Kilburn, once a working-class London neighborhood known for its sizable Irish population, is now a working-class London neighborhood known for it's ethnic diversity and - increasingly - local music scene.

One of the players in that burgeoning scene is The Good Ship, a bar/club/performance space on the high road that offers patrons the opportunity to shake their groove-thangs every night of the week, courtesy of a late liquor license, live music, DJs, and failing the prior groove options, a good, cheap jukebox.

When I walked into The Good Ship, I was looking for the bar in which I'd had my very first Guinness nearly ten years ago, a place called Zd Bar. I recalled Zd being an okay option for drinking and dancing if you were in the neighborhood and couldn't be bothered to venture into the city, but certainly not a top destination for a London night out. It seemed confused: too small to be a real club, yet the designers had still worked a bar, small dance floor and elevated VIP area in, a wannabe club shoe-horned into a space better suited to a few pints and a show.

About two years ago, Zd Bar was shuttered and remained so for close to a year before being revived as The Good Ship, a convivial music-and-drinks venue with friendly staff and no pretension.

The interior of The Good Ship is comfortable and inviting. Near the bar, cream armchairs surround a half dozen or so small tables on which to rest your pint while you gab with friends, while the raised VIP area gives a great birds-eye view of the small performance space/dance floor if the live music on offer is more your thing. Or you can stop in before or after you take in a show at London's renowned Tricyle Theater, just a few blocks away. The Good Ship does not serve food, but there are plenty of options for dining-in or a quick takeaway nearby.

The Good Ship welcomes all comers, hosting live music, dance nights, trivia nights, even a book club. Covers rarely top 5 GBP, the drinks are cheap, the atmosphere is youthful, hip and friendly, and there's even a giant flat-screen TV mounted on the wall in front of that dance floor, so it's a sports bar, too. Instead of a last-choice, it could easily be anybody's favorite local.

Open Sunday through Thursday until 2am, Friday and Saturday until 4am. Kilburn tube and Brondesbury Silverlink are the closest stations, both within five minutes walking distance.