Live Wire Lounge

The owner Dave books excellent bands. Choose your style night to go. Great bartenders, full bar at descent prices. Comfortable to bring friends or belly up to the bar on your own ~ everyone is friendly.

What a phenomenal Fat Tuesday. Love Live Wire and their Bar Tenders, music, ambiance.... And, John Bauman helps make the place Xtra special. His Jumbaliya was amazing and his presence adds to the joy of the place.

The bartender was so friendly and a great time. They play 80s horror and sci movies on the tvs above the bar before the live performances. Definitely recommend the Buddington beer. It's the smoothest beer I've ever had.

Went last night for a local show and the bartender was so rude. My girl friends and I walked in and wanted to grab drinks right away since the band started. However, we couldn’t really see what they had to offer on the screens because of crowdedness so I asked the bartender with the beard what beers they had. He didn’t hear me so I tried to step onto a stool to get closer to speak to him because I didn’t want to yell in his face but it seems like he would have preferred that because he looked annoyed at me even though it only took me like one minute to do? He then takes off and grabs like one of the two menus on the bar, gives it to us and never looked back. Thankfully another bartender, a woman, came and serviced us and she was so nice. Later on we tried to grab drinks again and the first bartender came up to us, I told him what we wanted and he said okay. So why is it he walks off and takes like three other dudes orders after mine, gives them their orders and never even brings our drinks?? All we asked for was four cans but there he went to go give out shots and make drinks, like why even ask us what we wanted if you were essentially going to ignore us? Seemed like he was only servicing people he knew and men. Anyway the nice lady bartender came, took our order and gave us our drinks in minutes. Don’t understand what dudes problem was as we were not rude to him or anything but I mentioned his rudeness to other friends at the venue and apparently he was like that with them last night and in the past as well. This is my second time at this venue and honestly I wouldn’t want to come again his vibe was a mood killer as we were just trying to have a fun girls night. The sweet lady bartender was so nice though and saved our day. They should get another server with her kind of attitude especially since the drinks are already so expensive and they only take cash inconveniently, adding a rude bartender on top just makes for bad business.

My favorite bar, fantastic staff, I've met some of my best friends here.

The first bartender was rightious, the second robbed my friend of money on the bar, then had the nerve to say "don't worry, I got your next one" at one thirty about diet cokes for which he was charging four dollars, and walking away with $2-3 tip he didn't deserve. The bands were good but way too loud. The bartender could not hear drink orders. Bring ear plugs for Sure. The bathroom rocks, with the sexy shot of George Costanza. But the eight dollars cover seemed a bit excessive, and barely anybody was in the joint. Wonder why.

Bobcat was abducted by aliens at Live Wire Lounge, Chicago IL on Tuesday, October 8th, 2025

Small little dive bar that is cash only. They sometimes oversell tickets to shows despite the size, so it can be very overcrowded sometimes. Sound is alright and there's enough room to dance a little. Bathrooms are as you'd expect. Prices are average.

The best in men's clothing! Call Dave's Boutique, ask for Quixote and they're in Irvingndale.

Honestly this was my first time at this venue and I don't know that I would go back. There was nothing inherently wrong with it, but I just don't feel the need for a return trip. I would say to any band considering booking a show here, don't do it. The acoustics are not great and their sound guy goes way too heavy on the instrumentals and drowns out the vocals. The staff is nice enough but the bartender did leave to go smoke weed outside. I don't know if they were doing hot dogs because it was National Hot Dog Day but the only options I saw for food were that and I think I saw somebody order nachos. To say this place is divey would be generous, I would go more towards little hole in the wall. It's not in the greatest part of the city and I was just not exceptionally comfortable here. Of course as with everything I review feel free to go yourself and make your own judgments, but my advice is to pick someplace else either to drink or to hold a show. I'm always honest, so that's pretty much a wrap on this one. ** The bands that played last night, including my friends in Silvertung all did a great job!**

Great little bar to see live music. Cash only, ATM inside. Great bartenders. Decent beer selection. I have played here several times and it's always a good time. The guy who runs the place is a solid dude. Live sound is always good. Would recommend.

Best place ever. These are good people. Come here and party. You will not be disappointed if you love a well run dive with LIVE MUSIC.

I don't get the hype about this place. Ugly decor, bad beer selection. Puts on some good heavy metal shows, but fyi, this guy pays the bands dirt. Make sure to buy some of the bands merch if you want them to get paid more than gas money for playing there. The vibe of this place? Low effort.

Real small bar here, but it's alright because they got a stage! I've seen great bands perform here, and that with the combination of cheap great beer equal a Hell of a night out! $2 PBR's is something you can't go wrong with. Definitely the spot to go to if you're a little low on money. They take cards here but this is one of those spots where it's preferable to bring cash. ($15 minimum) If you're looking for a spot to check out the strong, growing local music scene of Chicago, here's a shining spot to experience it first hand.

What?! Where did this place come from! A little bar in a nondescript neighborhood (Avondale?) with totally kick ass sound and lights for live bands?! Loved it! Really nice setup, with a great bartender. Didn't get too crowded. Full pro sound board setup - and it was noticeable. Great place!

If you like being totally ignored while trying to buy a drink, this is the bar for you. We went here for Mardi Gras. I paid the $15 cover and my wife went to the bar to get drinks. She was totally ignored. At one point, she was waving her arms at the bartender. He finally came over and waited on the young Asian woman standing next to my wife. It was like she was invisible. The owner finally came over and took our order. We were there because our daughter-in-law was catering the event. The same thing happened last year. Same bartender. We are done with that place. You would be better served walking down the street to Teddy Bear at Eddy and Pulaski where you can get a nice cocktail at a nice price poured by a real bartender.

Polish rocker bar! Okay, so I'm not sure if there's a Polish affiliation but adding Eastern European to anything somehow makes it more mysterious and way cooler, no? Add some deep red-hued trim, sexy lighting and a liberal dose of goth-meets-metalhead styling and your 'I don't know what to expect' meeting with an underloved bar just became unexpectedly interesting. I assumed drinks would be strong; they were stronger. Served by a bartender with a hard exterior, I was met with the most pleasant and accommodating demeanor I've come across in some time. What a dear - I was driving and could have only one drink but she still paid me attention and offered (and refilled) water. But, I didn't come for the 'Darkroom-light' insides and the copious water refiils. I came to support my friend's band and this is where LiveWire truly shined - I was courted with wonderful acoustics, competent, big sound and an intimate experience. Cash only! Rock on.

Some old skool punks got the band back together and somehow managed to get a gig at this decent place in a off-the-beaten-path Northwest side neighborhood. Very dimly lit with lots of black and red, I felt right at home immediately. The stage in the back of the room offers unobstructed views from whereever you might be sitting, even if you're a shortie like me. Long bar with classic Brunswick style details offers up ample seating and easy access to the bartenders. Staff was pretty friendly all inky and pierced with appropriate pin-up gurrrl hairdo and a rockstar attitudes but more importantly pouring up mean monster style drinks that will kick your butt without picking your pocket dry. Don't know if there is a cover cuz I was "with the band" but definitely woulda paid to hear a Peter Frampton/Talking Heads mash up in an intimate room that was kind to aging punks. Big ups for plenty of street parking.

What a cute little bar! It's always nice to find a hidden gem like this place in my neighborhood! And with a stage, too! I stopped by a couple weeks ago to see the Spanktacular's burlesque show. Great to see them use the adorable li'l rockabilly space for such an event. Fair drink prices. Definitely will return.

Awesome little dive bar within stumbling distance from my apartment. The bartender/owner Dave, along with the other bartender (don't recall his name) were incredibly friendly, recommended a few restaurants, etc that are in the area, and even bought me a shot of Jameson, welcoming me to the neighborhood! Totally awesome to encounter such cool people, especially having just moved to the city. An absolutely wretched crab-core band was playing live that night, but luckily, the bar was playing the movie "The Warriors." LOVE IT! No Old Style in the house (boo!) but the drinks are strong & affordable. I will most definitely be back!

LiveWire is an up and coming little venue on West/North Milwaukee. The room is very inviting, with comfortable booths and a beautiful wood bar. The stage is a good size for small shows and the sound is decent (bring earplugs). The bartender was a sweetheart and made me some great cocktails. The only downside that is the LiveWire seems to be on a stretch of Milwaukee that isn't near anything else.

My favorite neighborhood Metal joint. Love music from bands near and far. Sound and lighting is legit and pro. Thanks Dave and Morgan. Rock!

-Decent prices - check -Great venue to see live and local bands in an intimate setting - check -Cute rockabilly men - check -Interesting decor - check -Awesome staff - check parking......eh. This place is actually pretty cool, I recommend ear plugs because depending on the band, you will walk out with some slight hearing loss.....but really, it can be worth it.

I never knew there was such thing as a Polish rocker bar until I came to LiveWire. Now, I'm not sure if that's entirely true about the bar, but upon arrival, there was a huge mass of Polish punk rockers congregating outside the bar. My fiance's band was supposed to play that night, and they are NOT punk rockers, so needless to say, we were a bit confused. I think my first thought was, "Wow. They have really built an interesting following." Turns out there was some Polish rocker fest going on that night and it was just getting out as we arrived. After about an hour, it finally cleared out and we made our way toward the door. Now, LiveWire isn't the biggest place by any means. In fact, if you're a band and you're playing here, you might have trouble finding room for your equipment. The band had to put all their stuff in one tiny corner by the door as there is no "backstage." Once done loading, we went to the bar. Very long bar with lots of seating. There is also seating against the other wall toward the stage so even though this place is small, there is still a lot of room to sit and stand as you please. We asked what beers they had: PBR (obvi), Miller, and Founders IPA and Vanilla Porter. All out of Heineken (gee, I wonder who drank that). Had an IPA. I think it was about $5 or $6 for the bottle. Pricey for a small bar. The bartender wasn't the brightest. I observed as she handed someone the wrong change and then he had to explain to her why it was wrong. Even though several bands were playing this night, they still were showing some movies on their three TVs over the bar. Side note: South Park Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is fun to watch with subtitles. The sound here is actually pretty good, if you sit a little further from the stage. I sat more toward the door and heard everything perfectly. I think you might go deaf if you are too close. Overall, it's pretty divey, but not bad. Good spot for local bands.

Happy this place is within walking distance from my neighborhood since I dig the type if bands this bar brings in. Sound system was good and beer selection as well. Just check before going if there is a cover charge as their website calender does not always state if there is one on any particular band night. Also it's a CASH ONLY bar so you have to use their ATM with the $3 charge plus whatever you bank charges to take out cash if you dont carry enough in with you.

Great place to see a show or have some drinks. Huge variety of different music acts. Always treated well by the hot bartenders and owners.

Cool little neighborhood bar that has live music. The owner is a great guy, very friendly and personable. The drinks are a reasonable price and the selection is decent. The music is usually smaller name bands and the sound is average. Personally, I like everything about this place. It has a cool dive bar feel, with a little more to offer. They do have a bartender named Jodie that a lot of people complain about. She's kinda bitchy and her service is terrible, but I say whatever, it's slightly entertaining. I guess that's the only possible drawback to this place.

Well to be fair the place hasn't had it's official opening. But if you are in Avondale/Old Irving Park you should be hopeful this place pans out. I have only been there 4 times and the first 3 times very good. The decor is pretty cool and it is definitely a headbanger/metal fan bar for the most part. But if you get there early and wish to have a pleasant drink before the leather shows up you will be glad you did. My only beef is depending on the night you go there you might get a bit of the cold shoulder if you aren't dressed in heavy metal regalia. Or look like like a nerdy 40 something white guy. My first experiences their were quite friendly but with "metal" bartender things just didn't click. She made it clear that nerds were not welcomed. But on the first 2 times I been there the other bartenders were as nice as pie. So if you are in the Milwaukee Avenue and Belmont area definitely check out the bar since it does have live music. But be forewarned if you are non-metal looking guy, a bartender might not like you. Overall, it looks like a good place to see live music and they pour a good drink. Just a bit disappointed they are a bit snobbish in there and make people definitely feel not welcomed if you don't have the right look.

I brought my dad from out of town here to see a friend's band play and the bartender would not give me back the correct change at the bar and it was not too crowded. After that she was rude to me and continued to talk about me being a jerk to the other people that worked there when it was her fault to begin with. WOW. UNBELIEVABLE. How can a business stay open with such incompetence working there????

My favorite small venue for shows in Chicago. Whether its packed full or pretty empty it always sounds and looks great. Staff is awesome, drinks are decently priced.. love it!

Awful live sound and, hands down, the WORST bartenders I've ever encountered. They spent more time shooting the shit at one end of the bar than they did serving patrons and got no tips from me after the first round. I won't come back for any reason.

I only give this place a 2 because they have good bands here and a decent beer selection. That is if you can get a bar tender to help you. Based on bar service I give this place a zero star. The red headed bar tender would rather text and have her back turned then make money. I waited 5 min and the girl before me must have been waiting even longer. I decided to go get a soda at the Mexican restaurant instead of giving this establishment.

A nice punker bar right smack in the middle of the north side. A nice dark bar with some loud dark music being played live or on the juke box, Got a good selecion of beer.

I stopped in with a friend here on a Saturday - the environment is inviting and clean plus the musicians they had perform were amazing (if you haven't ever heard of him, check out Mobley). Friendly bouncer and bartender, the bartender took the time to shake our hands and learn our names which was of note, but I'm a sucker for courtesy. Prices were aight, dropping by again soon no doubt.

I visited this bar for the first time when I went to see one of my favorite touring bands. I was excited and ready for a great night. When first walking into the bar we were surprised that it was a unexpected cool bar in that neighborhood. However, the woman at the door taking 'donations' was not very friendly. She was then later heard hassling a band member from a band that had already played because he needed to leave to go play another show. She kept pestering him until he simply wanted to leave just to get away from her and her nosey questioning. Then after sitting in our booth for a while we noticed they had a wet dirty rug from the floor laying over the back of our booth. I noticed ppl with food there. Not sure if they brought it or got it from the bar but isn't the nasty rug from the floor being on the booth a bit unsanitary? After hanging out a little while longer we noticed that something smelled really bad. Not sure if it was someone there or something in the bar but it smelled like nasty rank dirty butt. Like a butt that hadn't been washed in a year! It was really disgusting. Moving on to the bar tender. She was very unfriendly. We were told to continue waiting for her while she served everyone else. Left us waiting for ten minutes on more than one occasion. Then when I finally bought my pbr and Jim beam shot for five dollars and I paid her with a ten she then did not bring me my change of five dollars. I waited and waited and she never came back. Then we spent an additional ten minutes trying to waive her down and she kept telling us to wait. When she finally came over I told her I needed my change and she finally brought it over. I did not order any more drinks after this whole fiasco. All the while ruining my time to watch a band I hadn't seen in a year and prob wont see for another year. Speaking of watching the band. Through almost the entire show we couldn't not hear the singers very well at all. And the chick singer in the band who has an amazing voice we could not hear at all over their instruments. The sound guy was told and he didn't fix it. During their sound check he also didn't notice the fiddle player up there. And when the band asked in the mic repeatedly for the sound guy to get the guitar working because it wasn't. He did not pay attention or notice the band talking to him after five times of being called. So on the subject of sound at this venue, it was terrible!! When u go to a show and u can only hear one of the singers out of the two for all but the last two songs there's a problem with the sound people! So I would say get a sound guy who knows what he's doing. Fix that rank stench in the bar and employ some friendlier service that gives your change and then maybe it would be a cool bar. I will not be returning.

The owner, sorry dude forgot your name, and the manager of this place are exceptional! They were fun to talk to, dedicated to prompt service, and appreciative. Definitely a good place to get ridiculously drunk and see bands play!!!

This place is great if you're looking for a no frills/no bs bar for live local and touring metal bands. Beer is cheap. Music is loud. And they have Jameson. Bring your own ear plugs because your hearing needs to last you a life time and they may or may not have them.

I've had multiple experiences with this facility, all of which have been great. Despite the parking situation really sucking, everything is reasonably priced, ad the staff is very personable. Chris Morgan is one of our favorite people there, and is constantly one to be a fantastic host. The sound guy with the gnarly beard is good at what he does, and is hilarious. Over all, it is a clean environment, and has a lot to offer for musical entertainment.

I can't begin to tell you how much I love this place. It generally hails to the metal/alternative crowd, but anyone that needs a drink is welcome. Amazing beer selection for a smaller bar, and the bartenders are all wonderful. There's always live music, or karaoke, and I swear it's the cleanest bathroom I've ever seen at a bar. Only downside is parking can be a bit of a pain but otherwise I this place.

Always have a fun time here and the staff are all great too. Some of the shows are hit or miss, but that isn't really the venue's fault obviously. Been coming here a lot more often lately.

Great sound for such a little spot. Really dig what's been going on on Tuesdays lately.

i had so much fun as soon as i walked in! cover was reasonable and the band was awesome! the music is really loud which i loves and the bartender was amazing! will definitely be back!

Cute little place. Bartender was very attentive and never had a hard time getting a drink even though there were a lot of people. Overall pleased with my experience. Was there for a show with a band I knew and the loud music was a little much for me but most people didn't seem to mind. Overall, cool bar, attentive staff, good.

Truthfully, this place is a cozy dive bar that hosts some really great musicians sometimes. It's easy to find parking and the prices aren't too extreme. I'd come here again just based on the musical talent.

Judy Cox made the best G&T for me last night!

One of their bartenders is a genius. He has a signature drink called the "tracer bullet". Wow. It's a mixed drink, but it's not too sweet, not too bitter, it's tasty and just right. The bar itself is good too. Someone I know in a band was playing, so the music was great and the crowd was fun.

This is a rockin lil venue. Great staff and totally chill atmosphere. I've been there for a few shows and have had a blast! The sound is good and they have a nice set-up for live bands. It's a place that I will come back to again and again. \m/ \m/

Staff is cooperative with my requests for Coke with no ice. One bartender asked if I had a monitoring bracelet, and I informed her that I didn't, I just don't drink. Great bands on a regular basis. Very band friendly. I work for many bands in various venues and Livewire is one of my favorites because they accommodate me as a customer and someone who is working in the facility. Keep up the good work, and keep the industrial flowing!

everyone is crazy! This place has the best sound for live bands. I just saw Cobalt Core there and a few others.

this place kicks your a$$. go there. good rocker vibe. cool bands. good sound. not insanely crowded. drinks reasonably priced. decent parking. bartenders are personable. everything you ever wanted...including pretzels.

Had a great time at Live Wire Lounge Friday night. Bar was packed, but service was polite and friendly, and nice clean restrooms. Local band Man Fighting Bear original and awesome musicians; One 2 Many band also rocked blues. Dayle C.