My band is going to be in Detroit Nov 25-27th to record at Ghetto and we'll be wrapping up early enough to hit some shows. Any gigs on the Friday or Saturday night?

Yeah, I totally agree. Painted Lady is a cool dive bar, but the sound/stage is hardly optimal. I would have to say they win the prize for nastiest/grossest men's room in Detroit venues.

Donovan's Pub in Mexican Town is an unassuming little no-frills Irish bar (frequented by the local Mexicans, ironically) that has some cool pop-up shows with some of the cooler Detroit garage-sters. It might be worth seeing if they have a show that weekend.

The Blue Squares said:

The painted lady is still operating as far as I know, and that's another place to consider, but a lot of bands don't like their awkward stage.  It's a little cramped and oriented in strange way. It's a cool place though.  Hamtramck is a great place to see good lesser known acts at smaller venues.  There are lots of bars/venues concentrated in a relatively small area.  My list is not exhaustive by any means.  I just wanted to give you some decent options (based on my experience) of places that might be feasible to get into on short notice.  note:  the magic stick might not be that easy, but it's one of detroit's best venues for this type of music.

The painted lady is still operating as far as I know, and that's another place to consider, but a lot of bands don't like their awkward stage.  It's a little cramped and oriented in strange way. It's a cool place though.  Hamtramck is a great place to see good lesser known acts at smaller venues.  There are lots of bars/venues concentrated in a relatively small area.  My list is not exhaustive by any means.  I just wanted to give you some decent options (based on my experience) of places that might be feasible to get into on short notice.  note:  the magic stick might not be that easy, but it's one of detroit's best venues for this type of music.

Very cool. Detroit is a wondrous and strange place.

What is your band?

I wish I had some info to give you, but it looks like The Blue Squares have given you as much info as I could offer. 

Is the Painted Lady still open? That place, although a complete dive, is pretty cool.

I am sure Jim Diamond (Ghetto owner) can point you in the direction of some good stuff.

 

I'm not sure of any openings on those nights, and we don't have a gig that weekend, but here are some venues that might be worth checking:

 

majesticdetroit.com/magic-stick/

http://www.smallsbardetroit.com/

http://www.paycheckslounge.com/

http://www.newdodgelounge.com/index.html

www.pjslagerhouse.com/

www.corktowntavern.com/

 

hope that helps.