June 2015 – Bartender, I'll have another please.

Where’s the door?

Do you remember that girl? You know the one, small town prom queen or beauty pageant winner, the one who was sure she was meant for bigger and better things. She was going to GET OUT of that small town and be Somebody, but somehow it just didn’t work out. It turned out OK though. She got married to a very nice man, got a good job at the library or local grocery store and had a couple of kids. She’s comfortable and actually happy and really can’t imagine having other life. She looks a little run down, but you can see she hasn’t lost heart, no not at all.

Cuckoo’s Nest

Location: Lakewood, CO. Way, way back in the corner of a strip mall.

Atmosphere: Moist. The table was sticky and there were random puddles (beer? water?) around and on the tables of the enclosed smoking patio. It was mostly clean and tidy though. Typical dim lighting of a Dive bar, though the setup was more like a bigger type of bar. Main bar area was not too big, lined with bar-stools. Maybe seating there for about 15? Then there was the table area which was comfortable enough. Worn down but OK to sit. One long booth with separate tables and facing chairs and some freestanding chair/table combos. No dance floor or stage to speak of really. Karaoke was kind of just in the corner by the kitchen. Good sound though. It’s nice having a monitor when singing.

Bathrooms: The women’s bathroom only had the one toilet, but it was stalled off and a good size. And that way someone can be washing their hands or fixing clothing or makeup (nice big mirrors) while someone else is using the facility.

Staff: Very cheerful and friendly.

Patrons:

Drinks: Competitively priced to the other bars in this area I’ve been to. My beer was GINORMOUS for $5.25. I don’t know about mixed drinks or shots.

Food: Didn’t try anything. That lady’s nachos looked damn delicious though!

Would I Go Again? Yes.

My buddy convinced me to try this place out on a Saturday night for Karaoke. I liked the song selection (Master Blaster) and the way everything sounded. The KJ was very nice, a quiet sort of guy. I really enjoyed the songs he played between singers. The patrons were mostly about 10-20 years older than me and you could definitely tell most were regulars. It wasn’t very busy this time. I don’t know how the crowd usually is, but from what I can tell, this was an unusually slow night. (It was similarly slow at another place we visited the same night.) On the other side of the bar was a room with a pool table and a bunch of pinball machines. I might have to go in some night loaded with quarters!! I enjoyed myself. Tried a new song. It was good.

Larimer Lounge

Location: Just north of Downtown Denver on Larimer Street

Atmosphere: It was smaller than I expected. Not sure why I thought it would be bigger. Typical scarred floors and loud speakers. I’m not sure what I think about all the graffiti and stickers everywhere. The courtyard in the back was about the same size as the stage and dance floor area. I thought that was odd, but ok. Couple of trip hazards, like dark mini-steps and uneven floors. Cables running across the floors. It was clean enough, though. No stickiness under my shoes.

Bathrooms: Seriously? The bathrooms are up a STEEP flight of stairs. I made sure NOT to drink much liquid as I didn’t want to 1. Have to run up and down those bitches all night and 2. Get drunk and fall down that fucking staircase. (The bathroom stayed pretty clean though, so that was a plus.)

Staff: They all seemed pleasant and friendly enough.

Patrons: This was a 16 and over event so the crowd leaned young. Lot’s of black X’s on the hands and even the 21+ banded seemed pretty young, early 20s. Typical hipster look.

Drinks: Competitively priced, I guess. The mixed drink glasses were small, but decent strength.

Would I go again? Meh. I was a bit underwhelmed by the total experience, though it was nice to hear the band I came to see again. I might. Depends on who is playing. (I do have the added motivation of a juicy little piece of eye candy who is a friend of one of the staff members, teehee!)

It was a slow start. My party arrived at the venue about 9:30pm. The crowd started to pick up about an hour later, but it was waves for sure. Everyone seemed genuinely pleased to be there and see the show though, so that was nice.

This was my second time seeing these boys and I am more impressed even than the first time. I think they might have the Success Trifecta: Talent, Ambition and Youth/Energy. I hope to see them again. I think that they definitely have a lot of potential. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see them perform somewhere big like Red Rocks. I think that in that venue their performance would really be a blast.