After a long weekend in Florida, I was anxious to get back on the Charlotte nightlife scene this weekend. Apparently, I was the only one.
Where was everyone this weekend?
I checked out a few of the usual uptown hot spots Saturday night, and, with the exception of the EpiCentre (the line was stretched down the street for Suite by 11), the crowd was noticeably sparse.
Was it the heat? Or is everyone trying to save money during this dreadful economic time?
I'm curious, are you guys cutting back on your social lives? Going out less? Drinking two beers instead of four? Not patronizing places that charge a cover? Noticing a drop in partygoers at your usual haunts?
Post your comments below.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Cutting back on nightlife?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
41 comments:
As someone who doesn't need to be a trendy place, we always look for somewhere that doesn't charge a cover.....and it's harder and harder to find in uptown Charlotte.
I have a problem paying money to get in a door to then buy drinks.
One good thing about growing up and getting married is you have a lot more disposable income. Instead of spending all our money going out to bars all the time, paying outrageous cover charges along with outrageous beer/mixed drink prices and then have to worry about getting pulled over on the way home, husband and I invested in a home bar and kegerator, where we can have our friends over and we can drink as much as we want a lot cheaper and not have to breathe in the nasty smoke that gets in our clothes every time we go out. Used to be, going out was fun. With all the draconian drunk driving laws and obnoxious smokers, it's just not worth it any more. Partying at home is the way to go!
Before anyone complains about $4/gallon gas you should think about how beer in a bar costs over $30/gallon.
The best bars in town don't have cover charges, lines, techno/dance music and over priced drinks. They don't have guys in the bathrooms that guilt me into giving them a tip because they handed me a towel. The best bars in town are not downtown they're out in the neighborhoods. Why drive downtown to rub elbows with a bunch of gel-haired meatheads when I can sit in a neighborhood bar, run into people I know and hold a coversation without yelling. Flip-flops and boat shoes are standard at the best bars in town. We dress up all week to dress down on the weekend.
Also, in the Summer months, if you're from Charlotte, you leave town for beach and mountain houses. When you live 2 hours from the mountains and 3 hours from the beach why would you stay in Charlotte?
No one wants to go out anymore because it's becoming a luxury for most. I know I personally cannot afford to go out more than once or twice every other month or so. Plus, as you begin to age your priorities change. Why not have friends over (like someone earlier mentioned)? It's much more fun to have my friends over for a BBQ.
I think going out is beginning to be a pain. I dont want to drive uptown cause of the cost of parking , the train quits running too early and cabs are starting to get expensive.
I also find myself tired of the same ol' wannabe's who think they are celebrities and the horrible techno music.
Everybody was at the Taste of Charlotte. It didn’t end until 11:00pm and after being there all hot and sweaty for hours nobody feels like going home to change and having to come back out for just a few hours more.
Forget downtown! It costs too much to park, then to pay a cover to get in. Our new favorite neighborhood spot is Bad Dog's in University Place. They never have a cover, parking is free, service is friendly, and their drinks are cheap. Since we've started visiting this local joint, my wife and I have stopped going downtown. I agree with the previous poster, a flip flop and boat shoes crowd is for us versus dressing up to pay more for beer. The ability to get a drink in a timely manner also prevents me from going downtown and having to wait everytime you need a refill.
And you wonder why people say downtown is dead. Boat shoes? What the? Boat shoes aren't even in style! Nothing like hanging out with a bunch of boring, preppy, WASPS. Now that sounds like a GREAT time... NOT.
By the way, living 2 hours from the mountains and 3 hours (you mean 4 hours) from the beach is not that close. Live in California - both are no furthur than 15 minutes.
Techno music is better than country music.
You boat shoe wearing, preppy weirdos are the reason why nightlife here is terrible.
Just because people dress nice and actually have style doesn't mean they are trying to be "celebrities". Why don't you and your fellow boat shoe wearing prepnecks move to Alabama where you belong.
Uptown is always slow in the summer. People who have disposable income to go out also have enough money to travel or even have second home. If you didnt work for a newspaper, you may know more about that...
I didnt say people are wannabee's cause the way they dress, I try to dress nice when I go uptown. Its the attitude I'm talking about. The bouncers trying to let the select few in while making others willing to pay wait in line. And, for the other commentor, anything is better then country music but not everyone wants to hear the techno crap either.
Like an earlier poster said, alot of people were at Taste of Charlotte...also, part of the reason why uptown is kinda sparse in the summer is b/c alot of the college crowd goes home...
All you yankee and cali transplants that keep knocking the boat shoe and flip flop crowds need to step back...your in the south now and thats the way we do it here. If it wasn't for all the transplants that have come in and ruined most all the clubs in town you wouldn't be paying such high covers and drink prices. I would rather be with the boat shoe/flip flop crowd any day than with a bunch of wannabes.
It was like 100 degrees outside. Anything that contributes to death of sweaty meat markets like AlleyCat, HOM and Suite 100 is fine with me! Lame-o city!
It has nothing to do with "wanna-be's" - it is all about who you know. If you know the bouncer or the club/bar owners your going to get priority. It is like that EVERYWHERE.
You would think the nightlife would get better since it is warmer out...
There's nothing wrong with flip-flops, but boat shoes. Who the hell thought they were cool?
I honestly don't know how transplants have ruined anything. 20 years ago downtown was dead, hell the whole city (not just downtown) felt dead. If anything, they are helping bring it back to life. There is nothing wrong with a little variety in the nightlife. Everything doesn't have to be the same or else it would be very boring.
I guess I had better sell my stock in the boat-shoe company - who knew they were hated with such passion...
Once nearly 23,000 UNC Charlotte students get summer jobs or go home, uptown nightlife takes a break until the fall.
Most people in Charlotte have never been out to the campus and have no clue what the campus does for the city but without all those students this place would be really boring.
Uptown is dead because plain and simple it is boring now. There is very little variety in the bars/clubs. They all play the same music, they all want the girls to do the same things when certain songs come on. The only difference is the name and the set up but everything else is the same. If you aren't single then downtown is just a waste. My fiance and I like to dance but we don't care for inhaling a pack of smokes in the proccess nor do either of us want to deal with the people that can't control their drinking problem. I also find it funny how the girls get all dressed up and dance around in circles and reject every guy that comes up to them, and see how the alcohol makes them pissed off, then 2 minutes later they try the same thing is the same girl. I guess I just grew out of the stage of drunken nights and guys trying to fight because they are upset you got the girl and they didn't. And for the people that tried to rip the Yankees because one person didn't like the flip flops and boat shoes, people from the north where flip flops and boat shoes also. But it isn't everyones style, there is no reason to get upset at a group of people because of one person. I am a yankee and the people who have problems with northerners need to get over it.
But we DO have variety now. Much more than we used to. We have nicer dance clubs like Forum, HOM, and Suite, country/rock n roll like Coyote Ugly and Whiskey River, we have Alley Cat for more rock music, we have trashy places like Bar Charlotte, I don't know where TILT fits in, we have a latin/salsa place with Latorre's, we have a ton of just regular bars like Buckhead, Grand Central, Phil's, Connolley's, the Attic, etc etc.
We will have a dueling piano bar (Howl at the Moon), a bowling alley with cosmic bowling at night with a DJ, bar, and dance floor, a movie theater, a Wild Wings Cafe, soon a HOOTERS, etc etc.
You can go downtown without paying a cover charge and without having to dress up or you can dress up and dance all night. We have places for everyone so I don't know why people are complaining so much. If you don't like one place, don't go to it - there is plenty to choose from all within walking distance!
The crowd at the Rockabilly BBQ on Saturday at Puckett's in North Charlotte was huge!
Stay out of uptown, and check out the websites for GREAT live music at the Milestone Club, Double Door Inn, Tremont Music Hall and Pucketts Farm Equipment for low cover prioces, cheap beer and free parking.
Most of the craziness starts with the college kids. The average age of people enjoying nightlife uptown has decreased significantly over the last five years. Thus, different mentality and actions result from this. I was young once and acted like that as well, however, since I do not enjoy that type of crowd anymore I go to other places. There are more than enough bars in Charlotte that should satisfy everyone's taste.
If you can't afford a $30 night on the town, you've got bigger problems than high gas prices and depressed stocks.
Techno music is the absolute worse crap ever invented. These punk kids listen to the crap 24/7. Okay, it's bad enough in a club. Who the hell wants to listen to the frigin' crap at the pool as well ?
Todays young males are pathetic in all ways. You are like little women(no disrespect to the women).
We had a name for guys like you back in the day and you know what it was............
What town are you going to that only costs $30? $30 is a movie night. A night on the town around here usually runs me $75 - $100.
Charlotte is the city that always sleeps.
why pay money to park and then pay more to get into a place when you can go somewhere on Lake Norman or in Birkdale, where the places are almost always packed and far less pretentious (I know that sounds funny, that Lake Norman and Birkdale are "less" pretentious, but compared to uptown, I think that's true)
Going out on weekends is a luxury, when money is tight because the economy is in the dumps and gas prices are going up everyday, people tend to reduce their luxury spending. There just isn't the extra cash since gas prices alone have quadrupled in the last seven years. Also, there are a lot more bars then there used to be. When this happens there pieces of the pie get smaller and smaller for each venue. So, there may be just as many people going out but they are spread out alot more than they used to be. Eventually, the market will correct itself because not all bars will be able to survive with all these new bars opening up.
I don't know where all this "techno crap" is being played downtown? The only place that plays "House" music is HOM. Most of the other bars and clubs are playing a mix of top 40 and mashups. No place I know of is actually playing "techno", and if there is one place, well, then its just ONE place. So, go somewhere else where your type of music is being played. There are alot of other bars and clubs in downtown Charlotte.
Flip flops and boat shoes are for local bars. Dressing up is for downtown. If you don't want to dress up, go to your local hang out.
Cover charges help bars/clubs survive. If the bar/club was packed and no one was buying drinks then the club wouldn't survive, because it didn't make any money. If you like a place and want to make sure it stays around, then go there and be happy to pay the cover charge because you know you are helping to make sure it is there the next time you want to go out.
Because of the influx of northerners the price of your house has continued to rise. Charlotte is the only city in the United States that home prices continue to rise. If not for the northerners the price of your home would continue to decline like everywhere else in the US. So, be thankfully that the northerners are coming here to help the economy. They just might be helping to save your job.
Charlotte has a lot more options then it used to have because the city is growing in population. Not because people are going out more then in the past.
it's worth a couple hundred bucks (if i have to) on a flight to nyc or miami for the weekend where i don't wait in line, don't pay cover or drinks and sure as hell don't deal with amateurs and college kids. and i'm not complaining about the ones here why? because i have the freedom of choice to avoid them. if you are complaining about techno, wannabes, flip flops or boat shoes then you should learn to exercise your options (maybe your mind too?) better. if you go out downtown, lake norman, cougar city wherever, you're going to risk being sweaty, getting mooned or sized up by other wannabes and subjected to techno and boat shoes. stop complaining! question is, what are you going to do about it?
Hmm since I live uptown I go out fairly regularly. I can easily spend $30 or less on any given night. In fact, there is a $1 beer special every night of the week except for Saturday.
I live in flip flops and have noticed that most bar patrons do the same in the summer. Perhaps it is different at the clubs, but there are plenty of inexpensive laid back bars uptown.
for a $30 night-on-the-town budget....
A) a 5th of bourbon from ABC store $7
B) a Dr. Pepper from gas station $2
C) solid buzz from bourbon $0
D) cover charge to bar $5
E) 5 beers of whatever is on special + tip $16
= $30, have a great time.
Sarah, you answered your own question in the blog. Everyone was at Suite that night. Charlotte always gravitates to the new place on the block. Eventually Suite will run its course and everyone will disperse back to their normal watering hole, until the next new place opens. However, I can't say anything. I was at Suite that night as well, see you all at Howl at the Moon on the 20th!
I mainly spend time with friends; I don't go out much any more because the majority of people here are self-centered and rude and don't care about anybody but themselves. (not to mention the crime in Charlotte that's out of control which makes it dangerous to go out.) I grew up in Charlotte and I'm at a loss as to what has happened here. It's really sad, because Charlotte used to be a pretty good place to live. A month ago, someone stole the complete central air unit off the back of our house (which by the way the cops didn't even come out and investigate even though the crooks came back a couple of days later and stole something else, and I have yet to even *talk* to a cop even though I filed a police report). Not too long ago, someone went into my sister's car and stole a little trinket that was hanging on her rearview mirror that wasn't even worth $4.00. Just the other day, I saw a guy go through a door and just let it slam in a woman's face rather than holding it for her and he knew she was behind him. It's astonishing to me how people are such jerks these days. I could fill a book with crap like that I see every day in Charlotte. That's why I don't go out to clubs much any more. I don't want to be anywhere near most of them. I just stick to my family and close friends.
To the previous poster: Then go somewhere else. Charlotte is a much better place than it used to be and is still a great place to live!
For anyone who said uptown offers a variety of bars, I'm sorry to inform you but you're so horribly wrong. The biggest complaint about uptown that I hear is that all the bars are one in the same. A lot of the meatheads (and you gold diggers too) are leaving uptown and invading my bars. Now the small neighborhood bars are the trend, and everyone who I can guarantee used to be the d-bags downtown love to claim these bars as their own. It's no sweat though. There are more than enough bars in Charlotte. As long as no one invades my haunt, and I know they won't, I could care less.
It's ironic how Sarah mentions Uptown was slow everywhere with the exception of EpiCentre. Maybe the city of Charlotte would like to keep it that way.
It's public record the developer borrowed $2.2mil from the city for 'public infrastructure'. The note has to start being paid down even though EpiCentre isn't scheduled for completion for some time. Seems it would be in the city's best interest to ensure the developer pays off the loan whildst Honest Pat be subjected to the embarrasment of losing millions of taxpayer dollars should the project fail.
Maybe this would explain the 'hassles' many non-EpiCentre restaurants and bars have experienced lately. Sure seems helpful in making sure EpiCentre's success is guaranteed. At least EpiCentre's bars will do well since it'll be tough to find buyers for the condos now that the market has cooled.
Then again, this is all surely coincidental, right? Honest Pat would never try to save face by helping facilitate the demise of his business partners and campaign supporters competition, now would he?
Post a Comment