I grew up in a time period when a lot of gay bars were painted black with a lot of corrugated metal as the over all look of the place. Â Nothing stylish or attractive about the places. Â So much for stereotypes huh? Well Social kicks that notion out of the door. Â I love the look of this place. Â The color, the interior architecture, the light fixtures are all so good, then someone came in at the last minute and threw ugly all over the place! Â Someone came in and added bad vases with bad branches here and there, for no good reason. Â They don't fit and I wish them away, but it can easily be overlooked by how good everything else was done.
I've been to Social for a pageant in which they used the cutest little stage I've ever seen. Â The entire place has a 1930's feel to me for some reason and I could easily see this stage used for live music also. Â I've been on just a regular weekend night while an amazing DJ had the dance floor packed. Â I need to check it out on a quiet weekday night sometime and experience a low energy drink and enjoy the surroundings next.
The staff has always been pleasant and the drinks are pretty standard. Â I have been charged different prices for the same drink off and on, but it was easier to pay the price rather than yell over extremely loud volume levels. Â Who knows, maybe I was paying less than I was supposed to on occasion or maybe I was paying more at times, but if you drink enough it's easy enough to say "who cares"!
Checked this out Saturday night after Latino Gay Pride with my handsome visiting Brazilian! Â Great place, it turns out! Â Nicely decorated, spacious, plenty of seating. Â It looked very festive with all their Carnival-theme balloons decorating the space. Â The music was a mix of Anglo and Latin and had people dancing enthusiatically -- some really GOOD dancers, by the way! Â
Drinks were reasonable -- they have a number of good beers on draft besides Bud Light and PBR. Â We didn't have a problem finding parking on the street. Â Lots of fun and we'll be back!
It's about damn time somebody put a proper gay bar inside the loop! And Social is everything that you would expect from an urban establishment. It's dark, sexy and a hell of a good time. That is, if you come at the right time. Namely, weekend nights. It's pretty dead during happy hours and week day evenings, as you can expect from a club.
But oh those weekend nights! You can rely upon the smallish dance floor to have plenty of people getting down to their above average DJs (full disclosure: club music is NOT my strong suit, so you'll have to look elsewhere for a better recap of the music), and if you don't feel like dancing, there are a ton of options for sitting with friends or mingling with the masses.
The interior of this place is pretty great. It's somewhat of a retro-modern look, kind of like what you might expect of a nightclub on The Jetsons. Combined with the details of being in a really old building, it's a nice look, without trying too hard.
Drinks are fine, nothing special here. A great place to go if you want a Miller Light or a vodka soda. I just wish they featured a few specialty cocktails, but that's more my tastes than their core clientele.
The only thing I really find curious is their inclusion of electronic dart boards. I rarely if ever see anybody using them, and they completely go against the vibe of the rest of the bar. I feel like this goes back to my complaint that most KC gay bars try and be all things to all people. Social is a sexy club, let it be a sexy club!
Overall, I'm a fan, and I can see myself here many more times to come.
Well, I finally made it into Social on a Friday night. Â While the bar was still not as full as I'd imagined it would be, I was pleased with it, in general. Â It's much easier to get around in, unlike Missie B's where you're lucky to avoid the sweat of a coked out queen.
Overall, I really like it, but I think the music could use a little help. Â One of the DJs didn't know who deadmau5 is. Â That's a little odd. Â Perhaps I should plug in my iPhone? Â Social has got all the right lighting and adequate room on their dance floor for people to bust out some moves, but the music just needs to be mixed better and a little more current. Â
I love the bartenders here, and the drinks are cheaper than going to other gay bars in the area. The owners are usually on hand to ask how they can improve their club... and they actually listen to your responses. Â
Social is definitely on the right track, I just hope enough people start frequenting this place so it doesn't end up like Lux.
Downtown has a new nightlife spot (dare I utter the words "Ultra Lounge"?)
Social oozes potential. Dark, cavernous, and sleek in decor (think low lighting, red velvety lounges, brand new ultra modern bar), I can just as easily picture a band playing here as I can a killer dance party. There are also flat screen TVs for game watching (they have really extensive hours, so I assume it'll appeal to an after work crowd as much as it does to the night crawlers). I was here on a quiet Wednesday, which is more my speed and found it to be quite comfy and inviting. Prices are really good for a place that is more of a nightclub than it is a neighborhood bar.
They will be starting food next week or the week after. If Social plays its cards right, I think they could be offering up a really unique place to get your drink/dance on in Kansas City.