An Article About A Local Music Club

DOWN AND DIRTY AT SNUG HARBOR

“Vibrant Music and Personality Rock Out in Plaza-Midwood.”

On the corner of Gordon Street, almost where Pecan meets Central, music rocks the cinder block walls of Snug Harbor. Whether it is a slow night where local characters inhabit the bar stools or a busy night where a punk band shakes the walls with it fury and emotion, this is a place like no other in Charlotte. Outside the windows are adorned with black chains that contrast with the white cinder blocks of the square building that looks like a quiet warehouse in the daylight.

Inside, the old building comes to life, with both its customers and décor. Pirates and skeletons beckon from their perches near the ceiling, smiling down on customers from their ships embossed with copper. Pirate flags, and pirate lamps, and even a painting that looks like pirate pinup girls let patrons know that this place is a buried treasure. The bar is a smooth, dark wood stained so that the grains in the wood stand out, black and fierce. Behind the bar, three tall shelves adorned with various liquor ranging in flavor, casting shadows across the landscapes of both common and exotic. Mirrors stand tall between the shelves, giving the aura of a sacred altar.

The stage hovers in the corner opposite the bar, with a wood sound booth, inlaid with red leather. Long, silver and red sparkling strings of super shiny tinsel hang from the walls of the stage, making the dim, yellow lights illuminate the bar. A black stage juts out with large speakers to withstand the terminal velocity of guitar driven angst and melody. The grey and black mottled concrete floor accepts both dancing feet and spilled beers.

Snug Harbor has live bands most nights of the week, booking acts ranging from growling punk to guitar driven folky ballads, all thriving with emotion and pleasure. The beer selection spans the range of domestics, micro brewed, and imported. There is even a display of regional beers. Snug Harbor is a place that anyone can be him or herself, and the music and atmosphere skate on the border of gritty and refined.