Charlie Murdoch’s

The door people are miserable. The bartenders were fine and the band is decent. Sound system needs improved. The club downstairs sucks. The DJ was sleeping in the corner, horrible music and atsmosphere for a Saturday night. Poorly managed!

Fun place to drink and have live music. I’d give more stars if it wasn’t for the obnoxious amount of bachelorette parties who try to run the show.

I have always been a fan of this bar and after having moved out of state I don’t get to go there as often. When I realized my birthday was on a Saturday this year, I knew I HAD to go to Charlie’s and have all my best friends join me. I reserved the upstairs portion for a VERY great price (please, I live in DC and am used to being charged upwards of $ 300 for one little table) We had the whole balcony to ourselves (it holds 40) and we even had our own bar/​bartender. Our bartender Sarah (and I really hope this name is correct — the night got more fuzzy as it went on) was FANTASTIC! She made the night that much better. She was very accomodating to our group and took care of all of us
I really recommend this as a location for group things (birthdays, bachelor/​ette parties) however even just being down in the crowd is a lot of fun too
Lastly, the musicians. KUDOS to you all! So much talent and they never stop. I had the pleasure of being called up on stage and they made me feel very special as they had the crowd sing to me. I love the band members as well
Thanks again Charlies for helping me ring in another year!

WOW… pure fun and great music! its a nice is of ages being 41 I did not feel like the old man in the place.
would have give 5 starts but drinks could be a little less expensive, and get rid of the smoking.

Love this place and definitely prefer it over Sing Sing. I believe the set up is better so that everyone can see the stage and the drinks are priced more appropriately. Just a forewarning, be careful when ordering shots because they are definitely higher than you might expect.
Been here a few times and have had a blast on each occasion. I will say that they do allow smoking so make sure that you don’t wear something that you plan on wearing the next day =)

Great time! We brought our bachelorette to celebrate. Good drink specials and the bartenders were fast and friendly. The band and piano was awesome all night! Everyone was singing and dancing and just having a great time. I didn’t give it 5 stars because the woman at the door was not a good first impression. She was rude when asked simple questions and directions.

We walked in here on a Friday night to find a mix of drunk twenty-​somethings and drunk fifty-​somethings jamming to the likes of Journey and Metallica, as well as some occassional ‘90s/​2000s pop (Green Day, Red Hot Chile Peppers).
The night I was there, they didn’t just have dueling pianos: they had a full band (complete with big hair) on stage. It was like going to a live concert… with only a $ 4 cover!
This place is a blast. I think the people that come here are genuinely interested in low-​key fun with good music, which makes it far less obnoxious than places further down the strip. Though Charlie Murdoch’s is on the shadier end of the strip, it’s worth venturing over there.
(p.s. After a lousy experience at «Diesel» the next night, my girlfriend and I wish we had gone back to Charlie’s)

Was invited to a birthday party here last night and have to say I was blown away. Way more fun than I’d expected.
The musicians are talented, friendly and keep the whole room alive with dirty jokes, call-​and-​response classics and just general good time shouting. The wait staff are likewise very friendly and attentive — this is at the tables anyway where we had reservations, I only stopped at the bar itself once to make some change for song buying.
The whole competitive nature of song bidding can get to be a little pricey, especially when you mix in beers and shots — but it was all in good fun. At least twice a friend and I decided we either MUST hear a song NOW (Lose Yourself by Eminem b/​c I just had to see how a rock band setup would do it) or we HAD to stop a song from coming up (Africa by Toto — good song but our South African friend would have loved that it was bid for twice that night). :-)
All in all good fun with a friendly crowd. You want to go with a group and probably one that is celebrating a birthday, bachelor or bachelorette party (I counted no fewer that 4 of these going on last night) or some other occasion. The band will get your birthday boy on stage or bachelorette girl draped over the piano to embarrass them with a song or two and some good humored dirty jokes /​songs at their expense. I lost count of how many brides to be were NOT going to be giving bj’s anymore during an obligatory round of Going to the Chapel of Love. But it is all in good humor and they don’t take cheap shots at people or get anyone angry. Really good vibes there all night.
Highly recommended from your pal Don. Check it out!

I’ve read negative reviews of Charlie’s on other sites, but I’m glad to see that there aren’t any here.
Hubby and I went to Charlie Murdoch’s on a Friday night when the undergrads were on spring break, figuring that it would be a little less busy. We were right! (Hallelujah!) It was not SLOW, but the place wasn’t packed either, which I appreciated.
Things we loved:
*The band. We thought it was a nice change of pace for there to be full-​band sets every hour. And bidding to get the song you wanted to the top of the list is a lot of fun. Some people criticize this aspect of Charlies — but we enjoyed it, as it brought out our competitive side a bit. But I feel like even if we didn’t want to bid, it would have been fun because the band did a great job with ALL of the songs.
*The selection of songs. Old and new. Different genres. Great fun.
*The cheap cover. Well, we got there before 8, so it was FREE!
*The cheap drinks in the bar downstairs — I believe they had $ 2 well drinks — a rare find on the Southside, especially on a weekend.
*The sing alongs. When a good song came along, there was a lot of group singing — great fun!
Things we weren’t so hot about:
*No food. They don’t have a food menu at all — but I do believe they will let you bring food in if you want.
*The smoking. This is just a personal preference (for me, especially) as a non-​smoker; the guy at the table sitting next to us decided to smoke a cigar which I thought was especially annoying. I imagine it is VERY VERY smoky on a super busy night.
Overall, we really enjoyed it and will go back again!
One other note: if you’re interested in hosting a party there, BOOK EARLY — they book their party space and tables FAST!

Once upon a time, about 4 years ago, the Live Music Scene in Pittsburgh was given a kick start. This revival eminated by the brave owner who opened a Dueling Piano Bar that was not a commercial joke, as are most dueling piano bars. The Church of Rock Band at Charlie Murdochs proved itself as the leading innovator in the Dueling Piano industry by incorporating interactive, on-​line, real time improv and the Tune minder system. Tune minder allows the audience to place a wager on the songs played at the top of the hour with the full Church of Rock Band. 45 minutes of standard dueling piano format fills the rest of the hour. Danny McElroy is a strong musician who understands that Gogol Bordello, if requested, can be learned on his break and played during the next set.
Charlie Murdochs once was a unique product, in that the elements of dueling pianos: musicianship, improv, comedic timing, political commentary and current events were incorporated into the show via the level of artistic integrity that the players developed over the past four years.
Charlie Murdochs is known internationally. It is a former Church and now they are Living on a Prayer, literally. They know that it’s me they’ve been coming to see, to forget about life for a while… And the piano sounds like a carnival and the microphone smells like a beer. I sat at that bar for four years analyzing the industry, and I wonder… what am I doing here?

Dueling piano bar and favorite bar in Pittsburgh. Usually a $ 2 cover on the weekends… The piano players sing new and old songs, and are crudely funny — be warned. Best part is when the whole band does sets, everyone in the bar sings at the top of their lungs.