Nightlife Favorites: Corner Pocket/Chord on Blues

St. Charles' nightlife scene has grown quite a bit over the past 10 years. The town once known for antique shops is now known for great restaurants, bars, and entertainment. There are a so many of these places in St. Charles that picking out one can be a bit tough. Hopefully, through a series of these pieces, I can make that choice a bit easier on you, even if you've lived here your whole life.

St. Charles is essentially a college town sans college. The amount of bars to choose from is ridiculous. You may as well throw a dart at a map of the town to figure out which one you want to go to. I frequent a few of these bars, but one more so than all the others. It's my Cheers, and I'm their Norm. It's on 1st Ave, one block south of Main Street, and it's called Corner Pocket. If you're a person looking for a night out with your friends or a nice place to go for a pint after work, then Corner Pocket may be your place.

Corner Pocket is pretty large for a bar in St Charles. They have four pool tables in the back, you can play bags, or just sit and relax. It's open, and during the week, it's quiet because they usually don't blast music. They have a nice, large patio open during the summer, and even during their busiest nights Thurs ($1.50 bottles on Thursday)-Sat, you don't feel like cattle being sent to the slaughter house because of the openness of the bar.

Before I go on, let me say I am 100% biased in this piece because not only am I a regular at Corner Pocket, but I also run the A O.K. Comedy Showcase at Chord on Blues, the venue connected to Corner Pocket.

Chord on Blues, in my opinion, is the best venue in the area. It has a great stage, plenty of sitting, and a variety of acts during the weekend and during the week. Our comedy show, on the first and third Monday of every month, features around 6 comedians from all over. We usually have at least one St Charles comedian up, and it's a fun time. On Wednesdays, Chord on Blues has an open jam night hosted by the Chicago Blue Dads, a great blues band from the area. Weekends are usually filled with bands from around the area. There's always something going on and the venue allows people to rent it out for private parties as well.

If you're looking for a good place to chill after work during the week and chat it up with your mates, or play some pool, Corner Pocket has always been that go-to place for me. If you're looking for good local music or comedy (hint hint) Chord on Blues is the place to be. The weekends can get packed, but it's never been overwhelming.