So I heard downtown St. Paul was really busy last night.... (Minneapolis: 2009, apartments)

[krillbee]

5/5/09 around midnight. My friend was complaining about all the noisy drunks in the downtown area. I rarely hear of downtown STP being so busy. Was Cinco De Mayo bringing in all the traffic? Any particular places that were hoppin?

[Explorer John]

The West Side was busy on Friday and Saturday for their Cinco de Mayo festival. I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary last night. I was out for a while tonight and saw no more activity than a usual either. Maybe I'm in the wrong spot?

[krillbee]

Originally Posted by Explorer John

The West Side was busy on Friday and Saturday for their Cinco de Mayo festival. I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary last night. I was out for a while tonight and saw no more activity than a usual either. Maybe I'm in the wrong spot?

My friend who noticed this lives in the lowertown area, mears park apartments to be exact.

[silverjet]

Elton John and Billy Joel were at the Xcel last night and performed in front of over 19,000 people. That's why it was so busy downtown yesterday.

[Explorer John]

Originally Posted by krillbee

My friend who noticed this lives in the lowertown area, mears park apartments to be exact.

I'm a few blocks away from there so probably missed it.

The Bulldog is very close to those apartments and is usually busy (for a Downtown bar), could have been folks over there. There's about four other bars in close proximity too, plus a tequila bar called Barrio opening next to Bulldog, maybe that's open now? I'll have to swing by and investigate this weekend.

Originally Posted by silverjet

Elton John and Billy Joel were at the Xcel last night and performed in front of over 19,000 people. That's why it was so busy downtown yesterday.

Could be, but the Xcel Center is actually about a mile from the Mears Park Apartments on the other side of Downtown . Who knows what those crazy Elton John and Billy Joel fans are up to though. An anime convention a few weeks ago created a surprising amount of bustle too.

[silverjet]

Originally Posted by Explorer John

I'm a few blocks away from there so probably missed it.

The Bulldog is very close to those apartments and is usually busy (for a Downtown bar), could have been folks over there. There's about four other bars in close proximity too, plus a tequila bar called Barrio opening next to Bulldog, maybe that's open now? I'll have to swing by and investigate this weekend.

Originally Posted by Explorer John

Could be, but the Xcel Center is actually about a mile from the Mears Park Apartments on the other side of Downtown . Who knows what those crazy Elton John and Billy Joel fans are up to though. An anime convention a few weeks ago created a surprising amount of bustle too.

Barrio is not open yet -- I think it's supposed to open in June. I will definitely be there to check it out.

Uh, getting to Lowertown from the Xcel is not exactly a long drive. So I would say that the noise was coming from people who got out of the concert. The show ended pretty late, like around 11:30...

[Slig]

There is already a bar called Barrio downtown, is the same owner opening a bar with the same name right on the other side of the river? That is pretty lame if it's the case. I'll go back there the very second I have the urge to buy a shot of tequila in the $8-12 range.

[Explorer John]

Originally Posted by Slig

There is already a bar called Barrio downtown, is the same owner opening a bar with the same name right on the other side of the river? That is pretty lame if it's the case. I'll go back there the very second I have the urge to buy a shot of tequila in the $8-12 range.

As far as I've read it's the same owners as the Minneapolis spot; The Strib and City Pages both reported it. The latter article also points out St. Paul's recent tendency to recycle Minneapolis' bars and restaurants. I'm happy new stuff is coming to the area but I have to agree it's kind of lame.