It may have been 2007 on the Boardwalk outside, but on a recent Friday night at Ocean City's Purple Moose Saloon, the vibe was straight-up 1990.
A cover band shredded its way through the Guns N' Roses song "Mr. Brownstone" while patrons in their 30s wearing T-shirts tucked into their jeans boogied down on the dance floor.
In fact, 1990 may have been the last year any serious money was put into the place. The Moose is weathered and worn from years of cheap beer spillage, cigarette smoke and the hard-rocking crowd it attracts. But that's also part of its allure.
You can kick back at the Moose without having to deal with too many sloppy, drunk early twentysomethings. Most of them are a ways down Coastal Highway, hanging out at Seacrets. Instead, the Moose draws a mostly rock-friendly crowd: men in baseball caps, T-shirts and jeans with the occasional gold necklace and women in sleeveless shirts and jean shorts. This is not Polo shirt territory.
On a Friday night late last month, there was a $5 cover charge for the band, Frankie and the Actions (aka FATAL). The Moose was only about half-full when we arrived about 11:30 p.m., and it stayed that way until we left about 1 a.m. A DJ was bumping some slightly played-out pop songs from six months ago, such as Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" and Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous."
We got a beer and a gin and tonic at the bar. The service was pretty quick, and the tonic water was dyed bluish-purple, so it glowed under the black lights near the bar. A couple of odd, oversized silver decorations, which looked like giant Christmas-tree ornaments, hung from the ceiling.
FATAL took the stage shortly after we got there. The four guys in FATAL look like they've been grinding out Guns N' Roses for the past 15 to 20 years. Beer guts and thinning hair be darned, they could still rock.
The music was mixed well, and the band sounded on point, but they could have had a much better stage presence. Granted, there wasn't much room on stage for them to flail around, but they could have moved a little bit. The bassist was a little animated, and the drummer was confined to his stool, but the other two just stood there like lumps.
On its Web site, FATAL is billed as the "East Coast's Greatest Bar Band." I haven't seen all of the bar bands on the East Coast, but I've seen enough to know their claim isn't true. That being said, the band members were pretty solid musicians. At one point, the guitarist soloed '80s-style, complete with Eddie Van Halen-like hammer-tapping. The crowd, a loud, unpretentious bunch, ate it up.
We stayed long enough for two sets each from the band and DJ before heading out. Yes, the Purple Moose may be a little tired and stuck in another time. But it's a fun spot for drinking and dancing like few others in Ocean City.
sam.sessa@baltsun.com
The Purple Moose Saloon is on the Boardwalk between Talbot and Caroline streets in Ocean City. Live bands and DJs perform regularly. For more information, call 410-289-6953 or go to purplemoosesaloon.com.