Best Country Bar 2013 | Rusty Spur Saloon | Bars & Clubs | Phoenix
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Best Country Bar

Rusty Spur Saloon

Rusty Spur Saloon

The Rusty Spur Saloon was around decades before Scottsdale earned its reputation as a fine place to buy and wear expensive watches, and it'll probably be around after the last Lincoln Blackwood has been buried in a luxury-truck graveyard in the desert. In the meantime, it'll be there to surprise people who go into Old Town expecting nothing but expensive kitsch with nigh-omnipresent live music and a volatile combination of regulars and authenticity tourists and people who actually live in Scottsdale. Of course, it'll probably also surprise anybody who goes in expecting nothing but authenticity. Psychobilly Rodeo Band, weekend regulars, wouldn't quite fit inside a John Ford movie.

Best Karaoke

Brigett's Last Laugh

There are a lot of very unnerving, questionable things about karaoke. You'll have to convince yourself you can sing. You'll have to convince yourself you can get your friends to sing. You'll have to convince all the people in front of you you can sing. You should not have to wonder when and whether a bar is even doing karaoke, which is where Brigett's Last Laugh — Phoenix's self-proclaimed Karaoke Kapital — comes in. Is it 9 p.m.? Is it a weekday or also a weekend? Done. Located in an exceptionally unassuming, flesh-toned building on Cave Creek Road in real life, and a Facebook page covered in Comic Sans on the Internet — it comes by its divey-ness naturally — Brigett's commits to karaoke seven nights a week and has built up a loyal crowd as a result, leaving you free to worry about literally everything else to do with singing your favorite songs in front of total strangers.

Best Karaoke with a Live Band

Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill

Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill was originally named Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill for Its Live Karaoke Events, but we suppose they thought it sounded silly. In any case, the live-action karaoke is still around, and if you've never made the leap from a MIDI backing track (maybe with a low-budget music video starring a bunch of sad Japanese women) to people who are actually playing musical instruments, prepare to feel a little swell-headed by the end of the night. If you can check your ego, it's worth checking out: If they know your song, it's the closest you'll ever get to becoming a star and owning your own Your Name Here Loves This Bar and Grill.

Best Karaoke with Bootleg J-Pop Songs

August Karaoke Box

If you don't already spend a lot of time listening to syrupy Chinese ballads as loud as local ordinances will allow, your first visit to August Karaoke Box might prove a little intimidating. From minimally soundproofed booths, exchange-student cliques speaking every Asian language will be singing an unplanned mash-up of J-Rock, K-Pop, and American Top 40. At the front desk, an inaudible attendant will ask you and your group how much time and which refreshments you want and point you to your own minimally soundproofed booth.

Inside, your tech-savviest friend will navigate an enormous catalog that has been alphabetized by multiple competing, totally incompatible methods. English songs will look suspiciously like ripped and mislabeled YouTube videos. You are not August Karaoke Box's audience, as it turns out. But that unaffected indifference breeds the best kind of authenticity: You'll come out of your booth as bewildered and giddy as if you'd just daytripped to Tokyo, and excited that you'll only have to drive to Tempe to be bewildered again.

  • 1301 E. University Dr., Tempe, 85281 Map

Best Open Mic Night

Fatso's Pizza

The difference between a good open mic night and a bad open mic night, besides the music itself, is how invested the venue is in it. Fatso's Pizza might not look or sound like a gathering spot for Phoenix's acoustic guitars, but every Thursday night Fatso's and guitarist Gram Benike come together to host an open mic that's gradually become a North Phoenix institution. The crowd at Fatso's isn't going to make you feel like you've stepped onto an episode of America's Got Talent, but lots of them will at least be looking in your direction — unlike some open mic nights, you won't come away with the impression that you were allowed to play as part of an elaborate prank against the customers. Oh, and the pizza's good, which is important to keep in mind when the music sometimes isn't.

Best Place to See a Comedy Show

Tempe Improv

Comedy, as the saying goes, is tragedy plus time. At most stand-up joints, it's the standard formula for good jokes. At the Tempe Improv, however, it also sums up the drama the renowned establishment has endured over the past 16 months. In June 2012, the iconic club shut its doors after 25 years, following heated allegations by owner Mark Anderson, who charged comedy impresario Joel Bachkoff of conspiring with former Improv employees to steal Anderson's business. Anderson, who reportedly had a history of mental issues, then went missing. Weeks later, the 60-year-old was found dead in a Buckeye motel room of a cerebral hemorrhage stemming from a brain deformity. Anderson's widow, Holly, eventually approached Bachkoff about partnering to revamp and reopen the Improv in hopes of securing her late husband's legacy.

The club returned in May, following a total renovation of its interior and showroom, giving both more of an upscale look that's heavy on exposed wood and vintage imagery, as well as adding a full bar and VIP areas upstairs. Some things haven't changed, however, as its famous stage (which has hosted the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock) and red brick wall are still there. And the comedians are just as hilarious as ever. After all they've been through down there, we're sure they could use a laugh. The usual two-drink minimum is also still around, of course, so be sure to raise a toast to Anderson with at least one of 'em, maybe both.

Best Pub Quiz

Brainstormers Pub Quiz, Tuesdays at Skeptical Chymist

A word to the not-so-wise, fella: You needn't bother reaching for any of the thick volumes lining the walls of Skeptical Chemyst for any answers during its weekly pub quiz. Firstly, it's as off-limits as fishing your smartphone out of your pocket and hitting up Google. And second, those are all boring legal tomes and are just for show, dummy. Instead, we recommend using that Rolodex of useless information you call a brain to overcome the competition at the Irish pub's popular weekly event, which consists of seven waves of 10 questions each. And hurry up, because the clock's ticking and there's only a certain amount of time per round. Since the quiz allows either individuals or teams of any size, we recommend inviting your egghead friends and relying on the collective smarts of the whole group. It's gonna take all of you to answer some of the questions, which cover a vast array of random topics (ranging from comic books and music to science and world history) and are either decidedly obscure or definitely difficult. Two rounds also involve a visual component, during which participants could be asked to scope out famous faces or identify artwork from famous rock albums. Pride is at stake (as well as a $50 bar card for first place), so try not to choke, especially in front of your nearest and dearest.

Best Arcade with a Bar

Dave & Busters

When it all boils down to it, all video games essentially are about one thing: escapism, pure and simple. You hit start, leave reality behind, and get in some CGI-animated wish fulfillment of the bullet-slinging, ass-kicking, or fast-driving variety; at least until your energy bar (or money) is exhausted. And at either of the Valley's two entries into the Dave & Busters chain, such fully rendered ego trips are a bit more realistic, given the high-end graphics of the games comprising its glitzy Million Dollar Midway arcade. And the extensive menu of booze, beer, and cocktails of a mixed or frozen nature available at each of the large in-house bars certainly helps matters, too. Try having a few Big Wave Daves, one of D&B's eight signature drinks, followed by a spin on the Typhoon undersea simulator. Or maybe have a Newcastle or three before storming the castles of Infinity Blade FX. Best off all, things go 21-and-over after 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, so you can get in some quality time on the Fruit Ninja FX machines without having to wait for tweeners to finish their games first.

Best Bar with an Arcade

Gypsy Bar

Good friends can become bitter rivals when hanging out in Gypsy Bar's arcade, ahem, game lounge. Believe us, we've seen it happen, usually over one of its many player-versus-player sports games (like 2 Minute Drill or NBA Hoops) and definitely after imbibing something ice-cold and intoxicating from the large, fully loaded bar. Sure, egos might get a little bruised, and taunts are often exchanged, but it's all in good fun (we think). Not all the mega-games are of an athletic bent, however, as there's Pac-Man Battle Royale Deluxe, Guitar Hero, Terminator: Salvation, and Deal or No Deal. Pretty much everything involves two players or more, so prepare yourself for an impromptu challenge, should you be there with friends. The flash and clamor of the glitzy game lounge often competes with the hullabaloo of other activities taking place throughout Gypsy Bar, which is located next door to Lucky Strike Lanes at CityScape. If it's a weekend, there's probably a crowd on the dance floor or around the bar as people engage in an interactive affair of a more social sort.

Best Neighborhood Pizza, Tempe

Venezia's New York Style Pizzeria

The best un-kept secret at Venezia's (besides the hero sandwiches) for the area's large population of cash-strapped college kids and underemployed recent grads is its very good handcrafted pizzas. The Montanile family, which opened the joint in 1995, serves up handcrafted pies with thin, crispy crusts, tangy homemade marinara, and 100 percent mozzarella cheese. You can get them whole or by the slice — either of the build-your-own variety or as one of the specialty slices that rotate on a daily basis. And with an extensive array of daily specials, your wallet never feels lighter than it should.

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