The Black Box — Restaurant in Denver

I'm going to have a bit of storytime so I'll put general review first and those that want to stay for the rest, can. So I only went to one spot to dance so I'm not the best Denver club judge but this one was great. Intimate vibe with nice amount of dance floor space and great DJs. I got a rum and sprite for 8 bucks (which as a new yorker was amazing)and a beer was the same price. They had water for free! I know that probably sounds like a strange acclimation but water can be $8 at a NYC party. The attendees were also chill, at least while inside. Now for storytime. It was my last night in Denver for a work trip and I wanted to do as much as possible that night. When I first arrived I literally just came from exploring the red rocks and hula hooping at the amphitheater stage and I wanted to keep up the dance vibes. I was crushed when the security guy told me they weren't allowed no matter how skilled you claim to be. Luckily it was a sectional hoop so I disassembled it and got inside with the warning that "they better not see me use it". Fair enough. I brought silk fans also 😉 I get a drink and start to vibe. The dancefloor was the husk to the musics' soul, you could feel the heartbeat as the music vibrated the floor. I go all out dancing, not caring who's watching because I'm in another state, who's to judge? I have another drink and I'm ready to bend some rules, I assemble the hoop. I'm flowing to a couple of songs and I'm thinking maybe they see I won't do damage and I can keep going. Unfortunately not, someone comes up (I believe the manager)and gives me the face so I stop. They said the fans were fine (very grateful for that) so I used those for a bit. I started vibing with this nice couple who were killin it on the dancefloor and before ya know it, it was time to leave.

I usually call my Ubers before I head outside but I wanted to enjoy the fresh air. I walk across the street, looked at the night sky and thought "wow a whole night out and not one creep". And then this guy comes over and compliments my dancing and said he was watching me all night. Could I come to his hotel for one more dance? I politely said no but thanks for the compliment. Then he asks again and again and now it's becoming weird. 2 guys come out and yell compliments from across the street and I contemplate asking for their help, but I feel the threat is low so I yell a thank you back and continue my strange encounter. He tells me his Uber is 1 min away so I say I'll chat with him until it comes but I'm not coming with him. When it finally arrives he tries to pull my arm and get me in the Uber with him. At this point I'm pretty stern with my no and even told the Uber driver "take him, I don't want to go with him and he won't leave me alone". To that the Uber guy replies "can you just close my door?" As we're struggling outside it. Thanks Uber. The guy who wants me gets out and closes the door behind him and the driver whisks away leaving him with me. For some reason I still felt the threat level was low enough to not run back into the club like some damsel in distress. There's other ways to ditch a dog. I realized this whole time I was a fool, I'll just book my Lyft. So I did and it's a 5 mins away, let's hope I don't have to fight this dude beforehand. So I fake entertain him with more convo and a false promise of coming back with him. Then I go to take a pic of the outside of the building (for memories) and I ask if he could take my picture. As soon as the impromptu photoshoot is over, he passed my phone back and my Lyft smoothly pulls up next to me. "You called your own Uber?" He questioned sadly. "Yes love cuz you weren't getting the hint, no means no. But have a goodnight". Yes I'm way too polite to creeps but I wasn't in the mood to get rowdy, I was having a good night. I opened the door to the Lyft and told him, "make sure he doesn't follow us" and we drove away. Security should be outside when a event is in the final hour imo. If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope you come and check this place out...

If youve been here you know how great it is. Amazing crowd, staff is very kind, vibes are generally high, and of course the sound system is huge. Its the best club in Denver for sure. However, I think there is still room for improvement and healthy criticism. Starting with the biggest thing that could be better; is the lighting. They currently have fine ambient lighting, the cube on the stage, and SOMETIMES they havw a projector running behind the artist. No blinders, strobes, lasers, nothing. Its totally fine how it is, but, with like 3 strobe lights above the dancefloor, and some blinders above the stage the experience could be so much more immersive and would match the quality of the sound system. Lighting is often overlooked in venues and events, but it is just as important as a good speaker system and a good dj IMO. Bonus points if its bright enough to still move around, but dark enough that the space youre in feels liminal and almost endless. Also a fog machine. Please.

Currently the sound system is awesome. Best club/vemue install in Denver for sure. But if it was to be critiqued, it is lacking something in the upper mid range. This is very apparent when songs with vocals are playing. Often bass heavy songs with rap over them you can hardly hear the vocal. If you didnt know the song you would be forgiven for not realizing there even was a vocal when its coming from this system. This is the most obvious manifestation of this frequency dip, but of course there is other details that are undoubtedly being lost within that part of the spectrum. I dont know what the solution to this would be, im not an audio engineer. Just something ive noticed over my time in the box. Maybe some 12" mid-tops between the woofers and the horns? Idk.

I love the black box, its the best venue in the city and is a hub for underground culture in Denver. They do an amazing job with every single aspect, and I hope theyre here forever. These are just my opinions on how it could be...

i want to start off by saying that the box is one of my favorite venues in denver, and up until a few months ago i’d only had great experiences with staff and security. however, in the past few months me and my friends have had several negative experiences with one of the women who works the box office. she has been unnecessarily rude to me for asking simple questions, most recently i asked her if there was coat check that night, because there was no one at the coat check, but there was a note saying to go to the box office for inquiries or whatever. so i went over there and asked if they had coat check that night and she responded “yeah so like i’m not gonna hold your stuff for you” in such a rude way that i was genuinely taken aback. it would have been just as easy for her to say “sorry we’re not offering coat check tonight” another time, she questioned my friends medical oxygen tank, again in an unnecessary rude way because she “had never seen it before”. my friends have had similar negative experiences. i don’t know if i’m blowing it out of proportion, but it’s just really disappointing because i’ve never had a good interaction with her beyond her just scanning my tickets when i first go in, and the interaction with a coat check kinda put a bad energy on my night for the next 30 mins. it just seems like that’s not the type of person you want to have greeting people who first enter, and she puts a bad spin on what is otherwise...