Scat Jazz Lounge

Have you been here yet? If not, is it because you're not a cool cat? I would say so. But only because I have been.

Last week Rick Derek and his Big Band played the Tuesday night set and upon hearing about this from FWHITW's good e-friend West and Clear, I had to go. Ricki Derek is one of the owners but he's also a swingin' singer, showman and gracious host.

I'm a huge fan of the big band sound, classics from the days when Vegas wasn't for kids and basically anything that reminds of Frank Sinatra. I'm too young to have actually experienced any of that first hand but as soon as I was legal, I was hooked on Vegas (thanks dad!!).

The Scat Jazz Lounge reminds me of what I imagine the hip cool times of the Rat Pack were like. That sentence actually makes no sense but you get the idea.

The Scat, as I'll call it is located in the basement of the Woolworth building which is the really cool old building facing one of the beautiful downtown parking lots. The entrance is in the alley, under a retro neon sign, but for now you'll enter through the main entrance of the building. Once you get inside, its very cozy. There are booths up against the wall, a stage is up against a wall across from the bar and there are small tables and columns throughout.

A large group of us went to see Ricki Derek and were given the VIP booths on the side. That probably had something to do with this blog's notoriety. Or the fact that Ricki didn't want us sitting too close to him.

The performance was great. Ricki has a great voice and definitely sounds the part. He talked about a CD that he'll never release because of his love of the sauce. He sang. The band played. All had fun.

But the thing I really dug about this place was that it felt classy. You wouldn't expect to see people in shorts here. Don't get me wrong, when 8.0's starts the free summer concerts again, I'll be in shorts before I leave work. But this place just had a cool vibe that made the slightly more formal atmosphere seem ok.

The Scat has all sorts of other performers and none all fall along the lines of screaming/crying emo bands. I think this will be a nice reliable place to go for after dinner drinks and weeknights out.

I kind of want to go in a tux and drink martinis while the girls go giggle in the corner. Me and the boys will discuss the days affairs in the mens room.

They don't actually have a guys only room so we'll have to hang out in the bathroom.

Check it out. We had to pay a cover, which I'm really not a fan of, but I let it slide because we were actually seeing a band. The rule still stands though - cover to go into a bar without a band is a reason to leave whereever you are (dallas, City Streets) and come back to earth.