Top Ten Music PokéStops in Denton: Following the Siren Song of Jigglypuff
Let's face it, we are all still stuck looking down at our phones, trying to level up in Pokemon Go. We know you are still playing, even if you are hiding it. Don't try to fight it. We've compiled the top ten best Pokestops in Denton where you can also catch great tunes.
This list was made using a fairly new Sprint phone, so depending on how good your GPS is, how fast and plentiful your data, how new your phone, etcetera, mileage may vary. I did check that each stop was accessible to me, but this may not hold true across the entire building for you. However, I feel this is a good starting place for anyone who loves Pokémon and music as much as I do. (Go Team Valor!)
940’s does have a Pokéstop accessible from inside—and is only occasionally a place in which you can hear live music—but we can say that the staff all have good taste, and the music they’ll be playing will probably be good. The drinks are great, the food is great, and the bartenders are mostly playing Pokémon Go too. Sit at the bar and get into a discussion with them while you load up on items for your game and food and drink for yourself and all will be well.
OSDH has two Pokéstops accessible from outside. On Sundays they have an excellent classic country playlist, and you could theoretically sit there and listen to that, but if country is your least favorite genre next to Christian easy listening, even the combined power of two Pokéstops might not inspire you to put this on your list.
East Side Denton/The Bearded Monk
The East Side mural Pokéstop (accessible from the back of East Side), The Austin Street Truck Stop, and all the way across to the Bearded Monk, is easily one of our favorite Pokéstops. For one thing, the staff at East Side have really embraced the whole Pokémon Go thing. There is almost always a lure there, as well as an adorable Charmander on the front window (and a very sick looking Ash, but we’re not sure that counts as a bonus). While East Side is technically a sports bar, especially at night, the staff all have excellent taste in music, and we highly recommend just sitting outside some afternoon jamming to their playlists while sipping some fancy beer or cider. Just hightail it out back to the Bearded Monk when the roar of the sports fans drowns out the music, as there will likely be some pleasant event happening there any given weekend.
Of course Barley & Board has a Pokéstop, as it is located in the Historic Lacy Hotel. The Pokéstop is the historical marker itself. This was no surprise, but fun fact: B&B has live music on Thursday's. The employee we spoke to suggested that we let everyone know they also have $4 off all beer flights as well as appetizer specials during this live music event. (We didn’t have the heart to tell him the only “app” that concerns us right now is Pokémon Go, but we were excited by the news nevertheless.)
The mural on the wall of Recycled Books is a Pokéstop. While not available throughout the entirety of the building (let’s face it, Recycled is huge), it definitely reaches to the record player at the front. So feel free to grab some records and listen through them while loading up on items. The Pokéstop isn’t accessible from where the records actually are, but you may be able to pick up one from across the street if you have good range on your GPS.
Paschall is easily one of our favorite bars in town. The drinks are delicious, and the walls are lined with books; what’s not to love? We were thrilled when we realized that the building itself is a Pokéstop, and you can really load up over the course of an evening. Regarding music, the staff has excellent taste, and we can’t remember the last time we were there and someone didn’t have to look up at least one song. Additionally, they have live jazz on Sunday nights (warning to smokers, this means they do not allow smoking after 9 PM as per usual.) Though some of us may not be huge jazz fans (which is, we know, sacrilege living in Denton), it fits the ambiance perfectly.
Andy’s and Paschall don’t just share a building, they also share a Pokéstop—which is not surprising for GPS/location-based technology. While some prefer Paschall for quality of drink, atmosphere, seating, etc., Andy’s beats it by virtue of being an actual venue with actual live shows. (Though we seriously suspect that trying to load up on items during a show is going to get a lot of cheap beer, vodka, and sweat on your phone.) For an alternative, we recommend going down to the basement and dropping some money in their virtual jukebox, making your own playlist, and hiding out in a booth. If you don’t have money to drop on music yourself that night, there is a large cadre of metal lovers who will play metal incessantly, provided the owner isn’t there to berate them.
If y’all haven’t heard, Rasoi has moved up in the world. In a case of seriously making the best out of a bad situation, when they lost their original location (who else remembers getting gas at Rasoi way back in the day?), Rasoi didn’t just move to a new place. They completely revamped, including a name change to reflect their expanded offerings, which now include DJs and live music on the weekends. While Hangout itself is not a Pokéstop, the one across the street is accessible from the parking lot as well as part of the building (or all of it, depending on how frisky your GPS is feeling that night.)
The Courthouse lawn has half a dozen different accessible Pokéstops depending on where you are sitting, and it is quite possible to grab a patch of grass and find three Pokéstops in reach simultaneously. Usually at least one of them—sometimes even two or three—has a lure; about half the people on the lawn will also playing the game and will strike up a conversation with you. And if the weather is nice, there will be a guitar, or a drum circle, or even a band or mini-festival depending on the date. It is a little too good and is almost always crowded, even midday during hundred-plus degree weather. Once the day cools down, it gets packed, and while that can be fun for a while, it gets old pretty fast. Plus, there’s nothing to drink. (Author’s Note: Were I underage, this might top my list, but even then I suspect the lack of AC and fans would keep it off the number one spot.)
Easily topping this list is Harvest House. There are two Pokéstops accessible from the backyard patio (both of which turned out to be bronze statues we had no idea even existed until we started making this list) and actual live music. Harvest House is easily one of the most legit venues in town: their sound people know what they’re doing (as outdoor spaces are very difficult to work in), but we have never felt their sound quality suffer because of it. Their drinks are fantastic, and they have something for everyone, as their juices are just as tasty without alcohol. This is the venue to bring friends who don’t drink alcohol as well as those who do. Harvest House consistently has good bands (Author’s Note—my personal favorite act being Hale Baskin and the Southpaw Preachers on the occasional Sunday), and they have a lot of seating. Plus, even outside in the heat of the day, their fans and shade keep everything much cooler than on the Courthouse lawn.