by Debbi | Oct 23, 2008 | Bar Band, Events
Homecoming at KU is this weekend, and you know what that means- The Sandbar will be packed all weekend. Last year we entertained the fine fans from Nebraska; this year we'll see if the fans from Texas Tech are as gracious and fun.
Join us on Friday night for the Bar Band extravaganza that takes place the night before every home football game. They usually appear around 9:30 and play all the favorite KU songs, and every once in awhile they'll throw in a Sandbar tune like "Margaritaville."
On Saturday, head over to The Sandbar after the early game and enjoy the rest of the afternoon downtown. Let's hope it's a nice day that allows us to open the windows and enjoy a cool breeze.
It's great fun every year at Homecoming to see all of our old regulars who may only get back to Lawrence once or twice a year. If you have any great pictures of The Sandbar from Homecoming weekends in years past, email them to us or upload them to our Flickr group. And if you take any this year be sure to send those too!
by Debbi | Sep 5, 2008 | Bar Band
Last week's start of the KU football season also brought the beginning of another long-time tradition, the Bar Band.
They arrived at The Sandbar last Friday night to put on their show for the patrons, and they'll be back tonight. The band used to come in later in the evening, like 11 p.m., but because of capacity issues and the fire marshall, Dave has requested that they hit The Sandbar much earlier in the evening this year.
And like past years, we are providing the band members with free t-shirts. For the second year now, the shirts are courtesy of our friend/regular Ashley and adidas. Dave printed the Sandbar logo on the front and "Bar Band" on the back. These are great limited-edition shirts and the only way to get one is to be a member of the bar band!
So, if you aren't busy tonight and want to get in the spirit of tomorrow's football game a little early, come on out to The Sandbar. Be sure to get there early- meaning don't wait very long after reading this- and get a good spot to sing along with the band. And if you take any pictures of the fun, send them to us!
by Debbi | Mar 31, 2008 | Bar Band, Events, KU Basketball
Last night might have been our biggest Sunday night ever.
KU played Davidson in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final. A small crowd watched the game at The Sandbar- smaller than I expected, since the deeper into the tournament KU gets, the more people come out to watch. And since The Sandbar isn't one of those places where you have to be lined up before opening time to get a table, we usually get a lot of the overflow crowd from the sports bars. Not this time, but it's probably just as well.
After the nerve-racking, nail-biting win, the town exploded. Downtown became the magnet for everyone, the center of everything. People poured out of the bars and restaurants downtown. We wandered among the crowd- in the rain- for awhile and then headed back to the bar.
Even though we weren't crowded for the game, we sure got busy afterwards. The bar was packed for hours and part of the bar band made an appearance.
What a fun night. Hopefully, we'll have two more of those: next Saturday, and next Monday.
by Debbi | Mar 2, 2008 | Bar Band, Stories
The Sandbar could never be considered a sports bar- we love our jukebox way too much and we only have a couple small tv's whose main purpose is to show our hurricane videos.
Last night, though, even The Sandbar was transformed into a sports bar when the Kansas State Wildcats came to town to play in Allen Fieldhouse. The bar was full by the time the game tipped off, prompting Andrew the doorguy to suggest that we invest in more, and bigger, tv's.
After the game, the line outside grew past the Tap Room. KU winning the game probably helped increase the size of the line. It moved quickly, though, and most patient people didn't have to wait too long to get inside. The crowd was full of fans sporting Jayhawk attire (and I saw a couple of purple shirts sneak inside).
Some of Dave's old college buddies, Joe and Curtis, showed up after the game. They used to be Sandbar regulars until marriage, kids, and careers intervened, and we don't see them nearly as often as we'd like. They originally planned on staying for just a few drinks but ended up closing down the bar.
It was a long, fun night full of happy people.
The Bar Band came in Friday night for their regular pep rally tour of bars; here's a couple of pictures of them.
by Debbi | Nov 12, 2007 | Bar Band, People
A conversation between Dave and I on Friday afternoon:
"You'll never guess who was in the bar last night!" {overly enthusiastic husband}
"You're right, I probably won't. Who?" {I never guess correctly, so why even bother?}
"No, you have to at least try to guess!" {okay, all right, I'll play.}
"Keegan?" {I say Keegan because one of the bar band members recently mentioned that our former door guy, now living in Seattle, might be making an appearance in Lawrence soon. Perhaps it was time?}
"No, but you're damn close." {And on the first try! This could be fun!}
"Adam?" {Our former neighbor, not associated with the bar at all, but he also moved to Seattle a few years ago, so he was the next obvious choice, according to my semi-logical thought progression.}
"No…now you're getting colder." {Hmmm…what did we associate Keegan with? Bar band! Who else was part of the bar band?}
"Chad Dempsey?" {Former doorguy, former bar band-er, and the shock of seeing him in the bar for the first time in, oh, years could explain Dave's hyper-excitement.}
"No! But you're so close!" {Okay, this was either getting to be fun, or really frustrating…but I was in for the long haul now.}
"Randy Foster?" {Randy never worked at the bar, I don't think, but he was there a lot. And he was part of the bar band. And the DJ at our wedding. And we haven't seen him in years, either.}
"No! But you're still so close!" {What the hell? Who is left?}
"I give. Tell me. I can't think of anyone else." {I give up so easily.}
"DEAN!"
Of course! How could I have not guessed Dean! He worked at the bar for several years, several years ago. I could tell you a lot more about him if he'd ever respond to the harassing emails I send to former employees, begging them to answer my questions so I can feature them on the blog.
by Debbi | Nov 3, 2007 | Bar Band, Events
This weekend is Homecoming Weekend at the University of Kansas. We always know it will be extra busy at The Sandbar, with all the Jayhawk alumni descending upon downtown Lawrence trying to relive their college days, along with the regular busy-ness that is a normal weekend. Add to that, there almost always are fans of whatever football team KU is playing the following day who arrive on Friday and are out on the town looking for entertainment.
Last night was no exception. A small group of middle-aged Nebraska
fans, all sporting bright red attire that broadcast their allegiance,
were happily drinking Bahama Mamas and frozen hurricanes early in the
night. And despite whatever preconceived notions you might have about
Nebraska fans, these fans were cool. They were friendly to the
regulars and were clearly there to enjoy the atmosphere, not to start a
turf war.
The bar band made their usual night-before-a-home-game appearance. adidas generously donated their t-shirts and Dave printed the Sandbar logo on the front with "Bar Band" underneath. {Several of my girlfriends who were Marching Jayhawks in college now covet these shirts.} It was really fun to watch The Sandbar crowd cheer on the Bar Band. And the really cool part? The Nebraska fans got into the music- including the KU Fight Song- just as much as the predominantly Jayhawk friendly crowd.
