Night Club in Michigan 18 and up

East Lansing is home of the Michigan State Spartans. (Photo: J. Meric/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images )

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East Lansing is a suburb of the capital city of Michigan and the hometown for Michigan State University. Accordingly, most of East Lansing's nightlife is college-oriented and centered around Grand River Avenue, the main street that divides town from campus. The downtown district is compact enough to be walkable, which means wandering from bar to club to yet another nightspot is a time-honored pastime. That said, while bars run thick in Spartan country, clubs per se are few and far between.

Rick's American Cafe

Rick's (ricksamericancafe.com) is named after the famous joint in "Casablanca, " but don't come in expecting to find much resemblance to the quiet little piano bar of the movie. This venerable institution, downstairs on Abbott Road, is the premier live music venue in town, the first stop any band on tour makes when in Spartan country. Other times you can catch a game on a flat-screen TV or dance while one of the area's top DJ's spins for you. Rick's is strictly 21 and over and serves a full menu of food in addition to drink specials.

Club Rush

Downtown East Lansing'so only true nightclub, Club Rush is located in the basement of Harper's Brewpub downtown. It's open Friday and Saturday nights plus occasional Thursday night special events and welcomes everyone 18 and over. The music ranges from '80s dance classics to contemporary hip-hop, techno and house.

The Landshark

A dark underground dive, the Landshark (no website; 101 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing; 517-351-8973) hosts live bands on weekends. You'll find both a pool table and a generous dance floor here, along with the populations of several fraternities and sororities filling it. The Shark's main claim to fame, however, is the Shark Bowl, a sweet and deadly giant cocktail filled with liquor, juice and gummy sharks.

(SCENE) Metrospace

Technically, (SCENE) Metrospace (scenemetrospace.com) isn't a nightclub or bar, it's an "alternative art and performance space" that hosts occasional live music nights for all ages in a gallery setting. The performances can vary from senior jazz recitals to Americana folk duos to alternative hip-hop artists.