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.
a real breakdown of the state of things in this city in terms of edm, gay straight or otherwise – thanks for the heads up
After reading this it almost makes me a bit depressed to a degree because, Ive been to Roxy frequently in fact,I was there just about every Saturday,when it closed I was saddened because I knew,without a place like Roxy,gay nightlife was gonna be lousy..atleast until something new came along. Just a couple of weeks after Roxy’s closing,I found out that Peter Rauhofer was launching is own party..WORK! which he did at Stereo/Octagon.That was a great weekly party and Im glad someone was willing to keep the gay house scene alive.Then Just a year after Roxy closed, Stereo followed.So now WORK! has become one of those occasional/holiday parties.Bar hopping is fine and all but it aint as fun as going to a real club with some banging house beats and a rotating DJ roster of world class talent. Mr. Black is ok, but its not enough.
I frequent Pacha, Asseteria at Arena, Cielo,Ive been to M2 twice already For Roger Sanchez and Mario Calegari (my third will be for Peter Rauhofer’s WORK! columbus day special on Sunday 10/11/09) I dont care much for Mr. Black at Room Service,however I do go there for Key Club Thurdays.Splash,I dont go to very often,I do drop by there sometimes though.G-lounge is ok Barracuda is another.Most of the bars I like are in Hells Kitchen,HK Lounge,Vlada,The Ritz,and Therapy.Ive only been to Rock-It once I didnt care for it,however The same people who do Key Club and Rock-It,launched a new party at Providence called “Club 57″ that it probably the closest thing to a real “mega-club” gay party in the whole damn city and I had a great time,I think Ill drop by there often. For the most part, the only scene with the best music was the “straight” club scene.Im not crazy about top 40 teenie bop music,so I dont attend gay bars/clubs that play that music very often.
I totally agree with you. Stereo was great but lasted only a year, and when it closed, it sealed the end of the weekly gay underground house music club as we knew it. It sucks that Peter’s Work party will not settle down somewhere and stick to a regular schedule. It happens very infrequently now. It seems like Peter is more interested in taking his brand on the road to increase his international exposure. And it is working for him – he’s been headlining many parties all over the world. But that leaves a pretty big void in New York…
I also agree with you that Mr. Black has been pretty lackluster. The move to Revel sounded good, but as far as I’m concerned, I much preferred its previous incarnation at Gypsy Tea on 24th street. I think the move to Room Service is not going to work. It seems like attendance has been really sparse, and it also looks like they are not continuing their new Sunday night party. Room Service is probably too sleek a venue for the kind of gritty underground vibe they are trying to create.
Club 57 sounds promising. Let’s see if it holds up. The opening night was packed, but it is very much the same crowd as Rock It. A lot of Hell’s Kitchen & Chelsea pretty boys… I’m glad they brought house music back to the main room, but the party shuts down at 4 AM sharp. I don’t quite see it becoming a favorite hangout for the house heads or the circuit crowd.
What I find most frustrating these days is how the “Top 40″ music completely dominates the gay scene nowadays. It is played everywhere. House, and the more harder or progressive music that used to be played later in the night has vanished, as most clubs/bars/lounges close at 4 AM.
I’ve noticed that the party boys tend to congregate at Pacha at 4 AM on Saturday nights. It seems like this is now the closest thing we have to an afterhours party. But admission price is really prohibitive (they charge $40 after 4 AM). I gotta venture to Area Code at Greenhouse to check it out.
I agree with you about Peter’s WORK! However I believe that Peter not settling the party at one space on a more consistent schedule may or may not have something to do with the fact that the more suitable space for WORK! isnt available to us every week,I could be wrong.I LOVE me some WORK!,but lately when it comes to some of the recent spaces,he has done WORK! I cant say I liked many of them.
I hated Highline ballroom,staff seemed pretty unfriendly there and the place wasnt well equipped for nightclub parties such as WORK! I didnt care much for Union Sq Ballroom because it felt way too much like a banquet hall than a club,so it didnt bring the club vibe.Pride “WE CAN” at Roseland was a different story so I wont go there.Pacha was the best place he did WORK!,great sound system,awesome lighting and was large enough to accommodate the crowds that WORK! normally acquires,being that its a 30,000 sq ft 2,500 capacity nightclub. I know he’s doing a WORK! night at Santos Party House,however,I feel that Santos is too small for WORK! its only 8,000 sq ft (No bigger than Splash) and probably cant hold more than possibly 4-500 people.I know for a fact that WORK! draws more people than that.I recall the last time Peter played there (3/14/09 Bootleg) It literally got to a point where I was being pushed from one side to another…I no longer had much control over my own movements because it got so jammed packed (probably beyond its capacity).It didnt feel very fun nor comfortable. So most likely Im not going to WORK! @ Santos this Saturday.
M2/formerly Crobar is more desirable,the space is about the same size as Pacha (just with a larger main Room) and can hold 2,000+ thats about the same as Roxy. Thinking about it now makes me wish that Peter would do WORK! weekly there. Im sure M2 wont do it,since they are more interested in catering to the “straight” pompous bottle service whore crowd.As big as that space is,you’d think they’d be more flexible/versatile with it. I feel we should have atleast one good gay weekly hardcore House Music night.But,what space would give us that option?
Ive heard this “hot-air” about Roxy applying for a liquor license and reopening in August,but I havent heard anything since.I say its hot-air,because,we heard this same crap around the same exact time last year and we all know what we got out of that,right? Although…Roxy probably would be our only real chance for a weekly gay House night again.Being that nothing was said since the news went around last month,I doubt Roxy is ever coming back.
As for “Club 57″ I totally agree with you there too.But Im willing to take that for what it is for now,but Im still really hoping for something even more extravagant and interesting.
Pacha is a great club and all, I normally get there early in the night,so I always either get in free or pay the $10.I know how Pacha does it,the later you get there,the more they charge.
As for not having a big weekly gay house night, it is a real pain in the ass,most definitely.When I go out to a club,Im not looking to hear the same tired teenie bop music thats played on almost every radio station 24/7.The lack of imagination and lack of support for House/dance music in current gay nightlife is a big Big BIG pain in the ass.Im hoping for something to change soon.
It cant stay like this forever….NOT in New York City!
Funny that it’s the straights that have pretty much cornered the market on cutting edge music these days. I don’t really care for old school, “soulful” house that much but love the minimal techno that’s blowing up in the underground scene in Brooklyn warehouse parties and, occasionally, Manhattan loft spaces. Check out residentadvisor.net for some good listings there.
Then again, these parties attract a mixed crowd to say the least. It’s a shame that New York doesn’t really have any great, permanent, standalone clubs devoted to dancing. But the so-called underground scene is pretty great in its own way. And I’d guess that those parties attract their fair share of gays.
Anyway, it’s all cyclical. I heard recently that they’re petitioning to reopen the Roxy. Everything old is new again, especially in nightlife.
Agree.. very good information.. just got to new york and have been trying to figure out where the really good DJs and gays overlap. will check out some of these parties.
Hey guys, loved the comments on NYC club scene – very informative. We’re coming to NYC from Sydney for New Years this December and looking for recommendations what to do. We’re interested in bar-hopping but also looking for a big night out on 31 December. We’re uplifting vocal house / anthems sort of people, so any ideas? Really looking forward to the visit. Mark from Oz
Thanks so much for finally writing an actual synopsis of the non existent Gay Dance Scene in NYC. Since the Roxy closed in 2007, New York has no longer become the destination for a night of dance and merriment for the gay population…. It would appear that John Blair has tried to convert Splash to a mini Roxy, but that is so not the case…. Every time we go, it just seems so sterile and commercial, with people trying to have a good time. Alas, I guess we’ll just have to wait, for the next installment of a great dance club in NYC. At least we can look forward to the Black Party at Roseland, for a night of dance floor excitement.
In reference to Phil’s comment,this is what I was trying to point out in the other post.Notice that we have to wait for big one-off dance events to happen in this city when it comes to looking for dance music and dance floor excitement
Work! (since it doesnt have a permanent home)
Saint @ Large events
Alegria
This is why we need a big club.
We may not need 5 or 6 of them like back in the 90s but we still should have a big club night on the weekends. Again,in a city as big as New York,its a pretty good idea to have options
Circuit queens and their dj’s killed the dance scene in NYC, by making crap meth-music their backdrop to body display. Dancing, nuance, and the concept of a shared musical journey is secondary to this crowd.
In London people like David Mancuso are REVERED!
Come check out Horse Meat Disco.
You cheesy abercrombie queens need to learn it!
How about checking out house dance international—you might even learn some new steps.
Some of the balls seem pretty fierce too. (i.e. Latex Ball, etc).
For those with taste listen to:
http://www.beatsinspace.net
or
http://thedownlowradio.com
Keep the faith.—Drewski
Really good review, thanks for that Dre
It’s amazing how often we’ve heard that much of gay new york is hungry for uplifting/progressive/vocal/hiNrgy trance, and how there’s no regular party in the city. So we did something about it and started throwing small parties at places like Star Lounge, Los Feliz and Karma. Our following has grown, and we’re no longer NYC’s best kept secret for trance fans anymore.
We’ve graduated to hosting a mixed weekly progressive/trance party at the Balcony Lounge at Webster Hall every Thursday starting 4/15/10.
Our mantra is “Trance Mansion is a place where attitudes and inhibitions are checked at the door. Peace, love, unity and freedom will be our religion for the night.” In addition to our club nights we also host picnics, pilgrimages to trance concerts and other events. Check us out and/or get on our list trancemansion.com
+Deme
Really good review, thanks!
It’s amazing how often we’ve heard that much of gay new york is hungry for uplifting/progressive/vocal/hiNrgy trance, and how there’s no regular party in the city. So we did something about it and started throwing small parties at places like Star Lounge, Los Feliz and Karma. Our following has grown, and we’re no longer NYC’s best kept secret for trance fans anymore.
We’ve graduated to hosting a mixed weekly progressive/trance party at the Balcony Lounge at Webster Hall every Thursday starting 4/15/10.
Our mantra is “Trance Mansion is a place where attitudes and inhibitions are checked at the door. Peace, love, unity and freedom will be our religion for the night.” In addition to our club nights we also host picnics, pilgrimages to trance concerts and other events. Check us out and/or get on our list trancemansion.com
+Deme
how much to gett in??and how old do you have to be??also,is there any other techno dance clubs??-Thanks