I finally get myself to this cool bar in Jersey City
The Corkscrew (61 Congress St, Jersey City) is a throwback to what I feel a good neighborhood bar should be. It reminds me of those places that used to be more common in this area but have gone the way of the dodo or dinosaur or network news integrity. The kinds of places where you could sit, have a cheap drink (or several, or many) listen to music and meet anyone from local kids to gruff old Cuban men pissed off about one thing or another.
Two years ago, the closing of another classic Jersey City bar called Uncle Joe’s rang in a sad period in the city’s nightlife. As hard as it may be to believe there was literally no place in this the second largest city in NJ to see live, original music for a long time. Luckily the town has been going thru a bit of a renaissance recently thanks in large part to The Corkscrew and other places that have been opening up to the idea of being more than just a bar or just a club.
Behind the bar tonight is Joe Condiracci, a singer/songwriter from the area who is also responsible for the booking of bands and DJs here. I first met Joe when he was the emcee at the weekly open mic at Uncle Joe’s. For the most part the bands here tend to be quieter, acoustic set ups but they do occasionally have groups that plug in and turn up. Tonight was one of the quieter types of sets from my friend Dave Calamoneri.
Joe and I laughed at how many people have actually tried to scrape the dollar coins and two-dollar bills that are shellacked into the bar’s finish. It’s actually easy to understand since the coins are raised just enough to fool some booze-soaked brain. There’s the usual bar amenities such as a pool table, TVs, an outside smoking area where you can actually take your drink with you and funny hand made signs. My favorite says, “Arguing about pool is like the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you’re still retarded.”
The bar’s location helps with its growing popularity among Hobokenites looking to expand their bar hopping horizons. It’s just a few blocks away from the Congress Street elevator which connects to the 9th Street Light Rail station in Hoboken. One word of warning, the elevator closes at 1:00 AM as do the stairs running next to it. So if you don’t want to get stranded, either head back by 12:45 or better yet, carry the number for Hoboken Taxi in your wallet (201-420-1480).
Mr. Calamoneri did a fine job as usual crooning for us while at the same time heckling some poor guy named Danny. It was great seeing Joe again and finally getting to this cool little joint. The rest of my night remains in that blurry corner of my memory as we went from the Corkscrew to DC’s in Hoboken to meet friends. Soon a bunch of us were in Dave’s apartment drinking, laughing and listening to Zappa until the cruel fire of the sun came up to greet us. It was time to go home and sleep all day.
See Also:
The Corkscrew
Joe Condiracci
Dave Calamoneri
DC’s
