I guess maybe this is synonymous with the rise of the “hipster,” but I’ve noticed that relatively affluent young people have recently developed some bizarre fascination with what they call a “dive” bar. A number of my friends have expressed such an interest and whenever I look on socialization websites (like craigslist), it’s one of the most common interests mentioned. When I hit my 21st birthday in the ’90s, I went to a dive bar with a friend, because it was in walking distance and the only other choice was a crowded college bar. It was boring and a bit depressing.
The way I understand it, a “dive” is a very nondescript and particularly shabby neighborhood-type bar, populated mainly with run-down locals, most of whom are “regulars” (i.e., hopeless alcoholics). Granted that in such a place, the drinks are cheap, but if you’re not one of the locals (who I guarantee do not call their second home a “dive”), why would you want to go there? The only appeal I can see is that of “slumming it,” which is a sort of condescending thrill that affluent people seem to get from “seeing how the other half live,” stroking a charge from encountering people and situations unlike their everyday lives (in which they know are superior).
Clarification: by “affluent,” I meant anyone who comes from a solidly middle-class (or upper-class) background and has either {a} a trust fund, {b} parents who can or do help pay for bills or {c} a white-collar job that pays decent money. Essentially, think of the song “Common People” by Pulp – this is what the “dive bar” likers are like. Because if they seriously liked some run-down neighborhood bar, would they really refer to it as a “dive”?
On the bright side, at least this latest “irony” debacle isn’t as much of a fashion disaster as the trucker hat fad. I still don’t like its disingenuousness though; I think I’ll go listen to some Pulp.
Perks of the dive bar:
-cheap drinks
-often supplies cheap/tasty food
-less pretension
-no cover
-less youngins
-and more
How I’ve always used “dive bar,” and everyone I know in Canada or the US, it refers to some place that’s dingy and cheap. That could mean the sort of bar that only a few local drunks go to, or the bar that people hit for cheap drinks after work, the funky bar that’s run down but still has character, the place that proudly wears the ragged badge of time, etc.
My favourite dive bar has amazing Mexican food (cheap, tasty, and meat/veg options), cheap drinks, and a club upstairs that hosts everything from dance nights to lecture series. No matter how much some people love it, you can’t NOT call it a dive — tons of people have carved their names into the tables, and rumor has it that it’s better not to know what actually goes down in the kitchen.
I can see your points, but I’m still going to disagree with you.
-cheap drinks, yes, but even cheaper at the liquor store (make your own party)
-cheap/tasty food maybe for omnivores
-venue is much less pretentious, but the patrons are not necessarily so (especially hipsters and college kids)
-no cover? so what? there are plenty of nice/interesting bars with no cover (at least around here), that’s no draw. i certainly wouldn’t pay a cover for a regular bar (only if there’s a DJ or band and some semblance of a dance floor).
-less youngins is only marginally true in Boston – certain dive bars are so popular that college kids frequent them (granted, it’s not all college kids, but there’s usually at least a handful)
Overall, I think I’m too disinterested in alcohol (what little interest I have is for well-made cocktails, which usually aren’t available at a dive) and too interested in aesthetics (I like a place with an excess of character, in terms of design, not just “atmosphere” and preferably not on the dingy side) and too annoyed by a population likely to dish out sexist and homophobic remarks to really appreciate most dive bars.
To disagree with you more.. 🙂
A liquor store and party works if — you have the space, you live in an area everyone can access easily, and don’t suffer any sort of noise restrictions. It’s not an all-reaching alternative.. and anyway — it means you have to clean!
Maybe it’s different there, but there are a ton of dive bars and dive bar/cafes here that have cheap booze, dingyness, and LOTS of veg food.
But I do agree that mixing with some dive-bar locals can be homophobic.
But still.. Unless you’re going out to dance and meet lots of people of a certain type (depending on bar/club you go to), the dive bar has it’s perks. Many of my favourite outings have been in with them, whether it’s because I don’t go broke by the end of the night on booze, or because I meet interesting people, or they’re not packed with so many ppl that you feel claustrophobic.. And sometimes they’re divey, but filled with history — funky art, pictures, architecture, uniqueness.. Something out of the ordinary.
Besides.. If you’re only interested in well-made cocktails and sweet design, you breaking down the dive bar would be like you breaking down a steak house.. 🙂
Shame on you, writer-lady! Misusing a contraction for a possessive (“it’s perks” instead of “its perks”). That’s about all I can say (except that I’ve never associated veg food (especially vegan food) with dive bars, except maybe a peanut bowl – note: cheese and fries are not necessarily vegetarian).
p.s. simply saying that I dislike them wouldn’t have made a very interesting post, now would it?
Typo! :p
By veg food, I was thinking of everything from veggie quesadillas to salads to veggie pasta or tofu dishes.