‘The Black Hole’ Lives Up To It’s Local Nickname

With Berry Bly’s afternoon rooftop parties at Ocean Bar, the return of afternoon bands on the deck of Chiller’s (well, now called On The Rocks) and even monthly bands and BBQs at BALEENkitchen, Sundays are again a good party day in the Los Angeles Beach Cities.
But despite all these other tempting options, the king of South Bay bars on Sundays remains Sharkeez in Hermosa Beach.
I have come to this conclusion from first-hand experience, and it doesn’t take long to confirm it.
Step inside from the deceptively sedate patio as daytime turns into nighttime, and you are transformed into a beach party that immediately brings to mind Spring Break.
People in beach attire are dancing, a DJ is pumping tunes and occasionally a deep-throated voice gets on the microphone – in the same tone that leads me to believe there’s only one really over-worked guy criss-crossing the country from Florida to here in California and all parts in between – and says, “welcommmmmeee to Shaaaarrrrkkeeeezzzzz!!!”
There’s even gyrating girls on the bar. The only thing missing is a pool.
Drinks are flowing and pretty soon you’re sucked into it like a whirlpool. You’re in The Black Hole from which there is no escape!
You run into a friend you did not expect to see who has been there for a while, and the next place you find yourself is at the bar doing shots. You grab a Bud Light draft to chase the shot, and soon you are on your way to Sunday night pandemonium.
The next thing you know, of course, it’s pitch black and you have no idea what time it is. You wonder – albeit briefly – why you are still there and that it would probably be a good idea to be getting home about now.
But you go back inside. After a few weeks you fall into the routine and wind up making this a weekly ritual.
And always the next day, as you try and shake the cobwebs from the brain and attempt to return to the human race on a Monday morning, you will justify your current condition by saying, simply, “another Sunday night. Can’t wait ’till next week!”
Cheers!
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