01/05/09

Great venue in town

by soulzero

Davey's Uptown is the oldest bar in Kansas City, serving liqour even during the Prohibition years, and legally again since the 40's. There are several reasons for that-

Davey's drinks are strong, fair priced, and always made exactly the same way, everytime, despite the bartender on duty. Michelle has a true, down to earth, honest and comfortable staff behind her. The bartenders are rarely rude to anyone (unless of course, you deserve it) The atmosphere is just great for music, and it really drags you into the sound and style of the venue. The sound system is excellent, and is always being upgraded, remodeled, and tweaked for optimum performance. The stage has just been expanded. Let's be fair, it's an old building, you can expect some dirt, drafts and some rockey places. But that's the charm, and that's why we love this place so much.

I strongly disagree with the last two posts-

The promoter for the goth events has always been a scholar and a gentleman to me and my group, always remembers our name, and asks how we have been doing, bends over backwards, and even pays for dinners, drinks, and hotel rooms out of his own pocket sometimes, and keeps on trucking like a true professional.

I feel some jealousy from these posters, From what I've seen he has always brought in people and has filled the venue more times than not, and the bar seems to be making a killing and the people have always seemed really happy. Michelle is a no nonsense type of buisnesswoman and would have cut him long ago, were he hurting her buisness.

• Pros: cheap drinks, cheap cover for great bands, great staff and promoters
• Cons: not enough people go!

12/17/08

A soso place

by pyro5000

Kind of dirty, small and hot. The staff was rude. I pretty much showed up for a drink and left after a while. Probably wouldn't go back again unless i absolutely had to.

• Pros: some good bands
• Cons: everything else

12/14/08

Shows are good, but staff fails

by AcridineOrange

I agree with kslight. Though the bartender i met there was friendly, the other staff was very egotistical and pig headed. If you weren't in their "in"crowd, you didn't get a second glance. If you asked them a question, they wouldn't even look at you, give you a half assed answer, then walk away to go stand against the wall. The DJ there was not very friendly and would try to focus all the attention on himself. Although the bands played there are usually great, the DJ would pop on stage with unappetizing comments and usually interrupt the band members from speaking. I would highly recommend they find someone else to host their shows, or less and less people will show up for them due to bad staff.

• Pros: Good bands usually play here
• Cons: Staff is bad, especially the DJ's attitude

06/16/07

Not a bad club if you avoid the staff

by kslight

I'm writing this from a concert goers perspective. Davey's has a lot of "goth/industrial" type shows in Kansas City because of the promoters, which is generally what I go there for. However, every time I have been there I have found the bartenders to be rude and unhelpful (I ordered two vodka tonics, they gave me two glasses of club soda with less than half a shot of a vodka, I requested new drinks, he refused and walked off), and they completely would prefer to lean against the wall and look at you from a distance than actually approach you and help you. I have complained to the owner on numerous occasions and she has still kept the same bartenders that are clearly hurting her business especially on busy nights. The sound system is average, not terrible but not high-end either, and they recently installed new lighting which helps a lot. The venue could use increased ventilation (it can get very smoky and hot especially in the green room...aka the pool room). The promoters tend to be ego-headed DJs that are not in it for supporting local music, instead preferring to go on stage and say "Lookit me!", notwithstanding how rude and disrespectful they are to the local acts that play there. At a show on Wednesday, a local group was performing in the middle of their set and he decided to start loading chairs onto the stage?!? While the same act was tearing down he invited 50+ people up on stage, and then started yelling at the band to tear down faster, which was clearly impossible given that all of these people were trampling on $1000s worth of cables and gear. He also tried to cut the singer off while he was trying to announce they had merchandise for sale. Give me a break...no one deserves to be treated like this.

Overall with an overflow of similarly sized clubs in the area, Davey's Uptown is in a situation where if they don't change their act/promoters/staff soon, they are going to feel the burn when locals refuse to support the venue.

• Pros: decent sound, good lighting
• Cons: smoky and hot, unprofessional staff

This intimate venue has poured liquor since its days as a speakeasy, but live rock music packs in crowds today.

by Contributor

The Scene
At first glance, the bar sticks out as a little kooky, but the crowd of regulars is always hospitable. It's actually a rather cozy place, creating an ambience all its own with off-kilter bar stools, cracked vinyl booths and cheap cans of Old Style. Davey's has poured cocktails since 1925, when it was done on the sly because of Prohibition. It's been at its current location since 1950 and presently has a handful of arcade games, pinball and free pool on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The Draw
Regulars are used to visitors rambling in for the bands. There's no fancy lighting, but the low stage and great acoustics make this one of the best places in Kansas City to get close to the action.