Clubs & Bars: Chicago. San Francisco

Competition for Liquor Licences seems to be pretty tough and not entirely fair; as in anything, money can apparently win influence. In SF everywhere must stop serving at alcohol at 4am and many places have to shut but some stay open to 4am without alcohol and a few stay open till 6am, when they can start serving alcohol again. In Chicago they can serve till 4am if they've got the license to stay open that late but they will then shut promptly. Because of this, there is a massive private afterhours culture so if you're in the know you'll be able to stay inside the closed club or you'll end up in some hip loft; otherwise you might just have to go home. The entrance age is 21 and pretty much everyone gets ID'd. Some clubs check thoroughly for drugs, others don't at all. Some make it difficult to do drugs by having low or colored lighting or a lack of surfaces in the cubicles etc.

In the US now, the owners of a venue or promoters of a gig can be fined a lot of money or imprisoned for a long time if people are found to be using drugs on their premises and it seems like they tolerate it. The law was called the RAVE Act - Reducing American's Vulnerability to Ecstasy - but has been renamed the Illicit Drugs Anti-Proliferation Act so that it doesn't seem to be targeting nightclubs in particular, but all public entertainment venues. Originally, the sale of water and the presence of a chill-out room was construed as being evidence of blatant drug use; now you'd need to get mixed up with an undercover or something to do the club any harm, but it's still serious shit. Although there are a number of big venues in operation there are many more smaller ones, appropriately called DJ bars, which usually have a little dancefloor, a lot of seating, and a good sound system. They're the place to find the music lovers and not just the party animals.

Chicago:
Check these sites for more info:
metromix.com chicagogroove.com music-101.com grooveparlor.com

Smart Bar 3730 N Clark St
22 years old and counting, Smart Bar is a safe underground venue. I heard a couple of people talking about it as the place where the music would be good but there'd be no women, and they may be right. The music policy is based around quality underground house and the place is very dark so it's not really the place to go on your hen night with your girlfriends in your prettiest frocks. For anyone familiar with NZ clubs, it's kind of like a cross between Calibre and FU. For anyone that's not, it's your prototype nightclub with a large dancefloor in front of a spacious DJ booth and back room with an L-shaped bar in the corner and pillars about the place, plus an adjacent bar area with small tables and stools to sit at. The soundsystem is good and the girl's bathrooms have a spacious lounge area, which is nice. http://www.smartbarchicago.com

Green Dolphin St 2200 N Ashland
Named after some famous jazz song that I don't know, GD is a bit of a Chicago institution. It's more commonly known for being a restaurant and live music venue but they have DJs some nights of the week and Boom Boom Room has been reincarnated there on Monday nights, attracting a diverse grown-up crowd. The venue itself is lovely: there's 3 distinct indoor areas that cater variously for drinking, dancing and sitting, plus an outdoor garden area and some steps that lead down to the river. There's a classic feel to the place and a pleasant vibe from the people.

Tini Martini 2169 N Milwaukee
I liked this little club a lot. Because of it's name, I expected a hip, modern, sterile kind of place but it was very chill and fun. I only went into the upstairs bar part, which had a small dancefloor in front of the raised DJ booth down the far end, but apparently there's a club space downstairs. Many talented folk spin there. http://www.tinimartini.com

Iggy's 1840 W North
Also a restaurant but with good bar and DJ facilities, Iggy's used to be somewhere else but is now located here in a lovely brick building with a patio garden on top of it. The staff are cool, service is good, food is good and they do stuff like show old movies on the big screen. Music-101 hosted a Sunday evening party called Day Ra on the roof.

Subterranean 2011 W North
I never went there but it's a mostly hip hop club in the heart of Wicker Park so probably worth checking. I wanted to go on Wednesday when they're supposed to feature Chicago Jack, which I took to mean jacking Chicago house, but my South Side friends insisted it'd just be some dude called Jack and deflected me. Lesson learnt? Tourists sometimes know better because they do their homework. http://www.subt.net

Zentra 923 W Weed
They kind of have an Eastern thing going on here but it's only really evident in the spacious lounge area that's adjacent to the downstairs bar. Off the lounge is a large, attractive garden area for chilling but if you're looking for serious action, go upstairs. The main room is wholly geared toward dancing with a reserved seated area around the raised DJ booth down one end and a bar along the other. Down the sides of the room are some plain wooden platform things that you can sit or dance on, interrupted only by the large subs that fill the room with loud loud sound. Premium talent plays at the club and it seems to be fairly popular so my only complaint is that there are no downstairs toilets, two of which were out of order one night I was there (luckily there was a competent bathroom attendant to keep people moving). http://www.zentranightclub.com

Crobar 1543 N Kingsbury
Just around the corner from Zentra, Crobar is a superclub with branches in other main centers of the US, including NYC. It's cool if you like this kind of thing: sleek, faux-industrial design with steel railing everywhere, impressive lighting rigs, powerful sound, high door fees and long lines of people out to be seen. But maybe I'm being a little cyncial... The main dancefloor is on ground level on the other side of a circular bar just as you enter, framed by mezzanine bar/lounge spaces with the VIP room at the entrance end and the DJ booth at the other, kind of suspended out from the rest of the room. I went to gay night on the Sunday and there was a DJ spinning proggy house. He played only CDs and I noticed that the Pioneers were next to each other on one side of the Technics, rather than on either side of them or raised above them, which is probably a smart move these days. Take friends and cash to Cro and you might have fun but I didn't really.

Big Wig 1551 W Division
This is more of a DJ bar than a club with the bar area occupying as much space as the DJ part. The difference between the two is that the bar has a high roof while the dancefloor's is low, to allow for a self-contained upstairs lounge. Big Wig is a very attractive, comfortable place with detailed decor and good staff. The sound is also nice and clear and you can catch different styles of music on any night of the week, with Saturday being the night for guest house DJs and Wednesdays for drum n bass. http://www.bigwignightclub.net

Moonshine 1824 W Division
Moonshine is actually a restaurant but it's a really chill one with a couple of bars and a DJ focus on some nights. In possible reference to alcohol's prohibited past, the place serves strong drinks in stout glass jars and everyone dances wherever there's room on the split-level floor. At the time of writing, they hosted a bi-weekly Wednesday party that served as an afterparty for the Grant Park DJ dancing sessions that took place from 6.30 till 9.30. The city's best talent spins on those nights - and others - or else hangs out with everyone else.

Slick's Lounge 1115 N Branch
Located in the heart of a fairly derelict industrial zone, every brick of Slick's is cool. There's a long covered entranceway leading in from the street to a gorgeous room with a dancefloor at its center. The main bar is along the back wall and the DJ booth up to the left, beside a private lounge that's enclosed with a chiffon curtain. Down the other side is a seated area a few steps up from the floor. The other bar is along the front wall, to the left of the entrance. But the best thing about Slick's is the crowd and the vibe: everyone goes there on Tuesdays and Thursdays for quality house music and it's a whole lot of fun.

Sonotheque 1444 W Chicago
The name conjured images of somewhere sleek and modern, and this time I was right. There's a long bar down the right side and a sophisticated DJ booth up a few steps on the left side; it's enclosed in floor to ceiling glass and has a customized console. The front and back of the room have suave seating options, and people dance in the remaining space down the center of the room. So it's not really a club as such - more like a hip private lounge. The night I went (Smooth Grooves) the music was perfect, the drinks were perfect, the people were perfect. Nice. http://www.sonotheque.com

Dark Room 2210 W Chicago
Just up the road, Dark Room is the antithesis of Sonoteque. It's big with brick walls and an outdoor garden area. The circular bar is in the center of the room and there's modern art hung above the large comfortable booths that go all around the perimeter. The DJ booth is raised at the far end of the room and there's space to dance in front of it or anywhere between the bar and the booths. It would be an ideal place to go out if you weren't wanting to do the full club thing.

Funky Buddha 728 W Grand
As the name would suggest, FB has got a Buddhist theme happening and the music is funky every night of the week. It's a good place to catch some African stuff or some hip hop or any kind of slightly alternative electronica. The space is split into two adjacent rooms: the first is an opulent lounge with a bar down the side, dim lighting and lots of seating; the second is more of a club with almost no lighting and a bar in one back corner. There's also a short hall leading to another lounge that's often shut or private. http://www.funkybuddha.com

Dantes 1200 W Hubbard
A chill spot in a quiet part of town, Dantes is a small bar with a bar in the middle of one side and seating around the edges of the room, and a DJ booth and small dancefloor down the far end. It's a popular spot for Friday evening drinks; they have some tables outside on the street and do food.

Sound Bar 226 W Ontario
Someone said to avoid all places ending in "Bar" and you can definitely see a common theme between Crobar and this place; however, it's an undeniably impressive venture. Apparently it's owned by the same people as Zentra and, if that's the case, they've got a large part of the market covered because on the nights I went Zentra's crowd was mixed (age/sex/race/income) and cool while Sound Bar's was white and probably not from the ghetto, if you know what I mean. In fairness, I went to hear a superbrand DJ spin on a Friday night and that would undoubtedly affect the clientele of any club. On another night, with other people, the club could be sweet. It's huge with an upstairs main club area that runs longwise in front of a high-tech DJ booth and the sound is fucking awesome. There's also a lovely circular lounge and another small bar out the back. Downstairs are two large lounges on either side of a compact dancefloor, with the DJ in a self-contained room at one end. The space works really well and there are podiums in both of the lounges for showing off if the dancefloor itself is too low-key for you. In the back corner is VVIP room that's apparently all in green with its own elevator. Overall, impressive design and impressive sound = big bucks = good for the occasional big night out. http://www.sound-bar.com

Spy Bar 646 N Franklin
Though it's across the street from Sound Bar, Spy is more like Smart Bar: dark with red lighting and a low roof, though it's currently under renovation so maybe the reverse will soon be true. Because it's located downtown it may still attract your usual consortium of plastic party people but the night I went (final of the Music-101 Saturday residency) the crowd was fairly focused on the excellent music and a good time was had by all.

Vision Dearbourne
Apparently, this is Chicago's premier clubbing experience and I can understand why some people might think this to be the case. For one thing, it's huge. For two, it's got a lot of good things going for it. But, of course, it's wack as heaven. The first part of the club is called Vision Dome and it's a three-floored space below a large bright dome of soft blue light. The dancefloor is in the center of the first floor and there's bars and seating round the edges of all three. There's also some stairs leading to a mysterious VIP room that usually features hip hop. The next part of the venue is an enormous lounge space with a bunch of different seating and bar options. Finally you hit the club itself: another three-leveled thing with huge sound, a stage at the back, a suspended DJ booth at the front, seating round the sides, and hip black and white photos on the walls. This is definitely the place to go for a hens night in your prettiest frocks. I know because there were at least 3 separate groups doing just that. So what about the music? Was it swirling, melodic, trance that sounds great if you're absoultely out of your mind and don't really care anyway? No, it was ball-breaking techno courtesy of some German guy that nobody knew the name of. If you're wanting to do the superclub thing I'd recommend Sound Bar over this place any day. http://www.visionnightclub.com


San Francisco:
Check sfstation.com for comprehensive info.

Club 6 6th St
This was probably my favorite club. I went there on both Friday and Saturday nights to hear East Coast Boogiemen and go to the Get Underground party, which featured some of the local tech-type heroes like Hector Morales. The club has a street-level lounge but the tunes were so good in the basement I didn't spend any time there. The sound system was awesome and there was a rather relaxed attitude to the smoking laws which gave it a grittier feel than other venues. Downstairs, the DJ area is at one end and then the room goes way back with pillars marking the main dancespace. On the right is the bar with areas either side of it for chilling. Down the left are more seats and several phat, phat, phat subs. At the very back of the room is a semi-separate lounge. Behind the left hand wall (under the stairs) is another lounge space with some modern art and dim lighting. The club is a serious venue for people who want to check the music rather than trot about being seen. On both nights I was there the music was fucking great - I swear I didn't hear a single bad or played out tune. The staff were really friendly and the crowd was cool. http://www.clubsix1.com

The End Up 6th St
I went here on the Thursday night to a party called Kit Kat, and on Sunday to a day party called T-Power. Kit Kat is home to a rotating bunch of SFs finest and T-Power is obviously a little crazy because most people have come straight from their Saturday party or only snatched a couple of hours sleep. Having said that, the club is not all about mindless hedonism at all. The music is classy and there are so many nooks and crannies that it caters for all tastes and purposes, though the entire place is linked to the same soundsystem and DJ action. After getting past the ID check, drug search and door payment you find yourself behind the oval shaped bar. Round the other side, up a few steps, is the dancefloor. The far wall is all glass doors leading outside but the central portions are shut to create an enclosed dance space. At either end you can go out onto a sprawling outdoor patio/garden type area with lots of plants and a little waterfall in the corner, plus a separate little balcony up some stairs. Inside at the back of the venue is a big space which has a pool table and some video games, a sunken area centered around a fake fire, and some seating that goes up into the corners like a little stadium. They stop serving alcohol at 2am on Saturday night, close at 4 then re-open at 6, at which time they can start serving again. You have to pay each time a different party begins but if you're there all day Sunday you only pay $5 to stay on at Devotion, another one of the city's credible house parties. Basically, it's a total institution and they know how to throw a good party with experienced clubbers in mind. http://www.theendup.com

Arrow Bar 6th St
There are so many bars in San Francisco that I'm sure everyone would be able to find one that suits them exactly but Arrow seems to have a disproportionate number of loyal patrons, especially on Wednesday nights. The night I was there people were playing rock n roll and The Rapture dropped by to spin a late set before their gig the following night. I got a little confused about what's normally on because I kept finding conflicting flyers but I think Wednesdays are often about acid and early-9os type house. It's a dark, cool little cavern great for talking to friends, making new ones or just sitting back, drinking and listening to the music.

Anu 6th St
Almost directly across the road from Arrow, Anu is an altogether more modern, airy, upmarket affair and definitely falls into the DJ bar category with a great little soundsystem and small dancefloor catering for people who prefer micro-clubbing. They have an extensive selection of excellent vodka and indeed the crowd seemed like they'd be top-shelf drinkers although there wasn't a hint of snobbery in the air. It seems everywhere you go in SF you'll still find an eclectic mix of freaks and fashionistas. http://www.anu-bar.com

Mezzanine Jesse St, between 5th and 6th
This club is kind of like a gentrified version of an illicit rave space; it looks big but still manages to feel intimate with several "mezzanine" lounges along the back and sides of a huge dancefloor. They host international acts as well as some of the best local parties (like OM Records) and I imagine most people would find it easy to have a good time there. http://www.mezzaninesf.com

111 Minna Downtown
By day, this place is a very modern art gallery. It occupies the kind of large warehouse type space that hipsters would dream to live in but, in SF expecially, could never afford. The art varied from post-whatever lesbian-goth surrealism to bold abstracts. I was particularly stunned by this fine black and white sketch of a fairy girl spitting blood and teeth with a caption asking something like "how much is too much?", in reference to Americans' apparent obsession with bleaching their teeth. L-shaped, there is a small bar in the corner and another along one of the arms. On Wednesdays, DJs Spesh and Jondi host a party called Qool which kicks off at 5 and goes till 10, with DJs playing a short 45-minute set each. The line up is projected onto the side wall of the half of the L where all the dancing happens. Other visuals are projected onto the far wall and onto a transparent screen that cuts the hardcore dancers off from the mere foot tappers. In the other part of the L people drink and talk very noisily abou their day. The crowd was a mix of post-work businessman, idle artists and everyone in between. The tunes were banging from the start with breaks and progressive house featuring prominently and a handful of punters dominating proceedings with their wild and wacky ways (ha ha ha) on the stage that surrounds the DJ booth. In my opinion, Qool is a fantastic testament to the fact that people love to dance - drugs or no drugs - anytime, anyplace. It would be difficult to argue that all these people are E-happy ravers who don't care about the music. It's just a great mid-week meeting ground for people wanting to rock it in a TAZ (Temporary Autonomous Zone) right in the commercial center of the city. http://www.111minnagallery.com

Ruby Skye Powell St, Downtown
Nominated by Dancestar as one of the top five clubs in America, Ruby Skye is a grand club but not very engaging. I went along to hear Doc Martin so it was easy enough to shut out the dodgy bits and get lost in the tunes but if you went on a night when the music wasn't up your street you could have a fairly shocking time. This place is all about the money. If you want to dance that's fine but if you don't your options are limited to either paying for a private space down the sides of the upstairs balcony or knowing someone so you can get into the lovely VIP space at the back of the dancefloor. Or you could be a VVIP and get into the enclosed lounge in the top right hand corner of the room, where people look to be in a glass cage that's totally removed from the party. Another option is to go into the upstairs lounge, behind the main bar, where they've managed to get around the smoking ban by claiming it to be a cigar room and adorning the walls with said objects. But the R&B is so bad you probably won't want to stay long. Also, in theory, everyone should be beautiful at a place like this but they weren't. Luckily I was there with a few cool, connected peepz and we got wasted and messed around in the VIP, doing our best not to laugh at the pro chicks dancing on podiums in fishnets and Mexican ponchos. http://www.rubyskye.com

Pink 16th St
Apparently this bar used to be Liquid and was one of the fixtures on the nitelife circuit. Now it is a fairly posh little bar with these great big white cushions along one wall, raised far enough off the ground that your feet dangle when you sit back in them. Chiffon screens divide the space. At the far end is the small dancefloor with the DJ booth in one corner. At the other end is a little lounge space. There are many beautiful details about the place and in the restrooms someone has written "you are so beautiful" on the ornate mirror. Maybe this is a reflection of the fact that everyone who goes there is expected to be attractive. More likely it's a reference to the whole everyone is beautiful within thing. Whatever, it's a smart place to get a drink and on Sundays it's now home to Bionic: Joshua and Solar's long-standing deep house night that used to be at The Top on Upper Haight St. http://www.pinksf.com

Milk Upper Haight St
On the clubbier end of the DJ bar cline, Milk has a lot of lovely seated space down one end and a decent-sized dancefloor with a loud soundsystem down the other. I went on a Monday night when Green Gorilla Lounge had their party High Heels (they now do a Wednesday night party called Le Boom at Pink). Drinks were cheap, the music was excellent, staff were friendly and a good time was generally had by all. http://www.milksf.com

DNA, Mighty, The Top, Cloud 9, 1015 Folsom
I didn't get to any of these places but the first four are home to some of the best parties in town. DNA is meant to be beautiful and fun and has a solid music policy. The Top was an institution that served up great beats all week long but is now defunct. Mighty is another arty space by day and features a Richard Long sound system that is apparently mighty fucking loud. Cloud 9 is sometimes home to a party called Sleaze Please so it can't be all bad. 1015 is large and has encountered serious problems under the new legislation: apparently it's the place to go if you're a pill-popping raver who likes Paul Van Dyke.