The Auricle

This is probably a more difficult review. I’ve been here quite a few times and have enjoyed the atmosphere. I live in Canton currently, so I know how challenging it is to find a decent hangout place.
Most of the times I have been here have been very fun. They have a dance nights on Fridays and local bands throughout the week. They also have a ping-​pong table and pool table when the bar is only open and no bands are playing. The place is very clean and decorated nicely. The drink prices are awesome! One thing I love about Canton is the price of alcohol. I’m comparing these prices to Northern California, Vegas, Cleveland where I have lived/​worked. For the area, the prices are still a little better. Most of the bartenders are very attentive and nice.
I have, however, had some negative experiences there. If I could rate those singular experiences, I would rate it with 1 star. One of the experiences involved a couple bartenders who were talking amongst themselves. My boyfriend and I went up to the bar to order drinks. They continued to talk while looking straight at us. They continued talking amongst themselves while we patiently waited. It was my boyfriend’s first time there, and he was very unimpressed/​annoyed. Who likes to spend money at a place where they feel like a nuisance or an interruption to a very important conversation? I don’t.
The other weird/​negative experience was the bartender/​owner going on and on about shitty beer. My boyfriend and I went there again to just hangout and drink. The owner was talking about shitty beer ie Bud Light, etc. Granted, he was talking to a couple next to us, but he was talking loudly enough for me to hear. We get it. You’re more cultured than the rest of the Cantonians here… Get over it. They have a beer club on Sunday nights by the way.
Generally, I really like the Auricle. If it weren’t for those couple of bad experiences, I would go more often. I wish I could give it 4 or 5 stars. If you’ve never been here, you should go, but then again, don’t be surprised if you are reminded of how uncool you really are.

Not a bad venue — love the actual set-​up (stage, décor, vibe, and back patio) and I love the acts they bring in (My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Jucifer, for example) but something is amiss with both the acoustics and DJ sets in between bands. Sometimes the music kills the vocals or the bass is too much — and the music in between sets is often random and mood killing. Fun little spot if they can tweak those items.

Great place. Always have a great time there. All of the dafts are craft beers. And the sound is modern and quite awesome. Be it live show, dance night, or just drinks the Auricle is a lot of fun. Oh, and the jute box is quarter a song. Can’t beat that

Pros: As far as music clubs go, this one is cleaner and nicer than average. Parking is easy (nothing but tumble weeds blowing through downtown Canton after dark) and there is enough seating for a good sized crowd. Bar is clean, organized and fairly well stocked.
Cons: The primary purpose of the room is to showcase musical acts which means room acoustics are critical. The low ceiling helps the acoustics but there are a lot of hard, reflective surfaces that could be softened up with some treatment. But worse yet, the night I was there the sound guy was making the classic mistake of equating quantity with quality. They need to learn that LOUDER IS NOT BETTER, even with rock music. Once the sound is ramped up over the level of a jet engine, it becomes very difficult to hear instruments in detail, especially the vocals. Sound engineers, if I can’t hear and understand the vocals, you are failing at your job and you are not delivering what I paid for… to be able to hear the band and not a mush of overdriven, intermodulated noise. And this is not just an issue of comfort and quality of music, it is a serious health issue because I guarantee you that any human subjected to those kinds of noise levels (110 dB?) is going to sustain short term and possibly even permanent hearing loss. If you ask me, it takes a cruel (or at a minimum a very uneducated) person to rob the long term hearing ability of kids just out trying to have a good time.

It is a nice place. Pretty much what you would expect for a small venue.