Phoenix meetup December 2005

December 3, 2005 12:08 AM

This is the official Phoenix / Arizona area-wide meetup planning thread. (Inspired by mullacc) (more inside)
posted by loquacious to MetaFilter Gatherings at 12:08 AM (15 comments total)

mullacc is going to be in town in Phoenix from December 9th through x-mas. He's interested in having a meetup while in town.

I know there's a few other active MetaFilter users in The Valley of the Spun and surrounding areas. Optimus Chyme? Mat Haui? phOOdz? Anyone else?

Here's what I have in mind, but this is unconfirmed at this point:

I have some friends that own an art gallery-slash-communal space. It's not at all snobbish, and is in fact mildly and comfortably ghetto. I should be able to get the gallery space for free, but the owner will probably (rightly) want to put out an entirely voluntary donation box.

There's a big ass patio, and an open lounge/meeting area/gallery. There are lots of chairs and tables. There's a nice PA sound system, and a big CRT TV. There's a fridge and a kitchen, a microwave and coffee machine(s) and other useful accessories. There's at least one working bathroom. (They're doing some remodeling.) There's even a ghetto-ass cash-and-carry 50 steps from the front door suitable for smokes and brews.

We can do a bring-your-own whatever, and/or a potluck, or a BBQ. There doesn't have to be a closing time. We can play our music, and we can play it loud. We can smoke inside or out, depending on preferences.

For folks interested in travelling and/or simply staying overnight floor space or tent space would likely be available. (There are quite a few rooms to this compound, so we could set up one area as a crash space and one area as a gathering space.)

The only visible hitch I can see (outside of the unlikely chance I can't arrange a suitable time to use the gallery) is that parking for those dastardly car type things is sporadic and sketchy. There's plenty of parking on the local streets - it is an upstart arts and gallery area after all - but it's a few hundred feet from the front door. You'd be advised to not leave valuables in the vehicle or in view.

mullacc has also suggested the Four Peaks Brewing Company as an alternate meetup location. But I'd love to have the meetup somewhere that was open-access, and sized for any and all wallets. (You would, of course, have to be of a legal age to drink.) Plus we wouldn't even have to go anywhere at closing time or any of that, not to mention all the environmental benefits listed above.

Interested? What days are good for you? I want to work towards however unlikely a consensus to plan to reserve the gallery space and get the ball rolling.
posted by loquacious at 12:08 AM on December 3, 2005

Oh, and of course anyone passing through the area or merely wanting to visit this fine metropolis of strip malls and city street grids is welcome to attend.

But wait for things to develop and for me to confirm a reservation for the gallery/communal space before making any travel plans that rely on being able to crash there.
posted by loquacious at 12:16 AM on December 3, 2005

Thanks, loquacious.

I'm looking forward to meeting some of my hometown Mefites. I'm totally open to any and all dates/times while I'm in town - I'm kicking it in PHX from the 9th - 24th since I'm not starting my new job in NYC until the new year.
posted by mullacc at 12:36 AM on December 3, 2005

Four Peaks has some good dark beers but is really expensive, expect to pay arms and legs for pitchers. I'm probably going to have to take a pass in any event, but I should note for the general good that Mickey's Hangover in Scottsdale is by far the coolest bar in the valley of the sun.
posted by moift at 12:58 AM on December 3, 2005

moift speaks the Truth about Mickey's.

But I really like the patio at Four Peaks.
posted by mullacc at 1:02 AM on December 3, 2005

Thanks mullac. What else do you like? I'm always looking for good spots from those with similar tastes. I used to go to The Rogue but it's increasingly packed with hipster idiots, I like Hot Pink for its cheap drinks and laid back atmosphere, and I've got a top secret hole in the wall bar on southern and something in Tempe that seems to be genuinely free of pretenses. I like George and the Dragon on camelback and something downtownish, too, but generaly I'm getting pretty bored. Plz send hot tips asap tia.
posted by moift at 1:16 AM on December 3, 2005

Sorry for the misspelling of your name and various other of the words in that post :/
posted by moift at 2:36 AM on December 3, 2005

anyone considering a road trip from Tucson?
posted by carsonb at 8:49 AM on December 3, 2005

also, what's this gallery space called? also also, I've always wondered if people who lurked on the site might want to lurk at the meetup (odd as that sounds), and if so would they prefer a public place? (a bar, eg.)
posted by carsonb at 8:51 AM on December 3, 2005

Four Peaks or the George and Dragon seem like good options to me. I've got family coming into town for the holidays, but if I can swing it, I'll be there.
posted by 27 at 9:01 AM on December 3, 2005

mullacc is quite fun! Take good care of him.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:44 PM on December 3, 2005 [1 favorite]

anyone considering a road trip from Tucson?

i could be persuaded to make one, carsonb, since our paltry cadre of 7 or whatever is too small for our own meetup. but i must say i'm disappointed that moift won't be there.

so i guess i'll watch this thread and see if plans gel a bit more -- seems sorta vague at the moment.

oh, and loquacious -- it's Hat Maui, dawg. watch it, or i'll start calling you loquax.
posted by Hat Maui at 3:49 PM on December 3, 2005

Sounds nice. It's a pity Phoenix is just this side of too far away to make it.
posted by kjh at 5:14 PM on December 3, 2005

Hat Maui: ACK ACK ACK FUCK PLEASE DON'T HURT ME. (sincerely! :( )

Sorry, I was really, really tired and just generally tapped out when I wrote all that. I'm suprised I didn't cross-reference you to make sure I had everying right like I usually try to do.

Moift? Why pass?

As for location, I'm cool either way. I guess the whole artist compound thing could be weird and uncomfortable to some, but I'm super comfy there. If we don't use it it's less work for me and one favor left uncalled.

I'm just starting a new job so I'm struggling with finances until the 2nd or 3rd paycheck at least, but I should be able to splurge on a beer or three after this Friday, regardless.
posted by loquacious at 5:53 PM on December 3, 2005

loquacious' venue sounds cool and would be a part of Phoenix I've never seen. But, I'm up for whatever brings out the most people.

Perhaps we could find a place that has a good happy hour special. Mickey's does half off food, beer and well drinks from 5-7pm Mon - Sat.
posted by mullacc at 6:33 PM on December 3, 2005