Dazed and confused at Party Animal

By A.S. Keller
Translated by April Lin

     This is a difficult review to write. I want to tell you about a great bar where I had a great time, but I can't tell you exactly where it is. I blame the bartender at Party Animal for my lack of recall. Entirely his fault. I still don't know how I managed to get home.

Wherever Party Animal is located [see Editor's Note below], I highly recommend dropping in for an evening. There are many things to be said for this pub, not least of which is the solid house band. I didn't catch the band's name, but they pulled off credible cover versions of a wide range of pop and rock standards while I was there: tunes to sing along with, tunes to boogie along to, tunes for drinking...and the vocalist (didn't get her name, either) has a decent set of pipes. It's a treat to catch a working bar band and this one is definitely worth your time and attention.

    I do remember strolling into the joint fairly early on in the evening and noticing the bench/booth seating around a large bar. It seemed fairly crowded, in an odd sort of way, until I realized that I was the only foreigner in the place--another nice treat from my perspective. It's all too common to find oneself surrounded by other foreigners on a Saturday night. Party Animal is definitely not an expatriate hangout, but then I didn't fly half way around the planet to spend all my free time with folks from home, either.

It wasn't long before I was trading shots with a table full of new friends and grooving to the band's opening set. At some point after that, the band stopped playing and I left. I'm certain I had a good time. I'm also going back...if I can find it again.      Party Animal--a bar that lives up to its name. Check it out. If you find it before I do, let me know where it is. I'll buy you a drink.

    EDITOR'S NOTE: Generally, we encourage our writers to take copious notes BEFORE they start imbibing heavily. However, we'll let Mr. Keller off the hook this time. Party Animal is located on a quiet stretch of Hsiang Shang North Road, between Meitsun and YingTsai roads, not far from Peoples' Square.