|
Clubs in Philly
|
View this Thread in Original format
| pyro264jb |
| I'm going to Philly this summer. Can anyone suggest a few good clubs there? How is the scene? |
|
|
| Serial Killer |
| Rumor, Soundgarden Hall, Lit, Whisper |
|
|
| DOOMBOT |
| quote: | Originally posted by pyro264jb
I'm going to Philly this summer. Can anyone suggest a few good clubs there? How is the scene? |
Hacienda Lounge is awesome. From my personal experience though; the best parties are the ones held in some make-shift space somewhere, whether it be a loft, warehouse, gutted row home, etc. Hope you find what you are looking for and enjoy your stay here! |
|
|
| edubbz |
| FamiliaRise! Look out for them |
|
|
| BPM_PHL |
The scene is growing here but its far behind NYC, San Fran, LA, Miami, Toronto, Montreal and Chicago.
We have:
Lit Ultrabar. Great potential but they ed this place up. Djs Play strictly big room bangers, bouncers are douchey, bartenders tend to ignore you and it attracts a Jersey-bottle service type crowd as well as the casual young urbanite looking for the "club" experience. They have the very rare smart booking (Roger Sanchez played here) but most of the time its their ty residents or a B grade EDM DJ. Fits 1000, good sound, goes until 3:30. $6-$10 drinks $20-$30 cover.
Rumor. Small upscale club right in the heart of center city. Main room holds around 300, side room an additional 100. Bottle service area takes up a large chunk of the main dance floor. Sound in here is ok, and the managers are really into the music scene and make smart bookings regularly. Unfortunately there is not much of a following for proper house and techno around here so you mostly get casual people wanting the club experience and not too educated about the music mixed in with a handful of die hards. Can be ok depending on the booking and best on a Thursday night because there is no "club" type crowd then. Expensive drinks $20 cover. Close at 2.
Soundgarden Hall. Owned by the same folks as Rumor. Fits 1,500. This place is an EDM Concert Hall. Usually big room, trouse, dubstep or trap DJS. Weekly high profile bookings. Attracts the under age kandi, glow sticks crowd mostly. Seperated 21+ bar section where the crowd is more reasonable. $6-10 24oz beers. Security is pretty laid back. If its the right booking the experience can be ok but most of the time its a miss. Close at 2. They recently started a curated techno night I'll describe below.
Hacienda Lounge-This is how the tech night at Soundgarden is billed. It is in the bar section of SGH 1-2 nights a month with the main floor closed off. Fantastic bookings, Kevin Saunderson and Carlo Lio recently with Guy J in June. They set up extra seating, fire pits and tweak the sound for techno. Minimal decor done in good taste. Unfortunatley this isn't really promoted outside a tight circle of people who are in the know so the crowd can be small and somewhat aloof if you don't know anyone. Not cold just tight knit. Can go to 4am which is awesome. I really hope this party takes off. $10-$20 cover.
Whisper-Similar to Rumor. Small upscale club off Rittenhouse. Not too many bookings and I believe its "urban" music on the standard nights. Occasionally they land a really great name. Saw Mark Knight here and it was fantastic. Also do 18+ some nights which is annoying. 2am close. Expensive drinks.
Flirt Lounge. This is part of the Roxxy/Bamboo bar complex on Columbus Ave which typically has been a Jersey trash/avoid at all cost type place. However a local promotion host a 21+ trance night that is really great. Max Graham was the kick off and Protoculuture and Arnej are booked for June and July. Recommend these parties. Cheap drinks, reasonable cover.
District 9. Used to be the Starlight Ballroom. Similar to SGH but smaller and slightly less obnoxious. They recently redid the place and the decor looks good but the sound still kind of sucks. Young crowd, glow sticks. Cheap drinks and cover depends on the booking. Can be decent with the right artist and sometimes they have free events.
Union Transfer. Excellent venue but mostly for bands. Owned by R5 which also owns Morgan's Pier and the Dolphin Tavern. They Book DJs some times and its usually a pretty good time. Great craft beer selection. Hipsterish crowd.
The Dolphin Tavern-One of my favorites. Former burlesque bar in South Philly converted to a standard dive. Amazing booksings: George Fitzgerald, Skream and Troxler recently. Definitely a hipster bar. Pretty good sound. Cheap drinks! $3 Coors and Tecates and $6 IPAs. $8-$15 cover. The place really narrow and can be a cluster if its a big booking especially the bathroom situation with the back bar. Hot hipster girls. 2pm close. Disco Ball!
Morgan's Pier-Giant outdoor pier right on the Delaware. Very spacious. Amazing bookings, they have Tale of Us and Booka Shade this weekend with Cajamere and Dixon coming for the 4th of July. Great draft selection. $5 cover even for big artists. Good sound, cool lazers, and fog machine which can be a bit much. Only drawback is that its now trendy so gets super crowded with the boat shoes and button-up crowd. If its even a little rainy more incentive to go since the crowd will be there only for the music and its under a covered tent. 2am close
Not clubs but DJs are sometimes also booked at the TLA, Mann Center and Festival Pier also.
Finally theres the underground. This took me the longest to find out about, not advertised except to those in the know. Biggest names are Rizumu and familiaRise. Parties are in abandoned neighborhoods/warehouses. These can seem like really sketchy parts of town, but the one I went to last was on a well lit block near a Dunkin Donuts and I felt perfectly safe. These can go well into the morning and the music is very minimal. Diverse crowd. Open drug use
Hopes this helps. Cheers, enjoy your time here. |
|
|
|
|
