Remembering E-town Bars that are no-more

Captain Fantastic

Cpt. Fallustina
Feb 24, 2012
6,091
6,223
YEG
Was Barry T's and Goose Loonies popular around the early to mid 80s? Heard about those two a lot on the radio. Just can't remember the time period.
 

Senor Catface

Registered User
Jul 25, 2006
15,848
19,518
Was Barry T's and Goose Loonies popular around the early to mid 80s? Heard about those two a lot on the radio. Just can't remember the time period.

Yeah, you can tell what generation of southside 80's/90's/2000 club go'er you are based on which you know of most.

Goose Loonies
Thunderdome
Inferno (!!!)
Tonic
Whatever is there now
 
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Roof Daddy

Registered User
Apr 1, 2008
13,116
2,259
I miss "pre-insurance fire" Black Dog, Filthy McNasty's and New City. Thinking I'll be alone on those ones.

Always loved Metal Mondays at Filthy's - great way to burn through that student loan check.

Only hit up New City a few times, but remember seeing The smalls play there.
 
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Frank the Tank

The Godfather
Aug 15, 2005
15,809
12,163
Chicago, IL
Rebar was the first night club I hit up circa 95 it was the first time I saw black lights and it was a crazy dance floor walking in, place was packed.
I had my fake I.D , my name was Sam McGee....
I turned 18 and went to Rebar at 12:01am. Had a blast many nights there across my time at the U of A.

For those of us that lived in Lister Hall, there was Thursday nights at The Ship. Living in the US where the drinking age is 21, most people don't believe we had a full-service bar not only on campus, but inside our dorm.
 

Stoneman89

Registered User
Feb 8, 2008
27,205
21,405
Older Bars? Then mentions places like H2O. 90's bars, Rough bars?!

You younger guppies ain't seen nothing.

Try oldtime places like the Klondiker, Saxony, Commercial, Cromdale, Yellowhead, Highway Motor Inn, Forum Inn, Ambassador, Corona, Vega on for size.

Whyte Ave as well used to be a different place as well before the 80's hit. It was far greasier and lots of Al Bundy type bars. nod. wink.


Now you're talking my kind of language! lol. And those bars sported some of the best music you could ask for. Edmonton was a bubbling cauldron of great bands that could play metal or anything else. When disco arrived it killed a lot of my interest, but cabarets were a great place to dance and get after the chicks.
 

Stoneman89

Registered User
Feb 8, 2008
27,205
21,405
And don't forget the Beverly Crest, Covention Inn South, Capilano, Londonderry, Rosslyn and the St. Albert Inn.


A lot of other memory makers. Tough, tough places, where you drank your beers from the ALCB glasses, listened to great music, picked at the red terry towel table cloths and minded your business. And then stupidly, drove home.
 
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guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
32,644
12,154
I remember going to the Convention Inn South to see live acts. Saw some 80's bands like Rough Trade and Jack Greene down there.
Always enjoyed these smaller more intimate venues for live music.
There was a great spot downtown (around 109th st) as well but I cant remember the name of it.
 

guymez

The Seldom Seen Kid
Mar 3, 2004
32,644
12,154
isn't people's pub the same bar as Ike & iggys, just different eras?

The Peoples pub became the Inn on Whyte. Or maybe it was the other way around but it was a great spot for $5 jugs of beer every Monday night back in the day. Me and my NAIT buddies took full advantage of that. :D
 

Cizin

Registered User
Jun 30, 2013
239
59
Three pages and no mention of the Purple Onion?
Mentioned in the first post.


First place I was served was the Racer Pub at the Mayfield Inn. They had a red MG roadster behind the bar.

Some friends lived in Riverdale and said we should go to their neighborhood pub which turned out to be the four hotels on 96th street, I think it was the York, Empire, Royal, and International - interesting night. All four are long gone.

Also remember the Park Hotel just south of Whyte and the Corkscrew on Stony Plain Rd.
 

bobbythebrain

Registered User
Jul 30, 2016
13,448
12,708
isn't people's pub the same bar as Ike & iggys, just different eras?

Peoples was the rock bar in the back of the Renford Inn on Whyte. Ikes was a separate pub in the front . They were open simultaneously

O'Byrnes currently is the space that was both bars
 

Drivesaitl

Time to Drive
Oct 8, 2017
45,304
54,862
Duck hunting
I remember going to the Convention Inn South to see live acts. Saw some 80's bands like Rough Trade and Jack Greene down there.
Always enjoyed these smaller more intimate venues for live music.
There was a great spot downtown (around 109th st) as well but I cant remember the name of it.

Vega. Had some really great Rock cover bands playing there regularly. That place really got kicking.
 
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bone

5-14-6-1
Jun 24, 2003
8,345
6,617
Edmonton
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can somebody tell me where Goose loonies was located? was it a club? pub?

way before my time

Goose Loonie became the Thunderdome became the Tonic became the (I forget) and is now Union Hall. It's Argyll Hotel on Argyll Road/99 Street. There's also an ice rink known simply as Argyll there if you ever played men's hockey.

I participated in the Thunderdome era mostly and at that time it was a large two storey club venue with stage for occasional mid-sized acts. I think Goose Loonies was similar but less concerts, but I really don't know.

Union Hall is similar still but seems focussed on the concert portion rather than the night club portion.
 

CantHaveTkachev

Legends
Nov 30, 2004
49,452
29,190
St. OILbert, AB
Goose Loonie became the Thunderdome became the Tonic became the (I forget) and is now Union Hall. It's Argyll Hotel on Argyll Road/99 Street. There's also an ice rink known simply as Argyll there if you ever played men's hockey.

I participated in the Thunderdome era mostly.
thanks
I remember when it became Tonic..went there several times

decent concert venue now that's its the Union Hall
 

joestevens29

Registered User
Apr 30, 2009
52,498
15,065
Another one was Roxy's. The girls just loved it.

For how many times we went I sure as hell don't remember where it was other than north side of whyte ave upstairs

Wild West was another one that as a younger man you were going be violated if you walked in
 

bone

5-14-6-1
Jun 24, 2003
8,345
6,617
Edmonton
Visit site
Another one was Roxy's. The girls just loved it.

For how many times we went I sure as hell don't remember where it was other than north side of whyte ave upstairs

Wild West was another one that as a younger man you were going be violated if you walked in

Oh yeah, I think that is the one that was on 103rd Street just north of the Strat but still South of the Farmer's Market. Small place but the girls we hung out with just loved that place. Personally, I didn't understand it, but I was usually too drunk to care by the time we went there.

I think that was the first place I was ever charged for water when I was DD. It enraged me and I never wanted to go back, but the girls ruled there. So I just wouldn't be DD if we were going there.
 

joestevens29

Registered User
Apr 30, 2009
52,498
15,065
Oh yeah, I think that is the one that was on 103rd Street just north of the Strat but still South of the Farmer's Market. Small place but the girls we hung out with just loved that place. Personally, I didn't understand it, but I was usually too drunk to care by the time we went there.

I think that was the first place I was ever charged for water when I was DD. It enraged me and I never wanted to go back, but the girls ruled there. So I just wouldn't be DD if we were going there.
Are you sure you aren't me.

Oh nevermind, I was never dd back then. We had a friend who couldn't drink, so she drove all the time.
 

McShogun99

Registered User
Aug 30, 2009
17,790
13,182
Edmonton
Another one was Roxy's. The girls just loved it.

For how many times we went I sure as hell don't remember where it was other than north side of whyte ave upstairs

Wild West was another one that as a younger man you were going be violated if you walked in

Three was a cougar bar in the Mayfield Inn. If you were under the age of 30 you were guaranteed to get raped by a woman double your age.
 

joestevens29

Registered User
Apr 30, 2009
52,498
15,065
Three was a cougar bar in the Mayfield Inn. If you were under the age of 30 you were guaranteed to get raped by a woman double your age.
I was 16 the first time I went to wild west. Needless to say twice my age would've been fine. I ended up with a lot older than that.
 

Drivesaitl

Time to Drive
Oct 8, 2017
45,304
54,862
Duck hunting
Goose Loonie became the Thunderdome became the Tonic became the (I forget) and is now Union Hall. It's Argyll Hotel on Argyll Road/99 Street. There's also an ice rink known simply as Argyll there if you ever played men's hockey.

I participated in the Thunderdome era mostly and at that time it was a large two storey club venue with stage for occasional mid-sized acts. I think Goose Loonies was similar but less concerts, but I really don't know.

Union Hall is similar still but seems focussed on the concert portion rather than the night club portion.

You are correct that Thunderdome played actual rock shows with performing acts. Saw acts like Bad Company, Nazareth etc play there after their prime. Never saw live acts during Goose Loonies reign. lol that Goose had a cover charge all the time, even on a Tuesday. What was the point..?



One thing I liked about Goose Loonies is if I got bored with the bar or club scene (often) you could pick a table adjacent to the rink and there were windows to watch whatever game was playing there. lol, I was married by then and not much interested in um, other attractions. Or at least I'd get tired of my wife tracking potentially wandering eyes..;) Goose was so 80's-90's shtick in dress code sleaze wear and catwalk wear. Every bad 80's cliché was there including the hair. For women that meant hair that looked like a mid sized animal parked on their hair and so much hairspray somebody could spontaneously combust under a spotlight.

Hard to describe the ambience of Goose. A place trying to be loose and funny and hip and maybe trying hard. It was like a bad Earls restaurant except larger and with drinking and 25 bouncers juiced up. I thought they used to gather up roids freaks from Golds Gym to bounce. They had muscles stacked on muscles all bored and wanting something to do. If you ever got tossed from that place it was a nightmare with half a dozen bored bouncers taking a run at you and making sure you never come back. There were no standards there. Bloody bouncers would be eyeing people up trying to start something the moment you walked in. The complete opposite of hammer taverns where they would be more interested in keeping the peace and de-escalating. Bars were almost always better than nightclubs for staying out of trouble. Seems counterintuitive but its the way it was.

Goose Loonies was a crapshow. Terrible music if you happened to like rock, alternative, grunge, anything with some chops. They'd play all the crap like Madonna 15 times a night and one AC/DC song as a throw in to say "We play a range of music here what are you complaining about". If Goose Loonies was still there they would be playing the same crap or worse they play at Rogers at Oilers games. That kind of place. The girls liked it. For me it was more "ahh, not again".
 

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