I went in this club on Saturday night for the first time. It will also be the last time! Not that anybody was rude or anything, but the overall atmosphere is a bunch of WANNABE cool people! This reminds me of a sickening bar in Los Angeles, that is exactly like this place. A bunch of people trying SO hard to be cool...yet they fail miserably. There's nothing cool about nose, ear or eyebrow piercings! It's fact, it's gross! If you are a normal person,or average, be thankful and skip this club! There are no windows and the smoke is really bad. And although the bartenders were friendly, the drinks were over-priced and weak! And one more thing, IF bars banned smoking in OK, the bars would get triple the amount of customers! And IF they STOPPED having these God forsaken DRAG shows, they'd also get more clientele! The drag shows aren't funny or entertaining. They are pathetic. Why not have male strippers or something MASCULINE?! Why would a MAN who wants a MAN want to watch men dress up as women!??
Review Source:I'm a firm believer that party horns should go off whenever a tranny enters the room. Surprise! Â Although at the Hi-Lo, that would be such a common occurence it would sound like the cacophony of the trumpets heralding the second coming - of fun that is!
I have had enumerable enjoyable times at the Hi-Lo club over the years and started coming here when I had an ID of questionable validity. Â Back in the good old days when I was proudly "from Louisiana" and what we termed the "ID specialists" at the door couldn't have cared any less that our IDs came from a flea market in Dallas, there was much fun to be had at the Hi-Lo. Â But, they are much stricter now and I'm sure the statute of limitations has long expired for my college shenanigans but then and now I always have a great time when here.
I've had quite a few firsts at the Hi-Lo over the years. Â I saw my first drag show. Â I've seen questionable substances being ingested. Â Poppers anyone? I actually bought my first pack of cigarettes here! Â Now, I'm not a smoker but once fancied myself one in college and for a few years thereafter until I decided to get high on life and not drugs (nicotine). Â I was kissed by two gay men in one night here (albeit just on the cheek) a first and a last as I'm straight as an arrow and their gaydar wasn't going off but they were trying, and succeeded in making me uncomfortable, but hey it was all in good fun and I'm a very confident guy. Â I've seen a few barfights if you will, mainly catfights, and many more things that shall remain unwritten in a review. Â This was always a stop on our rounds of early college debauchery. Â We would start out in Norman say at Mr. Bills or at a place I've heard of called Sugar's, meander to OKC to several other gentleman's clubs and end the night at the Hi-Lo when we were cash strapped and the drinks were always cheaper and just to see what in the hell the Hi-Lo had in store for us. Â
I don't often come to the Hi-Lo anymore but when I do it is a bit tamer now then the heady days of the late 90s. Â I've heard tales it was even crazier and more fun back in the 80s. Â The one thing I love about the Hi-Lo is that the interior doesn't seem to change. It always looks like a place of faded glory and where dreams go to die and smoking is still as acceptable as it was in the 50s. Â I do see less trannies here now and haven't been to a real drag show in forever but I'm assuming they still host them frequently. Â Many of the bartenders are still around including the infamous Topher Saucedo who is the best and will hook you up and who has been a fixture here for years. Mad props! Â
Yes, this is a dive bar. Â If you are easily offended, stay home. Â But if you aren't a drag (pun definitely intended) then stop by and have a beer, enjoy their fantastic selection of music and check out a questionable looking "woman" in stilettos who might yell out to you "Hey Daddy" in a deep voice.
This bar was small and didn't have any windows so it was very smoky inside. After awhile, my contacts started bothering me because of lack of oxygen! The atmosphere was very chill and people were nice. I really liked the intenet jukebox they had - the other customers chose some pretty good songs. The drink I had was a little too strong for my liking but they had a huge selection of alcohol to pick from. This isn't the cleanest place but it's a bar so what do you expect??
Review Source:I've always loved Hilo. Unfortunately, the current bartender, Charles, is incredibly rude. Completely ignored our request for another beer (we'd each had 3) and when we pushed the issue he *cut us off* no explanation given, just a hand across his throat type gesture. Pretty creepy. I'm thinking I will wait until he rotates out of there before I go back as frankly I think he's mentally unstable.
Review Source:Great especially around the holidays when you will find your old friends who were smart enough not to move back to Okla. It's exactly what a small bar should be, fun, loud, crowed, and yes smokey. I love the nights they have bands or guest djs, as the juke box can easily become annoying but only in.. I wish the speakers weren't so tinny sounding sort of way.
Review Source:I didn't so much walk into the HiLo as I was chased out of the Drunken Fry by women wielding inflatable penises. Bachelorette party? Little did I know that the penis gag would have made much more sense at the HiLo...
My band was on tour. This was our night off. We were meeting some local friends here for drunken antics while acquainting ourselves with the town. I'm not sure that this place is very representative of Oklahoma, but perhaps that's for the best. Every city has its 'alternative' crowd. OKC's is in this area.
10 seconds into my foray I'm startled by an older gentleman. Scratch that. Older man. Somewhere in that ZZ-Top beard murmers a gruff voice asking about my hair. "Ohhhkay, so that's how it is." I scurried off, narrowly avoiding his outstretched hand, and found the bartender who was more than willing to put me at ease. Per recommendation, I ended up filling my stomach with happy meals (beer and shot of peppermint) and holy divers (hurricane with 151?). I also ended up finding out that this was somewhat of a "gay bar". Good. That wasn't just a creepy old guy. There's a reason to the madness. Back to party mode!
I have to say that, even for a weeknight, there was a buzz of energy in that place. I was with good friends, throwing back cheap yet stiff drinks, and enjoying the night away. I'm a fan. My last visit to OKC I wasn't able to rekindle my affair with the HiLo, but I'll make it a point next time. It's just the classy (not!), divey (sorta), cheap (yeah...), dim room a guy (and his guy) can find the answer to lifes problems in the bottom of an empty glass. Or eight.
This was the first bar I went to when I turned 21! I love it here! After leaving OKC I have yet to find another bar where I feel at home. I got my first legal drink here, Saw my first Drag Show, made some good friends. I always make back here when I visit home! So many good memories here!
Review Source:Oh Hi-Lo, I wish I could quit you!
I have had so much mad crazy fun here over the years. When I was young, I looked old, and OKC was like the wild west, if you ran around with older people, and owned it, you got any almost anywhere. I saw my first drag show here when I was in high school, before they got strict on the door. The lady took a liking to me, swooped down in the middle of Cher and kissed me right where my hair meets my forehead. I had coral lipstick in my hair for a good week.Try explaining that one to mom.
Now, Hi-Lo is just a really fun dive bar with the occasional rock or drag show. I saw Red City Radio there a few years ago and I think they broke the sound barrier. I love the bartenders, who are great to their regulars, even if you haven't been a regular in years.
To me, the Hi-Lo has always struck me for this reason: it looks exactly the way a production designer would design a local dive bar for a movie about people coming home for the first time in a long time. Like, if you wrote an independent movie about some guy who's been living in Chicago for twenty years and hasn't been home to his medium-sized town since high school, and everyone thinks he's super successful but really he's lonely, you'd want the bar to look like this. If that makes any sense. Even when you're in it, it almost feels like a set.
At least to me it does. But I love it. I'm in the movie that is my life and there is at least one scene at the Hi-Lo, and the jukebox has the soundtrack covered.
OKC is totally stuck in an out dated time capsule were cigarette vending machines are still acceptable (which is located to the left when you walk in). Anyway before I fully walk in there was a huge cloud of cigarette smoke which at the end of the night ended up making me feel sick to my stomach (literally) to the point were I had to leave. I guess my lungs are not use to that type of abuse.
Prices: domestic beer $1.50-$2.50
       imported $3.50!!!
Anyone from Los Angeles walking into Hilo and seeing those prices will feel like they hit the jackpot period and the whole "dive" appeal made me feel right at home (silverlake, ca). This was my favorite bar by far but unfortunately it gets 3 stars since it's waaaay to smokey and made me sick. If you can handle the smoke and like dive bars--this place is worth checking out.
Easily might not be the bar for you, but it's impossible to say this bar isn't unique and worth a stop. The smoking thing sucks, but that's the case for many OKC joints. Not sure if that'll ever change in these parts, but it'd be better if it did.
The HiLo club IS home to some of the worst... er... best drag shows ever! But if you're looking for a drag show that takes itself serious... go to Vegas or someplace even shittier.
I'm sure there are too many hipsters at the HiLo (it's been a while since I've been there). But it also seems like OKC is having a hipster explosion these days. Belly up to the bar, order a cocktail and get over it.
aaaahhh hahaa! Â The HiLo! Â "Where dreams go to die"... but that doesn't mean it's not the best bar in OKC. Â I've seen a lot of shenanigans at this super smoky, cheap, occasionally gay bar. Â Gets epically crowded near last call but the Bloody Marys are certainly worth all the jostling. Â The drag show is horrible; a real schadenfreude-infused spectacle! Â I'll see you there this weekend!
Review Source:Pretty cool dive.
Small.
Good drinks.
Cheap.
There was a band playing the night we were in there, and it seems like accommodating a band or show of some sort (LIKE THE DRAG SHOW OMG) seems difficult.
They managed. Blue moon love
That's all.
Oh, minus one star for how bad my clothes stunk after leaving thanks to the indoor smoking allowances.
(Might be fun to ban indoor smoking like we did In Washington State. ITS GOOD FOR YOU!)
My brother loves the Hi-Lo. I love it, too. I have a feeling that I haven't experienced the "real" Hi-Lo; I've never seen it super-crowded, I've never seen a drag show there, and I've never scored coke in the ladies' room. But, I HAVE spent a few awesome, lazy afternoons and evenings there with my brother. I didn't notice the smoke too much, either, which may be attributed to the smaller crowd when I've been there, or to my being used to inhaling lots of secondhand smoke (thanks, Grandma and Papaw).
It has an internet jukebox, meaning that you can search for and play just about any song you can think of so long as you're sober enough to type it into the search engine (WHY DO THEY NOT HAVE "ADCTOED TO LOOVE" BY ROBRRT PALMAR?). The signature shot/drink is peppermint schnapps, which at first is like drinking refrigerated mouthwash, but you get used to it after the third or fourth one. The bartenders and regulars are the best. Every one I've met has been really nice, open, and fun, and they don't (didn't) make fun of you (me) if you get too drunk and fall on the floor. Recommended to anyone with a penchant for dive bars and immunity to smokeclouds.
Three stars for the Hi-Lo because the smoke is thick in that same monster from a horror film sort of way as Henry Hudson's over off Expressway but a better rating than Hudson's because the Hi-Lo has so much character. I adore the wall of tinsel in the back, the juke box seems like it has an interesting selection, and Friday evening is drag show night (always worth a visit). It's usually very crowded and since it's a tiny place, you can end up feeling a little cramped (in addition to having breathing problems) but the staff have always been friendly and the hipster-ish crowd seem pretty relaxed and jovial. Street parking can be a bit tricky (especially since Sidecar is right around the corner) but if you can wrangle a parking place, I'd have a drink at the Hi-Lo over Sidecar any day. Kind of an Oklahoma City classic.
Review Source:
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