The campus is still almost 60% male. From my undergrad days and the numerous times I've been back, TOTS is a very popular Greek haunt. The Greek men outnumber the Greek women about 2 to 1. Just by the numbers, you're going to wind up with more men than women at most bars.
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I won't say I never go to TOTS because I do. But only on Wednesdays for all you can eat ribs and I usually end up staying for comedy night. After that, I leave and I won't go in there again until next Wednesday. I don't much care to stand in line and pay a cover (even if it isn't that much) to be squished in like a sardine.
But that's just like my opinion, bro
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Do they still have nickel beers on Friday afternoons? OK ...probably not...I 'm kind of old.
It was the Balcony when I was there. Loved that place - was there Wednesday - Friday nights....
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Not anymore. I was there a week or two after they got rid of nickel beers, sometime in '97. The waitress told us it was against VA law to serve beers that cheap, and they would have to up the price to a QUARTER.
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I go back to Balcony days too. Love ladies lock up night. My memory is hazy now but I thought it was tues or weds night from 5-7. We would roll in as soon as they let guys in and searched out the ladies with the largest stack of empties. We had no game and needed help!
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Greatest time ive ever had in any bar in Bburg was my senior year when an older HT alumni came back after the Pitt game and had money from re-upping with the Corps of Engineers and getting a nice signing bonus burning a hole in his pocket. Took about 10 of us to Taphouse and tapped out 3 of their kegs, and basically ordered 1 of everything on the menu.
I hope to be able to return the favor to some poor broke HT's in the future.
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117 South Main. If they were serving fish tacos when you were in Blacksburg, I wouldn't expect you to remember, or understand, but 117 was THE bar, man. Cheap beer, great live music...who could ask for anything more? And yeah, I am an "older" guy, but I don't believe Blacksburg has had a better bar since the days of 117.
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I will just add this. The music alone was enough to distinguish 117. Serious musicians, really fun road bands, some big names before they were big, it was the premier live music scene in the 'Burg for many, many years.
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I don't have a pin up, but around that same time Violent Femmes played at that upstairs Dart pub in the alley near Big Al's. A year or so later, i promoted for the Bangles at After Sundown and took them to a party afterwards on Montgomery Street. Told Suzanna Hoffs I loved her...she just said "I know"... Not Shakespeare lived in the lower unit below me at the Solar House on Houston/Harrell with the guys from the band Just Cause...man, I'm old. Loved 117 South Main-- used to go see Nervous Romance once every 2 weeks it seemed.
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I remember seeing the Bangles at After Sundown, I think it was in '84 or'85. It was right before they got really popular. Oh, and I too loved Susanna Hoffs.
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Yes.
I got to back him up onstage a few nights with his 'open mic blues nights.'
I would say 'I played with the guy that played with Muddy Waters.'
I later met Margolin doing laundry in our apartment's laundry room....I guess he lived there for a bit.
But it was not quite as cool to say 'I did laundry with the guy that played with Muddy Waters.'
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Shoog, I remember when Bob lived in the 'Burg. While I played a fair amount of music in those days, I never had an opportunity to jam with him.
I did, however, play one song with my brother's band, The Hot Cakes, at a huge New Year's Eve party down at Va. Beach back in the '80s. The bass player at the time for his band was Oteil Burbridge, who now plays bass for the Allman Bros., Oteil and the Peacemakers, and the Susan Tedesky/Butch Trucks gang. (Sorry for the spellings, could be off on them). It's funny how good it makes an "amateur" like me feel to play with the greats, even if it was just one song.
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Uhhh.....I am very familiar with Mr. Oteil Burbridge's work and have seen him many times; met him a few times.
In fact, I already have my tickets for the reunion tour of Col. Bruce and the AQR in Asheville in August, featuring the same, AND Jimmy Herring on guitar.
I think if I had to sub in for Oteil that I would kindly fake a seizure or some other distraction as I am not fit to tune his strings.
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I played a couple of harp solos on "There's Good Rockin' At Midnight" for the New Year's gig so I went to one practice the day of or before the gig. When I walked in, Oteil was warming up, playing Stanley Clarke, no less. It blew my mind. I asked my bro about him and he said, we're lucky we have him, we won't have him long. His brother is good too. Very nice guy, very very good bass musician. Enjoy Asheville.
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Ok, last story, but....
When I was in high school my girlfriend's mom ran an artsy-fartsy theater but had Stanley Clarke there one night.
I got to go and made it back stage to meet him and shook his hand-which were crazy big.
'All the better to thump with, my dear.'
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Well, it was a good story, thanks. I have a feeling we knew some of the same musicians in Blacksburg, and if you played out, maybe we even played with some of the same folks. Leg to ya for your Clarke story and I'll let it rest here too, but thanks for jogging the memories.
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Love all these stories. I am a Sigma Nu and we had some great Thursday night hump parties back in the late 70s and early 80s. We did quite a few band parties in the basement on weekends as well. Maybe I exchanged a beer with some of the TKP community.
We had a house band The Wanderers which was a bunch of brothers and they were pretty good.
We had a rockabilly icon play in our basement, Tex Rubinowitz. Great Show.
Saw Elvis Costello at Burruss. Great Show.
Also, there was a local band that played in our basement a lot back then that had a lead singer that looked like and dressed like Elvis Costello - I had him as my English teacher. Can't remember the band name, but they were pretty good. Can anyone remember?
Saw NRBQ (and roadied for them) in Radford also. Great show!
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My musical connection......Steady Rollin tried to steal my girl friend while hanging out and drinking beer in a van. Bob was almost successful but I didn't care because it was definitely time to move on and hell yeah this was the guy that played with Muddy! Still can't believe I saw Bob playing in basement of TEX frat house a couple of times. Great times!
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The TEX house... wow. Remember there was a guy we were interested in hiring PT in the office but did not have contact info, so I said 'hey, he's a TEX brother, I'll go to the house and find him'. That place made Belushi's Delta House look like Kevin Bacon's Omega house. It was epic, the trash, liquor bottles, beer cans, plates staked a foot high in the sinks, the smell.
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117 was the balls. Great live music...Dixie Dregs, Randall Bramlett Band, Chuck Leavell, etc., and the upper deck would start swaying with the dancing and the crowd. Always wondered how it didn't collapse.
Back in the day (mid-70's), Mr. Fooz had $1.50 pitchers of PBR, $1.75 for Michelob on Wednesday nights. The place was packed!
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I love TOTS. I will never eat there again, and I will never go there to watch (any) game, but it's the best place in Blacksburg to get crazy. I've had some wild times at TOTS.
Have any of you been to others on the list?
I've been to TD's in Clemson. $9 pitcher of bourbon ginger was awesome. They also have games in their urinals, that made going to the bathroom kinda fun. My favorite bar in Clemson was Loose Change. Awesome place.
Cornerstone in college park is cool too, pretty standard college bar.
Cool Beans in UT was OK; it was sort of tame though.
Went to Houndstooth in Alabama, it was quiet, but I think it was Sunday Night when we went there. The place closed really early, like 9pm.
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He's Not Here in Chapel Hill is pretty awesome, better in the warmer months of the year though. You can't beat blue cups (huge plastic cups for drafts). Nowadays they have a good variety of beer too.
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Im a senior, and while I wouldnt say TOTS is my favorite, idk if ive ever had a bad time there. IF you can go early enough before the line is super long and its too packed, its great. I also think they make they best drinks in Blackburg right now. The problem is most people tend to go to TOTS last, and by 11 or so its pretty slammed. If you go right after happy hour, its generally way better. All that said, Hokie House is my go to
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My first rail was rough (I am a beer man not a big liquor guy), especially since I was handed my 2nd about 30 seconds after I finished the first. I don't remember much from that night but I know I was slapped by several buddies girlfriends, ran two miles to my girlfriends apartment for no apparent reason (my sober buddy had the keys to my car and it was parked right near tots), got into a huge fight and then had crazy make-up sex with said girlfriend and then somehow ended up back in my car and slept the night off there and managed to puke outside the window and only get a little on the side. Ah, memories...
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I could probably count on one hand how many times I actually went to TOTS while I was at tech, and it was only ever during the summer when no one was there. I think Ho Ho's will always hold the special place in my heart.
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I hope this list was not in order from 1 to 40 as I have been to the Tin Roof in Nashville and it blows TOTS out of the water. Just the live music scene was better than anything TOTS has ever done. The layout of the bars made for a pretty easy flow from the dance floor to the bar and back, and the crowd was active and into the music. It made for a house party feel at the bar.
I think I have been to Harpo's in Columbia and it was similar to TOTS in which it was a crowded bar but not a good bar crowd. I went to C-ville with a fraternity brother who had friends and they were trying to show off their bar scene, went to everything on their "corner", but nothing there impressed me except for that burger place with the fried egg on the patty, AMAZING way to end a night of drinking.
Auburn has a pretty awesome big bar that should have made the list, had a big stage and good music and a rowdy crowd that was fun but not obnoxious. Perhaps WarEagleHokie can tell us the name if he is still around. For some reason I can never remember these bar's names...
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When I went to Auburn I went to Quixote's which was super live. I'm not sure if that's what you are thinking of. They said the Skybar is the most popular bar there but we never ended up going there.
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I think it might be Skybar, they had a second floor patio that overlooked the street, but the action was inside one the stage. The night I was there some hot babe was the lead singer of an 80s cover band and knew what she was doing. place was hopping.
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Dixie Chicken is a really cool bar, if you every go to College Station you should hit that up. It's a classic Texas bar with a cool atmosphere. They also have a rattlesnake they keep in a cage there.
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Seconded for the 117 S. Main location- although I loved it as The Library or The Main Street Cafe. When they were booking good concerts, that was the place to be in Blacksburg. I like Cabo, but the place isn't the same without the live music.
Honorary mention goes to Champs, specifically the beautiful bartender with the cleavage tattoos circa 2001-2002ish.
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For most people I know, that's a result of "Hey, let's go get Rails! I remember them being awesome!" followed by "These aren't as good as I remember them, and we already fought the crowd and paid to be here, so I guess we'll stay."
I'm sort of neutral on TOTS. The Cellar was my scene.
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Can't say that I did. I would go on weekends, maybe an occasional Thursday. I wasn't really big on spending much time (read: money) downtown, but whenever I was in the mood, The Cellar was my #1 spot.
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The only night I drank three rails (which I was told was impossible), I tried to convince Eddie Royal to streak the drillfield with me. He wisely declined.
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I was chased by what I can only presume was a bull, ended up getting pulled oven on foot on 460 ( I was convinced I was on Prices Fork) by state troopers who must have been called to something more important because I was left there and eventually picked by a friend.
Never again.
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I did streak the drillfield which turned epic when I noticed the hippie/Christian music circle and leap-frogged some poor unsuspecting guy playing an acoustic guitar. Thought I got away clean until my buddy told me he dropped his wallet and we had to go back to the circle and ask them if the saw it fly out as we ran naked through their group. The highs and the lows of riding the Rails!
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$1pitchers of PBR or $2 pitchers of Heineken! On Wednesdays. It may have even started at 25 cents and progresses... Can't remember for sure. Cheese steaks were great too!
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You know, almost four days later and about the third time I've read your post, I have to admit, your joke snuck up on me and absolutely gets my thumbs up for the thought. Not really sure why, but comedy is quirky, eh?
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I worked in the Sub Shoppe below TOTS for several years. My fraternity brothers would get great subs. Making subs for drunks was always a pleasure. I kid, most of the time they were fine, but every once in a while a winner would come along. In the summer it would be slow and I could sit outside at the picnic tables just below the TOTS stairs and do homework up until 9PM until it got too dark. Also, worked selling hot dogs for TOTS at the stairwell that ran down to college avenue. Talk about claustrophobic. Did lots of homework in there also. Eventually worked in the TOTS kitchen and behind the bar. Moving on up....
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I remember that Sub Shoppe. First sub I ever ate, and still I think maybe the best subs I ever ate. Huge, with better than average meats and cheese and so much shredded lettuce you could have made a salad with what fell off. Those were the days before sub shops were on every corner. Would have been in the early '70s.
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BTW Mike Whaley (TOTS and PK's owner) is converting the ground floor under TOTS to a BBQ restaurant. Its currently storage... He wants it to be a higher end type, non-student dive kind of place.
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Tough location for a "non-student dive" kind of place. Hope it works though.
Is that in Souvlaki's space? Or is that still there? Was also a tee shirt shack directly under the Balcony in my Day.
Hot dog place too somewhere along the way....
Early 90's.....Memory failing....
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Comments
Hell, TOTS ain't even the best bar in Blacksburg, much less top 40 in America.
Business Insider ranks based on how much alcohol and how many people you can fit per square foot
This times a 1000!!!!!
Far and away the only 100% positive trips Ive had at TOTS were those 3 or 4 times we did first call rails on bye weeks and after pass in reviews.
First call is best call!
TOTS in the summertime > TOTS any other time... But yes, agree with you.
Yep...only time I have been. Prob only been about 4 times...and only for the rails.
They are so delicious on a hot summer day.
Rails are indeed delicious. Word to the wise, never ever end a bar crawl with a rail. Things will end poorly 100% of the time.
Also, never ever begin a bar crawl with 2 rails at 7pm... things also end poorly.
Can confirm.
My record for rails in one night is 4.... so my friends say.... I blacked out that night.
UVA's best bar has a French name? I mean this in the most offensive way possible, France sucks.
Rails are great but TOTS needs to do a better job of regulating the ratio, highest bro:chick ratio in Blacksburg
Bars can't regulate that at all (legally)
Seriously? I've always found it to be the opposite.
The campus is still almost 60% male. From my undergrad days and the numerous times I've been back, TOTS is a very popular Greek haunt. The Greek men outnumber the Greek women about 2 to 1. Just by the numbers, you're going to wind up with more men than women at most bars.
In the last year or so, TOTs has become pretty diverse. Big ALS is the Greek bar now.
Yep, Big Als has a shit ton of greek-life folks there.
I won't say I never go to TOTS because I do. But only on Wednesdays for all you can eat ribs and I usually end up staying for comedy night. After that, I leave and I won't go in there again until next Wednesday. I don't much care to stand in line and pay a cover (even if it isn't that much) to be squished in like a sardine.
But that's just like my opinion, bro
+1 for all you can eat ribs.
TOTS is overrated IMO. Rails are no joke though...there is that
This is my take as well. The Rail is worth the trip if you get in without a cover, otherwise there is not much special about the place.
Do they still have nickel beers on Friday afternoons? OK ...probably not...I 'm kind of old.
It was the Balcony when I was there. Loved that place - was there Wednesday - Friday nights....
Not anymore. I was there a week or two after they got rid of nickel beers, sometime in '97. The waitress told us it was against VA law to serve beers that cheap, and they would have to up the price to a QUARTER.
I go back to Balcony days too. Love ladies lock up night. My memory is hazy now but I thought it was tues or weds night from 5-7. We would roll in as soon as they let guys in and searched out the ladies with the largest stack of empties. We had no game and needed help!
Meh, I'll stick to Frank's @ 622 and maybe walk down to the Taphouse from time to time.
Greatest time ive ever had in any bar in Bburg was my senior year when an older HT alumni came back after the Pitt game and had money from re-upping with the Corps of Engineers and getting a nice signing bonus burning a hole in his pocket. Took about 10 of us to Taphouse and tapped out 3 of their kegs, and basically ordered 1 of everything on the menu.
I hope to be able to return the favor to some poor broke HT's in the future.
TOTS is awesome during the summer. But the Cellar is my favorite bar in Blacksburg.
117 South Main. If they were serving fish tacos when you were in Blacksburg, I wouldn't expect you to remember, or understand, but 117 was THE bar, man. Cheap beer, great live music...who could ask for anything more? And yeah, I am an "older" guy, but I don't believe Blacksburg has had a better bar since the days of 117.
I have heard stores about this bar and they are on point with what you say.
I will just add this. The music alone was enough to distinguish 117. Serious musicians, really fun road bands, some big names before they were big, it was the premier live music scene in the 'Burg for many, many years.
^this, sigh.
Wednesday 50 cent cover nights.
So much fun was had.
What about this little gem?:
Great show.....so nice of Stipe and Co. to play to me on my birthday.
I'm jealous.
True story, I nearly shed a tear in the middle of Intro to Marketing when I heard R.E.M. was breaking up.
That poster is a certified classic. Leg up for having it. Not Shakespeare was a pretty cool local band, too.
I don't have a pin up, but around that same time Violent Femmes played at that upstairs Dart pub in the alley near Big Al's. A year or so later, i promoted for the Bangles at After Sundown and took them to a party afterwards on Montgomery Street. Told Suzanna Hoffs I loved her...she just said "I know"... Not Shakespeare lived in the lower unit below me at the Solar House on Houston/Harrell with the guys from the band Just Cause...man, I'm old. Loved 117 South Main-- used to go see Nervous Romance once every 2 weeks it seemed.
I remember seeing the Bangles at After Sundown, I think it was in '84 or'85. It was right before they got really popular. Oh, and I too loved Susanna Hoffs.
Can't forget steady rollin', no controllin' Bob Margolin. Always a good show.
Yes.
I got to back him up onstage a few nights with his 'open mic blues nights.'
I would say 'I played with the guy that played with Muddy Waters.'
I later met Margolin doing laundry in our apartment's laundry room....I guess he lived there for a bit.
But it was not quite as cool to say 'I did laundry with the guy that played with Muddy Waters.'
Shoog, I remember when Bob lived in the 'Burg. While I played a fair amount of music in those days, I never had an opportunity to jam with him.
I did, however, play one song with my brother's band, The Hot Cakes, at a huge New Year's Eve party down at Va. Beach back in the '80s. The bass player at the time for his band was Oteil Burbridge, who now plays bass for the Allman Bros., Oteil and the Peacemakers, and the Susan Tedesky/Butch Trucks gang. (Sorry for the spellings, could be off on them). It's funny how good it makes an "amateur" like me feel to play with the greats, even if it was just one song.
Uhhh.....I am very familiar with Mr. Oteil Burbridge's work and have seen him many times; met him a few times.
In fact, I already have my tickets for the reunion tour of Col. Bruce and the AQR in Asheville in August, featuring the same, AND Jimmy Herring on guitar.
I think if I had to sub in for Oteil that I would kindly fake a seizure or some other distraction as I am not fit to tune his strings.
I played a couple of harp solos on "There's Good Rockin' At Midnight" for the New Year's gig so I went to one practice the day of or before the gig. When I walked in, Oteil was warming up, playing Stanley Clarke, no less. It blew my mind. I asked my bro about him and he said, we're lucky we have him, we won't have him long. His brother is good too. Very nice guy, very very good bass musician. Enjoy Asheville.
Ok, last story, but....
When I was in high school my girlfriend's mom ran an artsy-fartsy theater but had Stanley Clarke there one night.
I got to go and made it back stage to meet him and shook his hand-which were crazy big.
'All the better to thump with, my dear.'
Well, it was a good story, thanks. I have a feeling we knew some of the same musicians in Blacksburg, and if you played out, maybe we even played with some of the same folks. Leg to ya for your Clarke story and I'll let it rest here too, but thanks for jogging the memories.
Said it was over, but my brother is visiting and we got to talking about Oteil. He was 18 when my bro hired him.
Love all these stories. I am a Sigma Nu and we had some great Thursday night hump parties back in the late 70s and early 80s. We did quite a few band parties in the basement on weekends as well. Maybe I exchanged a beer with some of the TKP community.
We had a house band The Wanderers which was a bunch of brothers and they were pretty good.
We had a rockabilly icon play in our basement, Tex Rubinowitz. Great Show.
Saw Elvis Costello at Burruss. Great Show.
Also, there was a local band that played in our basement a lot back then that had a lead singer that looked like and dressed like Elvis Costello - I had him as my English teacher. Can't remember the band name, but they were pretty good. Can anyone remember?
Saw NRBQ (and roadied for them) in Radford also. Great show!
My musical connection......Steady Rollin tried to steal my girl friend while hanging out and drinking beer in a van. Bob was almost successful but I didn't care because it was definitely time to move on and hell yeah this was the guy that played with Muddy! Still can't believe I saw Bob playing in basement of TEX frat house a couple of times. Great times!
The TEX house... wow. Remember there was a guy we were interested in hiring PT in the office but did not have contact info, so I said 'hey, he's a TEX brother, I'll go to the house and find him'. That place made Belushi's Delta House look like Kevin Bacon's Omega house. It was epic, the trash, liquor bottles, beer cans, plates staked a foot high in the sinks, the smell.
I see we have some fellow musicians here. I am known to tickle the ivories from time to time myself if i must say.
When I took my future father in law the Cabo, all he could talk about was playing gigs there back in the day
117 was the balls. Great live music...Dixie Dregs, Randall Bramlett Band, Chuck Leavell, etc., and the upper deck would start swaying with the dancing and the crowd. Always wondered how it didn't collapse.
Back in the day (mid-70's), Mr. Fooz had $1.50 pitchers of PBR, $1.75 for Michelob on Wednesday nights. The place was packed!
I love TOTS. I will never eat there again, and I will never go there to watch (any) game, but it's the best place in Blacksburg to get crazy. I've had some wild times at TOTS.
I've been to TD's in Clemson. $9 pitcher of bourbon ginger was awesome. They also have games in their urinals, that made going to the bathroom kinda fun. My favorite bar in Clemson was Loose Change. Awesome place.
Cornerstone in college park is cool too, pretty standard college bar.
Cool Beans in UT was OK; it was sort of tame though.
Went to Houndstooth in Alabama, it was quiet, but I think it was Sunday Night when we went there. The place closed really early, like 9pm.
Like this:
Unfortunately, not that high tech. It's just a football between a goal post that you try to hit.
Wow. I assumed you meant they had TVs that showed sporting events (games) at the stalls. Have to admit I'm kinda grossed out by the game you posted.
He's Not Here in Chapel Hill is pretty awesome, better in the warmer months of the year though. You can't beat blue cups (huge plastic cups for drafts). Nowadays they have a good variety of beer too.
Im a senior, and while I wouldnt say TOTS is my favorite, idk if ive ever had a bad time there. IF you can go early enough before the line is super long and its too packed, its great. I also think they make they best drinks in Blackburg right now. The problem is most people tend to go to TOTS last, and by 11 or so its pretty slammed. If you go right after happy hour, its generally way better. All that said, Hokie House is my go to
My first rail was rough (I am a beer man not a big liquor guy), especially since I was handed my 2nd about 30 seconds after I finished the first. I don't remember much from that night but I know I was slapped by several buddies girlfriends, ran two miles to my girlfriends apartment for no apparent reason (my sober buddy had the keys to my car and it was parked right near tots), got into a huge fight and then had crazy make-up sex with said girlfriend and then somehow ended up back in my car and slept the night off there and managed to puke outside the window and only get a little on the side. Ah, memories...
Ah, Memories...
You mean the lack of
I could probably count on one hand how many times I actually went to TOTS while I was at tech, and it was only ever during the summer when no one was there. I think Ho Ho's will always hold the special place in my heart.
Can't beat happy hour
I hope this list was not in order from 1 to 40 as I have been to the Tin Roof in Nashville and it blows TOTS out of the water. Just the live music scene was better than anything TOTS has ever done. The layout of the bars made for a pretty easy flow from the dance floor to the bar and back, and the crowd was active and into the music. It made for a house party feel at the bar.
I think I have been to Harpo's in Columbia and it was similar to TOTS in which it was a crowded bar but not a good bar crowd. I went to C-ville with a fraternity brother who had friends and they were trying to show off their bar scene, went to everything on their "corner", but nothing there impressed me except for that burger place with the fried egg on the patty, AMAZING way to end a night of drinking.
Auburn has a pretty awesome big bar that should have made the list, had a big stage and good music and a rowdy crowd that was fun but not obnoxious. Perhaps WarEagleHokie can tell us the name if he is still around. For some reason I can never remember these bar's names...
When I went to Auburn I went to Quixote's which was super live. I'm not sure if that's what you are thinking of. They said the Skybar is the most popular bar there but we never ended up going there.
I think it might be Skybar, they had a second floor patio that overlooked the street, but the action was inside one the stage. The night I was there some hot babe was the lead singer of an 80s cover band and knew what she was doing. place was hopping.
We're also the #6 most fun school, apparently:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-fun-colleges-in-america-2014-12?...
One more 6th ranking in something, and I will be fully convinced that Weaver was the devil himself
Dixie Chicken is a really cool bar, if you every go to College Station you should hit that up. It's a classic Texas bar with a cool atmosphere. They also have a rattlesnake they keep in a cage there.
Best bar in Northgate hands down
Seconded for the 117 S. Main location- although I loved it as The Library or The Main Street Cafe. When they were booking good concerts, that was the place to be in Blacksburg. I like Cabo, but the place isn't the same without the live music.
Honorary mention goes to Champs, specifically the beautiful bartender with the cleavage tattoos circa 2001-2002ish.
Say what you want about TOTS, but they are the only bar in Blacksburg that can charge a cover on football weekends AND still have a line to get in.
For most people I know, that's a result of "Hey, let's go get Rails! I remember them being awesome!" followed by "These aren't as good as I remember them, and we already fought the crowd and paid to be here, so I guess we'll stay."
I'm sort of neutral on TOTS. The Cellar was my scene.
I think you mean "These are now twice the price of when I used to get them, but we're here so let's have another."
Based on our age and The Cellar also being my scene, I'm sure we were there at the same time. Ever go to Monday night blues jam?
Can't say that I did. I would go on weekends, maybe an occasional Thursday. I wasn't really big on spending much time (read: money) downtown, but whenever I was in the mood, The Cellar was my #1 spot.
I sat in with that jam a couple of times. The Cellar had a very cool vibe. I liked it too.
TOTS was only good in the summer imo
The only night I drank three rails (which I was told was impossible), I tried to convince Eddie Royal to streak the drillfield with me. He wisely declined.
Did three rails once. Ended up in the cow pastures along 460. Bad night.
For you or the cow?
Everyone involved.
I was chased by what I can only presume was a bull, ended up getting pulled oven on foot on 460 ( I was convinced I was on Prices Fork) by state troopers who must have been called to something more important because I was left there and eventually picked by a friend.
Never again.
I did streak the drillfield which turned epic when I noticed the hippie/Christian music circle and leap-frogged some poor unsuspecting guy playing an acoustic guitar. Thought I got away clean until my buddy told me he dropped his wallet and we had to go back to the circle and ask them if the saw it fly out as we ran naked through their group. The highs and the lows of riding the Rails!
...So did he get the wallet back?
And as a follow up, where exactly was he keeping his wallet?
Mr. Fooz........
You date yourself, sir, and beat me to the reference. Wish I had a buck for every longneck Bud I drank there.
$1pitchers of PBR or $2 pitchers of Heineken! On Wednesdays. It may have even started at 25 cents and progresses... Can't remember for sure. Cheese steaks were great too!
Throughout this thread I've been trying to make a "Vomit free since '93" joke, but it's just not materializing
You know, almost four days later and about the third time I've read your post, I have to admit, your joke snuck up on me and absolutely gets my thumbs up for the thought. Not really sure why, but comedy is quirky, eh?
Indeed. Although I have to admit its more of a HIMYM reference than an original joke haha
I worked in the Sub Shoppe below TOTS for several years. My fraternity brothers would get great subs. Making subs for drunks was always a pleasure. I kid, most of the time they were fine, but every once in a while a winner would come along. In the summer it would be slow and I could sit outside at the picnic tables just below the TOTS stairs and do homework up until 9PM until it got too dark. Also, worked selling hot dogs for TOTS at the stairwell that ran down to college avenue. Talk about claustrophobic. Did lots of homework in there also. Eventually worked in the TOTS kitchen and behind the bar. Moving on up....
I remember that Sub Shoppe. First sub I ever ate, and still I think maybe the best subs I ever ate. Huge, with better than average meats and cheese and so much shredded lettuce you could have made a salad with what fell off. Those were the days before sub shops were on every corner. Would have been in the early '70s.
The subs were big. Easily a 2 meal deal.
I worked there from 1983 - 1985.
BTW Mike Whaley (TOTS and PK's owner) is converting the ground floor under TOTS to a BBQ restaurant. Its currently storage... He wants it to be a higher end type, non-student dive kind of place.
This is cool. Definitely have to check it out in the future.
Tough location for a "non-student dive" kind of place. Hope it works though.
Is that in Souvlaki's space? Or is that still there? Was also a tee shirt shack directly under the Balcony in my Day.
Hot dog place too somewhere along the way....
Early 90's.....Memory failing....