All the Clubs I've loved before...

OMG, so my excursions back into regional clubbing lately as well as a few memories from discussions with songofthesiren have led me to try and remember some goth clubs/goth nights I'd gone to and what they were like. I did NOT include any 80's nights as they don't count, and i didn't include any bdsm clubs as they're not really goth, but i did include fetish clubs as they tend to be more fashion based and less action based and play mainly goth/industrial with a mainly g/i crowd.

I tried to include the years I visited as well because lots of clubs changed format or location, etc.

Warning: Under the cut will take you back in time, and I'm not responsible for the nonproductive hours you will spend in nostalgialand.




Powertools 91/92 (Houston)- Houston was industrial Mecca back then second only to Chicago, but all the chi-town people would move to Houston because they couldn't stand it. Powertools was like an expat bar for Chitown rivetheads (and no, they weren't called rivetheads back then). It was in a cave. A real cave. It was all-ages and quite possibly the most fun I had in high school.

The Catacomb (Houston) - 97?98? my first website that wasn't about memememe. Pete & Whatsherface remodeled the space above where Powertools used to be. This was the same space where Lonnie had his night long before that. I have lots of blackmail pictures from the good ole' days. Goddamn my city could dress.

The Crystal 97?98? (New Orleans)- Berlin remembers a ton of name changes this had gone through. I think she missed Pirate Alley, though. I remember this dark bar, swords hanging above the entryway. Half people dancing, Half people playing pool. Everyone leering at each other. I talked to Trent Reznor's black girlfriend for like 30 minutes. Did Arkady guest DJ there? I'm thinking of the meetup we had for g.n., not Gothcon or the first NolA convergence. Good lord. Is all of neworleans just one big blur for me? Apparently so. At least three more clubs and I can't remember the name of any. They're all equally creepy. In a good way.

Savage Garden (Toronto) '98 - going clubbing with Michael was always an experience because we meshed well together and loved just generally being around people, and you could tell people loved being around him. Savage garden was this cramped smoky club that by all rights i should have loathed but he and his friends made it one of the best clubbing experiences ever.


The Mercury (Seattle) - Fritter was a damn sweet gal and a damn good dj and she kept me dancing in a sea full of strangers that eventually turned into friends. Seattle people are oddly friendly. That nice in-between of cliquishness and openness that can only be fostered by having a club so hard to find (it was in a dark fucking alleyway).I think i got the name right.

Maschineworks (Seattle)2001- I went in the store for the hugeass AntZen sale they were having and the dude was like "hey, we have a noise night, why don't you stay in town for it". Being a longtime sucker for a Latino in jackboots, I gave Erika a ring and we surveyed the fresh boymeat. I think we were the only girls there. Gay Bar or noize night? There's fine line...

Velvet Underground (Toronto) '98 - Saw my first cybergoths here. Everyone in this place could dance their ass off. Huge crowds, everyone dressed to the nines. Clean Bathrooms! A first.

The Crystal 97?98? (New ORleans)- Berlin remembers a ton of name changes this had gone through. I think she missed Pirate Alley, though. I remember this dark bar, swords hanging above the entryway. Half people dancing, Half people playing pool. Everyone leering at each other. I talked to Trent Reznor's black girlfriend for like 30 minutes. Did Arkady guest DJ there? I'm thinking of the meetup we had for g.n., not Gothcon or the first NolA convergence. Good lord. Is all of neworleans just one big blur for me? Apparently so. At least three more clubs and I can't remember the name of any. They're all equally creepy. In a good way.

Velvet Undergroun d (Toronto) '98 - Saw my first cybergoths here. Everyonein this place could dance their ass off. Huge crowds, everyone dressed to the nines. Clean Bathrooms! A first.

Heaven & Hell (Norman, OK) Austin College was just a few hours from Norman so a carpool was always on. OU was there so it was kinda the Austin of Oklahoma. It was mainly a bunch of metalheads, and the occasional clubkid. Everyone looked like their favorite sport was cowtipping and the music was crap, but they really tried hard (maybe too hard) to make everyone feel welcomed so we got in free and they gave away too many free drinks.- 92/93- Austin College was just a few hours from Norman so a carpool was always on. OU was there so it was kinda the Austin of Oklahoma. It was mainly a bunch of metalheads, and the occasional clubkid. Everyone looked like their favorite sport was cowtipping and the music was crap, but they really tried hard (maybe too hard) to make everyone feel welcomed so we got in free and they gave away too many free drinks.

Red Square 94/95- (Houston) - Red Square was this 80's bar where everyone danced. They didn't install stools until their later years, so you'd get a drink and drink it on the dancefloor. Anyway, they had an industrial and newwave night. It ruled because it was always overpopulated with hot asian boys who wore the hell outta some shoulderpads.

6400 - 89/90/91 (Houston) Okay, this was an 80's club so I am technically breaking the rules. BUUUUT. Oh saturday night remember the room that was towards the back and with all the couches and chairs and it had the raised entryway? (not the one on groundlevel, that was the official druggie room) You coudln't get in there without being GAF or you would be peer-pressured out. haha. It wasn't pretentious, you just had to understand the club. It was sort of a meetingpoint for all clubkids on the westside who were sick of going to Montrose to dance. So we all broke up into our little divisions. Even the skaters came out. Every Saturday night was like Prom for freaks and deliquents.

Okay, I'm going to Lump all of Dana's nights from '92-'97 at the cave space here.(Houston) The Nunnery, Morgana, Devil's Night... I'm pretty sure SHE doesn't even remember all of them, bless her heart. The very last time I set foot in that place was when my girlfriend at the time Amber was supposed to meet me at the London after Midnight show there, but she didn't show and neither did the band and I was all pissy and it turned out she was hurt in a bad carwreck. Then I did like John McCain did to his wife and cheated on her in her hour of need. Yes, I am a bad person. Thank you, drive thru!

Lonnie's Night Long Before that (Houston) - OMG i totally never told anyone but I had an insane crush on Bear when he worked at the Soundwaves on Westheimer and Voss. Seriously. It was bad. I know this was supposed to be about Lonnie's night, but I thought about Soundwaves and I got all swoonie. Oddly enough, the crush was never active unless he was in the confines of Soundwaves itself.

The Mausoleum (Houston) - I miss coffeeshops like this. They were my fave. Even tried to have a goth night and we were packed and sweating like sardines. But lookin' good. Always lookin' good.

That Place Next To The Mausoleum (Houston)- because nothing says goth night like a pizza bar! I think this lasted like3 nights.

Torture Garden (Houston)- Austin always played shit noone else would, like LPD and shit you couldn't dance to unless you were severely fucked in the head. Luckily, most of us were.

Nocturne (Chicago) 95- This was kind of an older version of Numbers. A goth night within a big staple of a dance club. The focus is on dancing and it didn't seem too drama-heavy. Of course we weren't from there so that made it even more fun.

The club we went to after ProjektFest (chicago)- I went to Projektfest one year but because I hitched a ride I could only stay two nights. The first night the shows lasted so late we were exhausted. The second night the afterparty was at this gorgeous club with purple velvet curtains with black tiebacks all over the place. The whole club was jewel-toned and the dancefloor was one of those old disco floors that lights up pretty colors. Does anyone remember the name of this place? I don't know if it was a dedicated goth club or even if it was a goth night, because all the Projectfesters showed up in droves so for all I know we could have just scared the regular attendees off. Really one of the most gorgeous clubspaces I've seen.

The Place Next to the Pink Pussycat (Houston) - WHY CANT I REMEMBER THE NAME? For over a year I spent AT LEAST two nights a week here. It was our first all-goth/industrial all-week club/bar. And it was sheer unadulterated Heaven. Of course heaven comes at a high drama price and heaven eventually got taken over by annoying punk kids, but still. It always felt like home, no matter how disfunctional the family. OMG why can't I remember the name?! Bad shit DID go down there, just like anywhere where you'd spend forever... maybe I'm blocking out the name to avoid trauma. And no, dude spilling his brains in the parking lot wasn't all that traumatic for me. hahaha. (I know, I'm going to hell.)

Sacrament (B'ham)- i went every week religiously until I moved to portland. That was back in the day when people still passed around flyers for clubs. So I'd always keep a stash in the car. I had no shame when it came to walking up to random freak-leaning folks and telling them about the night, et. al. This was before the band,

Scumbers (Houston)- It's a fucking institution. I've been going to this place since I was in junior high. It's where I met many of you, it's where I learned to pee standing up while reapplying false eyelashes, it's where I learned to scam drinks off older dudes. Hell, VELVET even came with me to Numbers when I went back for a houston visit. Every famous clubkid who ever was, has trekked there to trample on its dirty floors. It's where we first learned to floorhump. And before you knock the floorhump, please know that it is a necessary rite of passage. I'm lumping all the numbers goth nights into one thing header here.

OMG Remember when we all did a mandantory floorhump at Catacomb? For as many times as we took ourselves way too seriously, we did some ridiculously fun wacky shit as well.

The Metro / Metronome? (Houston) - Steve's night at that WEIRD bar he found that was just SO fucking perfect. It was on the same street as Jones Bar and close to NoTsuOh. I went down on Sean while he was DJing. hahaa. That was back when Heather was cool (Pre-Purple) and would always dress like a mourning Russian babushka. This was #pinkdots first real meetingplace that wasn't a coffeeshop. We had increadibly good music taste AND people were always dancing. Those two concepts usually don't coexist in the same plane. There were always pimps in the bar upstairs you had to enter through. Real live pimps. The kind with hoes and stuff. We all got along swimmingly, it was great in a very Twin Peaks sort of way.

Black Lodge (Huntsville) - hahaha. Speaking of Twin Peaks... remember the "club" in Synthea's garage? okay, i know it doesn't count. But it SHOULD.

Manray (Boston) - I worked for a company selling office supplies and my region was Mass, so I was lucky enough to write off a convergence trip!

The Convent - 91/92 (New Orleans) - Houston was just a few hours from NoLa and they had really really lax drinking enforcement laws so we all went there everytime we could find someone to drive us. The Convent was this amazing club full of what I STILL say was the most thorough collection of the biggest freaks on the planet. You gotta understand New Orleans at the time. It was New York for Southern weird kids. At least four people I knew ran away and joined vampire cults (NoLa was the capital of vampire cult hell. yes, they drank blood. YES, they really thought they could be vampires. YES they were severely brainwashed and YES they were amazing dressers and pickpockets). Most of the younger goth population of the town was of the runaway variety, so we'd always meet the most amazing people from everywhere down there. Some were of course as close to the living incarnation of evil as you can get, but still. You felt like you were part of a living mythology, while at the same time you felt a sharp vibe of danger.

PTL - 92?93? (Dallas) No, not THAT PTL. It was at the Church. Although most of the gang that went had on more makeup than Tammy Faye.

Yatzee's (Asheville) '03 They had a kickass group of local gothrock bands when I went. High camp, low drama. A fell in love with Asheville for a long while and kept going back rediscovering their little places.

Tantra (Houston) Goth night at the Tantra was creepy, and not in a good way. It was overrun with 40-somethings that couldn't dress to save their lives, but were desperately trying to identify with the subculture. They'd always be wearing these horribly illfitting polyester numbers that were black, but by no means fit the dress code. Like black windbreakers. And all things Fredricks of Hollywood. Or my personal tragic favorite -jeans with corsets. These folks sprung out from the middle of nowhere, it was weird. I blame DareWare for encouraging them.

Deviations @ DV8 (Dallas) - This was THE most halarious one ever because it was actually mostly DJed by girls that worked across the street at the Wild Orchid. Now if you're not a Texan it's important to point out that in anywhere in Texas, ANY night is populated by at least 20% off-duty strippers. The stripper count here was well over 70%. They were on like a Tuesday or Wednesday night and we'd all caravan down there and this is where I began to wonder if I had some strange lesbian attractor gene, but it turns out most strippers have a bad habit of kissing people and telling them they love them a few hours after they meet.

Church/ Lizard Lounge (Dallas) - It seemed like everytime I went throughout the years, I would end up drunk and barely conscious in the VIP balcony. One time we went there they were taping a movie and they kept playing the same KMFDM song over and over and over again and we all had to stand out of the way of this couple.

Decadance? (Portland) - This was in a big warehouse, near the Crystal Ballroom. Don't remember the name. Easy-goth music on the big, main floor, oontz on one half of the second floor, and swirl in the part with the pool tables.

Embers (Portland) - Wednesday night goth night at the gay club. This place reminded me of a smaller version of Scumbers. And for all its cheese, I loved it. They had this amazing bartender Lincoln (or something. he was named after a president i think) that would always get a guy to buy me a drink. He would be all "She's new in town" even after like the 8th time I had been there. His mother was from the south so we'd always have these fun talks about how even though people in PDX think they're weird, none of them hold a candle to freaks in the south. I miss him and those badass seating arrangements.

That Goth Night At the Russian Bar on Powells and 18888888th street (Portland) - haha. I drug Charlotte to this goth night that was on the Russian, ass-end of Powell. DJ dude was playing Siouxsie and Xymox to a bunch of russian mobsters wholly unaware. It TOTALLY RULED in an odd kinda way. This guy in a silk loudly-printed dress shirt kept trying to dance with me and I kept hitting him and he was still there. Very strange night indeed.

Some night that Erik DJ'd at (Portland)- This night will go down in infamy as The Night I met The Vampire On Rollerskates.
WHAT the fuck ever happened to that dude? He should get a key to the city or something for being so awesomely wrong.

Dante's (Portland) - haha. everytime I went I secretly feared getting set afire by one of the poi dancers. Portland's got some serious fire issues. Must EVERYONE firedance? for reals.

OMG THAT PLACE THAT IS NOW A HENTAI THEATER!!!! (Portland)

The Vogue (Seattle) - Good lord I gave this place a chance three times. It was always overrun with larping mouthbreathers who didn't seem keen on bathing. I don't get how the place lasted so long.

Atomic Cafe's Goth Night (Austin)- Oh god this was awful and I gave it several chances. You can't compete with a rock show in one room and a gothbar in the next. The thing that austin goths do best is house parties. Period.

The Library (Nashville) - The coffeeshop was called the Library but I'm not sure what the goth night was called. Around '98 '99. It had a weird Vincent Price Mansion feel going on.

Sanctuary (Nashville) - I was just there past Friday, and I hadn't been in years. I'm glad to see those godawful ponyfall things are finally over and done with. And glad to see they finally learned another dance besides the kick-jerk-swoop.

Some place in Montgomery, Alabama - I just remember that we were all in one of our "support the scene" modes and even though it was 5 hours away, half the place seemed to be from Huntsville. I became obsessed with dancing in front of this big mirror on the dancefloor. I talked to the usual folks. It was a long ride back.

The Mercury (Seattle) - Fritter was a damn sweet gal and a damn good dj and she kept me dancing in a sea full of strangers that eventually turned into friends. Seattle people are oddly friendly. That nice in-between of cliquishness and openness that can only be fostered by having a club so hard to find (it was in a dark fucking alleyway).I think i got the name right.

Maschineworks (Seattle)2001- I went in the store for the hugeass AntZen sale they were having and the dude was like "hey, we have a noise night, why don't you stay in town for it". Being a longtime sucker for a Latino in jackboots, I gave Erika a ring and we surveyed the fresh boymeat. I think we were the only girls there. Gay Bar or noize night? There's fine line...

Paladium (Vancouver, CA) 2001 - Their club had lots of hot, bald chicks. It was like heaven, but with better fashion sense. Nobody danced, but everyone talked.Quite the friendly place.

Velvet Underground (Huntsville) - My cousin took me to what she called a goth night here the summer before I moved here. It was more of an 80's night, but well-meaning. It's at a property here that's cursed to only have huge, lame, clubs in it. But there are occasional bits of joy and surprise that arise therein.

Blackout (Huntsville) - I remember the first one, I remember the last one. The last one is never really ever the last one :) The scene here has always been too small to limit itself to goth attendees so it was always a nice catch-all of various types of weird folks with great music taste. Ever-changing venue, loyal crowd. In its early days, this gave me yet another excuse to walk up to vaguely weird locals and shove flyers in their faces, leading to a conversation that inevitably led to music loves. Gang-flyering was always fun. Just make sure to stay away from the malls. My fave venue for it will always be those later days at Oz. Some idiot was like "Goth night at a gay bar? thta's just wrong". Just shows you how closeminded the Htown can be sometimes. My second fave venue for it will always been on the upper floor of [insert everchanging clubname on Clinton Ave. here]. It was stanknasty hot but we all went anyway and danced anyway and you could hear Deathcab beatmatched into the next Converter track and all was right with the world. We followed it wherever it went, and i tried never to miss any until I became a trucking diva.

Deathmetal Nights at the Scottish Inn '99/'00- (Huntsville) you know... the gothest crowds I have ever seen in this town have been at the deathmetal nights. They're not afraid to dress as hardcore as hell and dance. There were surprising amounts of gender fluidity. They sure as hell weren't afraid to talk. For a bunch of people that are supposed to hate life, but they sure did make me love life. And every time you wanted to walk out to your car the guys would get into deathmetal chivalrous bodyguard mode and walk you to your car to protect you from the crackheads.

Atlanta - Atlanta nights always ran together for me. For some reason ATL has no distinct soul of its own, nor do its clubs. I don't know how to describe it. They're big, but essentially niche-less. Was addicted to the Masquerade and all the rooms of the Chamber for a while. My favorite will always still be Siberia at the club in Buckhead that was owned by the Italians, Riviera. The Secret room started up there and that was always fun as well. Even Haxan felt like the same old same old to me in ATL. I just don't know what it is. I met a lot of you at various clubs in ATL, so it's definately not the people. I just think atlanta's cursed with uninterestingness in a weird way.

Kitty Kat Club - (Munich) - this was in a military compound. An INSANE fetish club with a strict dress code. It was in an ex-military base, every room had a different theme and its own music piped in. There were two dance floors, one had several beds for on-stage live sex acts and i saw things that hurt my eyes but i couldn't look away. It closed early so we went to the "regular" goth club in the same compound and danced with a bunch of kids. I fucking love Germany. So random. SO random.

St. Sabine (Paris) - one of the most beautiful settings anyone ever dreamed of for a club. In an old catacomb/castle/cave structure. Medieval fixtures everywhere. Doors and molding set in its original etched stone. Low lighting. Baroque furniture. Expensive to get in, but everyone truly treats it as an occasion and dresses accordingly. This is sort of their bi-seasonal "goth formal". I got to see Nicolas in his social element. He's fluid and beautiful and his friends seem to enjoy and respect him. Except for the bitch I almost cut because she wouldn't leave him alone. But other than that, it's a great place.

This list is probably not complete, I'm probably missing a few places, if we ran into each other somewhere not listed, feel free to remind me.