Piano Bars

[+ Snbrd]

A recent post about Things I Miss got me off on a tangent about piano bars. Are there any left? I remember when Boston's Napoleon Club was a 1st floor piano bar on weeknights. The upstairs dance bar only opened Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. It was a comfortable environment for a young guy figuring out his sexual identity and a a gay version of Cheers for the regulars. 

Martunies in San Francisco is straight but gay friendly. The Front Porch in Ogunquit Maine has morphed into a primarily straight bar but features gay performers who work plenty of gay references into their acts.

 

 

  

[+ Charlie]

I can't remember the name of the popular piano bar in Philly in the 1960's. Gays actually dressed up to go there, and I knew that a guy who picked me up on the street thought I was classy if he suggested we go there, and I said OK.

[+ Cock Eyed Optimist]

What is (was?) the name of the piano bar in Greenwich Village where they played mostly show tunes and performers from on and off Broadway would come and sing?   Is it still there?

[Doe Be Doe]

Any piano bars in Atlanta? Any cabaret there?

[Luv2play]

1 hour ago, Cock Eyed Optimist said:

What is (was?) the name of the piano bar in Greenwich Village where they played mostly show tunes and performers from on and off Broadway would come and sing?   Is it still there?

I remember going there once but forget the name too. I think the Town House in NYC also had a piano bar.

Rounds in midtown was a piano bar and pickup lounge for nice young hustlers, not the seedy kind. This was back in the 70s to 90s. The piano lounge also had dining available.

Legends in Wilton Manors in Ft. Lauderdale also had the piano bar and dining available. Very nice in its heyday. Haven't been back in over a decade so don't know the current situation.

When I frequented these places years ago, I wasn't really into the piano bar scene as I considered myself too young lol

[Luv2play]

Just now, Luv2play said:

I remember going there once but forget the name too. I think the Town House in NYC also had a piano bar.

Rounds in midtown was a piano bar and pickup lounge for nice young hustlers, not the seedy kind. This was back in the 70s to 90s. The piano lounge also had dining available.

Legends in Wilton Manors in Ft. Lauderdale also had the piano bar and dining available. Very nice in its heyday. Haven't been back in over a decade so don't know the current situation.

When I frequented these places years ago, I wasn't really into the piano bar scene as I considered myself too young lol

Was it Legends or Tropics, I forget. The one on the east side of the road is what I remember. Had a lovely dining room and bar.

[curt gregory]

Wasn’t there a place on Wycliff Ave. in Dallas back in the 80’s,that was sort of in a strip shopping center?  Not having lived there since then, I have no idea if it’s still there.

And what about Gentry in Chicago?

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

3 hours ago, Cock Eyed Optimist said:

What is (was?) the name of the piano bar in Greenwich Village where they played mostly show tunes and performers from on and off Broadway would come and sing?   Is it still there?

Marie's Crisis.  A legendary spot that's still open and still packing em' in.

I'd also recommend Don't Tell Mama in Hell's Kitchen.  They have an equally as enjoyable downtown Vegas location.

Garbo's in Puerto Vallarta is a nice one.

LaTeDa in Key West continues to offer a solid piano bar experience (on some nights).

Dallas has The Library at The Warwick Hotel on Cedar Springs.  80% piano bar, but it's so social on weekends that the performers often get lost over the general hum of the place.

Also in Dallas is Alexandre's.  On the Cedar Springs stip as well, it's got a couple night a week of piano bar showtunes.

 

Piano bars aren't what they used to be and many have gone to the dueling piano concept, but they're still around if you look.  All of them are now have a highly mixed clientele, which means you may have to suffer through some Neil Diamond to get to a brassy broad belting out 'Roses Turn'

Edited December 13, 2021 by Benjamin_Nicholas

[Guest MikeThomas]

15 minutes ago, Benjamin_Nicholas said:

Marie's Crisis.  A legendary spot that's still open and still packing em' in.

I'd also recommend Don't Tell Mama in Hell's Kitchen.  They have an equally as enjoyable downtown Vegas location.

Garbo's in Puerto Vallarta is a nice one.

LaTeDa in Key West continues to offer a solid piano bar experience (on some nights).

Dallas has The Library at The Warwick Hotel on Cedar Springs.  80% piano bar, but it's so social on weekends that the performers often get lost over the general hum of the place.

Also in Dallas is Alexandre's.  On the Cedar Springs stip as well, it's got a couple night a week of piano bar showtunes.

 

Piano bars aren't what they used to be and many have gone to the dueling piano concept, but they're still around if you look.  All of them are now have a highly mixed clientele, which means you may have to suffer through some Neil Diamond to get to a brassy broad belting out 'Roses Turn'

We had a couple of good ones on Halsted in Chicago.  Now gone.  What about the Townhouse in New York 😉 ?

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

2 minutes ago, MikeThomas said:

We had a couple of good ones on Halsted in Chicago.  Now gone.  What about the Townhouse in New York 😉 ?

Townhouse is still up and running.  Another solid option 👍

[cany10011]

The Monster in the West Village also has a rowdy piano bar. Believe Spunk also has their gogo boys in Monster’s basement. 

Across the Monster is the Duplex, a cabaret/piano entertainment venue… steps from Stonewall. 

Edited December 13, 2021 by cany10011

[Luv2play]

40 minutes ago, cany10011 said:

The Monster in the West Village also has a rowdy piano bar. Believe Spunk also has their gogo boys in Monster’s basement. 

Across the Monster is the Duplex, a cabaret/piano entertainment venue… steps from Stonewall. 

I was thinking if the Monster. I also remember it had dancing downstairs.

[jeezifonly]

The Little Shrimp in Laguna Beach…

 

 

[+ bigjoey]

10 hours ago, Cock Eyed Optimist said:

What is (was?) the name of the piano bar in Greenwich Village where they played mostly show tunes and performers from on and off Broadway would come and sing?   Is it still there?

There use to be such a place going opera.  Waiters and customers would join in singing.  Always a great place:

https://youtu.be/7Ydq3dgr8jI

 

[+ WilliamM]

58 minutes ago, bigjoey said:

There use to be such a place going opera.  Waiters and customers would join in singing.  Always a great place:

https://youtu.be/7Ydq3dgr8jI

 

I believe Rosalind Russell and her husband went there occasionally.

[+ FreshFluff]

10 hours ago, Luv2play said:

I remember going there once but forget the name too. I think the Town House in NYC also had a piano bar.

 

The Town House still has a piano bar. The bar’s longtime pianist, Rick Unterberg, passed away at the start of the pandemic.  I went back after it reopened, and it wasn’t the same. The new pianist plays old pop hits instead of show tunes, and the sense of community was mostly gone. Maybe things have changed since I visited. 

[+ Snbrd]

I sense that there are more drag performances around since RuPaul's Drag Race hit the airwaves. Maybe we need a show about torch song singers to revitalize the genre.

[+ Pensant]

17 hours ago, Benjamin_Nicholas said:

LaTeDa in Key West continues to offer a solid piano bar experience (on some nights).

I forgot about that place. There was a blond provider around 2003-2005 from Manhattan, Dylan, who used to stay there all the time. He invited me to his 21st birthday there, but I wasn’t able to make it. Glad it’s still there.

[MscleLovr]

Was it “LaTeDa” that, later in the evening, had 1 or 2 go-go boys dancing in their briefs on top of the bar? 
 

I fondly recall ‘slippage’ - as the evening wore on, the briefs were worn less. Also I once spent some time chatting to a very nice “bar-back”…who told me he had nowhere to say that night. I took him home and he proved surprisingly compliant. 

[topunderachiever]

The super talented David Kelsey played both organ and piano (often at the same time) in a very popular bar on San Francisco's Polk Street in the 70-80's and had that place and it's patrons hopping.  

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

1 hour ago, MscleLovr said:

Was it “LaTeDa” that, later in the evening, had 1 or 2 go-go boys dancing in their briefs on top of the bar? 
 

I fondly recall ‘slippage’ - as the evening wore on, the briefs were worn less. Also I once spent some time chatting to a very nice “bar-back”…who told me he had nowhere to say that night. I took him home and he proved surprisingly compliant. 

LaTeDa has never had gogo's.  It's not really that kind of place.

The most debaucherous it gets is their traditional Sunday Tea Dance, which is pretty tame overall.

 

[+ RJD]

On 12/13/2021 at 11:47 AM, Charlie said:

I can't remember the name of the popular piano bar in Philly in the 1960's. Gays actually dressed up to go there, and I knew that a guy who picked me up on the street thought I was classy if he suggested we go there, and I said OK.

Tavern On Camac

[+ Cock Eyed Optimist]

On 12/13/2021 at 12:18 PM, Luv2play said:

Was it Legends or Tropics, I forget. The one on the east side of the road is what I remember. Had a lovely dining room and bar.

It was Tropics.  They closed a few years ago after being there for a long time.  After a few years, they reopened under the same name.  I assumed the new owners bought the right to the name.

[+ Charlie]

2 hours ago, RJD said:

Tavern On Camac

It was on Camac, but that wasn't the name in my time (1960s).

[Luv2play]

2 hours ago, Cock Eyed Optimist said:

It was Tropics.  They closed a few years ago after being there for a long time.  After a few years, they reopened under the same name.  I assumed the new owners bought the right to the name.

One thing I noticed about being in Tropics at the turn of the century and Rounds some 18 years earlier was that both piano bars had soft pink lighting which was very flattering to one's complexion, particularly for the older guy's. It softened any wrinkles or facial blotches one might have.