52nd City

Party Town Report: River City Pub

Let's say it's a Saturday night and the usual haunts just don't hold that special appeal. For whatever reason, the places in the neighborhood aren't sounding right and the old favorites aren't calling your name. But you want a drink, maybe two. The only solution to this dilemma, if you're based in South City, is to head down Gravois, the tavern-ey-est street in this whole town.

After a relatively incident-free stop at Pepper's for a round, the sorta-south/sorta-west pull of Gravois came on strong, pulling my vehicle into the unfamiliar terrain of St. Louis County. In Affton, the River City Pub seemed to have a bit of action going on, with enough human traffic in the windows to suggest a stop. Good one!

For starters, it was karaoke night with DJ Ali, whose English was a delightful blend of New American meets Frat Boy. Loved it. Despite pushing his mid-40s, Ali was "rockin' the mic" with a panache and enthusiasm that could only fully be appreciated live, where you could appreciate his gym-sculpted body and leather, studded belt. His gusto was more than met by mid-set singer Steve-O, a ballcapped gent who's certainly known his 50th birthday, a fact that didn't stop him belting out "Superman" by Three Doors Down (maybe a predicatble cut), followed by a rousing version of "Gangster's Paradise" (um, undpredictable!), for which he also didn't need the lyric monitor. He was feeling it, whatever "it" might be, sharing it with the crowd. Dag.

Steve-O and Ali weren't the only characters in room, proven by a guy we'll call Frank, because that's how he introduced himself to us. Frank had previously engaged bartender Brian in a long conversation about both Billy Peek and David Surkamp, which was a real treat, though it didn't prepare us for the peppering set of questions to follow, highlighted by his "do you do heroin?" request that fell on disbelieving ears.

A self-appointed fan of beer, Frank noted that he'd spent the afternoon at the Tap Room, where he'd enjoyed beer from across the country. This seemed in line with Frank's emerging M.O. What sealed the deal, and cinched his role as Barfly of the Week, was a comment about Schlafly products. "They don't sell their beers in bars," he offered, dead seriously. "Well, not that many of them. You have to go there to drink them." Ooo-kay.

Sometimes, a short night is just right. And a short conversation is all you really need. In-out, wam-bam-see-you-in-another-six-months, River City Pub.