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- Hours:
Wed-Thu. 7:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- Live
- Best Nights:
- Thu, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- Yes
19 reviews for Howl At the Moon
I'm not sure why I haven't reviewed Howl yet! I have been going there since we first discovered Dueling Piano Bars (ironically enough, on Disney's Boardwalk!) about 8 years ago.
Although it's a hike from York, PA, we still make a trip to Howl (Baltimore) to enjoy a howlin' good time. There's nothing in York that would even remotely compare.
Like others have mentioned, you really need to take 'the right friends', because some of the songs & humor can get a little PG-13. However, while this may not be the place to take your church friends, if you are lighthearted & enjoy popular music (80's, 90's & current stuff too!), you will surely enjoy yourself. We get there way early & sit in the front row! Look out though, people can reserve tables for a hefty fee and sometimes those front row seats, and second row....are roped off; that part, I don't like.
I'm not sure why people say the drinks are weak, they'll make them in front of you if you walk 10 feet to one of the two bars. Although, if you've been lucky enough to snag a table, your server will be kind to you if you are kind to them.
Eat before you go to Howl. They serve apps. but they go fast. (Of course they do, they're free!) Why not just enjoy one of the many places to eat at the Inner Harbor? It's right across the street. Ladies, you don't need to wear stilletto's to Howl. Flip-flops and sandles are totally appropriate.
Happy hour parties are the way to go. They save you the cover charge, assure that you're there early enough to get a seat (usually) and your first drinks are less expensive. If you visit their website, facebook, myspace... you can get more details on stuff like that.
Have fun! Oh, and take $5's and singles.
I won a happy hour party to Howl so I returned. No cover, first two drinks free, free appetizer buffet and drink specials! Sounds good, right? Not so much. It's clear that the whole happy hour party thing is a brilliant marketing tool to get more people to return and fool them into thinking they are special and got a good deal. I give them credit for coming up with this system.
But the happy hour party itself is not really worth it. The happy hour drinks are very noticeably watered down, compared to the drinks you order the second that happy hour is over. The appetizer buffet also is pretty slim pickins... there were meatballs, hot dog buns, rib tips and bags of potato chips. Not bad, but not exactly what I picture when I picture "appetizer buffet."
Even with all this complaining, my biggest gripe of all had nothing to do with the happy hour party system. It had to do with the fact that there were maybe 10 bachelorette parties going on at the same time complete with tiaras, skanky dresses, sashes, feather boas... and the pianist/singers did the same handful of embarrassing songs and shtick they did the last time we went. It's hilarious the first time around, but it gets old quick. It's also annoying when those "embarrass the bachelorette on stage" segments take over the whole evening so that you get very few actual songs.
I don't think I could sit through all that stuff for a third time. So I highly doubt I'l be back...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
3/1/2009
Buckets of booze =
a) a good idea
b) a bad idea
c) an excellent way to start giving up alcohol… Read more »
This place was soo much fun! I was on vacation in Baltimore with my family, and we were trying to find a place that would be cool for my twentysomething sister and me and our fiftysomething parents. Howl at the Moon actually did the trick. The dueling pianos was the appeal to me. I'm a sucker for that stuff, and they were playing lots of '80s tunes so my mom was into it too. There was a bachelorette party going on (sidenote: Great place for that!) and lots of girls dancing on stage. Mix drinks were weak; however the Jell-o shots in syringe-shaped containers were very cool.
My dad, not a drinker, wasn't really feelin' it, so I requested some Jackson Browne. The pianists obliged. "This one goes out to DAD because his daughters dragged him out here." Before I knew it, my dad was called on stage to dance with the bachelorette. After a few minutes of dancing, they were instructed to spank each other. Thanks, Howl at the Moon, for allowing me to watch my dad get down on stage with a drunk bachelorette.. for the small cover fee of $10, this magic moment was mine.
I didn't know there's a Howl At The Moon in Baltimore! We live in DC and rarely go to Baltimore. My husband and I spent the weekend there and hung out at the Powerplant. It was FUN! I've never seen so many bachelorette parties in one place! It was fun watching people get fun of on stage :-). I'll definitely go back here again!
Hahahahahahaha. Dude. Okay so Power Plant Live is really dumb/contrived/overpriced and I don't ever go there, but some friends decided we should check this place out because of the trainwreck possibilities. We were not disappointed!
This was so cheesy and I'm okay with that. After the 5th or 6th bucket of sickly sweet weakly-mixed nectar we were all reeling around with neon green and blue tongues singing along to ridiculous renditions of stuff like Fiona Apple and the Gin Blossoms. It was pretty empty the whole time we were there (a Wednesday night, so no cover charge for the females among us) although people started filtering in later on, mostly of the 45-and-over variety.
I guess I'm not really an authority on businesses that cater to the crowd that I think Howl at the Moon is aiming for here (tourists and downtown professionals?) but this place is definitely worth a trip just so you can revel in the "Whaaaaaaaaat?"-ness of it and savor the memories forever. Be prepared to blow some cash though. I recommend going in a big group for maximum experience effectiveness and also the ability to split the bucket costs.
Oh also don't even try to scoot the tables together if you're there with a group because the staff will angrily yell at you. That part is really stupid. We scooted them anyway and got the eternal stinkeye.
OMG. It was a dueling piano bar, a sing along bar, and a bar. I very rarely go to straight bars. BUT, HOLY JESUS, I have never seen so many cowboys in my life. I had a really fun time, but dear lord, if they opened one of these in San Francisco, it would be AWESOME. Can you imagine a giant bar filled with drag queens singing and lesbians playing dueling pianos?
It would be great. I had a really really good time, and I got really really smashed. Good times...
I should probably preface this by saying that I don't usually frequent straight bars, so this was kind of a weird experience for me. Before I had enough to drink, I felt really awkward because I'm so used to gay bars. Once I had a few, though, I saw the appeal of the place.
Howl isn't just a bar, it's more like a nightly show. They have two pianos and a drum set up on the stage, and they play live music rather than recorded stuff. The piano players are actually pretty entertaining, they really do know just about every song (although the drummer had to help out for the 50 Cent song someone requested).
My major complaint about Howl is that it is way too expensive. They are looking for money everywhere. After 9pm, you have to pay $40 to get up onstage and dance around (they said "since it's after 10, now you have to pay" at 9:20pm), you have to pay $20 to change the "word of the day", you have to pay to get the piano players to play your request, you have to pay to support your favorite sports team...and the drinks are EXPENSIVE. It took over $200 for my friend and I to get really trashed out of our minds, and we didn't request any songs or pay for anything but drinks. (The $10 cover is reasonable though.)
I would probably go back there if I was up in Baltimore again looking for a bar to go to. It was pretty cool even if it was expensive.
I went here for a bachelorette party over the summer and had a blast with the girls. As others have mentioned, Howl at the Moon is not just a bar, it also provides musical entertainment. These two guys sit at separate pianos, and take requests (plus tips) for pretty much any song you can throw out at them. I have a lot of respect for performers who can improvise, as this is not a talent I possess.
When I went, it was almost a bidding war to get the guys to play what people wanted. They'd be playing one song, then someone else would give them more money so they'd stop in the middle of that one to play a new song.
This night was definitely memorable from "the bucket" alone. You can order this gargantuan bucket of who-even-knows-what kind of mixed drink. A bunch of us shared it but the bride-to-be and I drank most of it and our stomachs were not thankful for that...
I was here a couple of weeks ago for a friends 22nd birthday and it was a total blast! If your out to celebrate something this is as good a place as any.
Our group was definitely on the younger side of the crowd but the pianists made all feel welcome and had a great repertoire.
The drinks where definitely on the expensive side unless you were buying a bucket, but the bar tenders were willing to experiment mixing and even let us make the birthday girl do a blowjob shot on the bar lol.
It's definitely a fun time if your down around there but I would recommend having a couple drinks for cheap somewhere else and the catching a cab on over.
Fun place to go with a group. Bachelorette party, bday party, etc.
It appears that they attract a wide range of ages. They have happy hours and deals for parties. Over all it was a great group event. Go before they start charging a cover and get a good seat. Go on line and check out all the drink specials and special events.
I have been here three times total, once for a bachelorette party, and twice for Happy Hours that people had "won" (I think everyone who enters wins).
Pros: The live dueling pianos are entertaining, and appear to know every song ever written. The atmosphere there is definitely exciting, and the crowd gets into the songs. Much more interactive than your standard bar.
Cons: The piano players often drag drunk patrons up in front of the crowd to make them do stupid and embarrassing things, that can occasionally border on trashy and make you feel uncomfortable if you aren't into that sort of thing.
Major issue: Their mixed drinks are very weak. I usually feel a buzz from alcohol pretty quickly, and around 10 drinks in the first time there was when I finally started to feel something other than completely sober. I had the same experience on future visits, even when I pretty much consumed an entire "Bucket of Love" on my own. If you are a beer drinker, or just want to do shots you'll be fine.
This place is something else...
I probably wouldn't come here on just any Friday or Saturday night, but on a friend's expense account, it was a good time. In totally, between 4 of us, we spent close to $400 and were certainly feeling it in the morning. However, in general, the drinks are really weak and really overpriced.
This place definitely draws a particular crowd (see: bachelorette parties, cougars, bar crawlers) but just going for a night was pretty cool.
A major downfall though is that they nickel and dime you for EVERYTHING! A $10 cover charge, $20 to change the word of the day, $20 to request a song, a couple bucks for the bathroom attendant, it really adds up! But the pianists are great and they play just about anything you throw at them, from the typical Journey song to more obscure Jethro Tull songs, they seem to do it all.
Care to sitback and enjoy a 86 ounce bucket of booze with your friends, while 2 guys take turns playing 80's covers on baby grands. If this sounds like fun you should check this place out. When I was first there it seemed extremely cheezy to me. I had imagined a bluesy/jazzy situation where guys duel and try and outplay each other. After all they do advertise as being a dueling piano bar. They didn't really duel, they were just covering hits and being extremely corny. I think the whole point is that you get really drunk and the show gets more ridicioulous as the night goes on, that which it did. It wasn't quite what I expected, but I did have a very good time, with a little help from a 86 ounce bucket of booze.
I'm originally from Northern California and although I've heard of dueling piano bars in San Francisco, I've never been. SO...I was ecstatic to get to experience this in Baltimore.
I went with a group of my colleagues from my grad program. It was UBER fun watching the guys from school sing and dance to YMCA. I had a fantastical time doing the can-can with the ladies from my MBA program as the pianist quickly learned how to play Miss Independent by Ne-Yo. Some of the songs the pianists played include, Whatever You Like by T.I., Thriller by Michael Jackson, Wonderwall by Oasis, I'm Yours by J. Mraz, and Country Roads by John Denver. The pianos will play songs at $2 to start, but don't be surprised if they skip playing the song you requested because another person paid $20, because that happens...
Howl At The Moon also has a great selection of beers, mixed drinks, including drink specials, and a full bar. I loved every second of singing and dancing along with everyone. Apparently, there are 14 locations nationally. The drink specials for the Baltimore locations can be found here: http://www.howlatthemo...
I'm always a fan of live music, but I can't quite decide how I feel about this place. It was sort of fun but sort of lame at the same time. Expect a mixed crowd of late-thirties to middleageish people along with a handful of multiple bachelorette parties. I went for a 21st birthday party and was afraid of feeling old relative to the crew I was with, but ended up feeling reeeeally young relative to the rest of the people there.
Music is fun and runs primarily on audience requests, but it will cost you about $20-40 to get your song played. Definitely a different kind of scene than the other Power Plant bars. There is little dancing but plenty of singing along. Hands down, best moment of the night was when the two piano players hilariously broke out into two of the "http://FreeCreditRepor..." jingles. Not sure if this one was on request or not.
They do "bucket" drink deals two ways - first is $17 for a bucket of 5 domestic bottles, fairly decent. The other is the bucket o'booze, which you order from a list with a myriad of cocktail options featuring rail liquor, for $27. Nothing like drinking a Long Island from a sand pail using 4 straws.
I'm quite shocked that no one has reviewed this bar yet.
Howl At The Moon is possibly the best bar you can go to if you're looking for entertainment. Two piano players sit across from each other and will play - sometimes in tandem - any song you request (provided you throw a bit of green at them). Where else would you hear Bon Jovi, Fraggle Rock, Billy Joel, and Rocky Horror Picture Show (complete with all the bartenders joining in a dance on top of the bar)?
The music is awesome, especially if you love 80s and rock. Drinks are a bit pricey - $4ish for a beer and $7ish for a mixed drink. But it was worth the $8 cover just to go and listen to the music all night.
OK I have to preface this review by saying that this bar can be really fun if you go with the right people. If you go with a bunch of friends that all like to sing to 80's songs and don't mind looking foolish, you will have fun.
On the other hand, I have been to other piano bars (Minneapolis, Boulder, etc.) and this don't not live up to those standards. The voices of the piano players aren't that great and the overall entertainment value isn't as high. You have to pay A LOT of money to get your song played which is kind of a waste. You could wait around all night just to hear it played and you still put down money even if they don't play it. Also, the cover is a lot and drinks are expensive.
However, I would reccommend splitting a giant bucket with your friends. It is by far the best deal and who doesn't like drinking though giant straws from a plastic bucket?
So to sum up: expensive, sometimes can be boring with the wrong crowd, go with fun friends.
I went here years ago but it was a blast back then and still seems to be judging from the sole other review on Yelp. It's like live karaoke where you're backed by the awesome piano players who seem to know just about any song you could possibly request. Unlike karaoke, there aren't any lyrics but the energetic crowd is likely to help you out. Unless you request "Ice Ice Baby" like my drunk friend, in which case, everyone will just laugh at you.
I begged my girlfriends to burn the evidence that I had once drank a whole bucket of the special well drink concoction, but they wouldn't do it. I spent one incredibly odd, "girl's night out" with two strangers and a friend post break up with a complete arse of an ex. Some funny memories: meeting a crazy guy from VT (YES, D...I'm talkin' about YOU!) and making the famous Hokie call in front of he and his fellow VT alum, drinking shots of...uhmm...what was I drinking? I can't remember now...The night was a complete blur.
