I vaguely recall watching the first Real World episode, which was filmed in New York. That was in 1992, and the characters, well, it's all pretty foggy now, but I do remember that they lived in a sweet loft, which probably ran $20,000 a month back then. In almost every episode of The Real World I've caught since then, the cast was staying in some incredibly cool crib. The Denver house was no exception: Two years ago, MTV producers turned the former B-52 Billiards spot into some pretty swank digs.
A month after the first Real World: Denver aired, in November 2006, Shane Alexander and Josh Hawkinson bought the house at 1920 Market Street; they opened their ultra-swank club and restaurant, Theörie, in it just over a year ago. Theorie recently stopped serving food to concentrate more on the club side of things, but the kitchen is still available for private parties. And while the place is open Tuesday through Saturday — DJs spin every night but Wednesday — the weekend is usually the best time to hit it.
I popped in there around midnight on a Wednesday and found six guys and two girls at the bar — which is kind of sad, considering how big the space is. Then again, it takes a lot of people to fill roughly 21,000 square feet, and most of the other spots on that block of Market were dead on that particular Wednesday, too. Theorie was much more lively the next day, but not quite as happening as the Cowboy Lounge (1941 Larimer) across the street, or Beta (1909 Blake Street), which was bumping killer beats spun by Berlin-based DJ duo M.A.N.D.Y.
Club scout: Peter Black is wrapping up his monthly Analog Space nights at the Meadowlark (2701 Larimer Street) on Friday, October 24, but he's got another night with the "deep sounds from beyond" theme in the works for the winter; this time, the focus will be on more beat-heavy dimensions. Peacock Revolution, Derek Russo and Cakez join Black for his final Meadowlark gig with cosmic disco, space beats, lunar funk and more. Rockstar Aaron and Pinky 500 start up their monthly Lollipop! dance parties on Saturday, October 25, at Bender's Tavern (314 East 13th Avenue); Spooky Dot, Shea Butter, Holly Peno and Wigdan Giddy will be there, and they'll be giving away tickets to upcoming MSTRKRFT, Electric Six and Mickey Avalon shows.
Blue Ice (22 South Broadway) recently started Club Africa, with DJ Roy and Jah Screw spinning reggae, highlife, soca and dancehall on Thursdays. Also on the bill: $7 plates of African cuisine. Afroblu celebrates its second anniversary and the life of Fela Kuti on Saturday, October 25, at Orange Cat Studios (2625 Larimer Street). RJ Duran, Sabine, Cesar and Santos will be at the decks for the after-hours dance ritual, which runs from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and costs $10.
The Lure (1434 Blake Street) recently celebrated the opening of its upstairs Living Room, where you can enjoy big couches, oversized leather chairs, flat-screen TVs, bottle service and a video DJ. The lounge also kicked off its Fashionable Fridays and Speakeasy Saturdays this month. Finally, Johnny's Cigar Bar (1801 13th Street in Boulder), which brings in jazz and blues on the weekends and a down-tempo DJ on Thursdays, just started an acoustic open mike on Mondays at 7:30 p.m.
