House, Techno and Trance clubs in New York – where’s the party?
New York’s gay club scene has changed radically in the past 3 years or so. The era of mega clubs, marathon parties, and afterhours that last into Sunday afternoon is pretty much over. The demise of Crobar, followed by the closing of the Roxy in March 2007 were the nails in the coffin of a form of entertainment that has defined New York City since the mid 70’s. And we’ve recently learned that after sitting unused for 2 years, the church that was once known as the legendary Limelight is about to be reborn as an upscale shopping mall in time for the holiday season…
With the extinction of big room clubs, the music that was created for, and played at those venues is also a dying genre in New York, at least within the gay community. New York’s gay club scene had long been at the cutting edge of electronic dance music, from the dawn of the disco days in the early 70’s to the peak of the mega club era in the mid 90’s, down to the rise of the electro scene in the early 2000. New York’s gay clubs and their DJs have been at the forefront of the electronic dance music culture, experimenting with sounds, inventing the art or DJing, pioneering new styles of music and setting trends that would inspire the world wide dance music culture. The list of New York venues and DJ’s who have played a seminal role in dance music’s history is endless: Francis Grasso at the Sanctuary, David Mancuso at the Loft, Nicky Siano at the Gallery, Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage, The Saint and its roster of DJ’s, Junior Vasquez and his many residencies at Soundfactory, Palladium, The Tunnel, Twilo, Exit, Danny Tenaglia, Victor Calderone and Peter Rauhofer at the Roxy and the list goes on…
But lately, with a few notable exceptions, the world of contemporary dance music has hardly seen any new pioneering figure emerge from the New York gay club scene. One of the exceptions is certainly DJ Honey Dijon, and although she’s been doing her thing for well over a decade, her popularity has never been so high and she has refined her style and developed it into a unique sound , blending hard, percussive beats infused with trippy electro hooks. She enjoys a weekly residency at Hiro and performs occasionally at other clubs in the city.
But by and large, the gay scene is now totally wrapped up in Top 40 pop music. Today’s most popular DJ’s such as Corey Craig, Keo Nozari, Brenda Black, Xavier expertly deliver a soundtrack made of current pop anthems. Admittedly, this style of DJing is a good fit for today’s popular venues, which are nothing like the big rooms or underground clubs from yesteryear. Spots like The Ritz, Rock It at Amalia, Beige, HK lounge, Vlada and the likes hardly have a dance floor, and when they do, it is never the focal point of those establishments. These venues are in fact mostly enhanced bars or restaurants by day which convert into party spaces for some nights, but were never designed as full fledged discotheque, and are rarely equipped with a proper sound system.
These days, the new format for a gay night out in the city consists in hopping from bars to lounges, sampling the different crowds, rooms and atmospheres that the city has to offer. It is certainly a departure from the journey that used to start with a warm up at a bar, peak time at a big room club for the main part of the night, and end up in some afterhours joint to keep the party going well into Sunday morning. But as far as gay bars are concerned, choices are plentiful, with establishments sprawling all across the city, and the emergence of Hell’s Kitchen as a new center of attraction for the gays, complementing Chelsea, the East Village and the West Village.
But the latest wave of gay hotspots is nothing like the gritty, underground dance clubs that epitomized the gay scene a decade ago. The emphasis is resolutely placed on drinking and socializing, rather than lifting your spirit through music and dancing. This certainly explains why the music has seemingly been relegated to a rather subdued background soundtrack conducive to bar conversations, unlike the overpowering and thundering big room club tracks designed to overwhelm the senses and drive party goers into a dancing frenzy. With an audience probably less receptive to mind-blowing sonic experimentation, it only makes sense that DJ’s are mostly sticking to Britney, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, the Pussycat Dolls and all the other crowd pleasing tunes from the top of the billboard chart. Since the scene now favors the bar/lounge format, the nights also end earlier than before. Comes 4 AM sharp – the time when the bar closes – and the music is promptly shut down, the light turned on, and everybody is sent home…
Don’t get me wrong though – hanging out at G Lounge, The Ritz, Rock It, Star Lounge and the likes is definitely fun – and mingling with your fellow New Yorkers in the sleek environment of today’s gay lounges has its merits. But when the craving for some serious dancing creeps back, frustration quickly sets when contemplating the meager line up of club nights available. There still are some options, but few are within the gay scene. And it turns out that as far as electronic dance music is concerned, the straight club scene is now where things are happening.
First, let’s review the few gay dance clubs that remain. The main underground gay club that remains now is Mr. Black. Having gone through numerous incarnations already, the club recently settled at the Room Service venue on 21st Street. It is open Friday through Sunday, and is one of the last few spots left that is more or less always busy and consistently delivers some fierce house music parties. As such, it is patronized by all of New York’s colorful nightlife creatures, club kids and club freaks, and the theater of many dance floor shenanigans. The music is rather on the cutting edge, thanks to a crew of brilliant resident DJ’s (Nita Aviance, Gant Johnson, Johnny Dynell) and many guests from around the country and Europe.
The other gay club out there is Splash. Until a few years ago, the venue was referred to as Splash Bar, and after Roxy closed and John Blair took the helm, it rebranded itself as a club. Frankly, we’ve never quite felt that it worked for us – although they did invest in upgrading the sound system, brought in a slew of high profile DJ’s (mostly from the “circuit” scene) and have striven to be fresh and inventive in their party lineups. Splash is probably where you would want to go now on any given Saturday if you are looking for the familiar anthemic-house-shirtless–boys-hands-in-the air party experience, but anybody who has experienced the Roxy will tell you that it is a far cry from what New York used to be about.
For the chronically under-stimulated looking to rekindle the magic of the big room experience, the only destination these days is the “straight” mega club Pacha. Notice the quotation marks on the word straight, because Pacha (formerly Sound Factory) has always been a bastion of sexual ambiguity and gender bending confusion. One of the last surviving big rooms in New York, Pacha features an impressive line up of world class resident DJs among whom Jonathan Peters, Victor Calderone, Danny Tenaglia, Boris, and invites guest DJ’s of the highest caliber from around the globe, spanning all genres of electronic music. Check out their website to find out about upcoming events. Nevermind the straight-ish positioning, Pacha always draws a contingent of gay patrons, who tend to come later in the night, and is most numerous on nights when Victor Calderone or Jonathan Peters is playing. Pacha is one of the last afterhours joint in the city, and on most Saturdays, the party stretches usually till noon on Sunday. The music is usually tribal, hard house, progressive or techno, and sometimes trance.
The other gay friendly after hours spot is Area Code at Greenhouse, which is actually the rebranded incarnation of Timmy Regisford’s legendary Shelter party. Despite the lavish renovations done to the former Shelter venue, Greenhouse retains an authentic and underground vibe for its Area Code afterhours event which draws Timmy Regisford’s loyal family of house heads. This is a unique New York experience and a serious underground dance music party like no other, but don’t bother showing up before 6 AM Sunday morning.
In the same vein of quality house music parties for purist of the genre, the REDness production team organizes many events on a weekly basis, often held at Webster Hall during the winter or Water Taxi beach during the summer. Their events are usually multiethnic and poly sexual affairs, true to the house music credo of bringing every race and nation under one roof.
Another mixed spot to look out for is Santos Party House, a two level dance club in Soho open all week long. They don’t have a regular Gay night, but Peter Rauhofer has used the space for its world famous Work! parties a few times. In a different style, Danny Krivit has also had his legendary 718 Sessions at Santos on a few occasions.
Contrary to Europe, the trance scene in New York is almost non existent. Club Love is the only place featuring trance DJs on a regular basis. Club Love is an amazing, off the beaten track venue, buried underground in the heart of Greenwich Village. A steep and narrow staircase takes you deep under street level, in a dark cave, equipped with one of the best sound systems in New York. The atmosphere is gritty and trippy and the music always on the cutting edge.
The production team Made Events also organizes various trance and techno parties across the city in various venues, so check out their website to find out about their upcoming party line up.
If you’re looking for underground techno parties, The Resolute NYC collective has been organizing monthly events in various “secret” locations across the city, but they are not widely advertised. They are private events, and you must either signup on their website or be accompanied by a member to be allowed in. Their parties are well worth the trip, however, often taking place in unusual locations, such as an abandoned boat docked in a canal in Brooklyn.
If you are interested in exploring the techno and rave scene in the New York area, we recommend that you check the party listing on the newraveorder forum. It is the most comprehensive resource to find out about everything that is happening in the underground dance scene.
So, there you have it – half a dozen or so proper dance club remaining in the city: Pacha, Santos, Greenhouse, Love, Mr. Black and Webster Hall. These are the last bastion keeping the electronic dance music scene alive in New York. If you’re looking to dance to a different beat than today’s mainstream club music, don’t hesitate to wander off the beaten path and explore the network of underground parties and raves that still thrives in the New York area.
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http://twitter.com/pushingit marcus
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Chris
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queenofnewyork
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Chris
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Billy
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http://www.myspace.com/xsylabik Nick
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Ozzie Mark suggestions
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Phil Gordon
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Chris
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circuit queens are lame
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http://www.trancemansion.com Deme
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http://www.trancemansion.com Deme
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http://www.myspace.com/silentsadboi213 Angel Alfaro
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Deme
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queenofnewyork
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matt
