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Neon Cactus

The Neon Cactus in West Lafayette is one of the farthest bars from campus, used to be a country/line-dancing bar, and charges 5 dollars to get through the door. Why then is it, by far, the biggest scene in all of West Lafayette? A few really great ones come to mind. "Thirsty Thursday" a Purdue tradition as celebrated and as old as our beautiful campus itself, is a time where the Neon Cactus shines. Open from 8 p.m. until 3 a.m., the Cactus serves strong well drinks or cheap beer in 32 oz. mugs ($1.50, keep if forever) for $1.75 or $.10, respectively. This turns a rather expensive door charge into one of the cheapest hard drinking bars on campus.

Another huge reason for the Neon Cactus' crowds any of the three nights a week it's open (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) is Piano Man Bruce Barker. The Cactus is separated into 3 main areas: The main Dance Floor, where live DJ's spin a combination of innovative and standard hip-hop beats, the martini bar, where clientele with a bigger wallet can enjoy premium cocktails, and the main event, the huge paino bar room. Bruce barker has been playing there for more than ten years, and he entertains a beer waving, ass kicking crowd from 9-1 all weekend long. This is the most popular attraction in West Lafayette, and lines begin to form to snatch the closest tables to the stage 45 minutes before the bar even opens, almost 2 hours before Bruce sets foot on it.