Corazón

Sadly, this venue closed tonight. Corazon will be missed.

A nice spot for live music, but there was one minor snafu, and the way that Corazon handled it kind of irked me. FIrst, it was freezing-​ass cold and about to snow last Sunday night, and some early birds had arrived at the crack of 7 pm, when Corazon opened its doors, in order to secure tickets and seats. Not fifteen minutes after settling into their seats, all of the patrons were made to leave the premises and stand outside in the freezing cold wind, because Akron/​Family had rolled in late and wanted a private soundcheck. When we arrived at about 7:30 pm, our friend was one of 12 or so patrons standing hunched over and shivering in line, waiting to get back inside after already paying and ordering drinks. That was lame, and since I’m still battling bronchitis we had to leave and go somewhere else until the doors opened for real.
Other than that, I really liked this venue. The drinks were a bit weak (that I managed to drink 3 martinis with no hangover can only be attributed to watered-​down vodka) for the price, but no one complained with half the people sitting along the banquette stood up on it in their bare or cowboy-​shoed feet in order to see the stage. There was plenty of room for people who like to smoosh themselves against other people and people who revere the North American radius of personal space to coexist comfortably. THe asshole factor was miniscule, and the crowd was dominated by shining happy people. Some of them even held hands.
Delicate Steve rocked, but Akron/​Family was clearly underpracticed, kicking things off with a wobbly and uncertain-​sounding warble voiced lead. Luckily he and the band gained strength and volume and when GT and I left about halfway through their set they were ready to kick out the jams. Unfortunately, by that time, we were ready for bed.

You need a «club» type scene to take visitors to? This is basically it.
I only went there because I met up with a 24 year old kid that was cute and good for my ego. (Funnily enough, later that evening I was chatted up by several middle aged businessmen at the bar and on the back patio.)
I won’t be found at Corazon again, but it has its purpose.

I really do like this place overall. A solid bar with a good vibe, and many wonderful live shows. However, I would really like to see a reunion between Corazon and the geeks who drink, especially now that the quiz has no home in Santa Fe. I’m not sure what caused them to discontinue such a lovely event, but its a bummer. In any event, it’s a good place to drink and hang out in a mellow fashion.

Cheap schwag beer, friendly bar-​staff, eclectic variety of music varying nightly – a tad too much tech/​dub for dicerning tastes, but it is Santa Fe afterall and most everyone seems stuck in raver/​hippie mode, so you have to take what you can get. Decent grub. Happy hour between 4 – 8. Check out Karaōke on Sundays. Always a good time – ranging from the tone def (intentional misspelling for emphasis), but enthusiastic, to the tragically hip and talented (but undiscovered) local talent. Not the best bar in the world, but quite solid for Santa Fe. If Liz is tending bar: Hell yeah! She’s terrific!