The Basement

Glad to see The Basement getting used regularly. Trivia is here on Tuesday nights, music and comedy lots of other nights. Drinks are affordable and bartenders (see my man Billy) are friendly. It is cash only so remember your dolla bills y’all! I’m glad to see they feature local craft brews as well as the usual cheap suspects (PBR/​High Life).

I’ve been here many a time — even before it was officially The Basement. It’s a good place you go for all kinds of different events, but it has its flaws.
The Basement isn’t a particularly good sounding room (might still be better than the Gaslamp though, might). The bar is also cash only (what is this, the 90’s? Or a small, slightly shady business that only accepts cash so that they can fudge their taxes every year? Ooo, fudge).
Depending on where you decide to sit your ass down, you may have a pillar blocking your view. Also, they removed the ping pong table. Why would you do that? Did fun cops come and take it away — dragging it off to some middle-​aged dude’s basement to collect dust? What the eff?
Anywho, this is still a good place to go. I’ve attended concerts, talk shows, and standup shows and have enjoyed every single one of them. Definitely checkout what is going on and start marking up your calendars (then forget about your calendar and miss half of the things that you planned on attending).

The Basement, It’s got the right stuff!
After a year of almost being open, the Basement is officially open for biz and it’s fantastic!
The bar is beautiful with lots of drink options, 8 taps, and good selection of bottles, and tall boy cans! They got snacks to buy, and free popcorn! All you have to do is ask them to pop it up!
I dig the layout, lots of seating perfect for weekly team trivia, or live political shows! I do a monthly talk show here and it’s a blast to work with these guys!
The sound is good, Yesterday there was a musical going on up stairs while our program was going and neither was damaged by the other’s sound leaking through.
I dig the beautiful art on the walls, the bathrooms are clean, they have a ping-​pong table, and couches to relax! I can see this turning into a drinking institution in Des Moines!
3 Notes:
1. The Basement is handicapped accessible from the elevator!
2. The Basement is a cash only bar, so bring cash… there is an ATM machine right outside the basement doors!
3. The Cell Phone service is nearly non excitant in the actual bar so you might want to ask for the WI-​FI Password if your expecting a call!

The Basement at the Social Club is now open every Tuesday — Saturday night from 6pm — 2am, with events nearly every night of the week. Great space to see a variety of music, theater, open mics, poetry readings, trivia nights, and more.