Tonight Andrea and I had a couple Guinness at Bennigan’s before heading over to our favorite LYS (Local Yarn Store) for a discussion, display, and general drooling over yarn. Drooling over fancy yarn leads to depression so we ended up ducking out a little early and hopped the nearest train. Not wanting the night to end so quickly – because let’s face it: it’s rare for me to be out on a Friday night – we decided on a bar close to her neck of the woods for a few more beers.
It was while we were there, and playing some key songs on the Jukebox (Good Life by Weezer and Laid by James) that I realized I have yet to find a Chicago substitution for Independent Bar in Orlando.
Back in “the day”, no matter what crowd, the downtown Orlando scene more often than not went like this: Go into Independent to get a wrist band before 11pm, leave Independent and go next door to BBQ Bar where our friendly Bartender Laura would hook us up with Red Bull & Vodka’s (mine with Mandarin) that were far more vodka than redbull. After a few of those we’d leave BBQ and head back into Independent for dancing. That’s where the fun of the night would begin.
See, I was never really able to pull off the goth look. I always blamed it on smiling too much. Hanging out with (and being in a) Rocky Horror Casts and people who played Magick (sp?) afforded me chances to be the dark and twisty girl, but I could never do it.
Anyhow, Independent was mostly a gothic club, but you could see people there wearing khaki’s and a polo on occasion too. The beauty of Indie was that it didn’t matter if you could goth kick or not- as long as you were moving on the dance floor as if you were in front of your own mirror at home, no one really cared.
And I don’t have a bar like that up here. Sure there’s Neo, the very goth club, but I always felt a little awkward dancing there. The only other place I’ve seen people sort of dancing was Exit, but those people were in cages and, well… maybe it picks up later in the night, but every time I’ve been there it’s been quiet.
So, that’s my thought for the day.. I miss having a club I could go dancing at and have it be fun… I so can’t do that crazy raver dance shit. Hell, I probably don’t even goth dance well, but at least I feel good doing it and that’s really all that matters, right?
Ryan Price said
Hello random person. I found you because you used the phrase “Orlando scene”, and I feel your pain. I’m from Orlando and visiting London for two weeks, and I couldn’t find something like I-Bar here in the big smoke, until… buttoneddowndisco.com came along. They have a super-secret location almost every week and they create an atmosphere a bit like the Independet Bar we all know and love. If it can happen in London, then perhaps it can happen in Chicago as well. Keep looking!