Six Pockets Sports Grill

six pockets
Living on the East Side of Knoxville has it's ups and downs.  On the upside I am close to some awesome food including Chandler's Deli.  I am also less then ten minutes until I walk up to the front door of the Tennessee Theatre.  On the downside, their aren't many pizza places (besides Pizza Palace, which is fantastic) and their are not many options for nightlife. The closest bar to me, in fact, was shut down in the end of August after a raid uncovered multiple not-so-legal substances on the staff and patrons.  However, I feel East Knoxville really gets a bad name.  There are a lot of great working class people, with well intended lives, participating in the communities and on certain nights enjoying the few local hot spots.  This thought led me to seek out another watering hole on the east end of town. I had passed by a place on the way to Cherokee Lake a few times earlier in the year.  From my drive-bys it seemed to be a relatively sizable pool hall aptly named Six Pockets. I sent a message to the bars manager who I found on their facebook page and he invited me in on Saturday night because they were having a band play.

I had pulled some double time on this Saturday night. I had family coming in the next week, which would limit my time to go write a piece, so I left from Asia Cafe and drove directly across town to Six Pockets on Asheville Highway. Pulling into the parking lot of the bar reminded me of parking at the recreation area near the base of Pilot Mountain in North Carolina. The lot was sloped to such a degree that upon exiting my car i felt like i was being pulled slightly. It was a little more frightening at Pilot Mountain because it felt you were being gently pulled off the side of the mountain, however here, it simply felt like I was being pulled towards a stiff cocktail.

Six Pockets is an unassuming place that looks like an over-sized VFW hall from the outside.
Picture Bob's Country Bunker from the Blues Brothers movie with way less country and western and way more old fashioned Rock N' Roll.  In fact, that well could be the theme song for this bar. I would change the name from Six Pockets to Seger's (get it, like Bob Seger... Like "Put those old records on the shelf" Seger? Nevermind..  Oh and no chicken wire or beer bottle throwing was witnessed during the course of this review visit. A quick visual survey of the bar put the occupancy around 400 if full, not a bad sized place at all.  The stage was centered in the back of the room and the room was entirely open until you got to the back where the bathrooms were located.  To the right just as you come through the foyer is a bar that is elevated slightly and in the corner.  I had recently gone on a ginger ale kick so I decided to step up to the bar and order a Gin and Ginger Ale.  The bartender quickly obliged and I was on my way towards the tunes.

I arrived when the band was on break, however, I was greeted with my favorite sight ever....Rural middle aged Caucasian women dancing to college campus nightclub type hip-hop.  Let's just say they were getting funky "from the windows to the walls."  Oh did I mention it was the hip-hop those college campus nightclubs played in 2005? This is what is RIGHT with America. The beautiful cultural collision reveals the true purpose of said music, to make people have a good time. Period.  
The band Highway 33 returned to the stage with a surprisingly authenticate rendition of The Jack by AC/DC. They all nailed it note for note. I stuck around for a few more tunes and then found a few ladies that had demonstrated some dance moves to pose for a picture before departing.   I love the East Side of Knoxville, and I love the authentic nature of the nightlife options including Six Pockets, no matter how few options there may be.