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Exit is a love it or hate it kind of place. I love it.
It's dark, dirty and loud - exactly how a bar should be. Well, how I think one should be.
You're guaranteed to have an adventurous evening here and if all goes well - that evening will end the next morning as Exit is open 365 days a year until 4 am 6 nights a week and until 5 am on Saturday. You shouldn't be driving if you're going to a 4 am bar, but let your DD know there is easy street parking near by.
The bartenders are always fun, nice and pretty attentive. Booze prices are reasonable ($3 Kilo Kai rum drinks on a Saturday, $3 PBRs). All you'll hear is punk and metal and they show some weird ass shit on the TVs. I mean that in the nicest way.
Go for the people watching, I promise you'll be amused.
To quote Jessica C. and Emily N.'s reviews:
You may get a chance to meet Bing the greaser that surfs in Indiana. Seriously. Or the random dude in the suit that will throw down $20 to buy your girlfriends and you some drinks and then walk away. No hassle, no bother. Awesome.
The story goes like this:
One night 3 girls ventured to a club, met some guys, got smashed, and rode around in a limo eventually landing at EXIT. As soon as I walked in, the first thing I wanted to do was just that, EXIT. I couldn't stand the mass of grunge biker dudes staring me down, the smell of prison or the caveman like grunting, flirting according to the biker dudes. While it was very late or very early, however you look at it, it was just not pretty on all fronts. I got a beer drank it, and left promptly with my entourage in toe. Thank god, i couldn't get out of there fast enough!
If David Lynch, John Waters, and David Cronenberg would go out they would probably love this place. It's a dive like bar with a punk esthetic. A lot of people in Chicago say nice things about this place even the taxi drivers.
The bartenders are super cool and nice and the prices were decent. I saw several things I won't talk about in this review but it made for decent entertainment. By morning when I woke up it all felt like a hazy weird dream.
Go there around 1:30am or later.
Seriously - one of my fav places to booze and I haven't even reviewed it? Shame on me! So, here's my pro/con list
PRO'S
1. Open till 5am
2. Bartenders are awesome
3. Place has gas masks on the walls and bras hanging from the ceiling
4. You will NEVER hear an R. Kelly or DMB song
5. People are cool as shit
6. I met two fabulous yelpers here this past saturday (Stacy Y and Jessica C. - HOLLA!)
7. Pretty good drink specials, though it's rare that I have anything but beer
8. Some guy left $20 to buy me and 3 of the gals a round and didn't even stick around to pester us - Score!
CON's
1. beer list could be a bit healthier
2. Too far from my casa to hit up on a regular basis
3. I get tattoo envy everytime I come here. I really want some more.
The pros obviously outweigh the cons so join me some fine saturday morning and we can stumble out to the sunrise and chirping birds.
Hot bartenders, cheap drinks, and great f'n music. ANd open late. Saw a rather amateurish burlesque show the other night. And I'm pretty sure there is never a cover.
I have mixed feelings about EXIT.
For a while (before I discovered the awesomeness that is Delilah's), I would come here for Punk Rock Mondays. My girlfriend, her best friend & I would sit around and drink pints of Guinness and try to look like we fit in.
I met one of my best friends at this bar.
The drinks are pricey and there shouldn't be a cover charge. Everyone should experience it once.
Bottom line: EXIT is where you go after Delilah's is closed.
So, here it goes. I decide to go here on a Thursday night. With full knowledge that it is bondage night. Hell, I've done some sadomasochistic things. I figured, why not try the dominatrices at The Exit?
Let's talk about the bar. It's a dirty, dingy dive. And i am not opposed to that. You got all black walls, motorcycles that double for chairs, weird looking people (coming from a sadomasochist), and i believe some regulars. At these sort of bars, i best stay away from draft. They are really watered down. That's why, i stick to bottles! There's a decent beer selection, but nothing to go out of your way for.
The music is ok, but i have little and/or next to no knowledge on the type. I can see myself dancing to it, but they got rid of the dance floor! Dang.
The bartenders are really respectful and talkative. I admit, was sort of disappointed by that at first... I would think being a punk bar and bondage night, they'd be a bit degrading. But then, i got back to my normal senses. I like being respected. I like my patronage appreciated. I want to come back to a place where my patronage is appreciated and respected. Weird, huh?
Now, back to the bondage. I dug the dominatrices, but i don't think they are very efficient. I noticed they almost got my spine and rib area hit a couple of times. Not a good sign. But, they did what they did, and i enjoyed myself. So, not a huge loss. The employees were nice enough to take photos of my butt whooping. Overall, i had a good time, good memories, and good service at a dingy bar.
As i got to know the bartenders better, they are really good people. They shared shots with me, talked to me, shoot the shit without denying their customers their company. And yes, i went back for the bondage. I got a freebie! That was cool of them.
Went here on Saturday for the first time, and very much enjoyed it! It was earlier in the night so the bar was pretty quiet and chill for a weekend, but for what the GF and I were looking for, it fit the bill. The place has a feel clearly aimed at the 'fear-the-future' of the 'England's dreaming' era of punk. Some of it felt a little contrived, with all the skulls, but still punky, divey fun.
The bartender was super nice - it's always a shock these days when you are greeted by someone with a sincere, wide brimming smile across their face. The drinks were cheap and good, and the music was great!
If you're in the mood for a dive bar and don't want the hipster scene of Ukie Village, check out EXIT.
I have never been to a place like this before or since.
Fellini meets David Lynch meets Tim Burton. The music was so annoying and loud that it almost fried my nutsack. Still walking funny today. Poll dancers from a nearby gentlemen's club recording for a tv show doing their routines inches away from seriously overweight bikers leering at them and taking photos of them on their phones. An Ozzie Osbourn look alike; female bartenders dressed for Halloween, and seriously drunk guys trying to pick up the entertainers as the girls adjust their duct tape (!) so their goods don't show when they go upside down on the poll. What's not to like? Won't be back unless I'm dragged there by guys bigger and stronger than I, but am too old to fully appreciate the unique ambiance of Exit anyway, so, if you want to go deaf while seeing some things you don't see in the carraige trade neighborhoods...then, bon apetite! . The people were, in fact, very friendly. They were probably wondering what I was doing there...I didn't "blend".
See my review of Delilah's.
Added note: this place should be called EXIT, A BAR BASED ON THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL, "PUNK!"
Postscript: I once tried to get one of their idle dominatrices, as bored as a retail security guard, to torture my friend for his birthday. She wanted forty bucks to gently tickle him with some leather duster thing. We were both indignant. I had to calm him down. He's all, "For forty bucks you should be beating my ass!" The concerned bargoers around us shouted in consumers' solidarity: "That ain't right, Godammit!" "Would it be SO hard to do SOMETHING to his nipples?" "You call this S&M? More like H&M!"
I first started coming here because a good friend's lady worked here. Even though she no longer works at the Exit, they're still huge fans, and any time they come into the city we end up here - which is fine by me. Despite the look of the place and the punk rock feel, everyone is totally nice. The bartenders are great and completely cool, and the dj upstairs is happy to honor my drunk-girl requests for awesome tunes like: Promises, Promises; Sidewalking; Love My Way; and Mother.
Downstairs, there's a stripper pole and a couple motorcycles, and the drinks are strong. Despite the fact that I generally look sort of out-of-place among the crowd, everyone is really nice - there's no real exclusionist vibe that I'm aware of.
The only lameness in this otherwise awesome place is that you can't really dance anymore. Upstairs there used to be a dancefloor that is now a little group of tables. I definitely think the patronage has gone down since the Footloose rule went into effect - which sucks, because at 2 am this after-hours bar used to be packed with a weird (yet awesome) mix of people.
Oh well. I'm going to keep going to Exit and make the dancing happen wherever I can - dancefloor or no!
I am not a regular, I don't live in the neighborhood, nor did I see a show here. I was visiting Chicago with a group of people, and some local friends suggested it. Mob rules. Not that I had any idea what I was in for at The Exit. If I had known it would be like every cliche and stereotype of 'punk', I would not have gone. Neither would the rest of my group.
"You'll love it - it's just like ______ in Detroit!" No, it wasn't. It wasn't like any bar I've been to before. It seriously felt like a caricature of what a punk bar is supposed to be. From the punk 'hits' soundtrack to the crappy spray-painted skulls on the plywood walls to the goth club upstairs, it felt plastic and false.
I saw some flyers on the wall behind the bar that advertised some shows from the '80s. All I kept thinking was "Really? The Effigies played here? Seriously?" Later, when I got home, I looked it up and found that the original Exit was located elsewhere. Something happened, and it burned down or had to close (can't remember), and they re-located and re-decorated.
One shining light in the experience (besides good times with good friends) was one of the bartenders. I can't remember her name, but she had pink hair and she was really cool. Plus, she kept buying us shots and that never hurts.
If a 14 year old Vampire: the Masquerade player made up a bar for his game, he would make up Exit. The walls are covered in skulls, there are motorcycles that function as seating, and shackles hang from the walls.
Punk bands don't need to know how to play their instruments, and apparently punk bartenders don't need to know how to make drinks. Then again, it's not necessarily the bartenders fault - everything is so watered down that nothing tastes right. Every drink I've ordered there has been at least a little off.
The music is generally really good, but I'd enjoy it more if there was a dance floor. If you're not going to have a dance floor, turn the music down a bit. I want to talk to my friends, not just sit there and look cool.
They do book awesome entertainment. I love their monthly burlesque show, and I recently saw a drag/burlesque show. The dancers are really talented. It would have been better if they'd turned off the TVs before the show. It's hard to pay attention to the dancers when Big Trouble in Little China is playing right behind them.
I think it's really funny that people are so upset about the dance floor upstairs being gone. How the hell do you actually dance to goth music anyway? All I've seen you idiots do is bob your head and slowly move your body around like you're dying. Get over it!
And I'm sorry, "UGH This place isn't as punk as _____ !" or "It was way cooler back in the 80's" are some pretty fucking stupid reasons to write a place off. I didn't know that we were racking up cool points.
Lighten up! Whatever happened to just having fun?
Here are some reasons that Exit is pretty awesome:
There are drink specials every night
The staff is friendly
The tunes aren't awful
It looks like a dungeon
Some of the patrons are pretty ridiculous looking but if you talk to them they're all really nice
Although it's sort of a pain in the ass to get to, there's always parking!
It's open until 4 am 365 days a year.
Also, Neo and Exit are NOT owned by the same people.
The End !
After getting kicked out of Delilahs at 2am, it was time to head to this place. We drove past it and had to turn around to find it. Its next to home depot in the middle of nowhere. It was my second punk bar of the night. I liked the space. The skulls, pornos on the screen, shackles and dark lighting really made for an interesting night! A night of complete debauchery.
Oh and putting your hand through the shackles and up against the wall while you get whipped with a belt by fellow yelpers definately put this place over the top!
Let's say, theoretically now, that you are a gentleman who goes about dressing and looking something like Lemmy. You go into a Starbucks, they look at you with quizzical eyebrows and disdainful eye rolls. You go to a Wrigleyville sports bar, you're lucky if you escape the night without some drunk frat boy shouting: "Hey! Cowboy! YMCA!" So where do you go where everybody knows instantly that you're not rockabilly and you're not gay, and that country music fans tend not to wear Iron Crosses and put skulls on their hats? That you hail from the Lemmy Kilmister / Al Jorgunson / Rob Zombie dungeon and not the Conway Twitty / Garth Brooks redneck trailer? These days your best bet is Exit. Place is black everywhere, festooned with skulls (can you festoon a place with skulls or is some other verb more appropriate?) and if you hang out for a while you might actually hear some Slayer. If the free burlesque they do upstairs doesn't seal the deal for you, then you're hopeless. Just take your Lincoln Park Trixie shit somewhere else. Seriously. If you're not sufficiently metal, I don't want your preppy Izod eyes foofing up my reviews.
Still here? Then you're in for a treat - if you play this review backwards, you will hear the secret message:
THERE'S NO ESCAPING IT... IT'S MY SWEET SATAN
THE ONE WILL BE THE PATH THAT MAKES ME SAD,
WHOSE POWER IS SATAN
WE GIVE YOU 666
I remember the original Exit on Wells. Vaguely. I was at the opening here and have always loved the raw hardcore spirit. No one looks twice at you when you prance in with a Rachel do and a Prada bag so back off the piercings and the spiked brohawks, okay? And what is wrong with a little porn for ambient wall paper. Drink the cheap drinks, applaud the bondage-a-go-go girls, admire the ink and talk nice about Johnny Thunders and you'll be fine.
Exit will always be a part of my Schott Perfecto clad heart.
It's not every day you go to a bar not knowing what to expect, only to find yourself in the midst of a bondage celebration.
Yeah. That's Exit for you.
My cousin and his girl attend here regularly, so it was only a matter of time before I hopped on the wagon.
The bartenders there don't skimp out on the spirits, the vibe is always enjoyable whether they're packed from one of their theme nights or just some random given day.
They have daily specials, which keeps our wallets happy. They don't have a kitchen, but I get the feeling it's not really needed here. In the dozen or so times I've been here, I've never had the craving for food anyways. You're here to have a great time and get trashed.
They have two floors to which you can mosey around, although I believe sometimes the top is closed off when there's no half naked couple in latex walking around.
The tubes always have something interesting on, from some viral fetish video to some off the wall montage of beheadings from ol' 80s flicks.
You'll always experience a rather eclectic group of folks sulking around the bar or at the wall stalls. Keeps things interesting.
You definitely won't get bored here. Leave the kids and evangelical christians at home though.
I love Exit. It's definitely over-priced and the music is the same. Seriously, every Tuesday I can count on hearing certain songs, just like I can count on certain songs every Thursday and depending on who's spinning, every Friday!
However, I've taken many friends here who didn't think they'd fit in and they enjoy it and have no problems going back. It's definitely not a place to dance. Also, moshing or head banging while extremely drunk will probably get you into an argument with the person you bump into repeatedly.....but it's quite entertaining to watch!
If you go early enough there's salty snacks...but they're usually stale.
Really, this became part of a bar routine...Liar's then Exit. Delilah's then Exit. Cobra then Exit. Somewhere then Exit. I just can't break away from that cycle.
Exit is whatever the hell it wants to be! And makes no excuses for it. Truth is I feel more comfortable at Exit than the yuppy joints I usually suffer a night through. I've made a lot of friends both staff and non hanging out here.
Maybe I'll see you there.
OK, so I thought that this scene had been buried back in '94 with the introduction of that Eddie Vedder guy and his little Pearl Jam band. Apparently I hadn't crawled under any rocks/bars like Exit. Nothing was buried, it was just squished into the cracks and corners of underground society. I'm not sure if these patrons know that Sid is no longer with us.
I ended up here one late night with my friend, a guy who went by the name Dick Whisky, his brother ArtBoy with a flaming red "rightous maine", and an ultra greaser named Bing who surfed in Indiana. I felt ok walking in with these guys for some reason, plus they knew the bartender.
The first floor is filthy and I swear there were Pabst cans crushed on the floor among other garbage bits. I don't even think that you can serve cans at a bar...who knows. I made my way through the mohawks and leather jackets with British flags on the back and made my way upstairs to goth central. I actually didn't mind the music at all. You wouldn't guess it by looking at me, but I love industrial music and electronica. The people...not so much. If ripped fish net tights and black lipstick are your thing...rock on. These people were in a trance like states dancing their pale white asses off. I stuck around a little and then headed back downstairs where punk rock tunes were a blare'n.
Interesting experience and I'm glad I ended up there. I probably won't go back, but I do recommend it to those who are looking for something a little diffrent from the pub across the way.
When I first moved here I came here because the very few friends I have here decided to. What a bum out. We were there on "Fat Wreck Chords" night. The other time I came to this place it was S&M night upstairs and it was my friend's birthday. They were pouring hot wax on some girls boobs and spanking some dude with a cat o nine tails. Weak.
After about 10 drinks I wound up drunkenly making out with my future ex-girlfriend's future ex-roommate in the parking lot next to it.
2 stars : 1 for the makeout, 1 because they served me enough alcohol to make out with that girl.
I went to Exit in a 1950s embroidered party dress with 4" black patent leather open-toe slingbacks. Needless to say, I didn't really fit the 'feel' of the place, but I was treated like everyone else, or at least made to feel like I was. The girl who took our drinks was so nice, and she had the best tatts I've ever seen. The drinks were priced moderately, the vibe was chill, if a little desolate, and I liked the setup of the place; seemingly very unassuming. I'd like to stop by sometime when I'm dressed more appropriately, but honestly, I doubt it would make much of a difference.
Meh.
I went Saturday with a friend who has been going for 15 years or so. The decor is awesome and the bartenders are very attractive. The music upstairs was better than average.
The real issue it that its a dance club where you arent allowed to dance. I hear its because they are unwilling to pay for the license even though these are the same people who own Neo.
The neighborhood sucks I mean its across the street from a Homer Depot.
I'm not much into punk but this place will always have a special place in my heart. This was the first place i got drunk at when i turned 21. Memories of when you were drunk,passed out at the stool, drowning in your drool. You get it.
I haven"t been here in about a year but the bartenders have always been really nice and i haven't felt out of place in here even when i am sporting sweat pants and a bears jersey.
Bears
Bears
Bears
Bears
Oh sorry i got thrown off track again. What was I talking about? I need a drink. Lets hit up exit!!!!!!!!!!
This place would be kinda cool if it weren't for the fact that they sometimes show porn on the moniters behind the bar. (If they're still doing that; I haven't been in awhile). Not that I have a problem with porn, per se (bfd) - I just don't understand what the point of making half the people at the bar look/feel uncomfortable IN PUBLIC may be.
That was my experience when someone brought me to Exit, having just moved to Chicago. I didn't pay a cover charge, but definitely would have gone somewhere else had I been asked to do so. And, aside from the XXX peeve, the overall scene seems a little too Hot Topic-ish/ goth trend circa '97 for my tastes...it just tries too hard.
I spent a good 20 minutes walking around Exit with my pants completely undone and my belt flapping open. It wasn't until a friend pointed this out to me that I even noticed. Jesus, did I think I was wearing sweatpants or something?
Is it fair to review a place that you've only been to whilst completely fucked up? Sure it is.
I'd long heard of this place, but it was always as a sort of long-faded fable your granddad tells.
"Back in aught one I used to take the street car to the olde Exit. Drinks costs only a two-bit and they had but one outhouse."
Yeah yeah yeah gramps, things just aren't the same anymore and you're really old. I don't give a crap. Though...yeah... I did kind of feel like I was walking around in an old historical site. I think pretty much everyone was here for tourism and there was nothing but faded glory to see.
I dunno, I just thought a Friday night past midnight would have a lil' more goin' on - not just vaguely punked out kids sitting around tables trying to having discussions over the blaring music. But maybe I was just way too drunk to realize the place was rockin'.
No. It really wasn't. Bum night, I'll try it again some time though when I don't have a half a bottle of SoCo and pint of Jack rollin' around inside me.
And now for more than two words!
Post my prior review of this bar I have made a few more trips. I can say nothing has changed. My last venture (and final) to exit was on a Thursday, apparently that night bondage wasn't much of a go.. much less a go go. Bondage looked more like two or three women in their mid 30's, blatantly in denial of their age lightly whipping some drunk college aged boys. Exciting right? I didn't really go there for any B and D nor S and M action I just went there to party. None the less if you want to have a theme night- do it like you mean it. Caked on white make up and high heels that you bought on clearance from the Alley are not doing it like you mean it. Yawn.
The drinks were weak- the bartender thought cranberry juice went in a long island. And though I can respect industrial apparently the dj took a hit of acid shortly after we showed up because he started rocking some Johnny cash. Don't get me wrong I respect Cash and he did write some obviously depressing and semi gothic songs (or performed them at least) but none the less his music doesn't seem to flow to well with remixed rammstein. We actually laughed at loud when this happened- no one else seemed to notice the change in music nor our laughter. Perhaps they were too far in their sleazy underground whipping to notice. Yawn. Yawn Fucking Yawn.
There is something both amazing and disturbing about watching a handful of Doms force feed a short round man twinkies. Then to have one of the girls hand out twinkies to all the girls in the bar so they can do the same.
Ive been going to Exit for years, and I always find it entertaining. Yes, the drinks could be cheaper. Yes, the bathrooms kind of repulse me, but when you go to Exit you go because of the entertainment factor...and I've never left Exit feeling as though I wasn't entertained. Last night I took a friend there for the first time for their Bondage night and the look on her face watching the whole production was priceless. It has been a long time since I had that same look on my face and it just made me appreciate it even more.
To be fair, I will start this off saying I've only really been here on Thursday's and watching bondage isn't so much my scene. I would be more forgiving if the drink specials were better, but they aren't so I try not to come often. I've heard the vibe is less creepy and the drinks are cheaper other nights, and there's no cover, so I might check it out, but the location isn't great. It's on North between Elston and the river, not within stumbling distance of much and not worth the effort of a cab ride.
Still one of my favorite watering holes, no doubt!! They are always open, no matter what day it is.They play the punk rock, and I love it. Their beer specials are non-existent, as their whole beer selection has changed. The days of dollar drafts are finished, and PBR cans have gone up in price. Guinness used to be 3 bucks a pint, now has creaped its way up to 6. Bummer. Shots are still a-plenty, and complimentary at times.
Bartender Angela is very cool, and she is a prime example of the employee over hall they have gone through. Many employees have come and gone at Exit, and there was a period of about 3 years where the employees were bastards. Now it's a lot better!
They removed the chain link fence upstairs and turned it into a lounge area. That's bullshit. I enjoyed watching the ladies get whipped while I talked punk with the locals. I'm not into bondage at all, but a lot of the Exit clientele were. Now, Emo kids flood the upstairs and talk about how bad their suburban upbringing was, while they sip on their red bull and vodkas. Not cool. :(
What is this talk of a cover charge?? I have never paid cover charge here in my life. If they do ask you, just say, "No, I'm not paying it." I'm sure they will let you in anyways. Exit has never done that before, not sure why everyone is pissed off about a cover charge.
I love you Exit!!
A+++++
I finally got here. The excuse was Pam P.'s ('Wham Bam Pam' - am I allowed to type that here?) promotion of "Broadzilla" [http://www.yelp.com/ev...] on this Friday night.
This bar is fabled for any number of reasons. I'll tersely mention that, one Friday, many years ago, Bill Landis, one of the authors of the _Sleazoid Express_ book, had a reading from the then-current issue of his 'Sleazoid Express' zine (which I still have) at Quimby's. Bill L. shockingly passed away two months ago, and this has triggered a number of people's reminiscences of him. Bill L.'s Friday-night reading was sparsely populated, but I was one of the persons in attendance.
Bill L. mentioned that the reading's 'after party' would be at Exit. As far as I know, he was there. But that was a rough night for the #72 North Ave. bus. After waiting 25 minutes outside Quimby's for an eastbound bus, I elected to cut my losses and stroll over to the Piece brewpub instead.
I read many of the previous reviews of Exit here on Yelp. I did not know it had a weekly bondage night. Oops.
So when I arrived here at 9:20 pm on Friday, I expected something titillating on the television sets downstairs. Perhaps something from the halcyon days of Cinemax's "Friday After Dark", or maybe even a 'cool' version of one of Chuck Vincent's movies.
What was on the televisions?
"The Muppets Take Manhattan"
OK - Exit loses one full star for that.
Downstairs, I had one Pabst Blue Ribbon on draft ($3). It looked like a 16-ounce glass. The bar is longitudinal. There are stairways at both the fore and the aft of its length.
Broadzilla was upstairs.
The new wave of burlesque is nice (& naughty). It has been around for a while. What I especially enjoy about it is that it doesn't require supermodel appearances from its performers. For the most part, our dancers are not surgically enhanced. The impetus behind {oops} their dancing is a celebration and exhibition of their sensualities. The best erotica is created by people who are not expecting a paycheck at the end of their scenes.
We had six dancers at the 10:00 pm show on Friday. There were two pauses for prize givaways. Upstairs, a 12-ounce can of PBR was $2.
Our dancers were captivating and energetic. They were having a good time, and I was having a good time. I will not describe their acts, lest you be surprised when you glimpse them. I shall mention, though, that the music used in the background for each was keen.
I alert you that upstairs has small stairwells for which you must remain alert. The bar at the south end of the floor has three steps, on a 90-degree twist, separating it from the rest of the level.
I shall conclude by stating this. Exit is a bar which works better when you're with someone you know. Is this a good first- or second-date bar? *It could be*. If you want to check your consort's tolerance threshold for fetish and kink, bring her | him here. If she | he flees in horror - then you learned a life lesson swiftly and cheaply.
Despite facetiously deducting one star from here for showing the wrong movie on DVD, Exit could have gotten a five-star rating if any of you who clicked the box for 'Sounds Cool' had actually shown up and reconnoitered with me. Hmph. Oh well...
Transit options: The #72 North Ave. bus runs past here in both directions until 1:00 am. Then it pauses for three hours. Since this *is* a 4:00 am bar, if you hang out here until closing time; when you stagger back outside to North & Elston, you'll be on time for the first run that day.
If you somehow have to leave between 1:00 am & 4:00 am; you're not without a transit option. The #N9 Ashland bus, on a 30-minute interval, runs between North & Clark on the east (passing by the North & Clybourn Red Line "L" station), and the 95th & Dan Ryan Red Line "L" terminus on the south (passing by the Division & Ashland Blue Line "L" station), during the #72's gap.
I have only been here for bondage night. It's fun. I always walk away educated about some fetish I could've never imagined could exist. I don't go a lot, though, which is sort of a sign to me that it isn't awesome enough for me to want to go back that often.
My favorite part is seeing which mask the little round hairy guy in tightie whities is forced to wear every week. I gather that his mistress makes him wear different masks... my favorite is the pig.
It's gritty. There's a bunch of weirdos. The music is loud and it usually rocks. Sounds good, right?
I just can't get over the fact that it's $4 for a regular CAN of PBR (not even a tallboy). I was sort of drunk when I came in but these prices are incredibly sobering.
I've had a handful of really fun, drunken good times here (usually with out-of-town band friends) but the rest have been a waste.
If I wanted over priced drinks and the occasional skanky girl fluttering around, I'd go to a strip club.
Please, Exit, I know times are tough, but you're not making it any easier with these prices. I realize that 4AM bars generally cost more than their 2AM counterparts, but seriously...this is pushing it.
One star for the music.
One star for the few good times.
One extra star for the punchy-game (it may cost $1 a punch but if you put a $5 in there you get more).
used to always hang out here but it just got lame. Plus: Expensive. Music usually sucks. People usually suck. Cover charge on weekends. Obnoxious gimmick nights. Booze is way too expensive.
But if you need a 4 am bar...
I don't get up to Exit much. Typically no more than twice a year since the late 90's when I made my inaugural visit. When ever I tell people that I went here they either chuckle, laugh, or break into hysterics. This is typically followed by something along these lines: "You just don't seem like the type of guy that would go there" I can see this coming from someone who knows me well as I can usually be found on a patio or in a dive bellied up to the bar.
I can say that EVERY time I come here I have a blast and I meet someone new. I think the main reason is that the people who go here are here to have fun and they really don't give a rats-ass about what anyone else is doing. Now that I think about it, I need to make my first visit of 2008 soon!
You know for a punk bar, goths can fit in too and that's fine by me. There are two levels and honestly I prefer being on the first floor because dancing doesn't usually go on either one so.
The goth night there is really laughable so I didn't bother going upstairs. But hooray for 4 am bars and I've definitely met some cool people there. Drinks are decently priced I suppose.
The idea of a cover charge is preposterous. The drinks are overpriced and bad.
I went here once. It was stupid.
This is one of my favorite after hours bars. The atmosphere can be intimidating upon first entry but its a great place for people watching and throwing a few back. Always a good time downstairs with some random's punk selection playing from the juke box. The crowd is more diverse and laid back.
Upstairs is a completely different vibe. My first time upstairs I felt like I was in the Movie "Blade" and blood might pour from the sprinklers. Usually blasting industrial, a more 'hardcore' crowd enclosed in a chain link cage flail to the music.
Try going on Halloween for a real visual treat.
-------------------------------
UPDATE:
May 11, 2007
Exit sucks now. No cool people work there anymore, there is a stupid cover, and the upstairs has been converted into a room with a bunch of tables, like at a cozy restaurant with little votives placed delicately in the center of each table. Uh, how can you have a romantic table setting less than 6 feet away from iron handcuffs chained to the wall?? This place isn't for being cozy...it is for vomiting up a cozy dinner you had prior to coming here. It's for yelling and thrashing enclosed in a chain link fence to industrial shit music.
I will probably still come here for the down stairs after hours but it's just not the same.
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Category: Dive Bars
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Category: Dance Clubs
Neighborhood: Cragin
Category: Bars
Neighborhood: Near West Side
Category: Bars
Chicago, IL
Category: Music Venues
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