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The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, March 1, 2012
Eye Street Editor Jennifer Self | Phone 395-7434 | e-mail jself@bakersfield.com
Index Stefani Dias .............................................. 18 Scott Cox .................................................. 19 Arts Alive.................................................. 20 Lenten Organ Recital ................................ 21 The Lowdown with Matt Munoz.............. 22 Bakersfield Winds .................................... 23 CSUB Theater .......................................... 24 Calendar .............................................. 28-29
On the Town with Matt Munoz
A nightspot in the clouds SkyBar a happening place for singles
SKYBAR LOUNGE 4208 Rosedale Highway (next to Hooters) 633-1116, or facebook.com/ SkyBarCA Hours: 1 p.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week Happy hour: 1 to 6 p.m. daily, with drink specials. No kitchen on premises, but patrons are welcome to bring in small food items from nearby restaurants. What to wear: Casual to upscale What to drink: Domestic beers on tap and in bottle, extensive wine selection, and specialty mixed drinks to suit your tastes. Stay entertained: Karaoke every Wednesday, starting at 9 p.m. Live DJs on weekends.
W
hen I heard SkyBar Lounge had opened in Bakersfield, I immediately thought of Los Angeles. My frequent trips to West Hollywood’s House of Blues music club on Sunset Boulevard have taken me past the towering Mondrian Hotel, which houses a nightclub bearing the same name as Bakersfield’s new watering hole. That Skybar fills a top floor, offering sweeping views of Los Angeles and a pool for industry types and models to lounge by, and has been featured on reality TV shows like “The Hills.” No stranger to the digital pages of celeb tattler TMZ, the swanky bar seems to exemplify all the highs and, in some cases, excesses of Hollywood nightlife. So does that mean the SkyBar Lounge on Rosedale Highway can do the same for Bakersfield? Good question. Let me preface this by saying you have to have cajones — or something — to name your bar after a popular Hollywood nightclub. You’re just inviting comparisons, and considering the Bakersfield bar isn’t likely to be crawling with A-list celebrities, can that be a good thing? Let’s break it down. The first thing you’re going to notice about the bar is the flashy digital sign advertising the venue, located in a shopping center near Highway 99 on Rosedale Highway. It’s an odd place for a nightclub, nestled as it is among a nail salon, massage parlor, shipping store, barbecue joint and Hooters. But the location actually is one of its selling points. The bar is five minutes, tops, from downtown and far enough west to pull partygoers from neighborhoods in the southwest and northwest. SkyBar’s proximity to the freeway also ensures motorists won’t get snarled in the heavy
JOHN HARTE / SPECIAL TO THE CALIFORNIAN
A few drinks in, you might not be sure if the lights are changing colors at SkyBar, or whether it’s just you. It’s not. The lights change colors.
What we liked Centrally located, making it easy to bar hop from downtown or the northwest. Great seating. Comfy booths, low tables and ottomans make it a great place for a group outing. Affordable: no cover charge, domestic beers starting at $3. Full bar and large selection of wine.
What we didn’t
Bartender Tony Mathews offers a little conversation while he mixes drinks at SkyBar Lounge on a recent Friday evening.
Rosedale traffic. And the breadth of the area it draws from is fully represented in the diversity of the crowd. The first Friday night I stopped in, I caught groups of twenty-something party gals in tiny dresses and gigantic high heels, along with young men in full suits and ties. Groups of friends in their 30s to 40s sat around low tables and in booths wearing jeans, button-down shirts
and sweaters. Scattered throughout the crowd were pumped-up but unimposing guys fresh from the gym in T’s and flat-brimmed ball caps, while small pockets of well-dressed women with oversized designer bags stood around waiting for someone to buy them a drink. The crowd had members of every walk of life, age and ethnicity, but the majority of clubbers
The drinks are pretty reasonable, and there’s no cover at SkyBar Lounge.
range from late 20s to early 40s, offering a more mature climate than many bars I personally frequent. I’m a longtime downtown dive regular, so this was a bit of a culture shock for me as an observer and participant. Contributing to the sophisticaPlease see SKYBAR / 26
Not a “first date” venue. Go in groups to dance, socialize or to meet someone new. Try the daytime hours if you’re looking for quiet and casual conversation. Restroom attendance was lacking. My female companion pointed out that by 11 p.m. the stalls were devoid of toilet paper and seat liners, and the garbage can was overflowing. Changes are rumored to be on the horizon, including the addition of a VIP section and bottle service. That could mean changes to the clientele and atmosphere.