Red Line Tap
Yes, you can watch the competitive ladder-climbing of the local scene at places like Empty Bottle and Hideout, but when it comes down to catching what fresh hell has spawned up from the cornfields of Indiana and Iowa, Red Line Tap is where it’s at. A Rogers Park neighborhood fixture, the venue has a small stage in a seating/dance area adjacent to the wrap-around bar. Earnest youngsters and touring vets alike have been known to cram on the stage and just cut loose, and it continues as one of the least precious places to do so in the city. As it says on the Tap’s site, “Cheap drinks, music nightly, lousy service.”
7006 North Glenwood, redlinetap.com
Best of Chicago 2013
