Posts

Slim’s Closing – To Be Replaced by New Nightclub YOLO

/in /by

Owners Michael Hu and Peter Lin appeared before the Entertainment Commission last week seeking the new license, and part of their assurances, which will be depressing to live music fans, is that they won’t be featuring live performers, only DJs primarily. Hu and Lin own Pure Nightclub in San Jose — a place that features bottle service and an all-female waitstaff wearing uniforms that consist of garters and lingerie.

The pair is promising “mostly EDM, Top 40 DJs,” who will likely play both YOLO and Pure in succession in a given weekend, and they promise “the music output from a DJ performance will be much less than a live band.”

As KQED notes, Pure “has also held afterparties ‘hosted’ by well-known rappers and R&B stars” including DaBaby, YG, Blueface and Nipsey Hussle — and these performers likely did a number or two at their appearances.

Patrons arrive at Slim’s on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018.

YOLO is seeking to retain Slim’s after-hours permit, which allowed it to remain open (without selling alcohol) until 4 a.m., and the owners — perhaps disingenuously — said they wouldn’t exercise this right often.

Slim’s was a well loved venue in SoMa for three decades before shuttering for good at the start of the pandemic. (Longtime owner Boz Skaggs said only, “Slim’s did what it was here to do.” Over the years the club hosted the likes of Sheryl Crow, Beck, Melissa Etheridge, Bruno Mars and No Doubt, and intimate shows by Pearl Jam, Radiohead, David Bowie, and Prince. It is missed and will continue to be, as live music venues of this size (600-person capacity) continue to seem like an endangered species.

Commissioners say the main complaints by neighbors in the area come from patrons congregating on sidewalks and making noise late at night, not typically from noise inside — which Slim’s addressed with heavy-duty sound-proofing.

But Hu and Lin got their conditional permit approvals, and it looks like YOLO is go, at some point, probably next year.

Intrigue Nightclub at the Wynn Closing June 1

/in /by

There might be time for one more dance at Intrigue. Wynn Las Vegas is shuttering the luxurious 14,000-square-foot nightclub on June 1 and will use the venue as a private event space.

Intrigue opened in April 2016 after the Wynn club space was renovated and updated from its previous version, Tryst, which was created in collaboration with Victor Drai in 2005 after the original incarnation, La Bête, was scrapped. The indoor-outdoor club has always been known for its cascading waterfall and intimate environment, including Intrigue’s “secret space” the Living Room.

Intrigue was also the smallest nightclub among Wynn Nightlife’s offerings, which include Encore’s XS Nightclub and Encore Beach Club. Memorial Day weekend saw Intrigue performances from RL Grime and Dillon Francis.

Cielo Nightclub to Close After 15 Year Run

/in /by

NYC‘s historic nightlife scene may be hardly recognizable in a matter of years. Following a long list of closures of New York nightclubs, including Pacha NYC and Webster Hall, historic nightclub Cielo is reportedly shutting its doors at the end of the year.

In a post to his Facebook page, DJ Dove A.K.A. Capote Barbarito alleged that the club will permanently close its doors at the end of December to make way for real estate developments. “Great memories there whether it was hanging out dancing or playing some of my best sets DJing,” he wrote. “Cielo you’ll always have a special place in my heart thank you [sic].”

Cielo opened its doors to the public in 2003. The concept for the nightclub was hatched by Nicolas Matar, a DJ who got the idea for the club from playing Pacha Ibiza’s El Cielo, also called The Funky Room. Over the past 15 years his iconic club billed a talent pool diverse enough to include David Guetta, Luciano and Sven Väth.

Thanks for the memories.