DV8 Underground

Basement goth punk style dive bar mostly for the younger crowd. They have non mainstream bands. It’s in the basement just off Why’re avenue at Gateway blvd. Pretty cool goth style decorations. It has a pool table a stage and a few video games. No TV screens. Not sure I’d eat the limited food here. They did not have any beer on tap when I was there. Walls and ceiling are all black. Good for drinks and music. Washrooms weren’t too bad. Ear plugs highly recommended!!!

What an interesting place. DV8 is kind of a rock, metal, screamo band type of place and is different from any other bar that is located on Whyte. On the night I went, there were a bunch of bands playing and admission was free. The music itself ranged from «What in the hell is this?» to «Okay, yeah I’m feeling this». The volume is ridiculously loud for the venue, which is why I took one star off. Your eardrums will be in actual pain (both from the volume and the more questionable bands playing). They do sell ear plugs, but I doubt they would help overtly much. If you’re into the type of music, then I’d say yeah come on down. For myself it was mostly a painful experience.
The space itself is decently large. The washrooms are in a state of disrepair and not for the squeamish type. I took a second star off because the place reeked of smoke. I’m very sensitive to smoke and my eyes started burning within half an hour of being inside the place.

Overall I love DV8, friendly staff, great owners, good liquor selection, decent size, lots of seating, ATM, decent prices.
The one downside is that, as the name implies, it’s DV8 Underground which means wobbling down that flight of stairs after a smoke break while you’ve already had a few drinks, but that comes down to how much you do or don’t drink.
The music is always decent to great, from open mic to planned shows with low cost tickets (5 – 15 on average). There’s a bit of variety, acoustic to punk to post rock, so almost anyone can find at least one DV8 show that they’ve enjoyed more than just drinks at.
The bathrooms (or at least the ladies) is pretty clean, some graffiti (but hey, I think it just adds to the atmosphere), always stocked with toilet paper/​paper towels/​soap unlike a lot of bars in the area.