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Chicago (Purple Express, Brown)
Grand (Red)
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Well, I'll first say the atmosphere is pretty nice. There's a lot of potential here.
However, it all goes downhill from there. All the drinks I had sucked first of all. Might as well just given me straight shit vodka shots instead of an actual drink. Maybe management should replace its bartenders with ones who know how to make drinks.
Now we're passed the trivial shit, we can get onto the real criticism. Okay, here goes: Every single person working for this establishment is on a major power trip and thinks they're actually important to society. Just don't tell them it ends on Saturday nights (aka early Sunday mornings) and doesn't continue into the "business week."
Management: Maybe you should let your workers know they work for a fucking night club, and anyone who works out can do their job and they are 100% disposable. Standing and telling people to "step up" takes no skill. It takes you looking "buff" while stating your bench press numbers which nobody really gives a shit about.
My favorite was perhaps the guy trying to tell taxis not to do certain things on a public road the *government* owns; not a road the night club owns.. If I was a taxi driver, I'd tell that guy to fuck off as nobody but the government owns the road, not the night club. If I was pissed off enough, I'd probably raise something in civil law court as I can and make the club lose money.
Now we're passed that, we're still unfortunately on power trips and low IQ workers. People working at the club: Just because you wear a suit on Friday and Saturday nights for three hours a night does not mean you're important. Go back to your apartments in the suburbs you share with five other people because you can't afford to live by yourself where you have to commute 30 minutes a day to get to work and get paid shit to act important. Go to college maybe? That might work.
I think I would enjoy this club if (a) the workers weren't so fucking doltish and (b) the bartenders were any good. I hope management is reading this and not some stupid frat boy who graduated with a 2.0 who thinks he's always right and I know nothing without knowing my credentials.
If you're looking for a classic lesson in psychology (I'm looking at you psychology professors at universities), I would HIGHLY recommend this club. If you are not a psychology professor and looking for a good time while minding your own business, don't go to this club.
So like, OMG. I was totally in the mood to hang with my BFFs Tiffany and Jennifer and chair dance so we went to Sound-Bar! We wore our sexiest outfits from Akira and bout about a dozen overpriced drinks we were barely sporting a buzz but shook our booty to the rocking sounds of Night at the Roxbury soundtrack.
We met lots of white boys with t-shirts embroidered with eagles and skulls and who called each other bro.
The topper was the homophobic frat boy who threatened to beat up my gay friend and his boyfriend.
Yeah....thumbs down.
Based on what I heard from friends, I should have known when I ventured to this club after a long night of drinking, that my experience would be just that..........and experience. Sound-Bar, dare I say, is just the same as most of the other clubs in Chicago aka a breeding ground for perves and trashy girls looking to hook up with those perves.
Why, you may ask, was I there. I admit it, I'm a trashy skanky dirty girl......... in a land called every mans fantasy. Actually, someone took me there after a drinking marathon, with shall we say, not the best intentions. Anyway, it was a mistake to go and, I'll admit, no fun while I was there. Overall, just not my type of scene. I do have to admit, one of the female bartenders was amazingly nice to me, which is why this place gets 2 stars instead of 1.
Sound Bar, where do I start? Maybe by stating the obvious ... a downtown Chicago nightclub with low IQ, unskilled, zero-class employees, a clientele of trashy women and perverted men and dubious business practices that makes it appear sought-after among Chicago's nightlife hotspots.
Your 'experience' begins when you arrive at the scene ... where you find long lines that are no more an illusion than reality, as anyone who steps out for a smoke or to receive a friend is re-cycled back into the line and asked to wait to get back in. Inside, you find a drab minimalist interior, loud trance music, perverts scattered everywhere and over-priced drinks that are equivalent to drinking straight out of the bottle.
We (my wife and I) arrived there to meet friends who had already made their way in (having paid their pricey $20/person cover) and stepped out to receive us while we circled the block to park. We were received by the 'employees' at the gate - guys on steroids for 5 days/week, with no qualifications or stature, high-school dropouts who probably share their low-rent huts with 5 other animals of their kind - reminding us that they 'worked there' (duh! who else would hire you?) and we couldn't meet our friends inside as 'we didn't make enough money'! Having insisted that they were now 'pissed off' with us trying to voluntarily donate to their establishment generous amounts of our money (overpriced covers and drinks) for not a single good reason - we were no longer welcome inside, and we should apologize for our imaginary indiscretions. Apologize?!? To these low-lying, worthless scumbags?!
Needless to mention, our Sound Bar experience ended right there - with us walking away - and the best part of the fascinating experience being watching these incredibly stupid morons trying to prove to themselves (and no one else) that - despite their tiny brains, dysfunctional nervous systems and malformed bulky bodies - they are actually worth the space they consume in civilized society. If only they realized that the job they do, requires no skill what so ever and any idiot could ask people to stand in line.
Honestly, we're not sure why we ever intended going to Sound Bar - given my one prior and very similar experience there and its trashy reputation (as you can see all the reviews below). Chicago's night scene boasts of many truly classy and reputable establishments and some terrible ones (of which Sound Bar is probably the worst). We were meeting friends after a long time and we had somehow found our way to Sound Bar! And that was purely our fault - which we realized within 5 mins of arriving there.
I don't know their management, but from what I see, there's probably no point in offering them any feedback as they appear to be willfully conducting their business this way and hiring these fools. All we can suggest to folks that are part of Chicago's nightlife - avoid this place like the plague, if you'd like to be respected and treated in a dignified way. There are much better places than Sound Bar in Chicago.
I've only been there once, on a Thursday. They only had the main floor open, so I can't comment on the upstairs room. The dance floor on the first floor is a bit odd since it is in the middle of the room, with a bar at either side. It is awkward because of the shape of the dance floor. It is right below the DJ (he is behind a glass window), and it is sort of squished between the two lounge-type areas that each belong to their respective side of the room, each side with its own bar.
However as the drinks are taken and the night rolls on, more people flood the middle of the room and dance, so as to make it less awkward, and after a while you just forget about it and dance. What is more awkward to me is the area by the bathrooms. If the dance floor gets filled in the front, it starts spilling out to the back to where the bathrooms are, into a larger rectangular room, which is intended for dancing (because there's a go-go dancer stationed there), but the shape is awkward is in spacing.
All in all, they had 5 dollar drinks, I paid no cover, danced, and had a good time. Can't say it wasn't worth it to visit at least once, and yes I would probably go again to check it out another night.
I did street parking.
I came here for a bachelorette party on a Saturday night. Club opens at 10, if you get here early you will wait in line. You have to wait in 2 lines, one out front and one in the side alley full of potholes (watch your heels girls!) and water. They probably hose it down each night because of the sloppy drunks. I love dance music and I like to dance. This place is cool because it has a couple of floors that play dance/techno and the other floor plays hip hop/pop.
I got free cover and 4 drink tickets for nothing! So at least I didn't have to pay much for my watered down vodka drinks. I did tip the bartenders... they are busting their butts pouring drinks for thirsty people.
Things I didn't like about this club:
- It needs to be updated. Especially downstairs, the red bar with vinyl. It just looks used and abused.
- The people that go here. Bunch of suburban hipsters and tourists alike acting a fool. I would never step foot in this bar if it wasn't for my friends party. There were people spilling drinks all night long, that got slightly annoying.
The only good thing about Sound Bar are the staff. The bouncers were cool and the bartenders were nice. Other than that, skip it!
Looks like this place has gone to the dogs. Back in the day, only a several years ago, this place had heaps of scantilly clad amazingly beautiful women piling out of it. 2 floors, se veral different areas, contemporary seating. Then again back in the day we used to get in for free because we "knew people. I suppose if I had to wait in line or pay to get in I would be Peeved
If only the crowd was better. Oh Well.
I've been to this place about 4 times. Everytime I go here it turns out to be an infested sausage fest with a few ugly girls. Tool bag ''promoters'' that live at home with their parents and can barley afford the pound of hair gel they put in their hair every night as they hand out their business cards. The only girls worth looking at are the slutty ones they hire to dance. Even they are cracked out on coke.
The only reason why I go is because my friends like it. But even they are starting to think it's lame.
Not worth my time. Won't be back.
Had it not been for an invite to attend a birthday party of a friend of a friend in the VIP section, I would have never stepped foot in this club. I certainly would never stand in line to get in here so it's a good thing we got in right away. We had a pretty good view of the whole club from the VIP section but service was non-existent, which sucks considering the birthday boy had paid like $500 for bottle service--you'd think you could get someone to pour us a drink for $500? The music was ok and there were go-go girls dancing on platforms, which was amusing for a mere 5 minutes before I was absolutely disgusted by the trashy, skanky girls on the dance floor. This place is douche bag city and whore central! Between Sound Bar and its sister club Crescendo, I don't know which one is worse. Please see my review for Crescendo.
Honestly, I love SoundBar. I went on a Friday night, and it was a mixed crowd. SoundBar's over it's crazy heyday, so the Friday night crowd are probably the people who otherwise could've never gotten in on a regular Saturday night. Then again in this recession, sometimes corners need to be cut.
The downstairs was all ghetto. The music, the crowd, and I didn't like it at all. The staff was crazy too! He wouldn't let me stand by a door, sit on the edge of a couch, or probably not even look at him. Rude, but they're doing their jobs. Once they opened up the upstairs space, that's when it got better. The sound system is AMAZING. Crazy bass and such clarity, SoundBar definitely holds it's fame for its system. Great house music, I had so much fun dancing.
Overall, I like it. Haven't gone on a Saturday yet but I bet it's even better than a Friday. Yeah there's drunks, guys with too much hair gel, and girls who's skin looks more orange than my Screwdriver, but hey, so does every other club in the city! If you love good dance music, SoundBar is the place.
Sound-Bar is like that one friend that you put up with because she's amusing in her own harmless way, but not particularly interesting enough to really want to hang with.
Pros: very large space, two levels + two types of music (house and hip hop). I've never had to pay cover, so there are ways to get around it (you can usually use a password or something). Lots of bouncers, which I think is a plus because some people get nasty drunk and belligerent, and the bouncers are always on top of it. Plus I have always found that the bouncers try to be cool to you. Decent music for dancing.
Cons: This place is a freaking zoo after midnight on Saturdays-- and this is outside. Is the club scene so dead that people are lining up to get into this place? And speaking of people, lots of ghetto people. I'm not talking about a particular race, but how people carry themselves. You're going to find sexy dress at any club, but some of these ladies (I use that term loosely) wore outfits that would make hookers blush. And don't get me started on the stupid Ed Hardy t-shirts.
The last time I was here, I had a great time because I was with a fun group of people. The air conditioning here is horrible-- everyone was sweating. As we were winding down on the couches, I looked over and saw a girl with cooter shorts giving a guy an enthusiastic lap dance. He was texting. Classy.
I have been to MANY bars and clubs both in and around Chicago and I have to say I love Soundbar.
Great modern club with a great crowd. Great Music and a beautiful place to dance.
You will not find any of the snooty crowds here...and it's nice and comfy.
The prices are reasonable...jump on their guest list and you're in for free before midnight. Drinks are good - just tip well and your bartend will take care of you.
Bouncers are not horrible and will actually let you in - unlike many other clubs.
Great place to dance with the girls and have a night out for fun. However, it is a starter place...so plan on spending a few hours and moving on to the next bar.
My only complaint is the Taxi's out front...if you're a tourist looking for a cab...don't do it in front of this place. I've seen way too many people screwed over because their cabby kicked them out and kept their money - and people wonder why cabbies are beat?!
Otherwise, a great time...I've been a resident of Chicago all my life and will return here again.
Hot and Crowded and Douchey. No Thanks.
Thank goodness when I went it was for a birthday party and I didn't have to pay cover. I may have voted this higher had I made it out to the BT show that was here. I'd imagine with that much talent it wouldn't matter what the venue was.
I can't deny that this place is a good place to try at least once. That is worth at least one star. I have to say that I have never had fun at this place. This is hard for me to say because I generally have a good time anywhere I go.
One other thing I really enjoy about Soundbar is that they play both hip-hop/pop40's and house/trance/electro/etc. This is worth another star because I hang out with groups of friends who specifically listen to only one or the other. Soundbar is one of few places where I can please the musical palates of more than one group of friends in a single night.
Why does it get no more stars than 2? Too many reasons but I'll start.
#1 The crowd is weird. Because they play more than one type of music, you get an odd mix of people. You get button-down shirt guys in the same room as guys wearing Affliction shirts - which is still not as contrasting as when you go downstairs to where they play hip-hop and find guys wearing polos?
#2 Girls bathroom is small and everytime I go in there - I feel like I'm going to the bathroom at a high school dance (the one on the first floor). Something about it feels really grade-school. Yes, there's an attendant but there's definitely not enough stalls. I can't further explain why it feels that way - but I'm sure if you go, you will know what I'm talking about.
#3 Girl at the door. I really dislike when clubs use girls to manage the lists. I'm sure it's refreshing for guys - but really, it's not like you boys get in any easier (the way girls get in easier if they just work it a bit). The same girl at the door - EVERY TIME I GO THERE (I only go there because I go to the club across the street and get dragged over there "just for a second!" by people in my party) - is on a major power trip.
I really would be understanding of a lot of things but a specific incident related to #3 in my list above really bothered me. I also have worked in the industry and I understand that people have a job to do - and I also understand what kind of attitude you need in order to successfully complete your job. I get it. So because I get it, I'm not exactly forgiving of people who go above and beyond acceptable "d-bag" behavior.
What happened was this: We decided to stop over around 2am - we went over when there was no line whatsoever. The girl says she'll get us through after one of us finishes his cigarette since there's no line anyway - we agree to it and decide that works for us. 3 people decide to have a cigarette with him since we can't all go in anyway. After the 4 friends took a minute to have/finish their cigarettes, we walked back over to her and she says... "get in line". WHAT??? That makes zero sense. You told us to go finish it and then you'd let us in - and during that minute, 9 guys show up and you tell us to stand in line behind them? Had we known that would happen, the ONE friend would've just tossed his cigarette when we first got there. I thought this girl was completely off her rocker because from a business perspective, that's just bad business. We were already stamped for the club across the street (Spy) - why wouldn't you want us to get in and start spending money in your club? Had we enjoyed it - we probably would've stayed and wasted all our money there. Instead, you and your power-trip and ill-communication sent us right back across the street.
Two things: 1) They have a velvet rope and carpet for their VIP room. It's a bit much in my opinion. A bouncer at the door would probably suffice. AND 2) the downstairs is seriously hot. Like college-frat-party hot. Not hot hot.
I've been ther couple times, I never like it.
Music is bad, and the dancing floor is small, drinks bad and the floor is always dirty. Well, two stars
It's been 30 minutes that I've had to put up with butt-grabbing from drunk guys, tipsy girls bumping into me and spilling their drinks, people practically making whoopee right in front of me (and not the people you want to see making whoopee), mugginess that envelops your entire body....
Please get me out of here!
No, I didn't have to pay. No, I did not like the different dance floors (one being way more scarier than other). No, I will not be back...
So it's a Friday night and if you're looking for the following...long lines, crowds, loud music and drunk people...then Soundbar is the place for you!
Sure, it's not the nicest club out there and if you get there late, forget about street parking and expect to wait in line for quite a while. But hey, if you get free cover because you know the promoters of One Nightlife, then why not?
I've been to Soundbar plenty of Friday nights for birthday parties or just for a fun night on the town and have had a good time for the most part. It might take a while to get drinks downstairs since the three bars are always packed and you might have a couple drinks spilled on you from the stumbling patrons, but just head out to the dance floor and forget your worries!
Top floor is house music, lower floor is hip hop. Coat check can be a hassle too in the winter. The one downfall of Soundbar is that I've seen my fair share of skirmishes when the night drags on. My friends and I were waiting in line and suddenly, one of the guys gets smashed in the face with a wine bottle and we had to spend the rest of the night in the hospital so he could get stitches. So unfortunately, my rating will be knocked down to 3 stars. I'd give it two if I wasn't a frequent patron and have had many good times at Soundbar!
I haven't been here in a year, but when I went last it was a good time.
SoundBar divvies up its music tastes to a few floors, which I find to be organizationally better than most clubs (i.e. you can't hear bass thumping from the techno room when you're gettin' your hip-hop on, and vice versa). During my last visit, it was a special '80s night so the main floor had some sweet tunes from that decade and played movies like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" on the big screen.
Also, at that time a group of my friends and I had just snuck in on some birthday girl's password and got free drinks for an hour in the process. If you're a cheapie like me, I'd suggest doing that to avoid an unknown cover (from my understanding, sometimes it's $20, sometimes it's less if you RSVP online). Oh, and the ATM charges like $5, but you probably already knew that ...
I plan to visit here again so look for a review update soon.
Line bar.
Lines to get in, lines to the bathroom, lines to VIP after you've purchased bottle service.
Bleh.
I wish I could give this place negative stars...
My boyfriend decided to have a party at Sound Bar so he reserved a table and had bottle service. We get there and they told him that he had to buy more bottles of liquor than what was originally agreed upon and he had to pay for the mixers (red bull, pineapple--that is usually included when you get bottle service). Then, the bouncers were hassling people about what they were wearing (everyone was dressed to out at a club) and some people in our group were told they had to wait in line, even though the place was empty on a Saturday night. I don't know who is running that place, but if someone is willing to reserve a table and buy several bottles, you would think that they would at least make sure everyone in that party gets through the door and is not told to stand in line. Everyone who was there could not believe how rude everyone was. This place is all about the hype and does not deliver. It was popular a few years ago and I cant believe how much it has gone downhill since then. I will never go back.
Do not go here! The last time I was here was for halloween a couple years ago and have never been back since. Me and 6 of my girlfriends had a table and couple bottles reserved which worked out fine, but the crowd is ridiculous! And for it being halloween and everyone dressed as something other than themselves and still knowing the crowd was horrible really says a lot. I seriosuly don't think we could have gotten out of there fast enough. We were giving shots away to people that were passing by to finish up our Effin bottles faster...lol! We almost made a clean get away but then it happened......
If you have ever been seated down stairs you know that the tables are all really low to the ground on the booths that line the walls. Well we were finishing our last drinks from our bottles when some insanely drunk girl dancing like a retard literally fell on top of our table and flipped it all over my 3 of my friends. I swear it was like slow motion b/c I somehow managed to jump over my friend Lisa as it was all happening who ended up getting soaked. Needless to say it was a nightmare! Never again!
Went here on a Friday night--cover charge was $20 each!! ! -that could've been 2 drinks of grey goose!!
Top floor was more like techno music and downstairs was more hip-hop. As soon as we got there - there were 3 girls just dancing .. slutty and being stupid. I guess that's how it is when you're 21?? lol oh man I had fun watching them acting dumb though.
Not sure how much each drink costs but the bartender (stacy I think her name was) was really cool.
Overall I thought the club was cool- it wasn't that busy that night so it wasn't jam packed. "It is the people who you are with that makes your night fun".
Oh. Hold up. filthy harlots? Yessssss. total tools? Yesssssssssssssssss!! Euro trash? Yessssssssssssssssssssss!! A dash of sleaze? Yesssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!! Assortment of Asians? present! Methinks you have to be in the mood to tolerate the place such as being in the mood to perhaps whoring it up a notch with your wardrobe, makeup and hair. Asswipe-ish attitude. Yeah, like that. Bring those traits along and you'll be just fine. I mean I guess you can be your normal self but you'll probably end up sulking and rolling your eyes the whole time if you know what I mean.
Decent music. Decent dancing can be accomplished. I was lucky enough to not encounter waiting in a line. I was looking for an alternative to just hangin at some regular bar on a weekend and this place was a pretty okay plan B. But...I'd still rather go to Smart bar.
Cool place, but filled with a bunch of creeps. Usually draws a pretty good crowd each weekend. $20 cover charge without fail, however, if you look for some of their promotions guys before you get in line they can get you in for free--just make sure you have a VERY good girl/guy ratio.
If you get bottle service there's a cool "upstairs" location by the DJ booth that overlooks the dance floor. Been up there a few times and it's fun with friends.
As you can probably tell from this review, I'm not too excited about this place, but if you get dragged here by some friends you can still have a fun time. Just wouldn't recommend you be the person that take your friends here. There are many better clubs in the city.
The drinks are expensive and the security guards are rude. If you must go, grab a password for free cover and come before the midnight rush.
How did I end up at Sound-Bar on a Friday night?
Reason #1: Celebrating E's Birthday.
Reason #2: Had to help G meet some women.
Reason #3: I'm still too young to be going to bed at 11pm on Friday.
Sound-Bar caters to a mixed bag of clubbers. There are two levels: one with typical club music; the other with remixed hip hop tunes. The entourage consisted of 2 Asian and 3 Black dudes. So we spent our time downstairs in the lounge that was spinning hip hop.
We started by doing shots and somehow ended up ordering bottle service. Music was good. Server was insanely cute. Big E, aka the birthday boy, was getting his groove on the dance floor with a girl he fancied. G met some women. M and L were working the room. And I still get requests for a phone number. Not a bad evening for the entourage.
Quick Stats:
$20 cover (ouch!)
$3 mandatory coat check + $1 tip
$195 Ketel One Bottle service
$40 tip per bottle
Fun with the boys and one smokin' hot bottle service waitress...priceless.
The few times I've been here, I've had a good time. If you sign up for their email list, they'll email you almost weekly with deals and events. Sometimes they'll give you a free party for you and all of your friends with open bar and free cover if you're the first 20 people to reply back to the email. I've won 2 or 3 of these parties, who can say no to free cover and open bar? It used to be really crowded, but lately both floors have been pretty empty.
I'm here more often than I'd like to be, mostly because my friends like to "dance"/bump and grind and u can't do that on the gold coast clubs (or you can, but you'd be the only one).
I swear, this is the most ethnically segregrated club I've ever been to. Techno/dance music on the top = white people. R+B, Rap, occasional bachata on the bottom = "ethnics" - asians, blacks, latinos.
This club has a bitch dress code but the opposite of a gold coast clientele. So you'll meet a lot of really well dressed people humping each other on the dance floor while nursing their miller lite.
They say variety is the spice of life and it is thanks to this spice (and the birthdays of coworkers) that I occasionally find myself at places I otherwise wouldn't think to set a foot in. Cue my night at Sound-Bar.
During the few times I've watched *ahem* Sex & the City, it seems ol' Sarah Parker and the gang always find themselves at these impossibly glittering and overtly glamorous (and thus generally tacky) nightclubs. Filled with an abundance of smoke, lights, mirrors and unconventionally shaped and oddly patterned couches, they imbibe expensive drinks amongst people with shoes worth more than what I spend on food for the month. Take a look at my photos. I'm not really a dude who is the type to roll with SJP and crew. Cue a potentially awkward night.
Perhaps I'll just never be able to wrap my mind around the concept of paying a $20 cover to get into a place with $10 drinks so you can stand in a crowded room and listen to blaring shitty house music, but I don't understand this scene at all. Luckily for me, I was on a birthday guest list. While I still had to stand in line for 20 minutes, I got in for free and was greeted with a handful of drink tickets. Cue my beeline to the nearest bar.
While service was slow, as there's only one bartender per station pouring for a teaming mass of social rejects, the bartender didn't seem to mind me and the misses hovering around the bar - clearly on a mission to burn through the drink tickets so we could get the hell out of there. The drinks were surprisingly strong, though since I was drinking for free I was tipping pretty well so that could certainly explain that. Still, it was appreciated that there was a mutual understanding between the bartender and I. "You get me pie-eyed and out of here as quickly as possible, I'll tip better than the rest of these assholes."
And that's how the next hour was spent. Me trying to make small talk with coworkers by screaming over the lame house music while tossing tickets over the counter like a kid at Chuck E Cheese. I left tastefully stewed, glad to wish my coworker a happy birthday and begrudgingly pleased that I was able to check "Go to Awful Nightclub" off my list of things to do once every 18 months or so.
Cue a cab ride to Logan Square to regal friends with a tale of my night spent on the other side. A cab ride which I didn't fail notice was both quicker and less expensive than the time and money spent by most just to pass through the doors of that dreadful place that for me was but a glittering memory.
This is a good place to go if... you have a handful of drink tickets and a high tolerance for bullshit.
I love going here with big groups of my friends. This isnt a place I would go with only a couple people its not quite as fun then since most of the people here are more over on the tool/douche looking side. I recommend going early when the line isnt around the building. As usual since its a club its a bit hard to get into. I dont see why everyone complains so much about this....thats how clubs work EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD. If you arent VIP and dont have a million hot girls with you....you get to wait.
Aside from that I love it here.... They have the crappy rap/top40 stuff downstairs to please that crowd. and then upstairs they always have great DJs there. I saw Darude live here and it was amazing. There's a reason they call it SOUND Bar....for a smallish club their sound system is amazing.
I would like to say SoundBar is a pretty cool place. I been there 3-4 times. 3Deep was throwing the events on Thursdays ( I Think?) and i had a great time... ( I think?) I was pretty drunk. They have a bar in every corner, which is kinda cool.
The club is kinda spacious, but the dance floor is pretty small. ( but i don't dance anyway) It has two levels. The second floor as i recall is more high end... So they dint usually open the upstairs unless its a higher profile party with VIP.
Obviously there's a downside to the club, The entrance is dark and dank, it looks like a scene from Batman! The security act like bi!che$, they rarely enforce their dresscode unless they feel like it. Which is unfair to whoever gets single out for being like everybody else. They tried to single me out for my gym shoes... (which were fashionable and anything short of spectacular) until i sicked the goon squad on him! Being as socially connected i was am, i was able stroll in the club regardless of security's opinion, and I didn't pay to get in either. (What can I say I'm blessed.)
Then I walked thru the dank wet tunnel only to find this huge club where EVERYONE was wearing gym shoes. Now is everybody friends with the goons or was the bouncer picking on me? So I celebrated my small victory with Moet Rose' and double shots of Remy. Needless to say I went home broke and without any girls... : (
If you know me, then you know that I very RARELY venture outside of boystown for a night out on the town (sorry heteros, but I love the gays), but every now and then I go to a straight bar. I do this for one reason: to keep my hags happy. So when one of them has a birthday, I concede a fierce night of boys, for a funny night among the heteros. So its saying something that I actually enjoy sound-bar and have returned a couple of times. Admittedly, I have a very different take on this place since I don't come here expecting anything, or expecting to see any gay people (although let me tell you, some of those boys are not straight, honey). But I digress.
The whole concept of "exclusivity" is rather dumb to me because its not something you see in a gay club in Chicago. And in almost every straight club I've gone to (very few, I know) there is this obsession with the velvet rope. Sorry, but the 'hot' girl working the entrance 1) isn't hot 2) needs a fashion makeover 3) looks like she can read at a 5th grade level. Same for the dancers, the bartenders, and well, you get the point.
Man, this is sounding kinda harsh. Let me get to the good stuff: I like sound-bar because of the music they play here. There are two floors, each one playing a different type of music. The first floor is more a dance/techno feel to it, while the bottom floor is more hip-hop, what I call "frat party" music. If you don't like what's playing on one floor, then you'll probably find something for you on the other. There is a lot of room to dance, and for the most part, its a great club scene. I didn't notice too much of an "asian" feel at this place, but I wasn't looking at any of the girls. In fact, I was nearly blinded by the go-go dancer who was shaking her ass in my line of sight. I can say that I think the guys here are pretty good-looking, and they are certainly better than some other places (namely, Ontourage).
So what's the bottom line: Sound-bar is good for people like me, who do the straight club scene once in a blue moon. 5 stars for dancing and minus 2 stars for everything else. Total 3 stars.
So I went to Soundbar after it started to introduce Dance Factory nights on Saturday nights, and what a difference a radio station can make. This club used to be great until they started playing some weird electro music that I have never heard of, and I'm pretty good on staying on top of the latest in euro, dance, and trance music. You could tell the place was losing crowds, and the atmosphere that made it special just wasn't there anymore. But thanks to Dance Factory, this place is back on the rise.
The club usually has a moderate cover charge ($10-$20) and FREE COVER on Dance Factory Saturday nights (need to know password, google up soundbar and dance factory... or get on a list via email). The cover charge overall is typical for a nightclub in Chicago and in any major city in the world (it's the same in New York, LA, Miami, Las Vegas, London, Amsterdam...). Clubs are basically private venues, and they have the right to let in or refuse anyone they want. It's private property, so being let in into a nightclub is not a right, but a privileage. It took me a long time to finally understand this, and it makes sense. So people, please stop complaining about cover charges and why you have to wait in line while certain people are let in... "clubs" are "private venues"! The same with country clubs and other fancy "clubs"... they charge and invite whoever they want.
Going back to the club, the layout is very nice with excellent lighting that displays vibrant colors for each bar. There are two levels, with upbeat dance music (euro/house/trance on main level and hip-hop/pop in bottom level) The music is loud but not blaring so you won't be deaf leaving the club. Clubs are meant to play really loud music in order to get everyone to dance, drink, then dance and drink some more.
The music selection is fabulous on both levels, but Saturday nights are the best when Dance Factory Radio hosts the nights on the main level and have their DJs (DJ Markski, Bobby D, Erik K, Too Kool Chris, Danny V, and DJ Caffeine) mix live. They play fresh upbeat dance hits from Europe, and yes it's actually really fun dance music to dance to! Thanks to them, club-goers are returning to this club and pack up the place quite well on the weekends.
I don't go to the bottom floor as much, but they play a decent lineup of hip-hop and pop songs if you're into that stuff which is repeatedly overplayed on the radio each day.
As for drinks, they are reasonably overpriced unlike some of the crappier clubs in the city. Clubs will always serve overpriced drinks, that's how they make their money. But there's a difference between being reasonable overpriced and ridiculously overpriced. For this club's setting and location, and the type of DJs that perform, the prices for the drinks are reasonable and acceptable (beers are $5-6, and cocktails are $8-9).
If you don't like loud, upbeat dance music with lots of flashing lights and go-go dance girls, then stick to a bar and stay away from clubs. Bars are meant for drinking and chatting while clubs are meant for lots of dancing and drinking, and less talking. This is a fun dance club that is worth checking out, and I reommend it to anyone who wants to dance, drink, and have an overall good time!
I still regret this but I should have taken my camera. This place had a crowd at he door the first second we got in. Still, l had to pay to get in at $20.00 each. As soon as we got in their is techno on the upper level and hip hop on the lower level danced with over 7 different guys the whole night who I didn't even know. This place is full of men loved it (under 30). I went on Saturday night Dance factory night by 2 :00am this place was so packed people where up against each other.
Guys where taking pictures of me and my girl the entire night.It was fun!
This place will give Moda a run for it's money.We had such a good time we left a round 3am.
Gah.... this place is like Bar Chicago. Wait, except worse.
I went once for one of those $30 all-you-can-drink specials, which was the club's only redeeming quality. Since you have to get there insanely early (at 9 p.m., which is EARLY for this club) there's no one inside. We had our own room reserved so the entire party could hang out.
However, once the special ended and we wandered out in to the rest of the club, I noticed that I really wanted to poke my own eye out. It was possibly the most horrifying sight of my life: overdressed club rats and chads wearing their shiniest rave gear. There were updos, stilletos and spikey rave hair. It was horrible. Everyone was dancing to the worst possible music ever AND they were serious about it. Gag me with a spoon - blech.
This is one of those places that I absolutely hate in real life. There are lines outside on the street (why in the world would a person WAIT to go in here?) and it costs $20 in cover on the weekend. $20 COVER?!?!?!?! What the hell is this place?! It's a shitty club in Chicago, how is there a velvet rope and a ridiculous cover? Once inside, drinks are a minimum of $10 and have approxiimately .02 ounces of alcohol in them. Best bet: stick with beer, at least you know what you're getting.
Gah this place is scary. Just don't go. There's 1,000,000 better places in this city. Period.
Sound-Bar is a pretty well-designed club. Two levels for different types of music along with a modern decor. I usually end up on the bottom floor where they plan more hip-hop and dance music, but the dance floor is a little small and really close to the stairs whereas the lounge areas are larger but always crowded with people.
There are bars everywhere, so you have easy access to the next drink; and the bartenders are really nice. But if you don't know people, you might end up spending a good amount on cover, drinks, etc. like at most clubs in Chicago.
Only things to remember are that the entrance is in an alley and coat check is required. Other than that, it's generally a pretty cool place to party with good friends.
Very very strange place. I kinda like it....
Drinks are good. Like that there's a lot of space.
People are odd --- but to the degree that it's interesting.
Sound Bar is a little bit like La-la land.
DON'T CHECK YOUR COAT THERE (or dont go there in the first place...)
my bf accidently threw out his coat check number (which was a ghetto little piece of paper with a number written on it) and they are STILL giving us a hard time about getting his damn coat back (which has his keys to his house). Since we left there early that night last friday, i can understand that they couldnt go thru the hundreds of coats already there. totally understandable. but to ask me to pay you $5 before you can even begin to help me??---bunch of BS. They told us to come back around 2:30--which wasnt too bad since we were over at crescendo, but they still wouldnt help us then. It's been a week and here's what the douchbag who answered the phone can say:
"well, we have over 200 coats, and I'm not going to spend 25 minutes looking for a coat that fits your description"
when my bf said they he would go through they coats they basically blew him off and told him no way
WHAT THE HELL??? you people are f'n retarded.
i'll make this quick and pain(?)less.
in the words of Christian Siriano...
" HOT TRANNY MESS."
I walk into Soundbar and feel dirty. The air conditioning barely works in the summer, the floors are sticky, and various parts of the club smells pretty bad. There are two levels: upstairs is hardcore trance and downstairs is hip hop. Trance is not my scene whatsoever so I usually stick with downstairs but the DJ is horrible...it sounds like an ipod being played without any fun transition in between that would make me want to dance at all. There is absolutely no eye candy for both men and women and instead of me paying them a cover charge of $20, I'd rather them pay me $20 to spend the night at their club.
I celebrated my birthday at sound bar and the staff at the front door could not have been more rude. I had already reserved a table, but once I got to the door some guy with a clip board started demanding that I buy a min of 3 bottles, which were really overpriced compared to other clubs in Chicago that I have been to. I finally agreed to the sale when they started giving people in my party a hard time about how they were dressed and scolded them like they were little kids because they were not dressed up enough for their liking. Once we got through the door the people were a little nicer and accommodating, but nothing like you would expect for the money you were paying. I figured that they demanded the 3 bottle min because they were overcrowded, but for a Saturday night it was really dead. Highly overpriced too high maintenance, too rude and not fun environment for me I would NOT recommend this place to anyone. I almost forgot to mention that they let customers who were not getting a table wait in a long slow moving line so that if would appear to be crowded inside when in fact as I stated earlier it was not anywhere near crowded.
Wednesdays $3.50 Stella Drafts
Neighborhood: Bucktown
Half Priced Hump Day!
Neighborhood: The Loop
Neighborhood: Belmont Central
Category: Dance Clubs
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Category: Dance Clubs
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
Category: Dance Clubs
Dolton, IL
Category: Nightlife
Neighborhood: Near North Side
Category: Lounges
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