Brown University
- Nightlife

Metropolis

Metropolis promises to be a hard-hitting club. Metropolis lives up to its name with multiple dance floors and spinning DJs. Grab your trendiest gear and a crisp Hamilton; ten bucks gets you in this big-city dance club. It tries hard to mimic the New York club feel, but it’s only open Thursday–Saturday.

Pulse

Go-go boys and sweat-drenched bodies are the fare at Pulse, one of Rhode Island’s largest gay clubs. Features all-male reviews. Thursday: Karaoke with denise. No cover before 10. Friday: Hetero-a-Go-Go. All persuasions welcome.

Viva

Viva has been on campus for 10 years, and based on the line to get in on Saturday nights, it’s not leaving any time soon. There’s no denying that Viva found its clientele in Brown’s club-hungry international students. From the looks of it, you’ll think you walked into a wormhole and were instantly transported to a glamorous city. Strong drinks, thick smoke, and even thicker accents are the scene. It’s a see-and-be-seen hotspot. And don’t even think about wearing those sneakers. Open seven nights a week with a variable cover.

Lupo’s at the Strand

The granddaddy of Providence nightlife, Lupo’s is a world-famous concert venue, bar, and occasional dance floor. A great place to catch soon-to-be-huge bands, Lupo’s consistently pleases with a perfect lineup of hot bands, has-beens, and second-rate groups ranging from hip-hop and reggae to indie rock and ska. The Met Café, Lupo’s sibling club, promises smaller, intimate shows with a full bar right next door.

Club Hell

Club Hell hosts the retro and fetish club scene in Providence. Although it’s no closer than any other downtown night spot, Hell attracts a good number of Brown students, and maintains a good balance of edgy and accessible. Cover ranges from $4 to $6 Tuesday: Underground eighties, Hell’s busiest night. Bust a move or bang heads to the Ramones, the Cramps, Bowie, and their contemporaries. Sunday: Resurrection, Providence’s goth night.

The Complex

A Providence dance staple, the Complex promises to suit almost any taste in its boring, yet crowd pleasing, ways. ladies night and college night keep the students coming, and the meager five-dollar cover gets them in and dancing. Casual dress, casual looks, and casual interaction.It’s unlikely that you’ll run into many other Brown kids, but sometimes that‘s a good thing. If you are looking to cut loose Thursday–Saturday, the Complex is a safe bet. Thursday–Saturday $5 cover.

Fish Company

Despite the admittedly disgusting name, the Fish Company is not a packing house by day turned club at night (although that might give it a bit more mystique). This is a club that Brown kids frequent, most likely because it’s close to campus and easy to find. Drinks might not be cheap enough, considering the very casual atmosphere, but at least you can get fresh air on the deck, which has a nice view of the river. Wednesday: Live Music. Thursday–Saturday: DJ.

Tortilla Flats

Only a few blocks form Brown’s campus, Tortilla Flats may seem like a godsend for anyone who notices the conspicuous lack of Mexican food around campus. Sadly, nada mucho here, as far as food goes. The extensive line-up of tequila bottles, however, will leave you spinning like a piñata on Cinco de Mayo.

Steam Alley

Steam Alley is just a few blocks farther than most Brown students wander, but is less than a block from the ever-popular Fish Company. This relaxing bar has multiple big-screen TVs, cheap pool tables, and karaoke.

Trinity Brewhouse

A downtown microbrew, Trinity Brewhouse features patio seating in the heart of downtown. On Tuesdays, you can get a scenic tour of the facility, but the bar is a great place to grab a pint any day of the week.

The Wild Colonial Tavern

Voted one of the 50 best bars in America, the Wild Colonial is run by Brown professors. Pints of Guinness and darts abound at the foot of College Hill.

Wickenden Pub

The Wick Pub is close to a lot of off-campus housing. The drinks aren’t cheap, but if you want to feel like you’re drinking in the hull of a ship, they’ve got you covered. The pub showcases over 100 different bottles of beer in their front window, and you can join the Pint Club by drinking all of them.

The Red Fez

Another wonderful dive bar, the Red Fez features a short bar and church-pew-style seating that makes you wonder if you’ve found the last-bastion for nerd glasses and MC5 T-shirts. Regardless, a semi-cold can of Schlitz for a buck and a half is enough to lure Brown hipsters downtown for a drink where nobody knows your name.

Kartabar

Popular for its boutique-chic atmosphere and its signature drinks, Kartabar is another stop along the Thayer Street bar scene. Students have strong drinks and see bafflingly overdressed patrons sip martinis and snack on European appetizers.

Grad Center Bar

Nothing says get sauced like cheap drinks, cheap pool, and a bar that opens at four in the afternoon. The GCB is a great place for students to share a pitcher with their professors, TAs, or classmates. Unfortunately for most underclassmen, they are serious about IDs. Memberships to the GCB can be purchased with $20, a Brown ID, and driver’s license.

Liquid Lounge

Smack in the middle of campus, Liquid Lounge’s neon lights call to Brown students looking for a chill bar experience. Here the local and college crowd mix like oil and water, but everyone can get hosed together on dollar Rolling Rocks while listening to a rocking juke box.

Patrick’s Pub

Patrick’s has become something of a Providence staple, if not to Brown students in particular. Saturday night is college night, cover is $2 instead of $5 if you wear green.

Nick-a-Nees

Although it’s a little out of the way, Brown students occasionally pack its long tables, which are inevitably laden with peanut shells and the occasional broken glass. It’s not much to look at, but Brown students dig dive bars, and Nick-a-Nees has dived about as far as it can go. Sometimes friendly staff, cheap eats, and live blues and rock bands make the bar a welcomed change from the packed college bars only a few miles away.

Underground AS220

Although it’s a bar, AS220 is always all-ages and drinking really is only part of the scene.

Trinity Repertory

Trinity Reparatory Company performs first-class theater performances produced by its own resident acting company. They features classics as well as contemporary works by local, national, and international playwrites, and it has special offers.