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Ottawa EDM scene (questions about)

So, maybe OT, or rather Out of Region, but what's the scene like in Ottawa? I've never been clubbing there. Are there a lot of (or even any) staple clubs/lounges/supper clubs that play good EDM (non-top 40, etc.)?

Reason I'm asking: Opportunity to put something together with an existing top notch supper club looking to move into having ...well... a reputable and legitimate post-supper lounge/dance environment. This involves bringing in top DJs and having residents who play progressive house and trance. Obviously this means there needs to be some buzz and a following, which needs to be cultivated, but is it even possible in that market (again, i'm completely ignorant with regards to what goes on in the capital, although I've notice some big time DJs DO play there from time to time)? It has in the past had some residents from solid Toronto and MTL clubs, but owners need some incentive to kick it up a notch and make it a regular thing.

Hopefully I'll get some feedback from Ottawa natives. Club needs to make money, ergo it needs enough people who would regularly frequent it for that particular reason (a good EDM scene). Thanks in advance.

Also, should one post OTT-related stuff (since we only have TO, MTL and Western Canada forums)?

www.xvi.com

Long story short:

-ottawa has no "scene"
-couple of decent EDM spots
-we don't mind it though, since MTL is pretty much in our backyards

Thanks guys. I've been browsing all the OTT clubbing sites as well as xvi, seems Heaven is the place. I guess what I'm asking is, IF you didn't have to go to my hometown backyard (and you don't have to tell me how awesome it is), would you go out on a fri/sat to a well-equipped (sound, light and environment-wise) to a place you knew would be spinning proper house/electro...maaaaybe proggy trance?

Are people going for Roger Sanchez @ heaven?

I also noticed that "Elgin St. Freehouse" seems to have a lot of deep house stuff going on. Good/No good?

quote:

Originally posted by Transoholic Thanks guys. I've been browsing all the OTT clubbing sites as well as xvi, seems Heaven is the place. I guess what I'm asking is, IF you didn't have to go to my hometown backyard (and you don't have to tell me how awesome it is), would you go out on a fri/sat to a well-equipped (sound, light and environment-wise) to a place you knew would be spinning proper house/electro...maaaaybe proggy trance?

Most definitely... I'm not a fan of the 'dress-to-impress' BS that is rampant in ottawa bars, but I would love an alternate weekend EDM hangout. I don't go to heaven on weekends unless it's a special event (not a fan in the least of the residents that play there)

quote:

Are people going for Roger Sanchez @ heaven?

It appears so, according to facebook. Special event nights at heaven always draw out a top-notch crowd that doesn't seem to show face on regular nights.

quote:

I also noticed that "Elgin St. Freehouse" seems to have a lot of deep house stuff going on. Good/No good?

Not really my thing... probably not the best person to comment on this place. It's pretty unanimous that ottawa doesn't have a "scene," but you often see small niche events pop up (deep house, dnb, tribal, hardstyle) here and there and they're always well attended.... they just seem to happen very infrequently

As for "mainstream" EDM, Heaven is pretty much the place to be.

Coming from Toronto to Ottawa, the scene pales in comparision - but yeah, Heaven is the spot. You get your 2nd-3rd tier DJs there (eg. Bad Boy Bill) every few weeks.

In attempting to nuture the scene here in Ottawa, you might want to try something that isn't here already....perhaps techno or very progressive trance. There's over 1 million people in the Ottawa/Gatineau area, so you've got a population to work with...you just have to find an unfulfilled niche.

As noted, the best thing about Ottawa and EDM is that it's under 2 hours to Montreal and about 4 to T.O., so there are always options for roadtrips.

(the comment about the pretentious crowd in Ottawa is a null point, as similar crowds can be found in various clubs across Toronto).

quote:

Originally posted by Tunnel Rat (the comment about the pretentious crowd in Ottawa is a null point, as similar crowds can be found in various clubs across Toronto).

Agreed, though I didn't comment on pretentious crowds. There are lots of places that adhere to their dress codes in ottawa... so be it, I am not gonna argue with their rules, but its a bit of a downer for the average EDM-fan. I remember a couple of years ago when heaven was all too strict about footwear and clothing and such... it's completely relaxed right now, one of the main reasons I think it's doing so well and has such a positive vibe at the moment

Out of curiosity, what the last good event you've been to?
Regardless of the genre?

There certainly are the "pretentious clubs" in both Toronto in Montreal, however I think that still leaves a good number of clubs (actually, the more successful ones IMO) that aren't. I guess the problem is if there are only 1 or 2 in Ottawa they can afford to lean that way and elitism slips in.

That's sort of the main reason I was looking into this option in Ottawa, seems like an untapped market as far as catering to the avid EDM-lover goes. I live in KW now (for school) and there is basically one club within a much bigger club (I don't think I need to spell it out, everyone in this forum probably knows of the PR). It's about as big as my apartment, doesn't even have great lights, but when there are good residents or even those who are new but know their shit, which is a lot of the time, everyone acts as if it were the first time they saw armin or tiesto (yes...we've all been there), and it's the vets who i'm talking about. Point being, as long as a venue stays true to its music, doesn't matter THAT much whether it's a huge international DJ or a resident, as long as the crowd gets what they want. Having said that, there's potential to bring in those 1st and 2nd tiers (hmmm...does DJ Mag's rating dictate that?) to Ottawa provided this project works out.

I gotta give it to you guys, regular 2 and 4 hr road trips to go clubbing! It's a b**** just getting in the car IN Montreal to go downtown sometimes. Man, I still have so many questions, like, do people like/love/adore trance (it pretty much gets to the latter or nothing I guess) or is it just the usual house beats grinded out at the handful of local places? Well hopefully IF these ideas come to fruition, there will be enough of you guys to come out at home and unleash W/O having to get stuck on the Gardiners or forgetting that you can't make a right on that red light. No wonder Spezza and Heatley are going through tough times (close one last night...phew). They don't get to hit St. Laurent like the Kostitsyns every night!

I had a great time at Funkerman/Fedde a few weeks ago... I'd give funkerman's set an 11/10, and the crowd was really into it and having a blast.

I think my best ottawa party memory was Martijn ten Velden @ heaven about a year ago... MTV put out a great set and the whole place was really enjoying it. the party seemed to go on at mavericks for quite a while after with a lot of the same crowd...I think it was jason jesse playing for most of the morning there

traffic, bpm, et al in gatineau are consistently fun, though I cant say one particular night/party really stands out in my memory... I haven't spent enough nights over there to give much of an informed opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by Transoholic There certainly are the "pretentious clubs" in both Toronto in Montreal, however I think that still leaves a good number of clubs (actually, the more successful ones IMO) that aren't. I guess the problem is if there are only 1 or 2 in Ottawa they can afford to lean that way and elitism slips in. That's sort of the main reason I was looking into this option in Ottawa, seems like an untapped market as far as catering to the avid EDM-lover goes. I live in KW now (for school) and there is basically one club within a much bigger club (I don't think I need to spell it out, everyone in this forum probably knows of the PR). It's about as big as my apartment, doesn't even have great lights, but when there are good residents or even those who are new but know their shit, which is a lot of the time, everyone acts as if it were the first time they saw armin or tiesto (yes...we've all been there), and it's the vets who i'm talking about. Point being, as long as a venue stays true to its music, doesn't matter THAT much whether it's a huge international DJ or a resident, as long as the crowd gets what they want. Having said that, there's potential to bring in those 1st and 2nd tiers (hmmm...does DJ Mag's rating dictate that?) to Ottawa provided this project works out. I gotta give it to you guys, regular 2 and 4 hr road trips to go clubbing! It's a b**** just getting in the car IN Montreal to go downtown sometimes. Man, I still have so many questions, like, do people like/love/adore trance (it pretty much gets to the latter or nothing I guess) or is it just the usual house beats grinded out at the handful of local places? Well hopefully IF these ideas come to fruition, there will be enough of you guys to come out at home and unleash W/O having to get stuck on the Gardiners or forgetting that you can't make a right on that red light. No wonder Spezza and Heatley are going through tough times (close one last night...phew). They don't get to hit St. Laurent like the Kostitsyns every night!

I think a small club - as about the size of Footwork in Toronto - that brought in some interesting D.J.'s in a regular basis would do well in Ottawa, especially if you bring on some atypical stuff. It wouldn't be that hard to draw people from Montreal and Toronto (to a lesser extent) if you started to become known as a hot spot. Without a doubt, people in Ottawa do know how to let loose....they just need more outlets to release!

quote:

Originally posted by Transoholic I gotta give it to you guys, regular 2 and 4 hr road trips to go clubbing! It's a b**** just getting in the car IN Montreal to go downtown sometimes. Man, I still have so many questions, like, do people like/love/adore trance (it pretty much gets to the latter or nothing I guess) or is it just the usual house beats grinded out at the handful of local places?

we do like to party
it happens all too often... being out in montreal and spotting a familiar face at the bar and kind of saying, "ottawa, right?"
there's never a shortage of carpool friends to head over with anyway

I can't actually remember the last time we had a (non hardstyle) trance event in ottawa. maybe I'm just not in the loop enough?
AFAIK, Circus is the only place having big, regular (once a month) trance nights in MTL. bookings are consistently solid (some sort of headliner, and a couple of tried tested and true openers), but the place never seems as rammed as it does on the headlining house nights.... kind of a shame, but it just means more room for me on the dancefloor

maybe someone from ottawa can comment on the trance parties that have gone on here -- I recall AVB just over a year ago, and A&B... I didnt attend either.

Funny what the posts above mentioned cuz I love MTV and Footwork (had my last bday there). Good sign, seems as though there are some like-minded people out there. Circus is always solid, TIME, well...falls into the "must be well-dressed", but they get good acts. I wouldn't drive from Ottawa for TIME on a regular night though.

Footwork is the shit and the residents are awesome. The afterhours vibe is also perfect. It is, however not in any way a supper club, so finding the perfect balance between the two is nice. Having a classy well-sized club/lounge bar until 11 that turns into a grooving, electric dance floor afterward is the best of both worlds when it comes to catering to everyone's tastes.

Re: Ottawa EDM scene (questions about)

quote:

Originally posted by Transoholic Reason I'm asking: Opportunity to put something together with an existing top notch supper club looking to move into having ...well... a reputable and legitimate post-supper lounge/dance environment. This involves bringing in top DJs and having residents who play progressive house and trance.

Gonna be in Ottawa first weekend in June for the half marathon...try to have something lined up for then please and thanx.

Everything's mostly been said... Pretty much the only club I ever go out to is Heaven for special events cause we don't have much else. They are the only ones who bring in big names and are doing a somewhat decent job for what they have to work with. It's a 4-500 capacity club and in the past little while they've had Fedde, Victor Calderone, Andy Moor, MSTRKRFT and Dubfire's gonna be there in February.

I'm under the impression that if a sick club was to open with legitimate and interesting new bookings, you would have no problem drawing a crowd... I myself would love another EDM venue in Ottawa ... who knows maybe that's what we need here, a little competition to get things going. And from what I can gather, people around here know that shit is kinda weak and there are many people who crave these nights and would love a well developped scene, but there are just so few venues and so few nights that alot of the time you really do have to either go to MTL or TO to really have a crazy night out. Anyway if you could get top tier progressive and trance dj's out to your club I would definitely be there and I know ALOT of other people who would follow me!

Although I never lived in Ottawa, I visited many times and, while hetero, would drag my other hetero friens to "Sweet", a gay club with a house music policy on Bank St. in the mid-1990's until Atomic later opened. Anybody who has been to Atomic will tell you it was the best "underground" club that ever existed in the Ottawa region. Yes, it was largely an after-hours, but the bottom part opened around 10PM I do think (kind of like Stereobar and Stereo Club). This is where Max Graham got his big break, and so did Brad Coopeland and Martin Villeneuve, amongst others if my memory serves me right. Our ritual over the years was to do Mercury Lounge (still open and great vibe) and then hit Atomic. Atomic is to Ottawa what Sona was to Mtl and Industry was to Toronto. I say there is a market in Ottawa for another EDM club, so long as the promotion is done properly. Main competition would be Heaven at this time.

I know this would never fit with the original supper-club discussion, but I suspect a club that carried a semi-regular, psy-themed night would do well in Ottawa too. Having been to both Harvestfest and Eclipse...I surmise that the North/Northeastern Ontarians and the Quebecois do appreciate that genre more than many in the more urban centers. That includes me.

Psy?? Uhh I personally don't think that's a path most clubs should or would take. In my opinion, psy is much better suited to an all night outdoors event than a 10-3 club... the vibe just wouldn't be there and I don't think the people would either. What we need is something more on the progressive side, some trance nights, maybe techno nights, but psy? I don't think that's too viable. Like oldskool94 said, Ottawa does have a history with EDM in Atomic and a few other deceased clubs and I think if things are done properly, events promoted properly and if people put on quality events, they will have support from the city. I think someone just needs to emerge and take a chance and if they work hard enough, we can rebuild a scene. It just seems like nobodys ready to put themselves out there and give it a shot, which is unfortunate, but I am in no position to talk as I don't have the balls or time to do anything about it myself! (Except attend these smashing events )

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