Dance Halls

BAR NONE
Exposed brick and wood beams, a moneyed, twenty-to-thirtysomething crowd: this club is all Yaletown, all the time. New management has breathed life back into the party: Mondays and Tuesdays see live music with long-standing house band SoulStream (a funk and soul ensemble); Thursdays and Saturdays cater to the Top-40 crowd; Fridays are devoted to retro house and remixes—DJs pack the dance floor. 350-1222 Hamilton St., Yaletown, 604-689-7010.

CAPRICE
Guaranteed to have the biggest lineup on the Granville club strip. You’d be smart to tag along with a connected friend, or be prepared to grease the palm of the bouncer. Lindsay Lohan and Paris wannabes play hardball with Entourage packs of boys. This is the mainstream club of choice for the twentysomething set, where frat boys guzzle Heineken and girls sip Stoli Raspberry and soda (no calories!). A warehouse-size space packed to the rafters with nubile bodies can make you feel young again, even if the PTYs are discovering ’90s hits for the very first time (sigh). 965 Granville St., Downtown, 604-685-3288.

COLUMBIA
Another in a series of down-and-out eastside bars taken over by hipsters fleeing the Granville Street club scene. Bewildered regulars clear out on Saturday nights when young’uns descend to pose and strut to a bizarre mix of live hip-hop, heavy house beats, Top-40 mashups, and club-pop—the latter presumably spun ironically. Cheap drinks flow (and we’re talking cheap: $2.50 for a vodka and faux Red Bull on tap). 303 Columbia St., Gastown, 604-605-1076.

COMMODORE BALLROOM
If you’re a devout music lover, The Commodore is your temple, and the slow descent of the automatic shades over the huge arched windows is your call to mass. Everyone from The Ramones to The Supremes has played this storied 900-person venue, now in its 78th year, and chart-topping bands frequently eschew larger spaces in favour of its unique balance of grandeur and intimacy. Some concert-goers claim its hardwood dance floor has unique rhythm-enhancing properties. Whether for an old favourite, an upstart indie outfit that’s dominating your iPod, or just a great DJ, regular visits to The Commodore are good for the soul. 868 Granville St., Downtown, 604-739-4550.

CRUSH CHAMPAGNE LOUNGE
Though the occasional baller might drop in and order a bottle of Cristal, less champagne is consumed here than the name suggests. That said, on a Friday night (House and Breaks), Crush is a great spot to dodge the bridge-and-tunnel crowds at the bigger Granville spots, and though sub-Ginger 62 in terms of exclusivity, its South Beach style gives it an upscale vibe. 1180 Granville St., Downtown, 604-684-0355.

HONEY/LOTUS
Honey is the artsy, misunderstood sibling to owner Mark James Group’s other, more jockish, properties (Fiasco’s in Kits, Yaletown Brew Pub). This resto-lounge, turned club on weekends, has a winner with “Mod Club” on Friday nights. Think mismatched vintage furniture, plush velvet curtains and gilded chandeliers, boys in skinny jeans and Harrington jackets, girls in über-short shift dresses and boots made for walking. Order vodka on the rocks (or any of their reasonably priced cocktails) and then, hours later, head underground to the Lotus. The city’s best basement party doesn’t get going until midnight—and doesn’t slow down until dawn. 455 Abbott St., Gastown, 604-685-7777.

LIBRARY SQUARE PUBLIC HOUSE
A surprise right inside the Central Library complex. With a nice rotating mix of music, live bands on Fridays and a casual patio, this off-the-beaten-path bar suits both suits and khakis. At the next bar stool you might find your favourite CBC host. (You have one, don’t you?) 300 W. Georgia St., Downtown, 604-633-9644.

THE MET
Nestled in between streetwear boutiques, designer eyewear stores and a hipster barbershop sits The Met pub, a remnant of the old neighbourhood—at least from the outside. New music stakes its claim on the nightly billings: drum ‘n’ bass Fridays, karaoke Wednesdays. 320 Abbott St., Gastown, 604-915-5336.

THE MODERN
The Modern is—magnificently, unapologetically—a nightclub. But unlike so many nightclubs, it’s finished with the kind of exquisite attention to detail (check out the Brooklyn train station-style tile bench) Vancouver bar-goers have come to expect of upscale lounges. Also setting this new Gastown hotspot apart from the tired Granville strip status quo: high-tech lighting, premium sound, vivid colour everywhere, an impressive contemporary cocktail list, and a scenester status that makes all the cool kids want to be on the list. 7 Alexander St., Gastown, 604-647-0121.

THE PLAZA
A favourite with the college and bridge-and-tunnel sets, The Plaza has a lot of space to fill (bonus: roomy dance floor). Hollaback Wednesdays is hip-hop with local radio DJs J-swing and Flip-out; Saturday has a strict Guest List Only policy. Check the website for special event listings—its roomy interior means the club is often booked for concerts. 881 Granville St., Downtown, 604-646-0064.

REPUBLIC
This gorgeous space, with soaring ceilings and dramatic backlit bar, is part of the ever-expanding Donnelly Hospitality Management empire (they also own Bar None, Bimini’s Tap House, Denman Street Freehouse, Granville Room, Library Square Public House and The Modern). Here, cocktails are crafted, not dispensed from a fountain gun. The main floor has table service, two full bars, retro arcade games and 10 TV screens for game nights; upstairs, DJs (like Questlove, drummer for The Roots) spin for the packed dance floor. Yes, grownups really can come out for late-night play on Granville Street—Republic was the first venue to stay open until 3 a.m., seven days a week. 958 Granville St., Downtown, 604-669-3266.

RICHARD'S ON RICHARDS
Still among the best live-music venues in the city, Richard’s is the kind of place you stagger home from with your ears ringing and other people’s sweat on your shirt. It occupies a unique niche in Vancouver’s music scene, attracting smaller bands than could fill The Commodore, but offering enough capacity to accommodate international DJs and newer, smaller acts on the precipice of greatness. There’s a balcony with a great view of the stage (plus a bar), Friday and Saturday nights are always packed, and you can count on sub-$25 ticket prices. 1036 Richards St., Downtown, 604-687-6794.

ROXY
Ole foxy Roxy is like a wizened, gap-toothed madam—sure, she’s rough around the edges, but she knows how to get ’er done. This club is a melting pot, no matter what your style or vintage. Jockeying for the attention of bottle-tossing bartenders: barely-legal bunnies, visiting NHL teams, bewildered Euro backpackers, bridge-and-tunnel meatheads and…Mom? It’s a weird and wild crowd. Any veteran nightcrawler has an embarrassing story that begins, “One night at the Roxy…” 932 Granville St., Downtown, 604-331-7999.

SHINE
This Gastown basement is a perennial favourite among students who’ve graduated from the Granville same-old, hip-hop kids wearing fresh New Eras (possibly emblazoned with dolla bills or a nifty Mac-10 print), and anybody with pupils the size of quarters. The front (blue) room is characterized by dance-floor debauchery and the back (red) room is a a little more chill, with slick mod banquette seating. If you’re over 30 you’ll feel out of place. 364 Water St., Gastown, 604-408-4321.

TONIC
From Thursday through Saturday Tonic is indistinguishable from the Plaza or Caprice, but for Wednesday hip hop nights and the occasional special event this can be a great place to get a little boozy and make some new friends on the dance floor. And when the industry nights (Sunday and Tuesday) attract a crowd, they’re good for cheap drinks and cheap thrills. Don’t be deterred; a loose definition of “industry” is usually applied at the door. 919 Granville St., Downtown, 604-669-0469.

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