South Sound Garage review

By Brad Allen on December 16, 2006

It looks like we might have ourselves a show, people.

 Hanging at the opening of the Sound Sound Garage, where the crowd outnumbered the security until 10 p.m., I was pleasantly surprised to find the lounge free of senior citizens and schoolchildren.  Everyone dressed for comfort over jeans drank in the massive space while Ozzy, Motley Crue, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Lynyrd Skynyrd competed with "Groove Is in The Heart" and other club hits of the '80s and '90s.

 It's huge.  It's a garage, or was, with 9,000-square feet of metal, huge raised stage in the corner with good site lines, lights everywhere, tables, eight small half-moon booths with a large VIP booth next to the bar.  The servers might have to wear Camelbaks to keep hydrated during their stroll from the long bar to the last booth next to Market Street.

It's loud. A 18,000-watt sound system loud.  It's I can hear it down the street loud.  NIN's "Closer" brought the first ladies to the dance floor around 10:15 p.m.  I swear the song almost knocked my drink off the table.  I'm talkin' loud folks, but in an adrenaline rush sort of way.      

I bolted around 11 p.m. so I never witnessed a rush to the dance floor.  The crowd was in their late 20s and 30s in groups. The meet market didn't exist.

The steakhouse aspect of the joint isn't on line yet.  Baskets of fried food are your option.

Verdict.  It's my kind of joint.  I love it.  I will kick back in a booth, get my drink on, listen to loud music I grew up with and watch the pretty girls dance away.

However, they need to drop the $5 cover until the place packs out.  They need the bodies to fill the space.

[South Sound Garage Steakhouse and Grill, 933 Market St. (no sign, just "Now Open" banners), downtown Tacoma]