WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

SUNDANCE REOPENED - My Friday Night Story

RiverDave

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IMG_0102.jpg To many that have never been there, it's probably just a story of another bar opening up in Parker. To others they might say things like "It will never be like it once was..." For guys like me this is a moment that will forever live in Infamy. I didn't get to go there in the 70's.. I wasn't there when the bar burned down, but I vaguely remember the Tent bar that was setup. Who knows though I was a kid (that's a whole different thread), and I've seen so many pics I might be creating a memory there. What I do know is the Sundance bar that is there now. It was the first bar I ever snuck into as a kid, and I loved taking Dad's boat up there and being part of that floating (idling because of current) crowd watching the shenanigans for the better part of an afternoon when I was in Highschool (93-94). The chicks in the high bottom bikinis either showing their tits, or the beaver / moon shots and it going back and forth from the boats to the dock all day long. I remember my older brothers coming back home with the stories, and the scars, that only an epic night at the bar can deliver. To take you into some more modern day times, I remember taking two strippers to the river with me and picking up "Slick" and taking him to Sundance around 2001. He was the first person from the boards I ever met. To sum up the whole paragraph, this bar played some kind of role in my River Program from the time I was born until the last time it shut down. I don't have an exact timeline on that, and to be a proper journalist of sorts I should probably research it.. But god knows nothing about Sundance is proper, so why start with an Article about Sundance? It's around 8-9 years if I had to guess in blurred weekends of beer infused summers.

Here's what I can say, there has been rumors of this place reopening for the last couple years, and they would get built up into total let downs every holiday weekend. I don't think I am alone in saying I had my doubts of it opening this weekend. You can only get your hopes beat on so many times before you just say "I'll believe it when I see it." This year was different though? There was some work being done inside and out and a lot more chatter amongst the die hards then usual. When the pictures of the beer trucks out front hit the text messages, and on their online FB page, even us in the abused hopes club were thinking "It's gotta be happening right?"

I was in Havasu instead of Parker for the beginning of this Memorial day due to my Mom coming in from out of town, so it wasn't exactly like we could just jump in the boat and pop over to see what was going on. I had my feelers out all over the place via text messages to all my river friends inquiring if it was going to open or not. I heard noon, but that was no dice. 2:00? just punch me in the nuts again why don't ya because again no dice. Finally we came up with the plan that we were going to wait for our kids to go to bed and head down to see what was what. Kids hit the sack around 8:00 which would put us there at 8:30'ish. I love my kids more then life itself, but I will admit at 8:15 when they were running laps, and cross fitting just for the hell of it I couldn't help but wonder "why tonight?" As fast as they were running, is about as fast as they came crashing down and Daniel finished his last burpee before we gave him a 6 ounce curl of milk and put him to bed.

Did we Pregame at the house? You're damn right we did.. Even though it's probably not in my own self interest to put it on the ole interweb, I feel our jounalistic integrity would be on the line to omit the fact that the passengers pregamed it in the truck all the way to the god damn bar.

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There it was like a Phoenix that had risen from the ashes, the Sundance sign half lit up for the first time in nearly a decade. This is like taking a picture with a legend, and god knows after the emotional abuse we have taken if it's ever going to happen again so we all posed for the pic. I guarantee even if the pic isn't the greatest one of these will be framed up in Ricky, Nord's and Kelly's houses at some point in the future. I know there will be one in mine. :D

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TPC

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Outstanding RD. :thumbup:
 

RiverDave

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We got by the first security guy, and walked past some kind of food truck deal that was serving up some BBQ'd pull pork sandwiches (they were good FYI, I tried a sample). We got towards the front door and we ran into the second security guard. He was checking ID's to make sure things were legit. We got the black sharpie marker "X" on the right hands and we were in.

The crowd was a little lighter then I was expecting, but bare in mind this place opened like an hour earlier, and the only real promotion that was happening was "word of mouth" on the river that it was actually opening tonight. Overall though it looked like everybody was having a blast, and EVERYBODY was on the same page that they were at SUNDANCE ON OPENING NIGHT. I don't think anyone of them would have missed it for the world.

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Some of the local "fixture" boats were there. (This boat belongs to the family that owns the Plantation)
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Nick Rose from NRI
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New Outside Bar

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Cousin Wayne's Conquest with crew was there.

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Another Shot of the Plantation Poontoon
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I didn't quite understand this big circle thing that they built when looking at it from the Sandbar. It was actually pretty cool for a panoramic view of the river, and became pretty popular later that night.
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The last guys that ran Sundance, they kind of made it the late night bar. It was always our last stop of the night (From about midnight till closing). I think a lot of people still had that kind of vibe, while we were there boats were rolling in non stop. The problem was there wasn't a lot of places to park. When boats tried to tie up to the Northern parts of the bar the security turned them away for some reason. (I didn't quite figure that one out, but I didn't ask either)

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RiverDave

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The crowd was all hanging out at the main bar by the river, and very few people if any were inside or at the upper bar. I took a stroll around and shot photo's anyways though trying to remember what was there the last time I was there and what was new.

I don't remember all these pictures on the brick walls next to the booths on the main dance floor.

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Upper Bar

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The band was pretty good!
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Empty DJ Station while the band was playing

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Ran into another board member and shot the shit with him for awhile. I wish I could remember his name right now, but again this was on Friday of a Holiday weekend and to say I was partaking in the festivities of Sundance opening is an understatement. :D (More on that at the end)

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The later it got the more people were coming up the dock.

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Candid Bar Shot

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I think all the pics above the bar are new?

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Toward the end of the night the main bar area was actually getting pretty busy. The rest of the bar was still quiet, but try to remember exactly how big Sundance is.. Just to fill the whole downstairs and make it busy you'd be looking at 600+ people. The bar isn't massive.. It's a monolith built to the alcohol gods. I have never heard confirmed #'s, but I think it's rated for 3000'ish (entire facility), and I heard the fire marshall shut them down once back in the day and they counted approximately 6,000?

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Kelly, Nord, Stacy, Nick

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Jason and Doniel (sorry if I mispelled that) They own the Sandbar Resort next to Foxes. Jason goes by "RiverPirate" on here. Doniel (sp?) was actually the bartender for the upper bar at Sundance!

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Kind of a weird deal.. I know this wasn't in the bathroom back in the day.. You can't (or at least I wouldn't think you could) smoke in Sundance anymore since they came up with that gay 20' rule in AZ.. Either way, maybe it's for decoration? Who knows.

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RiverDave

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Finally our group of friends showed up from the Keys.. This was the first time I saw Andrew's new 30 so I shot some more "frames" of it then I probably should have considering it was dark and I was drunk. Now if you are wondering why I used the word "frame" it's because I was busting Tom's balls all weekend long for not shooting 8,000 pics of everything from Ashtrays to boats and people. :D He gave me the "RD you don't know shit look.. and possibly speech" so now I'm throwing some technical photographer jargon so it looks like I do know what I'm talking about.

Either way the first time I saw the new 30

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Hugs and Hellos.. Kelly, Jae, Barb, Stacy, Char

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Hugs and Hellos lasted two seconds until Barb filled Stacy in on the latest "gossip." :D And there was some dropping bombs going on as seen by the photo. :D

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One more of the new 30.. Because we are outside anyways. :D
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Selfie with Lynch
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Summer (Boobs), Char closest, I think that's Jae on the right, but hard to tell in Pic. *Note the crazy dance move off to the right of the frame

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People coming in, and people on the right Dancing. That would be Cameron in the black shirt. Fire Fighter in parker and could save your life someday so make sure to buy him a drink if you see him.

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Wade Kelson from Havasu was down in parker for the Sundance opening! They were camped at Pirates. Stacy tried to get me to go with her to take them home. God himself with a prybar wasn't taking me out of this bar before last call.. Friends or not you're on your own hoss. :D

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It's interesting.. In my younger years we'd just go there and rage. I never really paid a lot of attention to the architecture, decoration, and all the details that make this bar so special. To look around it and see some of the original stuff, it really is amazing.

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Back to the Partying. :D

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RiverDave

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Another round of pics outside now that it's 1:30 in the morning. :) As said before this outside round deal turned out to be kind of a hang out for people transitioning from the inside bar to the outside and back.

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Cameron and... Hotty stepping out for some air.
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Guys chilling on the Terrace. Not sure why they didn't open up all the roll up doors?

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You guys remember the "Peter Meter?" He's Baaaaccckkkk!! :D Wet T Shirt Contests happening at SunDance again!

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RiverDave

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And like that it was 2:00 and our night (At least at the World Famous Sundance) was over and it was time to move on.

So we took a final Photo op of our crew that was there for opening night. I would like to say this in parting. When we left Havasu I said "If that bar is anything like it used to be, I'm going to be EVERYTHING I used to be." We went, and it was the most fun I have had in a bar in years. Just the memories alone around every corner made it special to me. More importantly the vibe friday night was "Old School" sundance from the early 90's.. Everyone was there to have a blast, and there was no drama that I saw all night. The group of people that were there, were all guys that hung out there back in the day and it was great to see a lot of people I haven't seen in sometime. For me though, for around 4 hours on this last friday.. I was in my early 20's again, partying in my old stomping ground with good friends, cold beers, with a lot of the same party music pumping out of the same loud ass speakers that it was 10+ years ago... It was fucking awesome in a way that only a place like that can be.

Our group pics

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Saying farewell to the outside door man.
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Now the only downside.. I heard that both Saturday and Sunday were pretty slow at the bar. We never made it back the rest of the weekend, mostly because we were in Havasu for half the weekend. They are going to have to get somethings dialed in a bit, and fight for the crowds, because there's a lot less people on the river then their used to be, and a lot of people are just flat scared of the cops and taking their boats out at night anymore. I would imagine this next month would be dial in time, and on 4th of July weekend it will be in FULL EFFECT.

To the Shubin's, I'm not sure if you guys will read this or not... But if you do thanks for letting me relive a little bit of my youth!

P.S. Bring back the upside down beer openers!
 

RiverDave

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Back to Havasu, completely trashed at Filibertos.. I barely remember even going there. LOL (Stacy was driving for those concerned)

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But everytime I do go there late at night this guy is there! :D
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RDP member.. We talked for a second, but there was nothing left of me at this point..

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And your damn right we "Post gamed" it in the truck all the way back.. :D

RD
 

Stainless

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Nice writeup Dave and it's cool how you put names with the frames. ;)
 

SJP

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Good stuff RD. That place looks enormous. I feel like I was there on opening. :thumbup:
 

Wheeler

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Nice read for those who couldn't attend. :thumbsup:thumbsup
 

TCHB

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We had some friends that pulled up in the boat but security said they could not park in the area you were talking about.
They had 10 people on the boat ready to have fun. They ended up going down river.
 

Flyinbowtie

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Good report RD. It is obvious how much that place means to you and the crew that made memories in it. I hope it picks up and you guys enjoy it for a long time.
 

waterhorse

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Finally a solid report on a river icon. Nice story and good pics Dave.:thumbsup
 

Nord

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We had a great time. The place looks exactly the same outside of the some new pictures that were put up and it was actually clean. The old foam party days were rough to that place. Here are my thoughts. We went at night and it was a little stuffy inside (no air flow) which stopped a lot of people from going over to the band. I think they need to have swamp coolers to cool it down. The dock bar was really dark so not a lot of peeps out there but great concept. During the day we went back over there. It was really hot inside the bar so same thing about the swamp coolers. Outside patio could kill it because it's covered. I think a lot of people would love to have breakfast and lunch there and be protected from the elements. Could be a game changer for them on the river. I wish them the best of luck.
 

underpressure

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Nice write up and really liked the names with the faces. I also liked the pics of the walls, etc.

Spent many a fun time day and night there...First time was '74 Memorial Day weekend. "Floated" (try it sometime) from just below the dam to the bar. I took a 6 pack, it lasted to about the rock island haha. Hitch hiked back to the other side of the dam where we were camped. Then drove back for the night time activities - fond mammories....
 

aka619er

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Thinking I will have to make a trip and donate to the keep Sundance alive foundation. Place looks like it has the potential to be a lot of fun as long as they can keep people coming through the doors. The no ac might just help to keep overhead down as well until money starts flowing.

Great write up RD...
 

Riverbound

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They do have swampers for the inside but I don't recall it being hot enough to need them.
 

mobldj

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as I remember our crew would head straight to the stage area at noon,

1. macho man / wet tshirt held there
2.2 for 1 tacos
3.the main reason,all those vents under the stage had swamp coolers blowing hard,coolest spot in the bar.

peter meter dude needs his cowboy hat , without it kinda a miss peter meter look.lol

CANT WAIT TO GO !
 

cofooter

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Thanks for the great write-up. My friends and I were part of the early 80's crowd just after high school. We used to swim across from Echo in the afternoon or drive down for the night from Havasu. Many great times were had at the bar. Have not been back since the late 80's. Missed the opening but looking forward to checking it out next time I'm down. Thanks again!
 

Boschma

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Pretty cool! Hope to go there Friday night of the tube float weekend.
 

TexasJet

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Great writeup Dave. I'll add that place to my list when I trailer the CP out in September.
 

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Great write up Dave thanks for sharing.
Was looking to make the drive from Havasu and kept checking the site to make sure it was going to open, should of made the drive. :grumble:
Lots of history in that place, I remember as young pup, watching Poor Man's bikini contest and how freaking nuts that place used to be. Looking forward to stopping by on my next trip, wish them the best.
 

headshothills

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Very Cool... Nice write up Dave...

We will be sure to hit them up Tube Float weekend...
 

STV_Keith

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To sum up the whole paragraph, this bar played some kind of role in my River Program from the time I was born until the last time it shut down. I don't have an exact timeline on that, and to be a proper journalist of sorts I should probably research it.. But god knows nothing about Sundance is proper, so why start with an Article about Sundance? It's around 8-9 years if I had to guess in blurred weekends of beer infused summers.

I know for sure it was still open in 02...the year I bought my STV, attended OP6-3 and met you. With Andy being the DD, pretty sure we were there every Fri/Sat night for that summer and 03 as well. I want to say then end of 03 was the end. I could be wrong too...blurry nights for sure. Foam parties were awesome!
 

River Lynchmob

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We had a blast there Friday night. I asked when the upside down beers would be back and was told by Shubin real son...guessing 2 weeks :skull

They definitely have some teething problems that being said if those things are addressed soon it could be a blast.

I will be there tube float weekend as all the other tards will be flocking to RR and I don't want the drama.
 

TomD

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Like I was there!!! LOL Nice Dave.:tbi
 

westair

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Nice write up Dave! .... I never paid any attention to the all the decor/details inside either ...lol ...been there many times in my younger days but never really "seen" the place:D ..... I'll be going soon though and explaining to my 3 adult sons that they will never be able to match me in my prime:D
 

rivermobster

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I remember going for a swim off the dock, going back out on the dance floor till you were all dried off, then hitting the water again! Nobody bitched that it was too hot. But I was a Bit younger then.

Nice write up RD.
 

RiverDave

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It's at it's set point. It can very easily set it much lower. But with the ability to control the humidity no need to. ;)

How do you control humidity?

FYI mine are set at 74 as well.. They suck hot air from up above though so at my desk is always cooler then at their height.
 

Willie B

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...When did The Sundance first open it's doors...

...I vaguely remember a place down river around '66/'67 that had go go dancers possibly in cages???,...and the band elevated from the dance floor???...

...Is it possible the place I remember and The Sundance are one in the same ???..,
 

Riverbound

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How do you control humidity?

FYI mine are set at 74 as well.. They suck hot air from up above though so at my desk is always cooler then at their height.

By adding a humidifier and dehumidifier. The system I put in has all that and is controlled through the thermostat.
 

rivermobster

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...When did The Sundance first open it's doors...

...I vaguely remember a place down river around '66/'67 that had go go dancers possibly in cages???,...and the band elevated from the dance floor???...

...Is it possible the place I remember and The Sundance are one in the same ???..,

I Think you might be talking about Rock Palace. That place didn't last too long.
 

530RL

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...When did The Sundance first open it's doors...

...I vaguely remember a place down river around '66/'67 that had go go dancers possibly in cages???,...and the band elevated from the dance floor???...

...Is it possible the place I remember and The Sundance are one in the same ???..,

I Think you might be talking about Rock Palace. That place didn't last too long.

Nice write up Dave. Nice to see someone giving Sundance a shot at making it.

I was talking to my old neighbor about the place this weekend. He is totally baked now, so I am not sure his memory is too good.

He thinks it was the "Island a Go Go" in the 60's and then became "Rum Runners". He thinks it changed to Sundance in the early 70's. He can't remember when it went from a couple trailers to the big building.

Like everything, the river has forever changed. The number of people buying or building river rockets continues to decline, other types of boats have taken their place. Havasu is now bigger, has more amenities, and is cheaper.

Hard to imagine the river supporting all those businesses from Sundance to the Casino, but who knows?
 

RiverDave

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Thanks for the compliments on the write up. :) I will have some more fairly large news for the Parker Area that will be announced soon!

In the meantime I'm going to try and hit SunDance this Friday night again! :D

RD
 

Mrs.Racer277

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Great write up and pics Dave. Thank you Stacy for driving the Kelson's and Krystal back safe to Pirate's Den :thumbsup:thumbsup
 
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