Quarters

Great Mllw dive bar for live bands & DJs. Friendly vibes & cool atmosphere.

Small venue but usually has some great shows with great people. Bar staff is nice, drinks are cheap. Keep an eye on the events cuz they have a bunch of niche shows going on. If you like anything underground or local they probably have an event coming up you'd like.

Been going there for decades watching all my friends bands play and other live local acts. I like the deck out back where you can smoke and talk to people because 99% of the time everyone gets along and enjoy themselves. Good place for the bands to talk to the people after playing for P.R. I remember Pete Bali....dont know if he is still there and if still running the restaurant, if so reach out im top "boss" of entertainment in Milwaukee and crazy enough and being watched by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. If you want to raise customers and revenue immediately in a huge way let me know

A true gem in the underground music scene and Pete is one of the greatest bartenders in MKE. All bands should play here once. It ain't fancy but the sound is fantastic.

If you have ever been here I'm sure you are thinking.. 5 stars, how, why, what? Well if you are judging a book by it's cover, then yes 5 stars is outlandish, but you don't know the place like I do. In fact I'm sure there are people that know the place better than I who are thinking 5 stars what a jabroni. Quarters, is dark, smells weird, has a typically less then savory clientele, is open when the owner feels like, has a sound system that has been abused, a full bar with one knowledgeable bartender, a stage in a strange spot that def does the job, outdoor smoking area, vending machine, bathrooms and I think I may have seen darts. Yeah it seems like I described every dive bar ever. Well this one is different because it's MY RIVERWEST DIVE VENUE. A place to get a cold PBR, listen to some raw music, get in a wild conversation, pick up a questionable one night stand, and maybe get a kebab or a falafel when the night is over accross the street. I recommend you and everyone you know go here and tell him Cody sent ya.. pete prolly won't know who you're talking about but at least you can get that off your chest. The picture is of some "locals" the one in the center has a tendency to put on monthly Friday or Saturday shows here. If you see him butter him up, tell him Cody told you too.. HE WILL KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.

Old school dive with a stage in the corner. Cash only. For what it is, it's great. It's like watching a band play in your friends basement -- and I mean that in the best way.

Quarters.. Pete is definitely my favorite bartender that exists. He makes super delicious drinks, puts together great shows at his bar, and is super friendly and fun. There's a great wooden patio out back to sit and relax between bands who play. It's been the perfect place to see many awesome bands and has been such a friendly environment.. everyone that goes there usually is just pretty great. Pete deserves all the tips and I hope one day I can stop by and just leave him the biggest tip he's ever got after buying just one drink. He is literally THE man! Thank you Quarters for existing!! I spent so much time here and will never regret all the fun

Was the first time I've been in quite a while. Bartender was cool, music was live and local, had a pretty chill vinyl set going on in the front and a Lazer and lights kind of cdj dj in the back. MC Spade one was doing his thing. Looked like they needed a monitor and a better table for the front set. Crazy impressive rig in the picture was in the back and was cool also. The place is freaking small. But man the music was authentic and the prices are great.

My bands Blame it On Cain and the Middle play here a fair amount - it is like the CBGB of Milwaukee. Come see local live orig. music in a place that is built for Rock and Roll!

Inconspicuous hole in the wall dive bar that hosts some great shows- good sound on the floor. Bring your own monitor speaker and cable.

I called tonight to see when 'crawlspace' was playing. Whoever answered the phone was an absolute prick. He couldn't tell me when 'crawlspace' was playing, that there were four bands playing but couldn't tell me who or when they were playing. I called back to find out when the show started and he said, "What do you want, Charles?" I just asked when the show started, and he said it was scheduled for 8 pm, but probably wouldn't start that soon. I've never been in this venue that I've already read smells like piss, and I sure as hell will never patronize a dump that treats potential customers the way I was treated.

One of the dopest dive bars in MKE...Underground as hell....The owner and bartender gives it to you straight and cheap..Best underground EDM / Rock shows with the dark and great environment...Love this place

Quarters is to "palace" as Uptowner is to "charm school." Make no mistake, dear reader. (For those unfamiliar with the context this analogy bears, peruse a few of these other reviews.) Quarters smells like armpits and stale beer. There's nowhere to sit. Bands that play here are local or the touring sort that don't mind crashing on friends of friends' floors. It's kind of - er, really pretty - dirty. & I like it. Real recognize real, dudes + lady dudes. Quarters specializes in shows, though I believe they are open regular-ish hours as well. Shows at this self-proclaimed rock & roll palace are small, and will likely draw a similar yet different VERY niche clientele each and every go. The beer is cheap. Parking on the street isn't too terrible. Basically, if you're into local/touring music of specific set of bents, Quarters is a solid spot to catch a show. I like it. I like the vibe, I like the size, I like the grit. The lighting's kind of cool. One of the ceiling fans has glow lights affixed to it, so that's something. [If you've read this much, it's because you're probably headed to Quarters for a particular reason (most likely a show) and you're doing your homework. It's either that, or you're just in a Yelp Milwakee internet-ing spiral. You're just lollygagging around here, reading reviews, bookmarking spots, trying to get a feel for the good ol' Mil. Good on you, friend in the latter camp. Milwaukee's pretty freaking great.] Remember, you're headed to Riverwest, dear reader... and this is as close to as "real" Riverwest as it can get, I think.

This is a decent little dive with live music regularly. Little is really an operative word in that sentence. When the place gets packed (maybe 70 people?), there is very little room to move around. This is especially true when the bands are set up on the floor rather than the stage which they sometimes are. It's almost like doubling the amount of sardines but keeping the can size the same. The bands are mostly punk/hardcore from what I can figure out, but they do have other types of bands there as well. They don't have a huge beer list, but they do have some craft brews from Lakefront and Goose Island. The best part of that is that they are priced right.

Quarters is an excellent bar for seeing live music in a small, scuzzy setting, especially if you're into any of these genres of music: -doom metal -psychedelic surf rock -cyber jams -glaze rock -power pop - and like, every kind of punk.. hardcore punk, proto punk, but probably not post punk. who am I kidding? If you like any kind of good music or are involved with the Milwaukee music scene or if you have friends.. you should check out Quarters. (And if you don't have friends, you should still check out Quarters. Nothing like drinking alone, right guys?) The person who books their shows does an excellent job getting great bands and keeping fans of the venue 'in the know.' And because of this- it does tend to get a little packed on show nights. There usually is one bartender working- so when it's packed, expect to wait more than a couple of minutes for a drink. Patience is a virtue, man. There's a patio in back, you can smoke there. On non-show nights? It's chill, you can play Mortal Kombat. Drink cheaply. Enjoy the quiet. Quiet really isn't my bag, so I don't come here on non-show nights too often.

I was able to check out Quarters this past weekend and didn't expect much going in to it. A friend invited me out to hear some bands play - the first band that opened for the night was all instrumental and rocked completely. Some laid back music that one could grove to - the other bands (the next three) took a complete dive. My friend and I couldn't believe how all three bands got paired up to begin with. We tried to stick it out, but couldn't bare to listen to minute songs that screamed the exact same lyrics... over and over... As far as the atmosphere - a pretty basic dive bar. Not sure how it is during the day, but when you walk it, it looks like the place has been completely cleared out. Only room for standing. Mixed drinks as well as a good selection of local beers (and even a good amount of not-so-good beers. *ahem* Busch *ahem*). Otherwise, only simple drinks for you to enjoy during shows. I'd like to give this place another shot, if I have faith that the bands performing are worth my time. Could be a hidden gem if they book the right shows.

Nothing like a smelly, divey Rock N Roll club with a great small space, a killer sound system, and CHEAP BEERS! This is the type of place where if you spill a beer on the floor the bartender does not care and just leaves it sit, which is pretty funny but ads to that divey, smelly rock n roll club vibe. This place is only open for shows, so no fun happy hours here, but that's probably better cause there is not to many places to sit, almost no bar stools! But I dig it!

I guess they changed the definition of what a palace is. Let me just say that I don't hate this place by any means. It's a cozy, divey, riverwesty place. With that you get a certain level of service and patrons. Friendly service, but it was way too busy for one bartender. I was here for a special event, so maybe that added to the craziness. One cool thing, you can play video games against other bar folk on the giant screen above the bar. The patio is pretty awesome. I would check it out again on a random night to see what's what.

Great rock shows and a spacious beer garden! I wish they made better use of the stage space. We were all squished and you couldn't even get a beer during the act. The sound balance was also a bit off. The vocals were virtually inaudible. Also, don't expect a world class drink selection. Hamms are cheap and that's what I stuck with.

Love this place. Great bar, great sound, great prices. Sure the bathroom doesn't smell great, but I'm not standing around in there watching bands, I'm in and out within a minute. When shows are highly attended it'd be rad if there were two bartenders, but Pete will still get you your drink as fast as possible.

Well, the person before me seems to have made an account to review only two places, so I am not sure how valid his review is. The bathrooms weren't gross when I went and I was there pretty close to bar close. I like the layout here. There are comfy seats in the back left where a small group can easily occupy the whole section and make it your own little place...and if I remember correctly they have Leinies on tap on the cheap. Like extra cheaqp. Like $2 cheap. For Leinies. Which is awesome. (Except I don't drink anymore so I haven't been here in a while.)

Total coke den, sound is terrible when live bands play there, beer is warm and bathrooms are disgusting.

The bar itself is pretty small, Its got a tall stage and a nook if you are a drummer. Not a bad spot. Very cool and friendly bartender.

So K-Mac and I are "Jazz in the Park Wine Drunk" and this is our logic. Wine sometimes comes in a box, wine sometimes tastes like juice, there's this guy called Juiceboxxx playing at a place called Quarters. It's Kismet. We're going. We find out that rumour has it this place recently re-opened after being closed down for gun violence. SWEET! Added incentive! We get there and the first thing I notice after walking in is that its incredibly dark and everyone is still ugly. Awesome! I'm no looker and neither is K-Mac and I hate nothing more than being the ugliest person in the room. Here I'm in the top 10! FIVE STARS! So I order an Old Mil and the bartender hands me a pabst. This tells me that he is been so ingrained with handing hipsters and victims of trends and marketing this sludge water so long he doesn't even have to think about his job. Which is GREAT because that's the first thing I look for in a bartender! FIVE STARS! Next assualt to the senses is the simultanious overload to both my eyes and ears. I will start with eyes. On stage are two extrodinarily average looking ?go-go? dancers, a guy who looks like a homosexual rollerblader circa 1984 swaying behind a drum machine and a guy in a 3 dollar suit singing lyrics about Sex and Drugs. I...Love...This... The only thing that would have made it better would have been some lyrics about bacon. The music for all three acts will loosely be described as under-produced basement beats that at times got incredibly hype. I'll admit, I got lost in the sweaty pool of stranger rubbing. By the look of and simplistic rhymes of the acts I would almost guarantee 80% of my cover charge was spent on crack later that evening. FIVE STARS! Juiceboxxx had no problem delivering his artform from within the crowd either, during one such stint, he knows he's so bursting with "incredible" that he denied my high-five. Thanks man for having the foresight to know if you would have smacked my hand I may have exploded. Finally I have to mention the deck/backyard/smoking section. This was fairly run of the mill, but I have to point out the remarkably cost effective and efficient fence. I was only high and strong enough to prevent people from trying to climb over it to avoid cover. For if one was to do so that thing was easily coming down under the weight of anyone over 60 pounds. At on point I leaned into it and receive a 3/4 inch gash from an exposed nail. FIVE STARS! Nothing makes me feel more at home than trying to remember my last Tetnis innoculation. K-Mac and the Maddrabbit give Quarters Rock 'n' Roll Palace FIVE STARS!!!!