The nightlife in St. John's is extraordinarily vibrant, and you will be doing yourself an injustice if you don't spend at least one evening on a pub crawl.
Your first stop for local music and cordial imbibing should be George Street, which runs for several blocks near New Gower and Water streets, close to City Hall. Every St. John's resident confidently asserts that George Street is home to more bars per square foot than anywhere else on the planet; being unable to track down a global authority that tracks and verifies pubs per square foot, I cannot verify this mighty large boast. But a walk down George does nothing to refute this claim.
The street is packed with energetic pubs and lounges -- some fueled by beer, others by testosterone, still others (these are my favorite) by lively Celtic fiddling. The best strategy for selecting a pub is to do a slow ramble down the strip around 10pm or a bit later, stopping to peek inside those with appealing music wafting from the door. If the feel's right, just go with it. At places with live music, cover charges are universally cheap, and rarely top C$5 (US$4.50/£2.50).
For blues and traditional music, there's the lively Fat Cat Blues Bar, 5 George St. (tel. 709/739-5554), with acts scheduled almost every single night. (It's closed Mon, however.) For a more upscale spot with lower decibel levels, try Christian's Bar, 23 George St. (tel. 709/753-9100), which also serves specialty coffees.
Trapper John's, 2 George St. (tel. 709/579-9630), is known for its outstanding provincial folk music; in addition, it tries a bit harder (or too hard) to attain that Ye Olde Newfoundland character and atmosphere you will either be ardently seeking out, or ardently seeking to avoid. (This is also a traditional "screeching in" spot for visitors -- a local ritual which involves cheap Newfoundland rum and some embarrassment; don't ask if you don't want to know.)
If George Street's beery atmosphere just reminds you a little too uncomfortably of certain nights in college that you'd just as soon forget, The Ship Inn, at 265 Duckworth St. (tel. 709/753-3870), is tucked down an alley a few blocks away and is better known for its genial public-house atmosphere and local patronage. It's a St. John's mainstay featuring a variety of local musical acts that complement rather than overwhelm the place's cozy atmosphere.
