The Hop West - Asheville

We had a fun time at the Mothlight as it was story telling night. Various patrons agreed to get up on stage and tell a short story about themselves or something that happened to them. There were some funny stories told. Each storyteller was given a score by 3 different teams of judges. The place isn't really big but it isn't that tiny either. The venue was packed and even though we arrived 15 minutes early, it was SRO. There were plenty of bartenders on hand so nobody had to wait long to get served. The lighting did not allow for good photos but I did try. The crowd was a mixture, mostly younger but some in their 50s and over. Parking was not a problem and we parked in the church lot across the street. The people working the door were very friendly and helpful. We did not stay until the very end of the show so I don't know who won the storytelling but we sure enjoyed our visit there

I do have to say that the music was excellent...but as the only person of color there (except 1 male backup singer) last night I was accused of stealing a CD off of the artist's table...(I forgot who the artist was, it was a young woman playing her guitar singing about the birds) I told the lady that I didn't steal anything...but she kept asking and saying there was a CD missing. I lifted my shirt and showed I had tight jeans and nothing to hide...she finally realized it was my cell phone in my back pocket... She ruined my night...

The Mothlight is a pretty unique venue: small, intimate, and grungy. Four of us went on a Friday night to 'Everything is Terrible ', to watch an offbeat compilation of literally thousands of 2sec clips strung together to make an in cohesive story mocking religion/religious education. This was a ticketed event, we were stopped by people asking to buy tickets off of us before we even went in, which left me feeling oddly judged and annoyed. We didn 't realize the event had sold out and we arrived right around the 9 pm start time the place was already very dark and crowded with standing room only. The beer was relatively cheap and the place was eclectic and seems to have a wide variety of shows and events which I like respect!

Oh man, this place is awesome, awesome, awesome. Shout out to the incredible bartender who, without even being asked, offered to set aside the last Truly (alcoholic spritzer that's surprisingly delicious, for the uninformed) for me after I ordered my first one. I mean, how sweet is that? Besides the wonderful staff, the venue is pretty epic on its own. It's beautiful, it has so much character, and the acoustics are spot-on. I saw mewithoutYou earlier in the week and I've seen them many, many, many times; this was undoubtedly the place they've sounded the best. Great area for merch, great area in the back for relaxing/game-playing, great bar. I only wish this place was in Charlotte instead of Asheville!

The staff was friendly, the acoustics were really good, I loved the layout, there is a good sized dance floor. I'm giving only 3 stars for one reason it was unbelievably dark. I mean, I love a good, dark dive bar but this was the darkest bar I've ever been in. I was roaming around looking for my friends and I literally couldn't see well enough to find them. I counted maybe 6 dimly lit bulbs in the entire front of the venue, and all but one were suspended over the bar. Even with that, the guy next to me couldn't see the beer taps that were 6 feet in front of him. It's a bad feeling to be unable to see at all in a bar packed full of people. That being said, if they would just fix the lighting (as in, provide even a tangible level of it) it would be a really awesome place.