A Wednesday night out on lower Greenville offered a couple of surprises. First, parking was a bitch. Is Wednesday the new Friday? The second surprise was President George Bush with pasties. Did I really drink that much?
Zubar celebrated its 11th anniversary with a prison themed party, Lock Down, and if the packed house on Hump Day is any indication, the joint may just be there for another 11. DJ team Kold Komfort Farm (a.k.a. Redeye and Robert Taylor) spun the tunes as cellmates hung out on the patio, crowded in the front bar or bumped-and-grinded in the back room. The club fashioned itself with lots of chain link fences and a jail cell surrounding the bar, a clever look although it gave to awkward exchanges when ordering with the bartenders.
The centerpiece was the raised platform jail cell where local burlesque performers The Lollie Bombs stripteased their way into men's hearts -- and by the looks of it, some women's curiosities -- with the obvious but always effective naughty prison guard-prisoner-handcuffs dance. The Lollie Bombs are a staple at Zubar, but for anyone who hasn't seen them (uh, me), the ending result of topless women in a non-strip club was jaw-dropping and a super sexy addition to the goings-on of the night.
The creepy-but-hot taboo moment of the night went to one curvy Lollie Bomb on the platform fully decked out in a man's suit and George Bush mask. Bush slinked and gyrated the audience into a hypnotic state (or possibly shock) stripping away the suit down to the mask and glittery shiny pasties on ample breasts. Thunderous applause and "woots" appropriately followed.
While other ultra lounges come and go, Zubar's ability to accommodate both drinkers and dancers, throw a good party and a rotate a roster of hot DJs may be what's keeping this little lower Greenville spot going strong after more than 10 years. How many other lounges around town can boast that longevity? -- Rich Lopez
