State College's newest nightclub and live music venue opened its doors Friday night as the Cell Block, 420 E. College Ave., held its grand opening.

Although upon entering, patrons may see a few reminders of the former venue, Crowbar, which closed its doors this summer, some students are finding ,the transformation difficult to appreciate.

"Maybe I built my expectations too high," Mark Reeher (senior-physics) said. "The Crowbar was the best place in town to go for live music and great drink specials. [The Cell Block] felt prettied up, more refined, which kind of killed the feel the place used to have."

Holly Noelle Snyder (senior-theater) said her sentiments for Crowbar prevented her from enjoying the opening as much as she could have.

"I think I was too nostalgic for the old Crowbar vibe," Snyder said. "I was hoping [the Cell Block] would keep the same style, but it was pretty different. [There was] no live band, so it just wasn't the same."

Crowbar closed about four months ago after its owner, Dante's Restaurants Inc., decided to sell the venue because of the rising cost of acquiring music acts. Crowbar had featured live music in State College for 14 years.

Many students are looking for the Cell Block to replace Crowbar, and for the new bar to have the same impact, some students think it will need to keep some of Crowbar's old principles alive.

"They need to bring in a wide variety of acts," Josh Klein (sophomore-industrial engineering) said. "Not too much of a specific genre, but a wide range of types of music. There aren't places for people under 21 to go for music around here."

Despite the change, Reeher said he liked the way the music sounded.

"The sound system the place was using sounded great," Reeher said.

Some of the bar's patrons said they enjoyed the change of pace.

"It's the best club in State College so far in the four years I've been here," Aleksey Muchnik (junior-architectural engineering) said. "I think the most important thing I like about the club is the music. DJ Roach really knows how to attract a crowd."

Muchnik said he really liked the way the bar was set up, with the downstairs allowing a relaxed environment to hang out with friends. The upstairs features a dance area.

Snyder said she didn't appreciate the new atmosphere.

"It was super crowded, and it seemed like it's mostly turned into a dance club," she said. "Where the bands used to play, people were up dancing on the stage."

Snyder said she thinks the Cell Block may not have been prepared for the big night.

"I think they probably rushed the opening," she said. "It seemed like they didn't really have everything set up behind the bars yet. They were serving Pepsi out of cans at one point and the bartenders were really hectic. I just got the feeling they weren't completely ready to open."

Repeated calls to representatives from the Cell Block weren't returned by press time yesterday.

Snyder also noted that she saw a lot of people enjoying the new bar more than she was.

"It was pretty jam-packed," Snyder said. "People seemed to be having a good time -- a lot of guys and girls dancing close, typical party crowd."

Students said they will miss Crowbar's character, which was part of the reason they liked it so much.

"I just liked their purpose," Melissa Chen (sophomore-advertising) said. "You were able to see your favorite band up close and personal."