Burlesque dancing with live music is fun to watch, especially when it's free!
Upper Manhattan Lounge (UML) is a classy spot in Manhattan Beach, about 1 mile north of the pier area. When you walk into this joint, you feel like you stepped into a high-end Hollywood lounge, but you're still by the beach in the South Bay. Dress to impress, but you don't have to be on a guest list or have the "look" to get in unlike some hot spots in Hollywood.
For the Cabaret Show, the girls come out once every hour starting 8:30 PM (3 shows per night) and dance to the tunes of a live band. For this burlesque dancing, some pieces of clothing come off, but the lingerie does stay on, so no worries for the bashful types like me. The themes for the shows change off and on, i.e. new latin-themed nights, "Salsa Cabaret", will be coming with happy hour and food/drink specials in April-June. Right after the 10:30 PM show, a DJ starts playing and the stage extension retracts in order to open up a small dance floor. The crowd (mostly female) is welcome to jump on stage to show off their dancing skills... maybe get a taste of the bar and beads to swing around like in my photo here (but the bouncers may stop you).
There's no cover charge before 9 PM, otherwise it's $10 pp for boys and girls alike. I personally like going early in order to avoid the line and use the money toward drinks. Speaking of which, drinks are not cheap at UML, but the entertainment makes up for that, in my opinion. Street parking is free in Manhattan Beach after 8 PM (double check the signs) if you are lucky to find a spot on Highland Avenue. Otherwise, there's a small metered parking lot across the street (Rosecrans Ave) or a paid parking lot behind that. If you can't make it tomorrow, the cabaret show is usually every Saturday, sometimes Friday too.
Approximate cost of creative date idea = Free Admission + Drinks.
Actual value of the cheap date idea = Priceless.
Friday, February 19, 2010
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