Strip mall bar near DIA? Try 30 minutes away from DIA. The airport complex itself is so huge that is about as close as you are going to be. (I guess you could sit at that crowded sole lonely Bennigans by the airport hotels that are 20 minutes from the terminal.)

Not being "unhelpful" - just trying to help you manage expectations.

Personally, I wouldn't try to play the standby game in or out of Denver around Spring Break (which straddles about a six-week period nationally). I've had active travel in/out of Denver for five of the last six years during this time and I have not-so-jokingly referred to it as Bump Break for the number of bump vouchers I've been able to pick up on both ends if I book my travel in and out with enough cushion to allow for alternate flights.

I've seen people sitting at DFW waiting 24 hours or more on standby during this period (and these are revenue pax, not non-revs)... and that is with THREE carriers flying full schedules DFW-DEN. And if they get one of those late spring snow dumps that Denver is prone to - forget about it... I've seen ticketed passengers stuck for 24 to 48 hours trying to get home. A couple of years ago, I talked to a non-rev (child of an employee) who had been on standby for SEVENTY-TWO hours trying to get home.

I'm not saying its impossible - but really, buy the ticket. Seriously. That is the most "helpful" advice I can give.