Friday and Saturday on the town

Have a group of six heading down to M-SP for Coldplay next weekend. We%26#39;ll be looking to get out on the town after the concert and probably Saturday night too. Looking for a decent club or live music venue for a little dancing and drinking. Our age range is late 20s to early 40s and we%26#39;re pretty young at heart. I suppose we%26#39;re looking for a good recommendation where 80% of the crowd isn%26#39;t 21, barfing on my shoes, and trying to pick a fight.

Thanks!

And thanks to the forum for the recommendation on 112 Eatery. We booked our reservation today.

Friday and Saturday on the town

You might like the Fine Line Music Cafe in the warehouse district on Fri or Sat

Fri info:

finelinemusic.com/calendar/view_entry.php鈥?/a>

Sat info:

finelinemusic.com/calendar/view_entry.php鈥?/a>

Nye%26#39;s is always fun in Nord%26#39;East:

wcco.com/findingminnesota/Nye.s.Polonaise.2.鈥?/a>

... or - here%26#39;s an old-school 70%26#39;s options

at Lee%26#39;s Liquor Lounge on Sat:

www.leesliquorlounge.com/calcomplete.html

15th Saturday

SOUL TIGHT COMMITTEE 9:15 pm

The Soul Tight Committee is a ten piece band playing the best Old School Soul, R %26amp; B and dance music of the 1970s.

Also OFFICIAL NORTH STAR ROLLER GIRLS AFTER PARTY! Welcome Skaters, Fans and Friends

Friday and Saturday on the town

Fine Line is a good place for a show, despite the cramped space. I know nothing of the show planned for that night listed by DowntownMinneapolis, however.

Still the best music venue downtown is First Avenue. Huge venue (actually more than one venue) with a little history behind it to boot. I looked on the date and what came up was one of the rare recommended events. Here%26#39;s a look.

vita.mn/event_detail.php?event_id=64319

If you want something more casual (with no cover) and just a tad campy I would second the nomination of Nye%26#39;s. It%26#39;s half piano bar and half polka bar. I much prefer the polka side -- the live polka is hilarious and fun. Only a small space to dance to it, but I still love the place. It%26#39;s an institution around here. And get ready for a stiff pour if you want a mixed drink.

The only issue is that the place is just outside of downtown. You can hop a taxi for less than $10, though, depending on where in downtown you%26#39;re departing. It%26#39;s worth it. I promise.

From there, if you have an itch to dance, you can head over to The Front. A few blocks away -- walking distance to me. They play old %26#39;80s music to hip-hop. I haven%26#39;t been there for years but I used to enjoy the place as I lived not far away. Keep in mind it doesn%26#39;t get going until 11, though you can get drinks. Amazing how fast it fills up once it starts. Unless things have changed.

All great suggestions... While the dancing at The Front is great, once it gets crowded you may start to encounter spilling on your shoes, if not barfing.

I%26#39;d also add that we always have fun at the Irish bars - which usually have live music and sometimes no cover. O%26#39;Donovans is a great little pub, but cozy. Keirans is larger and you%26#39;re more likely to find room and company to jig.

Check out the CityPages.com calendar and enter the dates - calendar:http://www.citypages.com/calendar.

You%26#39;re bound to find something you%26#39;ll like there. Or pick up a copy when you get to town - they%26#39;re free and in most eateries %26amp; bars.

Ha, true on The Front, creason (though I%26#39;ve never experiecned the barfing part of it). When any of those things began to happen at the Front, I just ran over to Whitey%26#39;s anyway.

The Front is not a place I%26#39;d usually suggest, but if people take the effort to cab over to Nye%26#39;s, I like to give them a fallback.

Right-O mntoathens - I think it%26#39;s safe to dance on the no-barfing front (no pun intended). It does get crowded because it%26#39;s small, but it%26#39;s still my favorite dance bar - un-pretentious crowd and great music.

And yes, you are correct that there are lots of great fallbacks in NE - Nye%26#39;s %26amp; Whitey%26#39;s also being favorites of mine.

Bunker%26#39;s on Washington not too far off Hennepin and always has a good club band for dancing. Gluek%26#39;s has music too and is right on across from Block on 6th street between 1st %26amp; Hennepin.

http://www.bunkersmusic.com/calendar.html

http://glueks.com/

You would be pretty comfortable at both with a wide range of ages that frequent them both.

First Ave. and the FIne Line are going to have more national acts, so check them out as well in advance to see if that interests you.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I%26#39;ve been told that for after the Coldplay concert on Friday that Grand Ave in St Paul is a decent street. True? Any suggestions? Or should we run from St Paul as quick as we can?

From a quick scan of the Grand Ave Merchants website it doesn%26#39;t look like there is a whole bunch to get excited about in terms of night life.

Since you%26#39;re going to the Xcel Center, downtown St Paul has very fun options on 7th St that you can walk to. I%26#39;d personally recommend the Liffey in the Holiday Inn, which is also a great hotel to stay.

I personally think Grand Ave. would be too sedate for what you%26#39;ve specified. But since you%26#39;re in the area, Billy%26#39;s on Grand is the party place - it gets pretty crowded. If you%26#39;d like to venture a little further out, OGara%26#39;s is a popular place with a great crowd. There are also great music clubs on University, but the area is a little iffy.

Are you staying in St Paul? And when are you going to 112 Eatery? If you did that Saturday, you could play in Mpls that night. It wouldn%26#39;t make much sense to try and do both downtowns in one evening.

It is important to know where you%26#39;re staying. I seem to recall you are staying in Minneapolis but the show is at the Xcel, is that right? I see the show is at the Xcel, which I didn%26#39;t know previously.

If so, I think you have two options.

1. Take care of transportation back to Minneapolis immediately after the show and party there. The Warehouse District in Mpls has far more nightlife in a concentrated area than St. Paul. Getting the taxi ride or whatever mode of transportation out of the way early will be a nice relief. Taxis can get scarce at bar time.

2. Party in downtown St. Paul. The place will be hopping after a show of this size. Liffey, as mentioned, is the closest spot. It will probably get a little rowdier a few blocks down West 7th at McGovern%26#39;s. Those two places are solid options.

A little deeper into the interior of downtown SP is Alary%26#39;s, though there isn%26#39;t much around it if you get there and it isn%26#39;t your scene.

I would avoid Grand. Fun can be had there, but things will be more fun in places that make more sense logistically -- downtown St. Paul or back by your hotel in Minneapolis.

You know, I would suggest bar hopping in Uptown (Minneapolis). It%26#39;s super close to downtown, maybe ten minutes in a taxi, and totally worth it. It%26#39;s a different vibe, it%26#39;s fun and hip (and a little ';hippy'; too). My favorites are the Independent and Chino Latino (which is more of a restaurant, but a great place to grab a drink). There%26#39;s also the Drink, which is more of a college crowd, and also Williams, a peanut bar.