This dueling piano bar is far from a classy venue where black-bow-tied attendants gracefully serve hors d’oeuvres and wine to the soft sound of tickled ivory. At peak hours, the Shout! House swarms with jovial, red-faced patrons pounding tables as the wait staff dances atop two beat-up grand pianos and the sticky bar counter.
The restaurant resembles a cozy barnyard, furbished with rugged wooden furniture, neon lights and an obnoxious stuffed SpongeBob SquarePants surfing just above the stage. Tables and chairs are jammed tightly on the floor so patrons are forever jostling elbows and inhaling air permeated by sweat, beer and perfume. Because the entertainment is crowd-driven, customers are instructed to let their inner crassness loose and act as rowdy and boisterous as possible.
Sharp-witted pianists perform songs requested by the audience, giving precedence to those accompanied by heftier tips. The performers’ musical prowess is expansive; the playlist includes a little Elton John, Bon Jovi, Queen and some obligatory Billy Joel, as a friendly tribute to the man who began his illustrious career performing anonymously in piano bars. The players can also break out into dead-on renditions of Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl’ and Akon’s ‘Smack That’ without batting an eyelash.
An unhinged ‘mdash; and very likely drunk ‘mdash; person might throw away $25 on a request for the Mario Brothers’ theme song and the pianist will demand no less than $26 from the audience to make him stop playing it.
The entertainers crack bawdy jokes throughout the evening, some subtle and others brazen. As the Shout! House is a popular site for bachelorette and 21st birthday parties, the jokes are predictably saturated with lewd comments about the human anatomy. Shameless attention-getters and bashful brides-to-be alike are pulled on stage and instructed to dance for the crowd or sit on the piano for a song.
To mark the end of every guest performance, the audience erupts into one big chorus: ‘You bitch! You slut! You whore!’ and the merriment only increases as the night progresses, after the audience has consumed enough alcohol to howl with laughter over jokes that are repeated again and again.
Food options aren’t revolutionary: Customers are served typical burgers and appetizers in red baskets, often ordering the popular 32 oz. Big Ass Beer and complimentary plastic cup imprinted with an illustration of someone’s hairy lower backside.
The best times to grab a group of friends and head downtown for some rock ‘n’ roll piano without a cover fee are Sunday evenings, Tuesdays and Wednesdays before 8 p.m. and Thursday evenings with current college ID.