Saint Louis Nightlife

John's Town Hall is similar to a pub. It's not loud and crazy like a nightclub, and it has both a bar and restaurant section. It's on the street level of the Dorchester Hotel - which really isn't a Hotel at all - at least these days - it's a high-rise condo overlooking Forest Park.

They server decent beer on tap as well as mixed drinks.

The jukebox is awesome. Mostly classic rock from the 60's - 90's, old standards like Frank Sinatra, plus fun stuff like Squeeze.

Dress Code: Come as you are. Jeans, suit, whatever. You will see it all.

For a concentration of places for entertainment and nightlife then Laclede's Landing is the spot.

Having done some research before coming to St Louis I thought I would have plenty of choice. At least that's what I thought until I got there.

Perhaps, it's my own fault, but I assumed that this would hold true throughout the week...clearly not so. At least not on Sunday evenings.

Having taken the Metrolink to the Landing, I arrived around 8 pm was VERY surprised to find only a couple of places still open.

I took the time to walk around the streets to make sure but, no, not much open.

I don't wish to put anyone off here, just issue a warning...I'm still planning on making a stop here next time I'm in St Louis...just not on a Sunday evening.

Obviously a Friday/Saturday night place.

Dress Code: None, as far as I can tell.

Just south of the new Busch Stadium, under the interstates and railroad tracks, is a cluster of jazz bars on Broadway in the Soulard section of St. Louis. Janet took me there one Thursday night for an awesome time amidst light crowds (due to the fact that the Cardinals played a day game). We started at the Broadway Oyster Bar, a New Orleans-themed jumble of barely-standing wood with an outdoor bar and a one-man barefoot blues band from Illinois. The ambiance is that of a college fraternity merged with a 19th-century brothel -- which it was! We enjoyed his Jack Johnson-like riffs and rough takes on Clapton tunes before moving on to Beale's. There, we sat outdoors in the heat, drinking cold beer, mesmerized by St. Louis icon Kim Massie and the Solid Senders. Ms. Massie is 300 pounds of blues and soul, and you feel all of it as she belts out Aretha Franklin or Whitney Houston songs. She may not stand up, but you can't stay sitting down during her performance. If you want to rock, watch out for her version of Led Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love" -- wow!! Or Proud Mary -- Killer! Just make sure you feed te tip jar with your requests.
Massie and the Senders played for 2.5 hours before breaking, giving us a chance to sneak over to BB's Jazz and Soups, where the Grounders were finishing up 8 hours of music making with Hendrix, Croce and BB King. There were only a few stragglers left there at one in the morning, including a Cindi Lauper look-a-like (ironically, Kim Massie has played with Cindi Lauper), but we had a blast sharing a Pilsner Urquell and swaying to the breezy jazz. The lead guitarist really could solo!
The Grounders closed down at 1:30 just in time to return to Beale's for the last hour of Kim Massie. We were tired and wanted to leave, but the band wouldn't let us, playing one funky song afte another, capturing us in a ecstatic net of sound. We finally broke free when 2:30 arrived and the tip jar crested near he rim, walking under another westbound train back to our car. What a night!!

This is a cool district for the 20s and 30s crowd as it has a lot of places to eat and have an adult beverage where you can either listen to live music, dance, or watch others doing all of the above.

They also have a shuttle that runs from there to the St. Louis Cardinals games if you happen to be in town for a game.

Dress Code: Some places are more upscale than others but its pretty open.

We usually grace this bar after we have already done some drinking at another nearby bar. Its a small bar, with a friendly staff. If you want to go and sing you favorite song or it want to laugh and have some good times, its a must do! Its also nice that there is usually not a cover charge.

Dress Code: Whatever... Most people are drunk anyways

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The Orpheum is one of the classic performance spaces in the St. Louis area. This privately owned facility was originally constructed as a vaudeville theatre in 1917. It was purchased by Warner Brothers and made into a movie palace in the 1930s, and then because a music venue in the 1960s, taking the name of "the American Theatre" and featuring acts ranging from Eartha Kitt to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In 2003, it was purchased by a Redevelopment Team (the Roberts Brothers) who restored it to its original name and glory.

This place is a real palace. I LOVE it!! Check out the website for so many great photos. Your jaw will drop when you walk into the lobby and into the theater itself. They have shows year round, from Broadway to big concerts. All the famous acts and shows come here.

This huge theater was restored to its former glory, starting in 1981. It opened originally in 1929 and if you know your U.S history, you know what that year is famous for - The Stock Market crash, the cause of Great Depression. The web site covers the history of the theater better than I can here.

Allow extra time for parking and getting inside to your seat. The ushers are all skilled volunteers and I know some of them! They will help you well. But the walk throughthe Lobby may take some time...and you may want to stop for a beverage or souvenir.

Dress Code: What ever you want to wear is fine. You can dress up or down.

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My favorite band of all-time is now Radiohead, supplanting The Cure in my affections after a good 21-year-long run (sorry, Robert Smith). I've always liked Radiohead, from the start of Jonny Greenwood's wondrous crunchy guitar sound in Creep to OK Computer (Paranoid Android is my fave song of all time) to the fantabulousness of Hail to the Thief. But when their latest CD, IN RAINBOWS, came out I knew they were the greatest band around. LOVE THEM!!

Michael Stipe said of the band "Radiohead are so good, they scare me" (when they opened for R.E.M. for their '95 tour). And Chris Martin of Coldplay said ""Being voted the world's sexiest vegetarian is about as cool as it gets. It's not quite as cool as Brad Pitt, but it'll do. Those have been the two biggest challenges of my life: trying to follow Radiohead, and trying to follow Brad Pitt." Not bad press from some of the best in the music industry, eh?!?

Jonny Greenwood, lead guitarist, recently scored the soundtrack for the film There Will Be Blood (thanks to the inimitable TimDaoust for the info!), garnering himself a Critic's Choice Award. It would've possibly earned a nom for the Academy Awards but was knocked out of that possibility due to use of bits from "Popcorn Superhet Receiver"; they refuse "scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other pre-existing music." Feh. He's also the BBC's artist in residence!

For the kidlets, they can hear 2 Radiohead members, Greenwood & Phil Selway (drummer), in The Weird Sisters band on the soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; the full version of the Yule Ball segment is included in an extended scene on the 2-disc DVD.

Dress Code: Concert attire