volume. The best part about Pianos is that if the killer live bands aren’t giving you your fix, a small upstairs space transforms into a decadent club scene to the progressive beats of the DJ in the corner. 

Stop #4: You’ve seen two awesome rock sets, shook it out, and are more pumped than a half-their-head-shaved fan at a Skrillex concert. Now you are sufficiently ready to end the night at the clinically insane, bipolar Fat Baby. A sleek and trendy nightclub occupies the space upstairs for chic hipsters and fashionistas, while downstairs is an always-crazy room filled with tattooed locals going wild to the loud punk music. With a clientele that’s as eclectic as the streets of New York, and a party vibe where you can switch between heavy metal raging and getting down to DJ spun electro beats, there’s no ‘phatter’ way to end a rock and roll pub crawl than at Fat baby.