Neon Cactus

Came here on a Thursday night we two friends, one who actually went to Purdue. If I went to college here, this is the place I would go to. It’s pretty cool because they have a large dance area but also a separate room with a guy playing piano. It gets really loud and messy and they have this large cup you can buy so drinks are cheaper. Surprisingly, I saw people of all ages.

THE PLACE TO BE ON THURSDAY NIGHTS!
$ 5 Cover, $ 3.50 for a mug, then $ 2 wells and cheaper $ 1 beer all night long.
So why only 3 stars?
THE LINE!
The line is huge, and you watch it grow in FRONT of you because there’s no ropes or security to stop people from jumping in with their friends.
SANITATION?
I’m no health inspector, but… does anyone else think it’s a little gross that the cups we brought with us from home and are drinking out of all night long are getting dunked in the same ice bins every time we get a refill?
THE SMELL
That hot, humid stick to your nose smell of stale beer and sweat. Get there early so you can get drunk and call it a night before it heats up… literally.
So why still 3 stars?
The bartender dude in the back is always quick and polite. He knows when you got in line for a drink, and if you try to squeeze in he skips right over you until the next pass. Three different music options… Piano Bar, Main Floor or the dark little room in the back that through some miracle of acoustic design blocks out the blaring dance music with it’s own jams. Price, price and did I mention PRICE.
Decent looking fried food that I haven’t tried, but it’s reasonably priced and smells delicious.

My wife and I just made it out to a Thirsty Thursday while we were back in Indiana visiting our families and are so happy to see the Cactus is just as amazing as it was the night we meet (at the Cactus on a Thirsty Thursday!!) over eight years ago. It’s safe to say all Purdue Students already though about the Cactus, but if you’re an out of Towner or a unknowing alumnus visiting campus, you need to go to the Cactus if you’re going out on a Thursday night.

If you’ve ever attended Purdue, then you have probably been to the Cactus. This place is so crazy that every single friend that I’ve taken here for the first time on a Thursday night has begged to return pretty much every week after their first time.
I wouldn’t really describe the Cactus as a nice bar. It’s definitely divey and can get really sticky and disgusting late at night, but what good college bar doesn’t get absolutely disgusting late at night?
There are two reasons why students come here: Cheap drinks, and Bruce Barker. After you pay the $ 5 cover on Thursday nights, you can get a massive cactus cup filled for $ 3 (or $ 4.25 for a long island). After 2 cactus cups, most people will be absolutely hammered drunk. And then there’s Bruce. He’s funny, crass, and isn’t afraid to get the entire room yelling at you if you’re texting on your phone.
Purdue wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for the Cactus, this is definitely a *must visit* for anyone visiting town that has friends who are students at Purdue.

This club doesn’t need an introduction. It’s just that good.
Ah, the Neon Cactus. An amazing club where hundreds and hundreds of Purdue students go to live life and drink the night away. During Thursday nights, they sell cactus mugs for around $ 3.50 and for the remainder of the night you can get special deals on certain drinks with this mug. The line usually starts forming at 7:30, the place opens at 8, Bruce the piano man start slamming the ivory keys at 9, and the dance floor fills up around 10:30. This place is just wonderful, and I really don’t know how else to describe it.
If you’re signing up for classes, try to get afternoon hours on Fridays cause you won’t want to miss the party every Thursday night!

Thursday nights at the Cactus: what every Purdue’s students memories are made of. I spent many a Thursday night with an amaretto sour in my favorite teal Cactus cup, dancing the night away with friends.
I think at this point I’d be considered old enough to be in the «why is that creeper alumnus here?» category, but I’ve still contemplated a Thursday night there with some friends for old times’ sake.

What’s to say about this place that hasn’t already been said? It’s crazy, it’s noisy, it’s a hell of a good time.
The Cactus is open on Fridays and Saturdays, but no one besides townies ever goes then – it’s Thursday nights that are the big draw. $ 5 cover to get in and $ 3 for a Cactus Cup that the bartenders will fill up with whatever you want. A long island iced tea cost me $ 2.75 on my most recent visit and holy hell was it strong. You can get your cup filled with Keystone Light (or Busch or Natty, I forget, some awful pisswater beer) for like $ 0.50 or something ridiculously cheap.
For a sober person of a normal physical build and drinking tolerance, all it takes is 1 (or 2, if you’re a seasoned drinking veteran/​alcoholic) full «mug» to get you white girl wasted. If you brought a Cup from home, you can get drunk – and I mean hammered – for right around $ 10. It’s a deal, it’s a steal, it’s the bargain of the mother-​effing century. Your alcohol-​content-​per-​dollar goes further here than anywhere else I’ve ever been to.

Bruce «The Piano Man» Barker runs the show inside the Rusty Bucket, an area separate from the huge dancefloor. He’s crass and hilarious and won’t hesitate to humiliate you if you’re yapping on your phone or otherwise being obnoxious. Throw him a couple bucks and he might play your song request! It’s very much an R-​rated atmosphere, but suitable for college peeps. If it’s too loud or too crude, YOU’RE TOO OLD!
It’s not unheard of for the entry line to take up to 45 minutes on busier Thursday nights, plus another 15 minutes to get a drink from any of the bars. There’s a smoking lounge which offers up a nice bit of respite – and dare I say ‘fresh air’ – from the usually-​packed dancefloor. The DJ’s play a decent setlist, and CO2 cannons go off every now and then to cool down the sweaty drunk biznatches.
All in all, The Cactus is THE place to be at on a Thirsty Thursday in West Lafayette. I have dozens of fond memories of this place and dozens more that are a bit too hazy to recall. This is a must for any Purdue student, alumnae, or visitor that’s 21+.
LONG LIVE THE NEON CACTUS!

So, we ended up here after our high school reunion. It was the BEST idea we ever had! We all hit up the piano bar and it is the most entertainment Lafayette has to offer! Bruce rocked the house the entire night (which ended up being like 3 hours for us). If you are out and about in Lafayette and want to see a show, sing along, drink and at times win and being the «party side», then you need to hit this place up! Even after Bruce gets done rocking your face off, you can then go dance the night away on a huge dance floor. But I know what your asking. Well Justin, isnt that dance floor hot and won’t I sweat all over myself? Answer is no! They have fans and vents everywhere to cool you down as you try and hit on that girl in the cute sundress. They even have a smoke room to keep the dance floor air from contamination. Long story long for a good time pay the cover charge, drink for campus prices (jack and cokes were $ 4, i’m use to paying $ 7 in Chicago!) and enjoy the show!

If you go here for the food — get the nachos plate.
If you go here for dancing — go Thursday night.
If you go here for entertainment — go ANYTIME Bruce Barker is playing in The Rusty Bucket. Best show around.
R. -

There’s a piano bar there that is ridiculously entertaining. They give you a big cup and you can keep filling it up with as much alcohol as you want. Everybody here seems very happy too.

I never thought I would actually go to West Lafayette, since I’m an IU alumni. I came to Neon Cactus to work a promo one night and I was surprised on how big this place was. I really really loved the fact that they have a piano section in the bar and it’s a whole different environment compare to the rest of the bar. They run great specials for the college students… I had friends that went to PU and they loved this place. The owner/​manager is super super nice! All the workers were friendly and outgoing. They also have pool tables, and a lot of seating areas for people to sit at.

This used to be my weekly spot every Thursday back in college. Recently came back for a visit after 2 years of not living in the area. Still the same as I remember it. Love the Piano Bar mostly, but the dance floor and music is decent. Ordering a drink still sucks and takes 10 minutes, but if you’re looking to dance and get drunk this is a good spot on Thursdays to start the night out.

If you can get rid of the gun carrying thugs with there pants hanging off their asses this bar is pretty cool. Just across the street there has been shootings and stabbings in this area due to gangsta thugs. Just be careful.

This is the best place ever at Purdue University on Thursday nights! Bruce the Piano Man has the best show ever. The bars door opens at 8, to get a table in the piano bar you need to arrive at like 7:30. Piano Man starts at 9:00! 100% audience participation or he will stop the show and make you stand on the stool and sing it by yourself! It’s hilarious and fun! $ 5.00 cover, and $ 2 drinks in the keepsake Neon Cactus 32 oz cups, or 75 cents for 32 oz cup of beer all night long! 9p-​1a I watch the piano man, then 1 – 3 I hit up the dance floor since DJ Tim is there that night and is the best!!! The huge dance floor is packed! There is even a martini bar in the back with its own music. Really there are three things going on at once! I highly recommend this to anyone! If in West Lafayette or Purdue University you MUST see the piano man show! You haven’t lived life fully without it! :)

I went on a Saturday night and since it was my first time didn’t know what to expect. I was kind of disappointed when I stepped in since it was kind of empty but I decided to try to make the best of it and got my a long island. Well, when I got to the other side of the dance floor I was lucky enough that there was a bridal shower so of course plenty of girls dancing and acting crazy so that was a lot of fun. Other than that I encounter a lot of friendly people around so I ended up having probably the most fun since I got to West Lafayette a few weeks ago. I can’t wait to go on a Thursday night.
Overall not a bad place, five dollar cover and five dollars for some decent long island it’s not a bad deal.

Came here on a St. Patty’s Day trip from California to visit my wife’s cousins. They wanted to give me a «true» Lafayette experience, and this certainly didn’t disappoint.
We arrived here for the Piano Man show (the guy who knows an amazing amount of music and, simultaneously, insults everybody in the room). Dude made fun of my hipster sweater and, by the looks of the crowd, I definitely was out of place (my cousins literally thought I would be murdered… and they’re natives).
Cheap booze and entertainment though. Just don’t expect the guy to play your song just because you lay $ 20 down — he’s surprisingly high priced.

If you’re looking for a quiet evening out, don’t go to the Cactus. It is loud. It is packed. The piano man is talented and amusing (probably even more so after you’ve had a few), but yes, I do agree that the junior high brand of humor gets old. Then again, I was sober. At the end of the evening, I felt as though I missed the cut-​off age for having fun here by about seven years, but there were people my parents’ age there having a grand ol’ time.
This analysis leads me to believe that the amount of alcohol you consume and the rate in which you consume it is probably in direct proportion to the fun-​ness potential.
So get yourself knee-​walking drunk and let me know how it goes for you.

I graduated in 2007 but every year I keep coming back for more piano man! I’ve been to piano bars all over the country and nobody, I repeat nobody, can even come close to how awesome Bruce Barker is. He absolutely rocks it.
Thursday is the crazy night when everyone gets a little out of control and ends up missing classes the following day. Now that I’m old and have a job, we come on Fridays when we get into town and the show is still as great as ever! There’s also a lot more room, easier bathroom access, and quicker drink service-​maybe we compromise a little college craziness, but hey, we’re old balls now so we’re ok with that.

$ 5 cover on Thursday nights which allows for 32 oz. $ 1.75 wells and $.25 beers. DJ Tim Williams packs the spacious dance floor with good tunes and there is also a martini lounge and piano bar if those are more your digs.
I’ve started many terrible Friday mornings here, and I love it.

OK…
A day of tailgating caused me to be a little confrontational when they asked me for a second form of ID at the door (what’s so suspicious about a 26-​year-​old on a college campus with an out of state ID!!!)
I was a little irrational when they asked me for a $ 5 cover… so mad, in fact, that I pitched a fit and left the bar (unfortunately, this was a dumb move because the rest of my group decided we should all go in 5 minutes and I felt like a dummy)…
However, I gotta admit that this place proved a lot of fun for my friends this weekend after a day of tailgating. Good music, cheap brews and a huge dance floor full of college kids and drunk creepers. Apparently there is a piano bar, too — woops.
The place also scores an extra star for the bartending who thought nothing of me ordering 3 shots of Three Olives Bubble Gum. For that reason alone we should have been escorted out.