Nightlife

There's always something going on in Salt Lake City, which is working hard to lose its image as a quiet town where the sidewalks get rolled up at night. Check the Friday editions of the Salt Lake Tribune or Deseret Morning News for listings of upcoming events. For additional entertainment news and listings, pick up one of the city's free papers, including The Event and Salt Lake City Weekly, which also offers alternative news articles. The Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau also publishes calendars of events.

Among the top entertainment venues in Salt Lake City is the E Center, 3200 S. Decker Lake Dr., West Valley City (tel. 801/988-8800 for the box office; www.theecenter.com), an arena-style venue that hosts numerous sports events plus big-name touring entertainers in its 3,700-seat theater.

The Performing Arts

Tickets for performances at a variety of venues can be obtained from Art-Tix (tel. 888/451-2787 or 801/355-2787; www.arttix.org).

The highly acclaimed Utah Symphony & Opera (tel. 801/533-6683; www.utahsymphonyopera.org) combines one of the country's top symphony orchestras and the well-respected Utah Opera Company. They present four operas a year plus a year-round symphony season at Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, an elegant 2,800-seat venue known for its excellent acoustics.

The nationally acclaimed Ballet West (tel. 801/323-6900; www.balletwest.org) performs at the historic Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South. The September-to-March season usually brings four productions, ranging from classical to contemporary. Modern dance is presented by the Repertory Dance Theatre (tel. 801/534-1000; www.rdtutah.org) and the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company (tel. 801/297-4241; www.ririewoodbury.com), with performances at the historic Capitol Theatre, located at 50 W. 200 South; the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, located at 138 W. 300 South; and other venues.

The Pioneer Theatre Company, 300 S. 1400 East, Room 325 (tel. 801/581-6961; www.ptc.utah.edu), is Utah's resident professional theater. Located on the university campus, its repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary plays and musicals. Recent productions have included Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Julius Caesar. Producing edgier contemporary fare, the Salt Lake Acting Company, 168 W. 500 North (tel. 801/363-7522; www.saltlakeactingcompany.org), stages about six plays by local and national playwrights annually. The Hale Centre Theatre, 3333 S. Decker Lake Dr., West Valley City (tel. 801/984-9000; www.halecentretheatre.org), just down the road from the E Center, features locally produced and performed plays and musical comedies.

The Club & Music Scene

As Salt Lake City grows, it's shedding its strait-laced image and beginning to hold its own with other Western cities in catering to the party crowd. Some of the following establishments are so-called private clubs, so you'll have to buy a short-term membership.

One of the city's more with-it and cosmopolitan nightspots is Mynt Lounge, 63 W. 100 South (tel. 801/355-6968), an upscale bar with an extensive martini menu. This place attracts one of Salt Lake City's hippest crowds. Established in 1965, the Dead Goat Saloon, 119 S. West Temple, in Arrow Press Square (tel. 801/328-4628; www.deadgoat.com), is a fun, funky bar featuring live blues bands. Squatter's Pub Brewery, 147 W. Broadway (tel. 801/305-2739) brews top-notch suds and thumbs its nose at local conservatism with such beer names as Provo Girl and Chasing Tail.

Quite likely Utah's largest sports bar, Port O' Call Social Club, 400 S. West Temple (tel. 801/521-0589; www.portocall.com), boasts 40 TV screens, a game room with pool tables and pinball machines, and a patio. Walls are covered with sports memorabilia. Murphy's, 160 S. Main St. (tel. 801/359-7271), has the reputation as one of the town's booziest bars.

If you're seeing a performance at the Capitol Theatre, stop by Wine Bar at Baci, 140 W. Pierpont Ave. (tel. 801/328-1333), afterward; it's only about a half-block northeast. For one of the best martinis around, stop at Kristauf's Private Club, 16 W. Market St. (tel. 801/366-9490), a favorite of business types and other well-dressed tipplers.