North Star Bar   

The North Star is one of the best indie music venues the city has to offer, with a room that's somewhere between the Grand Ole Opry and the Whiskey club in Los Angeles. But in the angular space surrounding the performance area, there's plenty of room for hanging out and taking in a lively, leisurely drink or two -- whether you're ultimately headed to the band room or not. The pool tables and appropriately hip jukebox give you something to do if you aren't feeling up to circulating and kicking up casual conversations -- which is good, since the tight bar area is not particularly suited to sit-down heart-to-hearts. Most patrons work the room with one of the North Star's many beer options, bumping into the people they know and being forced into close quarters with people they might like to know. It may be a shade too bright for a rock 'n' roll watering hole, but it's still the coolest rock lobby around.