The Club & Music Scene

Live Music

The biggest news in live music, dance clubs, and bars is the decline -- indeed, near death -- of Deep Ellum, the rowdy district east of downtown, after 25 years as the epicenter of live music and late-night dance clubs. Once a nightlife destination, it fell victim to a sustained spate of unsettling gang violence, bar fights, robberies, occasional shootings, and mismanaged clubs. Venerable stalwarts of the Dallas scene, including Trees, Club Clearview, and Deep Ellum Blues all went under in the past year. For those young daredevils who still wish to live on the edge in Deep Ellum, a free shuttle service for barhoppers runs throughout Deep Ellum on Fridays and Saturdays from 6:30pm to 2:30am. Gypsy Tea Room, 2548 Elm St. (tel. 214/74-GYPSY; www.gypsytearoom.com), long Dallas's standard-bearer for live performance, including national touring acts of alternative and roots-based rock and country (Wilco, Steve Earle), is still going, but it is now a shadow of its former self. Still competing for some of the same acts as the Gypsy Tea Room is the more spacious Sons of Hermann Hall, 3414 Elm St. (tel. 214/747-4422), a classic Texas dance hall that's equal parts pickup bar, live music venue, and honky-tonk, hosting rock, country, and occasional rockabilly acts (and swing dance classes on Wed). The Bone, 2724 Elm St. (tel. 214/744-2663), is ostensibly a blues club, but, much more than that, it is a crowded, sweaty drinking spot for young and rowdies. Double Wide, 3510 Commerce (tel. 214/887-6510), is the place to go if you want to get your trailer park on; it's got Lone Star beer, gimme caps, and live, loud rock music.

Christian music and culture is picking up some of the Deep Ellum void. For live, all-ages (really all-ages -- if you're younger than 10, you get in free!) rock and pop gigs, including emo (short for emotional) punk rock and Christian acts (sometimes a whole slew of bands in a single night), check out The Door, 3202 Elm St. (tel. 214/742-DOOR). It has a large concert space as well as a lounge and theater.

Lower Greenville Avenue has been around forever, but is newly hot again for bars and clubs in the wake of Deep Ellum's demise. Greenville Bar & Grill, 2821 Lower Greenville Ave. (tel. 214/823-6691), has been cool since I used to sneak in there as a high school senior. The crowd, mostly folks intent on defying the big 4-0, come for rock, country, and blues nightly. The Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave. (tel. 214/824-9933), is a converted old movie theater that now books such popular acts as Bob Dylan and Sigur Rós that also appeal to a somewhat older but still hip crowd. The Cavern, 1914 Lower Greenville Ave. (tel. 214/828-1914), is a tiny but cool spot that books good alternative acts (such as Devendra Banhart) and has upstairs DJs for those who find the live space too claustrophobic.

Once a dark and ambience-heavy jazz cafe, Sambuca has gone thoroughly uptown now that it's in Uptown, at 2120 McKinney Ave. (tel. 214/744-0820). A spacious, upscale supper club, it draws a trendy crowd for cocktails, dinner, and live jazz (much of it jazz fusion you can dance to) 7 nights a week. It has another North Dallas branch, also a Mediterranean restaurant, at 15207 Addison Rd. at Belt Line, in Addison (tel. 972/385-8455). Perhaps Dallas's best club for live jazz is Brooklyn, 1701 S. Lamar (tel. 214/428-0025), which has moved to a new location and a big space with an outdoor patio. Balcony Club, 1825 Abrams at La Vista (tel. 214/826-8104), upstairs from the Landmark (movie) Theater, is a cool, dark spot with intimate booths, perfect for some relaxing beats and a drink. It has live jazz nightly. Poor David's Pub (tel. 214/821-9891), a venerable old club whose stage has been graced by many great Texas singer-songwriters, recently moved into new, decidedly not poor digs at 1313 S. Lamar, near Gilley's . It aims to retain some of the old ambience, as well as provide a platform for live jazz and blues, albeit with slightly greater capacity.

Dallas Alley, in the West End, Munger Avenue at Marker Street (tel. 214/720-0170), is a touristy mix of bars and restaurants primarily aimed at businessmen entertaining clients and visitors staying in downtown hotels. From karaoke to country and oldies clubs, it's one-stop shopping for most groups looking for a night out on the town with a view of the skyline. Don't count on heaps of local flavor and authenticity, but the drinking and carousing seem contagious for most. The newest and best spot for big-ticket touring rock and pop acts is Nokia Live Center, 1001 NextStage Dr., Grand Prairie (tel. 972/854-5050).

Dance Clubs

Lizard Lounge, 2424 Swiss Ave. (tel. 214/826-4768), is the city's best dance club; trendy and slightly seedy, but resolutely sexy, it trades in percolating dance beats and a hot crowd, with occasional live bands. Sunday night is Goth Night. For something out of the ordinary -- dancing to Tejano and ranchero music, along with what seems like half of Dallas's Latino population -- check out massive Escapade 2001, 10707 Finnell St. (tel. 214/654-9950). About 5,000 people get their Latin groove on here nightly.

Honkey-Tonk Heaven

Top Rail Ballroom, 2110 W. Northwest Hwy. (tel. 972/556-9099), with wagon-wheel chandeliers and a neon covered wagon, is a classic Texas C&W dance hall, a place where you'll find more authentic cowboys than transplanted wannabes. Open daily, it's the best boot-scootin' this side of Fort Worth. Gilley's Dallas, a Big D branch of Houston's famous honky-tonk (which shot to fame with John Travolta on a bucking bronco in Urban Cowboy), finally opened at 1135 S. Lamar (tel. 888/GILLEYS). It is absolutely Texan in size, with more than 90,000 square feet to accommodate all those boots, hats, and hair. Cowboys Red River Dancehall, 10310 Technology Blvd. (tel. 214/352-1796), has live country music nightly, mechanical bull riding, a huge dance floor, and dance lessons. Worth the drive if you're a boot-scooter or country music fan is the must-see Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth.

For a more intimate, down-and-dirty take on the honky-tonk scene, check out Adair's Saloon, 2624 Commerce St., in Deep Ellum (tel. 214/939-9900), which the regulars call "Aayy-dares." It gets its share of clean-scrubbed SMU students, but mostly you'll find down-to-earth patrons and infectious country and redneck rock bands that go down well with the cheap beer, shuffleboard, and tables and walls blanketed in graffiti. The perfectly greasy burgers with a whole jalapeño on top are surprisingly tasty; some say they're the best in Dallas. The only rule here is in plain English on the sign behind the bar: NO DANCIN' ON TABLES WITH SPURS.