First look: Filthy McNastys bar might be just like home

All the comforts of home. (See more by clicking on any of these images) (Credit: Amy Beck / Special to Metromix)

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Filthy McNastys is definitely doing everything it can to stand out, which isn’t a bad idea considering the economic climate. The way they do it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but surely it’ll fill some chasm of a niche in Reno’s very diverse nightlife.

I don’t want readers to think that I’m putting down McNastys. I mean, give me a break — they named the bar Filthy McNastys, no affiliation nor resemblance to the pub of the same name in London. Reno's is at 1718 Holcomb Ave.

What's in a name?

Perhaps as an attempt to live up to the name, they offer free drinks to any girl willing to add her bra to the clothesline strung from east to west. Katie Yochum, one of the three partners involved in the venture, said she felt uneasy about the idea at first, but it brings people in, and girls don’t seem to mind offering up even the nicest articles of feminine chest support.

It might seem a bit chauvinistic, but the clothesline is packed with evidence of uninhibited twenty-something hedonism. Could it be an economic sign of the times that females are so strapped for cash that they’ll trade in their $20 bra for an $8 drink?

(See more cheap drinks around Reno, though not typically free.)

The bar is fairly priced considering their competitors, which might be Ceol and O'skis, seeing that Filthy McNastys has marked itself an Irish Pub. Corrigan's is a few blocks away, and I’d say that that’s where the most significant similarities lie. Take a few Irish beers, signs proclaiming things like “If you’re lucky enough to be born Irish, you’re lucky enough,” along with a little “classic rock” and you’ve got the basics. But McNastys picks up where Corrigan's leaves off in that they have a lot more for patrons to do.

On my stop in, I had a Hoegaarden (it’s grown on me I suppose, but nothing beats a dark beer or a Pabst with a shot of Jameson). Their selection won’t rival that of Ceol and O'skis, but they have Guiness and Pabst and a decent enough variety of imports and microbrews.

Games galore

It was the middle of the week, right when they first opened at 7 p.m., so there wasn’t anyone there until right before I left when a group of four young lads took to a free game of beer pong fueled by the ever-present Pabst. If only people played whiskey pong I might desire to join in; perhaps a compromise of Pabst and whiskey has some potential.

Aside from beer pong, they have "Wii, "Rock Band," open mic night, karaoke and plenty [of] other ways to get your party on." For some it might be a little like leaving home to do the same things one does at home. But if you’re like me and you traded in your Xbox for a drum set, or you lack the social capital to make a beer pong table a feasible piece of furniture, then going here would seem novelty enough I suppose.

Just in time for the holidays

If for no other reason, I’ll drop in again to observe the debauchery of flying undergarments and to write obscenities on dollar bills for the bartender to paste on the wall behind the bar.

St. Patrick’s Day might be a good time to start seeing how they’ve booked some live bands of the drunken Irish persuasion. They’re local, and likely not the Tossers or Flogging Molly, but everyone deserves a chance. I’ll stick around if I see a leprechaun flute and the bagpipes.

Note: Filthy McNastys will host a ShamRock 'n' Roll Party on St. Patrick's Day.