Zombies walk downtown, drive to Tonic bar

It must be tough to organize an army of the walking dead. Last Sunday, we clocked thousands of zombies (and a few unsuspecting walking meals) shuffling from HemisFair Park to the Alamo for the official 2011 Zombie Walk. Despite the huge turnout downtown, getting the zombie mass to hop in a car, cab, or (hopefully) carpool across town to Tonic Bar (5500 Babcock Rd, Ste 117) proved to be harder than herding undead cats — only about two dozen zombies attended the official Zombie Walk After Party.

But enthusiasm more than made up for the so-so attendance. Most of the zombies I met were excited first-timers for both the walk and Tonic Bar, and I was impressed with the bar's expansive, posh smoking patio (complete with foosball table, boxing game, and fully-stocked outdoor bar). Inside, DJ Flex tried unsuccessfully to get the zombies dancing, but he deserves props for dropping in "Thriller" — which he did at least three times. The real attraction was the costume contest to crown this year's Zombie King and Queen. That honor went to Michael Botello (zombie Amy Winehouse) and Lacie Dawn (aka Betty Off Dead). But the real night's winners were the thirsty zombies trying to squeeze a few more hours of bloody fun out of a typically boring Sunday night