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Transit Lounge
Transit exists in some perfect bar conceptual space, possessing the everyone-knows-your-name camaraderie of a dive, cool-daddio ambience of a good jazz club, the street cred of some of Miami's hottest live acts and a welcoming but ruggedly sexy venue. When you've had enough, run, don't stumble, to nearby La Moon and soak that beer up with a hot dog smothered in mayo and potato sticks.
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Twist
Never a cover, always a groove. This gay hangout has serious staying power, and a little bit of something for everyone at its two-story space: seven different bars, including a rooftop patio, go-go dancers, drag shows, lounging areas and a small dance floor. Best to come after midnight.
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University Of Miami School Of Music
Also held at the Gusman Concert Hall and Clark Recital Hall, these free concerts highlighting university students are a bargain. Seek out the long-running international Festival Miami, which features symphonies, chamber music and jazz, and runs from late September to late October.
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Wallflower Gallery
In addition to offering a well-rounded lineup of music, dance and film, the gallery features poetry readings, spoken-word artists and open-mic poetry nights.
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Wave Hotel
Dark blue, plush molded furniture and curving, cool lines - painted into the floors, arranged along the ceilings and hinted at in the couch arrangement - give the lobby a sense of tidal momentum. There's a space-race-age theme (as in '50s Sputnik-era retro chic) going on in the rooms; you gotta love the lamps, which look like cartoon bubble helmets from Buck Rogers. Parking costs around US$20 per day.
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White Room
Miami's hipsters are so, well, Miami - artsy yet glam compared to their London and NYC counterparts. They flock here, where there's the requisite weird movie playing on open-air projectors, Lawrence of Arabia tents curving around an exposed-industrial mainstage and, according to promoters, a shared design-aesthetic-lifestyle-blah blah blah. Hot hipsters get drunk and dance with other hot hipsters. You go, White Room. The very popular Poplife party goes off here on Saturdays.
