Club entertainment in USA
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Florida Room at the Delano
‘Wanna buy me an eight-dollar beer?’ asks an out-of-towner, gazing awestruck at the sheer mass of model-types packed into this den of iniquity. The Florida Room is as exclusive as they get, plus a popular dancehall/samba piano lounge for local scenesters who eschew the tourist trap megaclubs further down the beach. Show up before 11pm or be on the list (or be Lenny Kravitz – who helped design this place) to get in.
reviewed
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Space
This multilevel warehouse is Miami’s main megaclub. With 30,000 sq ft to fill, dancers have room to strut, and an around-the-clock liquor license redefines the concept of after-hours. DJs usually pump each floor with a different sound – hip-hop, Latin, heavy trance – while the infamous rooftop lounge is the place to be for sunrise.
reviewed
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Pacha
A relative newcomer that’s hyped for big-name visiting DJs, Pacha is definitely a massive and spectacular place: 30,000 sq ft and four levels of glowing, sleek spaces and cozy seating nooks that rise up to surround the main dance-floor atrium.
reviewed
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440 Castro
The most happening bar on the street, 440 Castro (aka Daddy’s) draws bearded 30-something dudes in tight T-shirts, and an odd mix of Peter Pans for Monday’s underwear night.
reviewed
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Ashkenaz
Ashkenaz is a 'music and dance community center' attracting activists, hippies and fans of folk, swing and world music who love to dance (lessons offered).
reviewed
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Club Mallard
This place has outdoor seating, tiki torches and hourly pool tables.
reviewed
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Cafe Citron
So here’s the thing, ladies: when guys want to go out dancing, that’s usually because they’re trying to pick up girls. So here’s the thing guys: when girls go out dancing and dress up really hot, they’re usually just interested in dancing (or ‘letting off steam, ’ ‘chilling with my chicas’ etc). Sociology lesson finished, nothing personifies this dichotomy of affairs more than Cafe Citron, one of DC’s most popular Latin music bars (in fairness, it plays everything, but the focus is salsa, samba et al). Girls dance; guys watch; night goes on. Then guys come in who actually can dance, local guys grumble, girls get happy, realize their dancing partner is …
reviewed
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Dungeon
Got to admit, this place made us a little nervous at first. It doesn’t open till the witching hour, and some of the bouncers have filed their teeth into pointy vampire fangs. Then we observed the words ‘Ye Olde’ in small type on the sign out front. So this is really just ‘Ye Olde Dungeon, ’ which doesn’t sound so threatening after all. Having descended into the club’s basement chambers, we found Goths outnumbered by yuppies and bikers. DJs keep things throbbing until dawn’s early light (egads! sunlight!) and several barkeeps serve up ghoulish cocktails (with creepy names like the Witches Brew and the Dragon’s Blood), which the bar promises will help you ‘leave your troubl…
reviewed
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Rose’s Dream Bar & Lounge
Go-go, the DC style of local music that’s a cross between funk and an improvised drum line, occasionally dusted with a bit of hip-hop, has been a fading genre in the District. But Rose’s keeps the beat alive. It’s one of the few go-go clubs left where a white out-of-towner won’t feel like they’re interloping in someone else’s territory; the clientele is primarily black, but this is a mixed crowd as these things go. Coming here is a DC cultural experience – go-go really is the city’s own brand of music, resented in cities as close as Baltimore – but beyond that Rose’s is plenty fun, with good bartenders working the line and karaoke, dance nights and live shows blowing up t…
reviewed
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Love
Where does Beyoncé play when she’s in DC? Yo, where is the Love? If you’re going to go to a multifloor megaclub in DC, make it this gorgeous spot, where you’re basically the star of your own Usher video. Dress to impress (the code is strict, no sneakers or baggy jeans allowed) as this club attracts thousands and lines form out the door. Friday nights see a predominantly hip-hop-heavy menu and African American crowd. Saturdays are more diverse, with international electronica pumped through the speakers and a mixed crowd. You need to drive or taxi out here.
reviewed
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Felix
Lines form early on weekend nights when the beautiful people flock to this beautiful lounge to drown beautiful sorrows in beautifully constructed martinis. Yes, Felix is a swank place where the attitude has attitude and the bouncer behind the velvet ropes can be a little too selective in his entrance policy for some people’s patience. Plate-glass windows, neon letters and super-sleek decor give it serious character. Live jazz and funk bands set up on a stage against the front windows on Fridays and Saturdays.
reviewed
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Left Bank
The Left Bank is a hip, modern lounge with stark-white walls and orange chairs and booths. It’s the perfect dark cave in which to escape a hot summer afternoon’s mounting heat. The prime location, smack in the middle of 18th St, is perfect for people-watching from open windows if the place is quiet; which often is not the case. Left Bank attracts a sophisticated, international crowd that comes to sip martinis and listen to DJs spin mellow vibes. There’s a menu, but the food is only OK.
reviewed
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Ruby Skye
The city’s premier-name nightclub occupies a vintage theater reminiscent of classic NY clubs, with reserveable balcony boxes above the floor. The who’s-who of the world’s DJs play here – think Danny Tenaglia, Dimitri from Paris, Christopher Lawrence and Paul Van Dyk. The very-mainstream crowd sometimes gets messy (hence the gruff security), but when your fave DJ’s playing, who cares? The Funktion-One sound system is state-of-the-art. Ruby Skye is sometimes open Thursday and Sunday (check the website).
reviewed
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Temple
The city’s greenest club is a restaurant before 10pm, when it turns into a nightclub, serving drinks in biodegradable cups. The sleek-looking, all-white upstairs room has huge Thai statuary and slick stone floors; downstairs are two smaller rooms with midsized dance floors that get packed. Occasional big-name DJs spin the gamut from house to trance to techno; Fridays are consistently good for house. It’s $5 before 11pm if you’re on the guestlist. Check the website for weeknight openings. Dress hot.
reviewed
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Harlot
Back when SoMa was the stomping ground of sailors, alleys were named for working girls, to whom Harlot pays homage. Velvet curtains glow purple under intense red lighting, rendering the brick-walled space a sort of goth-erotic-chic vampire’s den. Before 9pm it’s a lounge, after 9pm it’s a club. The killer sound system pumps house on Thursdays and indie-rock on Wednesdays – our fave nights. Weekends get suburban, but everyone cuts loose, so who cares? Dress funky to get past doormen.
reviewed
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Bukom
Come see DC’s West African expats get their weekend going, and be prepared for sore but happy hips the next morning, ‘cause these cats can move. There’s an interesting vibe here when the African clientele gets joined by ex–Peace Corps types who’ve learned their dancing chops in the continent; this is one of those very DC moments when immigrants plus an internationally experienced population merge into one happy scene of dancing goodness.
reviewed
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Feelgood’s
Co-owned by Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil, this 8500-sq-ft rock bar/dance club has shiny choppers, rock memorabilia and a mammoth snake slithering into the rafters. Heads up: the place is packed with girls, from bartenders in skimpy outfits, to dancers on the poles, to customers coming to get wild – some visitors will love it and some will loathe it; bypass this place if you are of the latter variety. Not enough big ’80s hair, but it’s still good, cheesy fun.
reviewed
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Home
Most homes aren't multilevel, cavernous spaces with dark leather couches lining nearly every wall and eerily lit passageways taking you from nook to nook, but maybe that's a growing trend. Either way, there's lots to make you feel comfortable at Home – ample seating and space, and deep electronic, funk and pop coming from the live DJ. Sometimes the doors between Home and the neighboring club Guesthouse are opened and you can pass from one to the other.
reviewed
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Echo
Eastside hipsters hungry for an eclectic alchemy of sounds pack this funky-town dive that's basically a sweaty bar with a stage and a smoking patio. It books indie bands and also has regular club nights, like Dub Club (dancehall and reggae) on Wednesday and Part-Time Punks (post-punk, mutant disco) on Sunday. Down below is the garage-size Echoplex (enter through the alley), with a lineup of promising upwardly mobile bands on Check Yo' Ponytail nights.
reviewed
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Saint
We’re not sure what to think about a place that calls itself a ‘Boutique Nitery.’ It is more intimate than most clubs, thanks to its small size and basement setting. There are essentially two rooms: a cozy, crimson-colored lounge with carpet on the ceiling, and a white marbly dance room that looks like a bad movie interpretation of heaven. Reserve online or arrive right at 10pm to ensure you get in. No cover before 10:30pm.
reviewed
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LQ
Midtown is an odd place for a multistory mega-club, but that doesn't seem to bother the owners of LQ, who have been packing in dance-happy crowds on weekends. The music ranges from salsa to hip-hop and back again, with the odd foray into pop and house. On Latin nights there are often quickie dance lessons on the ground floor to help you find the groove that much faster. The cover can go as high as $60 if you're trying to get in on peak nights.
reviewed
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Chaps II
Chaps II promises what its eponymous 1970s predecessor delivered: leather, kink, gear and cruising. Black walls, vintage-’70s leather-porn posters and red lighting provide sexy visuals, but the place rarely fills. SF needs a hard-cruise bar in these days of online hook-ups, but will men really leave their keyboards? We remain hopeful. Best between 9pm and midnight, Thursday to Saturday, after which everyone goes to Powerhouse.
reviewed
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Cleopatra's Needle
Come early and you'll probably make the daily happy hour, when martinis are half price. Cleopatra's Needle (named after the statue in Central Park) is small and narrow, just like its namesake. Grab a small table or sit at the bar to enjoy Mediterranean-style food. There's no cover, but a $10 minimum. If you come early, be prepared to stay late: Cleopatra's famous for all-night jam sessions that hit their peak around 4am.
reviewed
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Eagle NYC
A bi-level club full of hot men in leather, the Eagle is the choice for out-and-proud fetishists. Its two levels plus roof deck leave plenty of room for dancing and drinking, which are done with abandon at the Eagle. Thursdays are 'code' nights, meaning everyone must meet the dress code (wear leather, or nothing at all). Located in a renovated 19th-century stable, the inside joke is that 'the studs keep coming.'
reviewed
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Vessel
The crowd looks sharp at Vessel, a midsized subterranean club-lounge with kick-ass sound and mesmerizing lighting, which, because of its affiliation with Cielo in NYC, sometimes books big-name DJs (think Louie Vega). We prefer the more-local Wednesday to Thursday scene over the sometimes-suburban weekend crowd, which takes longer to get its drink on and dance. And hallelujah for polite bouncers. Get on the list.
reviewed
