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Dance Club
Philadelphia is teeming with clubs and spinners, each of whom puts his or her own style and record collection on display nightly. A combination of reliable stalwarts and fresh upstarts make the scene a fascinating and ever-evolving beast. Like any big city, Philadelphia has its share of mainstream clubs where popular favorites can be heard. Many of these can be found on Columbus Boulevard, still commonly known by its former name, Delaware Avenue. But where the club scene gets interesting is when you venture away from the meat market venues. The scene's strength is its diversity. From vocal-driven house to experimental minimal techno and all points in between, there's a night for every taste. Finding which night is right for you can be a challenge, but it's also half the fun.
If the DJ scene has an epicenter, it's the block of Fourth Street just below South Street. Sometimes called "Vinyl Row," here you'll find the two record stores most likely to be staffed and patronized entirely by DJs – 611 Records (www.611records.com) and Cue Records (www.cuerecords.com). Event fliers seem to spontaneously appear here, so if there's a big one-off party or, a special guest scheduled at a weekly or monthly, you'll find out about it here. Local DJ/journalist Sean O'Neal's DJ Nights column in the weekly Philadelphia City Paper provides a comprehensive listing of each week's events and is a great starting point for planning an evening.
Just down the street from 611 and Cue is perhaps the city's most continually bumping club, Fluid. The intimate, curvaceous spot upstairs from restaurant The Latest Dish boasts a weekly lineup of long-running favorites. A sampling: Monday's hip/hop funky The Remedy; Tuesday's the deep house Culture; Thursday's drum and bass kingpin Platinum; Saturday's Tasty Treats presided over by The Roots; Sunday's punky/gothy Fast, Cheap and Out of Control.
If Fluid is the home of packed-to-the-rafters bumping and grinding, Shampoo is the sprawling, anything-goes dance palace. With two levels, four dance floors and eight bars, parties in this converted warehouse tend to be sprawling events with multiple DJs and themes. Gays, straights and 'tweeners alike flock here for the discotheque vibe. Gay-friendly Shaft Fridays, Goth-friendly Nocturne Wednesdays, and the 17-to-enter, 21-to-drink Lifted Sundays are among the stalwarts.
Another multi-room dance pantheon is Transit. Formerly The Bank, Transit's décor is, well, transit themed, with lots of subway and traffic light details. With an array of trance, techno and other rave fare spun by big-name DJs, this always-packed after-hours club lets the party go till 3:30 a.m., long after the city's 2 a.m. witching hour.
Other dance-friendly nooks, each with their own vibes, include 12th Air Command, 700 Club, Aqua Lounge, Bluezette, Chrome, Club Atlas, Deco, Eden Roc, Envy, Fez, Filo's, The Five Spot, Glam, La Tazza, Lucy's Hat Shop, Marmont, Saint Jack's, Silk City, SoMa Lounge, Swanky Bubbles and Tribecc.
While some dancers are club habitués, other enthusiasts follow their fave jocks from spot to spot. Some local spinners who bring 'em out and work 'em up: Willyum, Rob Paine, Pete Moss, Cozmic Cat, Sean O'Neal, Kaos, Michael Myers, Roland Riso, Myster Mason, Robbie Tronco, Botany 500, Sat-one. Of course, there are new names on the scene all the time, so don't be bashful: ask around.
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