Annette Woods of  Sacramento
 reacts to the size of a Tease
 Freeze, the pub's newest drink.

Folsom resident Dan Carter visits the club at least once a week.

"This is the place to be," says Carter, 44, between sips of his drink, a towering frozen concoction called the Tease Freeze. "They always have good bands and a big variety of people -- young and old."

Right, good -- but wait, let's get back to that Tease Freeze.

Measuring in at approximately a foot high, this lava lamp-shaped, cotton-candy pink drink is fashioned from ice frozen around a hurricane glass and filled with a slushy blend of orange and mango juices plus four different kinds of vodka. At $12 a pop, it's theoretically a drink built for two -- not that we saw a lot of sharing during the night of our visit.

"People see (someone drinking) a Tease Freeze and they automatically want one for themselves," says Powerhouse Pub owner Murray Weaver. "We always try to come up with specialty items here -- this one is available through the summer."

The drink, Weaver adds, is just part of his efforts to keep people coming back.

Established in 1999, the Powerhouse Pub sits in the space once occupied by the Sutter Street Saloon (also owned by Weaver); before that, the building was, among other incarnations, a biker bar.

After Weaver bought the property in 1989, he brought in blues bands and established the Sutter Street Saloon as a hot spot for local blues. These days, he's expanded the live-music repertoire to include rock, funk and cover bands.

Weaver also has spruced up the Powerhouse Pub with festive decorations -- vintage tin signs, kitschy doodads, strings of Christmas lights, etc. One of the most popular attractions, however, is the spacious patio. With its umbrellas and tiki-style bar, it gives the foothill-based pub a tropical-party flair.

"The idea here is to not be known for just any one thing," says Murray, adding that the club hosts about 700 visitors over the course of a weekend. "We try to keep adding a lot of different things -- gimmicks and games that aren't easy to duplicate (by other clubs)."

Among those gimmicks and games: a Sunday blues jam, a local battle of the bands, Macarena contests and handing out tambourines to patrons so that they can join in some merry music-making.

Jill Pick of Folsom tries to make it to the Powerhouse Pub at least three times a year. She's celebrating her birthday on this trip.

"This is my night out and this is where I choose to come," Pick says. "It's just a good place to come with the girls and have a good time."

Tonight at the Powerhouse Pub, check out Tainted Love; tickets are $15. Then on Saturday night, it's Shane Dwight; tickets are $8. Both shows start at 9:30 p.m. and are age-21-and-over. For more information: (916) 355-8586.

Powerhouse Pub

THE "IT" FACTOR: Festive decor, party atmosphere, huge patio -- always packed.

THE STYLE COUNCIL: The dress code here is informal and unfussy, with men mostly in jeans or shorts and T-shirts and women in jeans or casual skirts and tank tops.

ON THE MONEY: Fairly affordable. Drinks are in the $3-$5 range -- unless you want to pony up $12 for the inviting Tease Freeze. The range for cover charges tends to skew a bit higher -- $15 is not unusual -- but that doesn't stop the shows from selling out.

GET CONNECTED: The Powerhouse Pub, 614 Sutter St., Folsom, is open from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and from noon to 2 a.m. Fridays through Sundays. For more information: (916) 355-8586 or http://www.powerhousepub.com/