Issue date: 9/5/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE

Media Credit: Genevieve Morrissy Dan's Silverleaf, located on Industrial Drive in Denton, hosts a variety musical acts and bands from all over the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It's intimate and friendly atmosphere makes it the perfect place to have a drink, listen to music, and rock out.

Media Credit: Genevieve Morrissy Dan's Silverleaf, located on Industrial Drive in Denton, hosts a variety musical acts and bands from all over the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It's intimate and friendly atmosphere makes it the perfect place to have a drink, listen to music, and rock out.

It's a Friday night, the air is thick with cigarette smoke and the turquoise walls of Dan's Silverleaf vibrate as Dertybird, a southern rock quartet from Austin, plays for an audience of eight.

On the adjoining patio, people enjoy a respite from the noise inside and visit with friends, have a drink or watch baseball and football games on TV.

In an old grocery store a block off the Denton Square at 103 Industrial St., Dan's offers something for everybody, employees say.

"If you don't want to listen to the music you can go outside," bar manager Kate Covington said. "You have both worlds."

The entire building, painted turquoise with burnt orange bar tops, is meant to invoke scenes of Mexico in the early '60s, owner Dan Mojica said.

Paintings found at art galleries, garage sales and flea markets line the walls along with posters advertising upcoming shows and stickers from bands that have played there.

In the dusky bar, a dozen tables and chairs face a small stage that is overcrowded with instruments on most nights.

Many bands, such as the Drams and the Gourds, still play Dan's a few times each year out of loyalty to the club even though they could play much bigger venues, Mojica said.

The goal is to put on the best show possible and maintain competitive drink prices, he said.

Through a glass door, customers emerge to the porch, where six park benches provide a place for the crowds who want to hang out and visit with friends rather than listen to music. Potted plants and steel-welded silver leaves decorate the area.

"There's no patio like Dan's," Denton resident Kern Rivas said. "Dan's is the closest to the 'Cheers'-type vibe. It's good time and good friends."

Dan's is a venue that caters to everyone, Mojica said.

"We cater to students, cowboys, lawyers, to professors," he said. "It's interesting because there's a wide cross section of people."

Dan's is open every day from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. to anyone over age 18. Upcoming shows are listed at danssilverleaf.com.

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