Phyrst Bar of Choice

About a month ago I found myself in Newburyport, MA where I met up with Jimmy, a reporter from the paper. He had a lot of questions about the trip that were “off the record,” as he was just very curious about my entire trip. It’s great meeting people who actually cannot hold them selves back from asking more questions. He asked, “Do you mind if I ask about night lift and if there has been much on your trip?” Well the website is pretty much G-rated so I leave a lot of that out, but of course there is night life, and it’s a large part in any culture, especially among my peers.

So the next question after that is almost always, “What’s the best bar you’ve been to?” Well, until now I haven’t been able to answer that question. I have seen a lot of bars, from NYC to Loup City Nebraska, old to young crowds, dancing clubs and Irish pubs. The “Toy Factory” in NYC where I went with Kim and Devon may be the best lounge for some good conversation and a fancy drink. But, the best bar in the country, as far as I’m concerned, is the Phyrst on Beaver Avenue in State College. Never in my life have I been to a bar where everyone participates, there is such a great sense of community and belonging, and with so much atmosphere that is simply fun for anyone.

For the best experience you need to show up to the Phyrst on something like a Saturday night when I was there with Cory. The Phryst Phamly band was playing. With a copule banjos, a guitar, and a bass they sing some classics. From country and Johnny Cash to singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and “Puff the Magic Dragon.” But this is only the beginning. The fun begins long before the band plays. For starters there is a fire hydrant on the bar, and when some out-of-towner stands in front of it without knowing the crowd starts to change, “We want the hydrant! We want the hydrant!” Then all of a sudden the bartender turns it on and the person gets a blast of cold water. They also have about 800 quality Armetale Phyrst mugs hanging from the ceiling. For $30 a mug can be yours for however long you want and they lock it up for you. How cool it would be to take one of those mugs to all 50 states. Maybe, next time. Small things like that give much more atmosphere and flavor. Then there are the “table wars” which are all in great fun. Once the pub is packed in with people at all the tables, one table begins chanting, “We are table number four, number four, we are table #4, where the hell is table seven?” And on goes it goes to the next table, this goes on and on until one table has a poor performance and they get booed. It was fantastic! Everyone participates and has a big grin, it’s what the pub experience should be and I have never seen anything like it before. And you have to be there for when the crowd changes “We want the lion! We want the Lion!” Then out of nowhere one of the members of the Phyrst Phamly gives a impressively realistic growl into the microphone and the crowd erupts.

Cheers! To the Phyrst, it is a unique experience that everyone should take in. I was blown away!