Washington D.C. Nightlife Tips by leafmcgowan

Saturdays at the Meeting Place: Midnight D.C.

Saturdays @ 9 pm until 2:45 am * The Meeting Place * 1707 L Street, NW, Washington, D.C. * $5 Cash cover at the door * 18+, 21+ to drink *
Mardi Gras! - DJs Phae, DuJour, and Gleek; Vending of Gothic goodies by Silver Phoenix. Much more of a sports bar / meeting hall ambiance, so lacked in comparison to its competitor down the street. The music was good and had a larger crowd though. Good dancing and flirtations. Much younger crowd as it was 18+. A different alternative to Spellbound. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Address: 1707 L Street, NW

Theme: Nightclub

Website: http://dcmidnight.com/

Saturdays at Recessions: Spellbound D.C.

Saturdays @ 9 pm until 2 am * Recessions (below the Quincy Hotel) * 1823 L Street N.W. * Washington, D.C. * $7 Cash cover at the door * 21+ *

Mardi Gras! - This particular club-going experience was decked all out for celebrating Mardi Gras. Costuming was highly encouraged as well as donning the beads and masks. Don't have one, they provided masks at the door for $1. Excellent idea for clubs pushing costumed nights as it helped this weary traveller who walked the streets of downtown D.C. looking for masks to prepare yet didn't find one. On foot from the local Hostelling International, about 8 blocks away, that came as a welcomed idea. They also beaded us up as we entered the door. I arrived around 10 pm, it was slow to populate, but the music was good minus some speaker issues they were having. I had my fill of the cheap on special themed Hurricane drinks and got some good dancing in. Patrons all seemed to have a good time and the ambiance was very nice. DJs Shade, Transept, and Skunque did a fabulous job. Great music and selections. Great dancing and festivities. Recessions also served some good food, I had the Crab cakes which were affordable and quite tasty. Much more mature crowd at Spellbound. Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5.

Address: 1823 L Street N.W.

Theme: Nightclub

Website: http://www.spellbound-dc.com/

Exposure at Club Liv (Thursdays, Washington, D.C): Exposure at Club Liv (Thursdays, Washington, D.C)

18+ event | cover $5.00 21+/$7 18-21 * open 9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
Nestled in Club Liv on thursdays resides a dark alternative night playing dark synthpop, goth, and industrial by DJ's Ras DNA, Mindcage, Missguided, Purevil, and Vlad. The night was slow to pickup, but by midnight had about 20-30 perhaps. Plenty of room to dance, drinks were small but potent, and very pricy from what I'm used to in my wanderings. I liked the nightclub space and couches. Everyone was very friendly and social. The music was good. We had a drunken good time. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Address: 2001 11th Street NW Washington DC 20001

Theme: Nightclub

Website: http://www.exposure-dc.com/

Thursdays at Club Five: Chronos

Chronos @ Club Five, Thursdays Goth * Industrial * EBM * Futurepop * 80's * Darkwave *
1214 B 18th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036 * ChronosDC.com.
DJ's: Dirty B, 2501, guest DJ Aaron Hart. Cover $6.

Birthed from Alchemy, Chronos is One of D.C.'s favorite and most popular Goth nights, located dowtown off 18th street, just a jaunt from the White House. Hosted every Thursday in the 3-floor club Five; all of the locals I spoke to through the evening swore this was the best club night for this theme in the D.C. area. Some claimed it's the only night they go to, while others stated they also attended Bound (Fetish night on fridays) and Midnight (Saturdays), which are the other hotspots of activity in town. The first floor hosts the dance floor - dance lights with the DJ's above, and a catwalk/balcony above from the 2nd floor. Bar downstairs with ample booths and comfortable seating spaces. Plenty of room to dance. Main bar downstairs. Next floor up, is a medium sized bar, with booths, bathrooms, coat check, and the catwalk overlooking the DJ booth and dancefloor. Very top floor, is a rooftop patio with yet another bar. Doors open at 9 pm, and Open bar (free drafts and wells) from 9-10 make the club thrive early. Some of the friendliest and talented bartenders on staff in town. In fact, Bartender Jay was highly recommended as the best bartender in D.C. by more than a handful of patrons - and I couldn't agree more. Drinks strong, and well done. The community is extremely friendly, easy to talk with, make new friends, and no one seemed isolated unlike many of the clubs on the west coast where it can take a stranger some time to meet others. Excellent sound and ambience, and extremely talented DJ's. They served excellent music, selections, and fulfilled all the requests I was I aware of. Top job! Very enjoyable and very recommended. Will return to whenever I'm back in D.C. 4.5 stars out of 5. Visited 1/11/2007.

Address: 1214 B 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Theme: Nightclub

Website: http://www.ChronosDC.com

ADAM'S MORGAN Area: Chief Ike's: Schadenfreude Tuesdays at Chief Ike's ADAM'S MORGAN Area Review

Schadenfreude @ Chief Ike's: Tuesdays - Goth "BAR" night
http://www.schadenfreude-dc.com/
1725 Columbia Rd. :: Washington, DC 20009 *202-332-2211 *
Staff DJs :: Shade + Liebchen + MissGuided

A little hole-in-the-wall tiki bar/ mambo room that has a goth night every tuesday, playing everything from Bauhaus and the Sisters of Mercy, to the newest like The Awakening and Anders Manga. But don't be mistaken as I was - its a 'bar night' not a 'club night'. Not much room to dance, and the whole evening I was there, no one was dancing. The decor is cool - but kitchy tiki bar, rather than your dark and dank dungeon. Not too many goths either. The bartender said it was the weather. Not sure if I buy that. Music was good, staff friendly, drinks very strong. I'm not much of a bar attendee (as I am a clubster) so can't say I enjoyed the night that much. Though people were friendly. Rating 2 stars out of 5. Visited 1/9/2007.

Address: 1725 Columbia Rd. :: Washington, DC 20009

Phone: 202-332-2211

Theme: Eating and Drinking

Website: http://www.schadenfreude-dc.com/