Big Fish Pub

Came here for Gypsyhawk and Scattered Hamlet on ⁰⁶⁄₂₈. This review probably won’t matter too much as Saturday was their last day open, but I’ll go ahead and do it anyway.
Venue:
–kinda feels like you’re watching a show in someone’s basement: low ceilings, dark, with a small stage tucked in the corner. Cramped and a bit hot, I don’t think there’s a single fan in the place and the AC definitely wasn’t on.
–some seating available at hightop tables toward the back of the room and around the bar.
–patio on the side for smoking. It’s small, but it does have a few tables and chairs.
–merch as you enter/​exit, that whole front room is pretty desolate.
–bathrooms are clean; appreciate that they leave up band stickers instead of trying to paint over/​remove everything.
–OK parking availability
Sound:
–pretty good sound, some feedback issues
–very loud for a small space, can EASILY hear music outside
Crowd:
–mixed crowd of rockers, average joes and trailer trash. There was seriously a woman who was wearing slippers to the gig. I saw another person who was barefoot. They also let someone bring his dog in.
Staff:
–bouncers were pretty nice. The ones who stand OUTSIDE the door, what are they there for? the ones inside the door check your ID, etc.
–bartenders were pretty inattentive. Homeboy was trying to do firebreathing tricks with 151 while I’m waiting to order a drink. It was their last night open, so I guess they didn’t really care what anyone thought.
Price:
-$ 12 for a ticket (pretty expensive for how small the venue is)
-$ 4 well drinks, but they were pretty much out of a lot of things (especially draft beers and premium liquors $ 5).
I might consider coming back to Big Fish Pub (if they were going to stay open) but they don’t book too many well-​known acts. Now, if they were to manage to get, say, Crashdiet to sneak a show there, I’d be in, no questions asked.

Came here for open mic night as was listed on another website saying they were hosting on Thursday nights from 7 – 11, but when my brother and I showed up the lights were out and the parking lot was a ghost town at 9:15pm on a Thursday… Very disappointed.

Dark dank bar with not much going on. Workers were not overly friendly. Live music is on the weekends and it is typically heavy metal.

Great spot to go to for Karaōke on Monday nights, Open mic on Tuesday nights, and then awesome rock, hip hop, metal, and other shows the rest of the week. Victor is an amazing owner who runs a responsible business and also knows how to give his regulars and new customers an experience to remember!

AWESOME!
The staff is outstanding and the owner is a class act all the way. It is a great intimate setting to listen to live music. I love the BIG FISH PUB!

First of all, I’d like to say that I shall try to give as objective of a review as I can and to point out both the pluses and minuses of the place, because it wasn’t all bad. I went to Big Fish Pub with a group of friends from another bar. The place is in a pretty nasty, run down storefront and the female server looked almost completely tattooed from head to toe, just to illustrate the ambiance. The service was a bit slow considering the place was somewhat sparsely populated (after midnight). The music sound level in the venue was about 10,000 times too loud. Public health hazard warning: Do not go there without ear plugs unless you want to totally fry your hearing. When I was singing karaōke on stage, the volume was so loud that I was totally screaming my lungs out, but couldn’t even hear myself sing over the destructive volume. It was supposed to be karaōke night, but instead the D.J. and the live karaōke band members proceeded to hog over ²⁄₃ of it, by singing and playing sometimes long, unaccompanied and unremarkable drum solos that finally resulted in our leaving. There was no room to fit in the room with the D.J.‘s ego. The whole thing was about him and the live band members, not about the paying customers getting to sing karaōke. I and this one babe from our group got to sing, but two others didn’t, and they paid a ton of money for drinks while there. Customers got to pay $ 14 per pitcher for Pabst Blue Ribbon, but then some of them didn’t get to sing at all, because those guys were hogging the whole show. My buddy was extremely pissed, because over the course of the night he bought two large pitchers of beer, two shots of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and a can of Red Bull. For this he paid $ 48. The purportedly drunk owner verified the price for this, but said that my buddy should have been charged $ 52 instead. There was room to dance in the place, but mostly it was just our group that was dancing. The light show on the floor was pretty cool. I had a blast singing karaōke on stage and it rocked the house, so much so, that the DJ wouldn’t even acknowledge me after that, when I tried to submit another song. Apparently it stole his mojo. We finally left after the second drum solo that was going on without any other accompaniment. The place was 10,000 times too loud and way too expensive.

Went there on a night where there were live bands. Definatley a fan, the crowd and the band gets into everything. There is also a nother section you can go to if you arent in to the band. It has a pool table and vidoe games. The bartenders are pretty hott and are good at paying attention to all of the customers and not getting swamped. Definatley going to come back here!

I have promoted shows out of this venue, checked out some of my favorite local bands here, and spent my last birthday here. The owner has always been very hospitable and professional. The security staff is very professional and the bar tenders are always pouring amazing drinks. Needless to say I love this bar anyone who is a fan of live music at intimate venues should like the bar’s facebook page for regular updates on upcoming shows.

Great small venue to see a band!!! They really have their shit together, especially for an all ages venue that has a bar… Saw a friend’s band, Within The Throes, there on Saturday, and enjoyed the atmosphere and sound system. I didn’t drink when I went, so I’m unsure of how much booze cost, or how the bartenders are, but again, great show, and great venue!!! Looking forward to checking out more stuff here :)

I love this place; it’s sort of a dive but I’ve had some good times here. It’s a neat place to get together and watch bands. The drinks are pretty good and the barkeeps are always nice. It’s not too far out of the way but a nice get away if you’re tired of the club scene and just want a bar to relax.
Side Note: Years ago my band got bumped at the place, we were supposed to open for Glen Phillips (Toad The Wet Sproket) but we got bumped by a «then unknown» by the name of John Meyer. One another night we played the day after LA Guns… they broke all the mics except one… good times :)

I like this place! My alter ego Dfactor (
) just played the Big Fish stage on Sunday night. The place kicks. It’s fairly friendly, the soundman’s cool and the drinks are cheap. Good rock place.

As other reviewers have said, this place has gone through a few metamorphoses over the last few years. I believe at one point it use to cater to the more punk/​metal scene, but in the past year or so it has turned more towards blues, jazz and indie singer/​songwriters.
About a year ago, I saw some friends perform here, and it was a nice set-​up. It’s a bar, but everything is centered around the stage area. All the booths and tables face the stage and tiny dance floor area. There is an area on the other side of the bar that has a pool table and t.v.‘s for the sports bar crowd, I guess.
It seemed to be a decent place for musicians/​bands to perform. It is a small place, so you can be up close & personal with the performers, which is always cool.
Overall, nice atmosphere and even though it is close to ASU, there didn’t seem to be a huge influx of rowdy and obnoxious colleges students hanging around. It definitely had a more low-​key vibe, which is just how I like my bars!

Big Fish has cleaned up its act, just a bit. I went there last night with a few friends after not having been in at least a year and it looks… nicer somehow. Yes it’s a little divey, but divey with a smile. It’s actually pretty clean and maintained inside. I think the term «neighborhoody» would be more appropriate.
We sat at the bar and were taken care of right away. I struck up a conversation with the bartender about how we wanted Agwa mojitos, and he only responded with a quizzical look. «Uh… We don’t make ANY mojitos here.»
Oh really? Hmm. You see, Big Fish was voted «Best Place to Drink Agwa» by the New Times, and the article mentioned something about a wonderful glorious Agwa mojito that the bar makes. So, we wanted ‘em. But to no avail. Notice: They don’t make mojitos at Big Fish. EVER. The New Times lied. They do however, make «Liquid Speedballs» which is Agwa, Sprite and Red Bull. So if you ever need to give yourself a heart attack AND get drunk at the same time, this is your shit.
Later in the night some drunk dude spilled me and my friend’s beers all over the bartop, and before we could even say anything the bartender had us covered with ice cold new ones. Very nice!
There is also a small stage, but tuesday night is Rock Band Night (the video game) so people were playing that. Fun! We ended up joining in with some of the other people playing. They have a little sign up sheet so you can play with your group whenever you’re up. No drama, just hangin’ out. See, neighborhoody!

The Big Fish Pub is a Tempe staple. Especially if you’re a local band or if you’re a fan of local music. It’s actually just a small, dive-​ish bar, but it’s pretty cool.
They feature local bands just about any night of the week and the stage is pretty small, but the audience can get right up close to the act.
There is usually a cover though because you’re paying for the act you’re going to see, but if you’re in to supporting local music, it’s definitely a worthy cause!
And they usually have some pretty good drink specials too, so check with the bartender before you order.