Actually, this is just a ploy to ask what the Proletariat is like, since I'm going to see Broken Social Scene there on Saturday. But feel free to list your favorite Houston bars. I saw the Decemberists at Rudyard's on Monday, and it was great. No dancing around nonsense, just hipsters sitting at tables, drinking, listening to the best music in America...
Proletariat is a cool club for chilling out, but it has the worst sound in Houston - bar none. The room is concrete, the PA is underpowered and the sound guy doesn't seem to know what to do. The sound at Rudyard's is wonderful. The sound guy there really knows his stuff. The 3 Pamland clubs (Silky's, Walter's on Washington and Fat Cat's) all are good clubs, although Silky's is pretty small. Engine Room is probably good if the place is packed, but I've never been there when it was. It tends to feel really empty.
My favorites... Mucky Duck - mostly folk/celtic with some rock, but a good place to see bands Ryhthm Room - kinda dive-ish but nice stage and good sound guy Next Door Coffee House - really cool for acoustic singer/songwriter stuff (a lot of Christian stuff, but non-Christian people do things there as well) Rudyard's - since they opened up the upstairs, this is a great place to see bands Engine Room - really, the best room in town for rock music - mostly regional/signed bands Ovation's - great for jazz, singer/songwriter or "quieter" music Last Concert Cafe - I still think seeing the occassional outdoor show at Last Concert is cool
I agree with subtomic (because he's a super-genius) and would add that you should bring money for the jukebox (best jukebox I've ever seen) and should also make sure to wear your indie-gear (cute slogan t-shirts, tight jeans, funny glasses, etc.,).
Jeff: when you say the Next Door coffeehouse, do you mean next door to Rudz? That place is called the Next Door, but I have a hard time believing it's a coffeehouse and a harder time believing Christians play there. But I've been gone a while. Rudyards is the best place to see live music in Houston. That's a combo of them having a good room, good sound guy (Joe Olmaczech rules) and actually booking cool bands (Scott Butt rules too). Proletariat's alright too, but the sound does suck. Still a good bar and Denise Ramos (owner there unless things have changed since I moved) is cool. The Pamland bars should be boycotted just on account of Pamland. What a screwed up place to force a monopoly. "Fat Cats" or "Phat Cats" is a travesty. If Pam had to buy that place off Toby for basically nothing (less than back taxes is what I heard), she could have at least kept the name. She tried to push Hands Up out of that room too, to make it a rockabilly bar, but nobody came so Hands Up stayed even with the stupid name. That used to be a family business, back when nothing else was there, run by an old school Houston rock star: Toby Blunt. Now it's part of Pam's weird attempt to run anything cool off of Washington in favor of some weird monopoly. The only cool thing about Silky's was Jimmy's Pawn Shop, but then Pam ran Jimmy off. Pam sucks. Engine Room's run by a guy called Mitch, from the horrible metal band Gone Blind -- the same ******* that used to run Instant Karma. Instant Karma failed for the same reasons Pamland should -- karma. He deserves zero support. Glad to hear his place is usually empty. There used to be a lot of cool rock clubs in Houston. The Axiom (or later, Catal Huyuk), Emo's, Fitz, Mary Jane's, Rudyards, Pik n Pak, Urban Art Bar. Now only Rudyards and the (new) Axiom (run by my old theater company, Infernal Bridegroom) are left. Plus the Proletariat (ex-Blue Iguana). Fitz sucks now and only caters to teenagers anyway. If you like blues, check Carolyn Wonderland Tuesdays at Last Concert or her or anyone else at Dan Electro's. And if Little Joe Washington still plays the Continental Club, check him. Anybody else that plays there usually sucks (though I saw a good gig by CBFC's band once there). Also, for blues, go to Etta's on Sunday nights. If you like anyone who plays at the Mucky Duck, I don't know how to love you. I got no beef with Ovations, but I doubt I'd ever want to see a band that would play there. In summary: For rock of any sort: Rudz, Axiom, Proletariat. Hands Up shows at Fat Cat's if you must. Boycott Mitch's Engine Room like he was the Utah Jazz. For blues: Etta's on Sunday, Last Concert (C. Wonderland only), Dan Electro's and Continental Club (Joe Washington only).
i think Last Concert Cafe is my favorite. something about that place that i just really like. we used to head down there when i was a high school kid...just amazing how much downtown has changed since then. the flamingo room off of Ruggles on Westheimer is compact and intimate...pretty good for jazz stuff. went to Rudyard's the other night to see Jeff's band...had a great time. get out to see his orange is in if you get a chance. good stuff.
Hands down Rudayrds. Good beer, good sound, very intimate, and no annoying teenagers. The hamburgers are also awesome, so they have that going for them as well. Probably the best restaraunt style burger in town.
do yourself a favor...go to Ruggles and order a three-cheese cheeseburger. your life will never be the same.
My favorite places to see a show are the Continental Club and the Rhythm Room. I also like seeing shows at DanElectro's but usually wind up on the patio hanging with friends and missing the show I came to see!
It's wild when the board intersects with real, walking around, life. Trying to picture MadMax at Rudz (or Last Concert) but I can't. I don't know what he looks like. Wish I did. Wish, too, I hadn't missed Jeff's band in my favorite bar. Note to Jeff: I'm around town late June. How bout another gig then? I'll make sure there's a cf.net crowd as well as some walking around friends of my own. Pole: I'm sure lots of cool folks play at the Mucky Duck. (Pam's probably not so bad either -- I'm just fond of Toby. Mitch, though, is definitely that bad.) I was a little drunk when I posted and was being extreme. I've had at least twenty minutes of sleep since then and now I'm all the way sober. Happy St. Patrick's Day.
MOMMMM!!!! BATMAN JONES CALLED ME A POTHEAD!!!! MOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!! Yer gettin' grounded fer this one, bub!!
Hey man, I didn't tell you to go out back. I've never been back there without having to pass up a joint at least five times. If you're missing a whole band on account of it, well... Maybe you only passed four times. I don't know...
Yup, Rudz is a pretty cool place to see a band, not to mention play. Great sound system. And the band gets free drink tickets. The Engine Room is an ok venue, but the sound guys are jackasses. Mary Jane's is a horrible place to see a band and/or play. It's way too loud, there's no parking, and you'll smell like smoke for about a week after you leave there (along with your equipment). I can't believe they have national acts playing there. Death Cab played there last year. They must have a horrible impression of Houston. No one has mentioned The Sidecar Pub? It's a drive, but it's a nice little place with a pretty good sound system. They work pretty hard trying to promote local music. Last Concert Cafe is a nice laid back venue to see a band. It's great if you're like me and hate the smell of smoke. RMTex, does Dan Electro's still have an open mic night?
