Best Club Night 2007 | Chit Chat | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Club Night

Chit Chat

It doesn't have a line down the block or a slate of superstar celebrity guest DJs. It's not the place to see or be seen. Nor is it filled with fickle hipsters who instantly think everything is so ten minutes ago. What Chit Chat is, is the city's best house party -- er, make that club night. Helmed by Jason Heller and Big Al, the dynamic duo who created the wildly popular and now-defunct Off the Wall series at the hi-dive, Chit Chat has a casual, unassuming vibe unlike any other night in town. Every Saturday, the DJs keep the Old Curtis St.'s dance floor jumping as they take turns behind the decks, spinning 45s (you know, those old-fashioned black plastic things with the holes in the middle?) from their personal collections, including the deepest classic soul cuts you've never heard. You think you know vintage soul? You don't know Chit.

Best Club Night for Hooking Up

Night of the Living Shred

Thursdays at Bender's is like a salmon migration. In a sea of dyed black locks and thick mascara, sweaty hormones bubble to the surface as twenty-somethings shamelessly grope each other on the dance floor. Every week, the two-room club is packed, with Balls Deep Karaoke hosted by Jermaine Smith on one side and Night of the Living Shred holding its own on the other. Shred, however, is where the rocker boys and the girls who like rocker boys come together under the sweet tunes of DJs Wesley Wayne and Parris. The two trade off spinning duties and create danceable playlists of old-school hip-hop, '80s hits and modern rock. But only half the crowd is paying attention; most of the young party-hoppers are here to drink up or hook up.

Best Comedy Night

Tuesday nights Squire Lounge

After three years in action, the Tuesday night open-mike night at the Squire Lounge continues to draw both legions and lesions. A veritable test lab for different types of humans -- from hipster to hep C, transient to tranny -- the Squire is the type of bar that welcomes all with open arms, provided you're not openly toting arms. Add to this mix a healthy crop of some of Denver's best comics ready and able to pounce on an unruly crowd, and the shows are always entertaining. Host and MC Greg Baumhauer guides this raucous comedy ship with a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue, and the booze is cheap and bountiful. With a handful of D-town's best jokesmiths bound for La La Land soon, there's never been a better time to hit up the Squire. Just try not to get hit up at the Squire.

Best New Funnyman

Ben Kronberg

Ben Kronberg is the shit. No, really. He calls himself the Poop Joke Ninja. At the Gong Show last fall, he rolled out on stage in full ninja-style costume and told, yep, poop jokes. He was gonged. But that's okay, because the experimental performer scored a spot at the invitation-only HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival held in Aspen last month. Now the man better known as the creator of the "McRap" video is getting wooed by agents and other big-timers. You'll remember us when, won't you, Ben?

Best Karaoke Night

Charlie's

Bring your competitive edge and those succulent lungs down to Charlie's on Mondays and Tuesdays to battle it out mano-a-limp-wrist with some of the town's fiercest amateur vocalists. The nightly sign-up sheet doesn't care about your sexual orientation -- but if you suck, then you'll be outing yourself in front of the entire beer-swilling community. Because at Charlie's, under the gleam of the cowboy-boot-shaped disco ball and in the eyes of the uber-sassy, karaoke isn't a choice; it's a way of life.

Best DIY DJ Night

Bring Your Own Records Party

Molly Martin
Everyone has a little disc jockey inside of them, and once a month (or so), Carioca Cafe -- better known to scene kids everywhere as Bar Bar -- hosts a coming-out party for all the wicky-wicky wannabes. The concept is simple: Bring your records, play your records. Be sure to arrive early because the sign-up sheet fills up quickly. The free-for-all makes for interesting mixes of everything from soul and hip-hop to grindcore and psychedelic folk. It's a commune of music that welcomes all genres, no matter how obscure or badly mainstream. Plus, showing off your record collection is totally addictive, because, really, who has better taste in music than you do?

Best Goth Night

Disintegration

Club Boca might not seem like much when you first walk in, but it's the ideal spot for a goth night. Then again, it could also work for an opium den or a high school makeout party. Dark, moody and decked out with plenty of couches, it's the type of place where engaging in heavy petting is almost a prerequisite. For those who'd rather kick back and embrace their inner vampire, however, DJ Slave1 and her crew darken things up with sinister tunes from vintage goth, new wave and industrial acts such as Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, Tones on Tail, Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb, among others. And for the clove-smokers, Boca has a covered patio that's perfect for some aroma therapy.

Best Jazz Club

Dazzle

Mark Payler
Going strong for a decade now, Dazzle has become synonymous with jazz in the Mile High City. Whether the club is spotlighting dynamic local talent like weekly residents Ralph Sharon, Rehka Ohal and Pat Bianchi or showcasing internationally renowned artists such as Slide Hampton, Richie Cole and Bob Dorough, the club is bursting at the seams every night of the week. Owner Donald Rossa has worked tirelessly to create what has consistently been recognized as the ultimate destination for jazz lovers -- not just by Westword, but by Downbeat magazine, which has once again hailed Dazzle as one of the 100 best jazz clubs in the world. Anyone who's been there can tell you that the accolades are well-deserved. Plus, Dazzle has a great menu and a killer happy hour. Best jazz club in Denver? This one's a no-brainer.

Best Jazz Jam

The Meadowlark

Evan Semón
Joshua Trinidad has a handle on jazz. As host of the Thursday-night Jazz Odyssey show on KUVO, the guy regularly gives spins to cats like David Murray, Matthew Shipp and the Bad Plus. The inventive trumpeter and his Sputter bandmate, drummer David Kurtz, have teamed up as Cougar Legs to host Monday-night jam sessions at the Meadowlark, in which like-minded players come down to improvise together. Monk and Dizzy once turned Minton's Playhouse on New York's 52nd Street into a bebop laboratory, and the Meadowlark just might be the Denver equivalent. It's the type of place where cats who've never met can vibe off each other in an exploratory setting. The jam has grown by word of mouth over the past few months, even attracting non-jazz-centric players.

Best All-Comers Jam

Tantrums Jam

As if musicians needed another reason not to make it into work. The Tantrums Jam, hosted each Wednesday night at Kokopelli's by Tempa Singer and her Tantrums bandmates, has become the mid-week gathering place for local players to get loaded and get down. While guitarists currently make up a majority of the jammers, a fair share of drummers, bassists and singers also make it out for the impromptu performances. So whether you're itchin' to unleash your pipes on jump-blues cuts like "Caldonia" or jonesin' to shred on tunes like "The Sky Is Crying," there's bound to be someone who's willing to throw down. And if that weren't enough to entice you, catching an eyeful (and earful) of the fiery Singer should seal the deal. The stunning homegrown diva has shared the stage with legends like B.B. King and Jeff Beck -- and she might share it with you, if you've got the chops.

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