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Wednesday, August 24, 1988 / University Daily Kansan
Local bars, clubs give students chance to light up the night
Choices vary in specials, atmosphere
By Monica Hayde
Kansan staff writer
Warren Miller, Lawrence junior, receives a red bracelet and red marks on his hands from the doormen at Gammons, 10 W. 23rd
"There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or im." Samuel Johnson, 18th-century critic and writer, once said.
But once you've hit that age, a diversity of Lawrence bars and clubs are waiting.
The tawards, bars and nightclubs in Lawrence may mean happiness and, but before running out to experience it, you don't forget your identification card. Bars and clubs in Lawrence, with only a few exceptions, require you to
Private clubs require that you have a membership card or be a guest of a member in order to enter. Drinking establishments are licensed by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control and will admit anyone 21 or older. Taverns only serve 32 percent of alcohol. You must be 21 to enter a tavern.
The Jazzhaus, 728s. *Haliaeensis*, has a European charm with its white tablecloths, candles and conspicuous absence of neon beer
The club is famous not only for the variety of live hands that play there but also for wonderful sandwiches and other snack foods.
During the last week of August, the Vees, playing original rock and roll, and Lonnie Ray and the All Stars, a blue band, will perform at the club.
If neon lights and a large dance floor sound more appealing than old charm, try Gammons, 1601 W. 23rd St. The club is known for its great music, and Mr. Stevens said that Gammons was going through some changes.
"We underwent a formal change about five months ago," he said.
"Now, we have more progressive schools and are moving away from a lot of Torn 40."
He said examples of the more progressive bands were the Cure, the Lemon drops, INXS and Information Society.
Gammons is the only club in Lawrence that offers comedy shows, Stevens said. Comedians perform
Tuesday nights during the school year.
Gammons also is the only private club in town that admits people 18-20 years old, under the condition that they do not bring their toasters have to leave their driver's licenses at the door and wear a plastic bracelet while they are in the bar. People under 21 are not admitted but face nightly and on a few other nights.
Cover charges at Gammons are higher for minors than for 21-year-olds with membership cards.
The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampstead St., is a large club that specializes in the jazz and R&B music of local bands but also groups from all over the country, said owner Brett Monti.
"Our live music calendar is what we're all about," he said. "We have live music from all around the country six nights a week."
Bands that have appeared at the Bottleneck include Men Without Hats, Fishbone, the Producers and Johnny Reno.
The type of crowd at the Bottleneck depends on the kind of music or band that is playing, Mosiman said.
Sunday nights are all-ages dance nights at the club. No alcohol is served.
"When school starts, it will be kind of neat for underage kids to come on Sundays and get a chance to meet the Lawrence nightlife," he said.
Cover charges at the Bottleneck range from $2 to $12, depending on the band. he said.
Chasers, 623 Vermont St. is a sleek, modern dance club. Until October 1987, Chasers was as a dance instructor at Russ Branden said that Lawrence was not ready for a non-alcoholic bar. Brenden serves alcoholic drinks now, but he said that he was thinking about a dance class for minors with food but no drinks.
Branden said he played rock 'n' roll and dance music and whatever people wanted to hear.
Cover is charged occasionally,
Branden said, depending on the drink
specials of the night. The cover
charge is usually $1.
St. The bracelet and marks identify him to the bar's employees as a minor. Gammons admits men with prior identification.
"Chasers is going to be a hopping place this fall," he said.
The Jahayhawk Cafe, 1340 Ohio St. is an institution in Lawrence. The Theater of Lawrence is back to 1920 Music in this club usually comes from a judex博, but also includes
here. I'm not scared to walk in by myself."
Patrons can play pool and video games at the Hawk, and a cover charge is rare.
The Mad Hatter, 700 New Hampshire St., is, for the most part, a fraternity or sorority club, said
F
Everybody at Johnny's seems to get along. We have guys in three-piece suits, sorority girls and fraternity guys, the rugby team and just everybody.'
Larry Krisman Manager of Johnny's
Susan Pollard, Lenexa senior, said she liked the laid-back atmosphere of the Hawk.
"Everybody is really friendly and its not a meat market," she said. "For me, I always know someone
The Jayhawk Cafe, 1340 Ohio Street, is close to campus and is a popular tavern. The Hawk provides a casual place to socialize or play pool.
manager Kelly Driscoll.
manager Kerry Diiscon.
"We play mostly Top 40, dance music and soul" he said.
music this course. he said.
Driscoll said the Mad Hatter had been open for about 21 years.
Lawrence has many other private clubs. Some are frequent primarily by Lawrence locals, but others are shared by students and local residents. Just A Playhouse, 60 W. 24th st., is visited by students, but only a few of its clientele is composed of local residents, said owner Jim Elkins.
The Playhouse provides live entertainers. Thursdays through Saturdays, from 10 a.m., additions to Top 40-style bands, are sometimes part of the live entertaining lineup.
The Playhouse has a reputation for being a country music bar, but actually, the dance music and live bands more to people who enjoy pop music.
bar. Sundays through Tuesdays, no cover is charged.
Clubs do not account for all the nightlife in Lawrence. Taverns and drinking establishments account for a number of local drinking spots.
Johnny's Tavern and Up and Up, at 401, N. Second Street, has been in existence for over a decade. Larry Krisman said that people came to Johnny's for the hamburgers and steak.
"Everybody at Johnny's seems to get along," he said. "We have guys in three-piece suits, sorority girls and students. We're the rugby team and just everybody."
The cover charge at the two-story bar is $1 on Wednesdays through Saturdays, when bands play at the
The Wagon Wheel Cafe, 507 W. 14th St., commonly known as the Wheelbarre, is another bar that is frequented primarily by greed students. The Wheel serves Mexican food, sandwiches in addition to alcoholic beverages.
The Pool Room, 925 Iowa St., in the Hillcrest Shopping Center, is one of the newest hawkers in Lawrence. It is more a giant recreational room than a bar. The pool was Grady Walker said that the Pool Room had been open since only June 8, but it rapidly became a popular place to play pool and video games. Walker said that he allowed minors to be 8 p.m. when no beer was served.
A game of pool costs 50 cents, or
table can be rented by the hour for
$4.50. Sandwiches and pizza by
the slice are also served.
When school starts, it will be kind of neat for
will be kind of neat for underage kids to come here on Sundays and get a chance to experience the Lawrence nightlife.'
Brett Mosiman
Owner, The Bottleneck
"The place is really a success so far," Walker said. "The city was ripe for something like this."
Another Lawrence institution is the Cairn, 618 W. 12th St., at the north end of campus. Since it opened in 1925, it has changed names and added a new bar's name from was changed from the Hawk's Crossing to the Rock Chalk, but true devotees of the beer bar referred to as the Crossing. So owner Tom Conroy renamed it the Beverage Bar, thus business eight months ago.
Bands play at the Crossing three nights a week, and open-mike nights are Tuesdays.
I think it's a place where girls don, have to worry about being picked up."
"It is the most different place," Conroy said. "There is a mixture of frat people, hippies, a lot of teachers."
Bulwinkin is a tiny bar at 1344 Tennessee St. Manager Kris Plumhoff said the Bull was a good starter bar. Students often come to the bar to watch their classmates before they head out to the lingerings and bars in town, he said.
"Friday afternoons are just packed in here," he said. "Mainly this is bar grass it is owned by a bishop and we know where the sororities are real close to the bar."
Louise's Bar, 109 Massachusetts St., and Louise's West, 137 W. 7th St., are owned by Larry Sinks. He said Louise's was mostly a local bar, but he wanted to change that image. He said he wanted to try to be a college student to the bar through word of mouth and advertising.
Louise's and Louise's West both serve only 3.2 beer. Louise's is a casual bar with several pool tables and a bar said with the same message that Louise's West was much more of a student hangout than her bar downstairs, but that the bars were not even as crowded.
Harbour Lites, 1031 Massachusetts
Harbour is primarily a bar land said
some of the Harbour Lites. The
Harbour Lites dated back 20-25 years
but that the bar itself had been
built in the early 20th century.
Patrons can play pool or video games or just relax with a beer. Harbour Lites is a working-class style bar with a casual atmosphere.
Some Lawrence clubs and bars barely can be distinguished from other venues with unique atmospheres or bands. The above listing is not exhaustive, and there are probably a great deal of reasons to expect it from you than you thought. Student hangout will always exist, but try somewhere off the beaten path and you may find something.
But don't forget. The penalty for possession of liquor by a minor may be a fine as high as $250 or 40 hours of community service. The penalty for using false identification can be as high in year in jail or a time up to $2,500.
Kansan reporter Debbie Bengson contributed information to this story.
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