Amherst, Massachusetts has become well-known as a college town for the five surrounding campuses and for its uptown bar scene. If you’re an underage college student and looking for somewhere to dance, you go to Monkey. If you’re looking to drunkenly belt out “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” you go to Stackers. But if you’re looking to get hammered with your friends and listen to dudes with guitars, you go to McMurphy’s.
If you ever take a trip up to ZooMass Slamherst, McMurphy’s is the place to go.
Uptown Amherst is the place to be on any kind of night, whether it’s Techno Tuesday, Karaoke Tuesday, Club Pub, or Guitar Dudes. There is always something to do and always somewhere to get stuffty. Out of all the bars, McMurphy’s is the best. No where else in Amherst would you be able to get a pitcher of Grateful Dead to your face. What I love about going there is you can get drunk and not spend a lot of money. Pitchers of beer for seven dollars is something you cannot argue with.
But the $3 shots are my favorite, especially a McMurphy’s specialty, the Drunken Leprechaun. My first night at the bar was spent celebrating my friend’s 22nd on a night we entitled “Cinco de Mego” and was full of shots of Drunken Leprechauns and tequila. It also happened to be “Guitar Dudes,” a Wednesday night tradition at the bar. They were playing “Jesse’s Girl” and if you’ve ever heard the Girl Talk song that covers it, then you can imagine me yelling, “But I’d rather get some head!” a bit too loudly.
At the Zoo, spring break always sadly falls during St. Patrick’s Day. To make up for it, McMurphy’s has an all-day celebration called Blarney Blowout. Any other day, besides tailgating for a hockey game, you would not catch me drinking earlier than 4pm, but for Blarney Blowout, I make an exception. Doors open at 11:30am, and if you’re like me and my sisters, get there as early as possible to get first dibs on all the free stuff they give away.
Believe me, this day is not for the “faint of heart drinkers.” My roommate got extra sloppy last year so, to make her feel better, we decided to decorate her in anything we could find around the house, including lots of pink flamingos. Blarney Blowout is one of those days when you wake up, take your b12, and get ready to drink till 6pm, go home to nap, and go out again.
Besides the bar itself, McMurphy’s is in prime location right next to Antonio’s Pizza. So not only can you get fudgeed up, but you can end the night with some of the best pizza in the area. I am fortunate enough to live within 5 minutes from uptown so drunken stumbles back to the sorority house with my Antonio’s in one hand, and my heels in another is a common occurrence.
Whether you go to school in Amherst, or are up for a night of drunken shenanigans, McMurphy’s is somewhere that should be on your to-go list. It’s a place full of cheap shots, good music, and nights you’ll be sure to not remember.
