Downtown Raleigh nightlife

[yoga]

^ I hear you, redman. I bet it won't be long before a club like that springs up.

[Redman84]

To be honest, I'm actually very suprised that there isn't a club of that nature already here. I'm far far from the raver type of person, but I thoroughly enjoy listening to that style of music. Given the correct atmosphere and location, I think something like that could actually do pretty well here. It wouldn't be cheap, but if somewhere like that opened up and was promoted the correct way and was able to draw in DJs, lets say like Tiesto or Sasha for example, it would draw people in from all over the state and region.

Since I work in the live music industry for Live Nation at Alltel Pavilion, I know how things work with this and what draws and what doesn't. This is something that I believe would draw.

[ChiefJoJo]

What about Ess? Never been there so i don't know what music they play.

My typical tangents include:

1) preservation of all pre WWII era buildings...no matter what bank is proposing a hq there

2) restrict building height to about 10 stories or so...skyscrapers and their ensuing parking decks, kill the pedestrian environment of cities

3) bashing of all things that resemble subdivisions, office parks or shopping malls...essentially pro-tree and anti-pavement

4) complete dislike of chain stores of all types, Starbucks, Wal-mart, Ruth Chris, you name it...

5) general dislike of glenwood south post circa 2002......preferred it when Rockford was the main attraction

perhaps these are not tangents but central ideas regarding my perfect urban environment...lots of folks seem to disagree though....

1) I agree to an extent... there are some that I would consider "totaled."

2) hmm, I would agree to an extent. I think there should be certain locations (NOT Crabtree!) where tall buildings should be permitted, otherwise you'd prohibit banks and other large companies from having a single building for their offices. Sometimes, we really do need densely developed tall buildings.

3) Agree 100%

4) Yes, with the exception of more local or limited chains like Sullivan's, Rira, Southend, Mellow Mushroom, etc.

5) Considering I live there and patronize many businesses there I have to disagree, but I understand what you mean. I'd definitely rather have what's there now than what we had 4 years ago. It is a walkable, semi-urban street, which is a lot better than 99% of what Raleigh has to offer... so I'd consider it a success.

I'll add:

6) I love to use a good transit system. While I love a nice relaxing scenic ride on a country 2 lane blacktop, driving in traffic is overrated. Anything I can do to avoid that--even at the expense of some time and convenience--I will support... and the development and lifestyle that goes along with it. I have been commuting by foot for over two years now, and I don't ever want to go back. If TTA gets nixed completely, I will seriously consider moving to a community that embraces transit... Portland is great this time of year.

[ncwebguy]

I'll admit to not being the club going partier I used to be, but it seems several clubs are different things on different nights. Berkley Cafe, Kings, Kulture, White Collar, Ess, Oxygen, the Office, Aries, and Aura are all "dance clubs" at some point, but none are consistent enough to be labeled as an "electronic music club".

Even Five O and Comet would throw in some electronic songs to mix things up, but never stuck soley to that format. I hate that I never was more associated with the DJs there than the occasional nod to find out where they are now.

[Damien]

I think part of the reason not a lot of clubs dedicate themselves strictly to dance music anymore is because hip hop seems to be so popular. I personally couldn't like hip hop any less than I already do. If you really want to find good dance music around here you have to look for it actively. Raleigh has a stronger drum&bass scene than trance though, at least from my pov. There are plenty of big name dnb djs gracing turntables in Raleigh.

[Redman84]

I've known that Raleigh has been had the drum-n-bass stuff for clubs on particular nights for a while, probably since high school. I mean I can listen to it for a little while, but after a while it just becomes obnoxious to me. I'm sure many could say the same about any kind of electronic music/techno. With that style of music, it all really boils down to personal preference or whether you like it or not.

Since I personally am not really the raver type of person and couldn't dance to trance like rap/hip-hop if I tried, I would satisfied with a bar/lounge that just played it instead of rap/hip-hop. I really cannot remember the last time when I went to a "dance club" because I feel as if I've outgrown that part of me; I'd much rather now go to a bar/lounge type place and hang out with friends, have some drinks, and be able to talk and not scream at my friends. I just need to find a place that offers that and offers the trance as well....c'mon powerball!!! I win, I open it!

[AndrewJS]

The Office plays trance in the main area. They used to play hip hop in the main area on Friday nights, but last time I was there that was no longer the case. I know a lot of people don't like the scene, but I always have fun going there to dance. It's nice that they have hip hop in the other room, so I can occasionally convince my hip hop loving friends to go with me!

Shabashabu plays dinner-friendly trance and lounge music, with a live DJ on weekends. I've never gone there just to hang out in the lounge, but it's worth checking out.

I don't remember what night of the week it was, but I've been to Rush once when they were playing electro.

Ess plays LCD electronic music, and a lot of hip hop. I wasn't very impressed.

And of course Berkeley Cafe and Raleigh Music Hall have DnB covered. I'm looking forward to the LTJ Bukem show at Raleigh Music Hall on September 15th!

[Damien]

^Did you happen to see John B. at The Office last month? I wanted to go but didn't.

[AndrewJS]

^Did you happen to see John B. at The Office last month? I wanted to go but didn't.

I wanted to, but didn't make it out that night.

[urbanvb]

After a trip to southeast Virginia over the weekend, I appreciate how good we have it here.

There might be some other nightlife that is better, but a drive through Portsmoth and then the ferry to the Norfolk waterfront did not turn up much. The Waterside, a one stop partying center was a collection of "big box bars" -- Jillians, Outback, Hooters, Joe's Crab Shack, BAR Norfolk, Have a Nice Day cafe, and a Rum Runners clone. Beneath that was a food court, a Dollar Zone, and stores that would have been at home in North Hills in its final days as an enclosed mall.

There were several hotels overlooking the water, but they all seemed to have an "empty face" on the waterfront. I know the lobby, etc. would face the street on the other side, but a nice cafe or restaurant waterside would have given some sembelance of life when approaching from the ferry. One block from the water, several parking decks ate up potential street level shopping, restaurants, etc. Not surprisingly, there were few people walking around, despite it being really sunny with highs in the low 80s.

The Old Portsmoth area, which retained its historic character through preservation and low building heights except right on the river, also seemed to lack a pulse. There were people here and there, but it seemed to be a 50/50 vagrant to non-vagrant ratio. Also there were a lot of empty storefronts despite nearby residences, a Children's museum, and a movie theater in the area.

You are correct in that Portsmouth has a ways to go however Granby Street in DT Norfolk offers a pretty good nightlife (so I hear) and has lots of non-chain locally owned bars and restaurants that are especially busy on weekends. In addition, Granby street has a lot of urban living (lofts, apartments and such) as well as the highly anticipated 34 story Granby Tower (we hope will be built).

[ncwebguy]

Someone mentioned Granby Street after we had returned from our trip. The maps on the Norfolk side of the waterfront didn't point anything out other than the museums which looked too far away. From the sidewalk, the rest of downtown Norfolk didn't seem appealing on a Saturday afternoon, and the imposing six lane road that had to be crossed didn't help either.

From the ferry, it looked like there were some things up river... is there any reason the ferry doesn't have a stop up there?

[serapis]

I have been following Downtown rejuvenation for some time now. The past couple of months it seems as though Raleigh has gained tremendous momentum on the nightlife scene. I came back from Charlotte a couple of weekends ago. There nightlife is OK (a little too plastic and corporate for my tastes), but it seems as though Raleigh has greatly surpassed Charlotte. The atmosphere here seems so much cooler and expansive. Even the suburban nightlife has changed. I mean you can stumble on almost any block nowadays and find a place to hang out downtown (NC State area included). If someone hasn't been to Raleigh for a couple years, they would certainly become surprised! How many nightspots are there in the Greater DT area, because things have definitely changed! There are countless places to hang out. First Night was really a shocker for me. Does everyone else feel the same?

[ncwebguy]

First Night has a lot more people downtown than a "normal" night. The same can be said for the monthly First Friday gallery crawls. Downtown Durham is as good restaurant wise, but there hasn't been as much "connect the dots" as Raleigh has seen so far.

"Downtown" Charlotte is hard to pin down. If you only saw plastic/corporate, you probably didn't make it to North Davidson (NoDa), Dillworth/Southend, etc. Urban renewal is well underway in the Triad, specifically Greensboro and Winston-Salem, though the size and location of the universities there are not as favorable as the Triangle's big three and the smaller schools. Ashville is smaller population wise, but has a tight-knit, non-corporate scene.

I feel downtown Raleigh is like the Hurricanes slogan a few years ago -- you'll know when you go. It is easy for long time area residents to dismiss the city core as empty and overrun with homeless folks if they walked around Fayetville Street and City Market three or four years ago, didn't go to Glenwood South, and vowed never to return.

I don't go out any more, but there still aren't any "come as you are" kind of bar/dance club places like the Five O and Comet used to be like back in the mid-late 90s. Jackpot is close, but is more like a "sit in booths" place like Stingray was. There are a fair number of places to go out, varying from the Irish pubs to dance clubs, live music venues (though Kings needs to reopen somewhere!) and "neighborhood bars" like Fayetville Street Tavern and the Borough.

[Durhamite]

In terms of nightspots, all the cities in NC have increased two-fold compared to 10 years ago. Maybe I'm a homer, but for outright partying in NC (I hit most cities in this state several times a year other than Asheville), Wilmington seems to top out in this category (especially in the Spring & Summer time).

[Jones_]

I also visited Charlotte recently for the first time in my adult life. No Da is like five points combined with our Peace/Glenwood intersection surrounded my a mill town. Southend is very cool but where it is like our warehouse district with actual stuff inbetween. Uptown proper does indeed seem a little washed out compared to our downtown proper but the corporate aspect of Charlotte rules the roost there. I too was generally surprised that the nightlife portion of our downtown seemed to be more active but Charlotte seemed to be more different things overall. I enjoy both cities equally.

[DanRNC]

Nightlife in Charlotte is pretty horrendous to the point that if my friends are going to take me out I tell them not to take me uptown ot downtown or center city ot whatever they call it-we end up going to the old neighborhood establishments.