Nite Owl

Nite Owl rocks. Or sometimes it DJs, or maybe it rockabillies, or it punks — you never can tell what face the ol’ Owl is going to have.
What is consistent is the vibe of the rooms. Gone are the days of the multi coloured, glowing dance floor. Somewhat to my dismay, but also a decently good choice as they move to a more edgy and honest music scene. That said, how cool would it be to go to a metal concert with a 70’s inspired disco dance floor? So cool. That’s how.
Upstairs is quite a bit larger with a centre bar serving all the drinks you’d expect to find. It’s hard to tell what the selection is, as it’s quite loud I usually order my basic-​as go-​to club drinks: PRB and rye gingers. If they’ve got an exceptional selection I think they should show it off in some way. I think most of just assume the worst but this very well might not be the case. Anyway, let’s go back to the first floor, shall we? that dance floor area is sunk down by a few steps which makes for a nice separation between the dancers/​moshers and the people who want to hang around to watch the band and get their drunk on. It’s got the right amount of cheesy and the right amount of real. There’s some weird, fancy, glowy pattern wall, but I just think this gives Nite Owl its charm.
Downstairs is awesome. Vibe-​wise it’s way more my scenem which, yes, is unfortunately a lot less disco. It’s like a drunken dirty under ground library. It’s super cool. Brick walls, bookshelves, ceiling windows to look out to the sidewalk over your head, some old school Atari era video game consoles, and some super cheesy black vinyl lounge booths. Sitting at them makes you feel like you’re getting getting bottle service in an alley. I love it. #complisult.
The room is focused around the stage, and with the stage being only a six-​inch-​ish raise above the main floor, it makes for a really intimate music experience. Intimate in a raunchy, back alley kind of way, but still intimate. The basement of Nite Owl is one seriously sexy, passionate back alley. Rowr. Even in the smaller basement space, there’s a good divide between the the people who want to get into the tunes and dance and the people who’d rather chill out. It’s s surprisingly good set up.
Nite Owl is the bar I don’t visit enough, but want to more. They’ve recently got a new person to book the talent. I’m really excited to see where he (and Jenn) take it. I feel this space has plenty of potential to be one of Calgary’s most influential venues.

«Coat check is full… hahahahaha» that’s what I got when I asked to check a very small bag. Maybe if you were nicer to customers you would fill the place on days that aren’t Halloween. Staff clearly doesn’t care about their customers.

I think Nite Owl is a great bar in a basement. Therefore of all of the basement bars I have been to it is a four star establishment. I don’t think I would really compare it to Broken City or Hop In Brew Pub because those places have food and more than one floor, so don’t except that kind of place and you’ll be happy.
If you want a nice cozy bar with a great staff, a good liquor selection, and a variety of different events each well then this is the place for you. So far I have only gone in Tuesdays which is the night for live comedy (and sometimes karaōke and sometimes a live band afterwards). Usually it’s dead in Tuesdays but it’s a great night and a good time to are comedians work through material. I like it because its many of the same guys you will see at Oak Tree or Comedy Monday Night but in a much more intimate setting.
If you’re not into comedy Nite Owl is also a great place to get a strong drink and dance on other nights of the week.
The décor is a little interesting with one wall covered in books but that’s also a fun conversation starter (I believe the entire World Book from 1986 is on the wall) if you are lacking material on a date night ;-). I find the beer selection to be wanting and expensive with mostly bottles over $ 7 and only the seasonal Last Best on tap.
All in all, though, its a great place to spend the evening no matter the night you go on.

Ahhh, Wednesdays. The official hump day of the working week. There’s still a few more days to get through before the weekend but maybe you need some drinks and live music to get you through?
Wednesdays at the Nite Owl is ‘Rockin 4 Dollars’, an open mic night for local bands with the chance for each to spin the wheel and win up to $ 1,000. Or free hugs. Or a shot of Wild Turkey. Doors open at 9pm, and around ten bands play for 15 minutes each.
Based on the night I went the bands didn’t kick off until 10pm so there’s no real rush to get down there at 9. There’s a $ 3 cover charge and there’s a bunch of cheap drink options for the night. Last night this included: $ 4 1oz pours of Wild Turkey and American Honey, and $ 6ish cans of PBR and highballs. The bartender was great and I was always served quickly, plus she remembered me and my drink order each time. Note: they don’t take debit here, cash or credit only!
There was a good mix of local bands that played. Seven bands had played by the time I left at midnight but there was a mix of varying rock-​style genres. The crowd was generally fairly chilled, and people were pretty good about standing by the stage to watch each of the bands play. There’s also a nice tradition where all of the members of the other bands shake hands with each band as they come off the stage.
Plus, there’s heaps of seating and I’m a sucker for any bar that has a disco ball and couches.

A friend’s band played here in February, so this was my excuse to check out Nite Owl. I loved the disco dance floor and thought the place had a fun vibe. It felt a tad grubby though and I wondered where all of the bearded men came from. I’m sure the style of music playing that night just attracts such a crowd, being eclectic and not the snobby, downtown working professional type. I felt rather sophisticated to be honest, as I was kind of dressed up and the majority of people were casual.
Single ladies — I don’t know if you should bother looking for your life mate here. A few of my friends were single with varying tastes and not one spotted any prospects. Patrons seemed friendly and harmless, though.
I think I’d need to see more bands here in order to make a better assessment of the place in general. Drinks definitely were expensive.

What happened to Vinyl? It’s now this cool place where band’s play?
Sweet! Let’s go!
Went on a Friday where 3 ska bands were playing upstairs. It must not have been very busy by the venue’s standards as there was only one bartender for the floor.
I didn’t venture downstairs where the library area/​second stage is as it was a DJ set.
It was alright, I had fun dancing to the bands on the disco/​light up/​flashing floor. Stage area is a weird shape. Drinks are expensive, drank Red Stripe from a can (my own poor choice), but the people are nice.
I will be back for sure, need to explore this venue a little further as I only saw half of it. So for now, it’s all right.

love it! all of it!

Awesome place, but the drinks get more expensive each time you go to the bar. I just paid $ 12.50, then $ 13, then $ 14 for the Sam highball and can of beer.