[FR] - First Night Out Solo and Sober

So I usually have decent game with a few drinks in me, but have decided that it is pointless to drink as I'd like to sort this part of my life out without using a crutch.

Alas, I went out last night totally sober for the first time. I was rather nervous and had to force myself to do it, came close to not doing it but then remembered "what other choice to I have to sort this out?".

The Approaches

First few moments feel a bit uncomfortable - kind of walking around looking for sets, knowing that I should approach someone immediately. I opened a set of moms (unintentional - they were young and attractive) at one place, had a pretty decent lighthearted conversation with them.

Approached a 3-set where one girl left for something, and got blown out by the other two. Nothing rude or anything, just clearly not interested in a dialogue. In hindsight I was probably too negative on this one - I asked if there were any bars where one could actually have a conversation without terrible rap blasting. Whoops.

Next bar. This one went pretty well in the interactions I had in that myself and the people I was speaking to were having fun. I usually don't do lines, but on this particular night, I came up with one that seemed to hook pretty well, so I kept using it. It went as follows:

"who do you think the worst dancer is?" (as we stood on an upper level with the dance floor down below).

This hooked everybody I asked - about 8 sets of groups of girls. Was able to crack some jokes and they were all receptive (save for a couple friends in one of the groups). Had pretty long playful conversations with a few - a bachelorette party, a birthday, etc. as well as some people just out for fun. However, most of the time, I would eject early, not really knowing how to escalate it or where to take it in a group setting. (Actually, not really knowing how to escalate at all sober).

A Few Questions

My question is: Where do I go from here? Am I approaching the wrong kinds of sets (groups of friends)? Should I kino in a group like this? I'd say my issue is not with the approach, or even the hook, but what follows.

The consolation is that I had a fun time talking to each group (even the one that blew me out).

Another question:

One particular set I opened, two gals, I used the above opener about the worst dancer, and this girl looks at me and says "you" (her friend not seeming to into the interaction). I kind of pushed her away playfully, and she seemed rather receptive. I think her friend psyched me out, but this seemed like the best opportunity of the night - how would my sedditors have handled this? Two-sets of girls seem like an impossible situation to overcome.

I think that solo gals would be my best bet, but they are few and far between, so I had to default to the groups.

One last question: As I'm going out alone, how do I keep from looking like that guy walking around each bar alone? Even when I approached the 8 sets in one bar and had good conversations, I felt weird wandering by myself. Just want to verify that I'm likely in my head and nobody actually notices or gives a fuck.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

TLDR

Good conversations at bars when I was out alone, can't seem to escalate in groups (or solo). Feel weird rolling solo.