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The Chapel at the Abbey West Hollywood’s Gay Megaclub

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Founder of popular gay bar The Abbey, David Cooley has his sights set on another WeHo venture: The Here Lounge. The lounge that sits directly adjacent to The Abbey will become The Chapel at The Abbey, a new nightclub space connected to the nearly 25-year-old club.

That means the nightlife mecca LOGO dubbed “The Best Gay Bar in The World” is becoming even larger. The Here Lounge will have its last day of service by the end of February, and The Chapel at The Abbey is slated to open sometime this year.

Mansion Miami Closing it’s Doors

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For the past 11 years, Mansion has been one of the giants of Miami Beach nightlife, but now it appears the nightclub’s future is uncertain.

Icon Hospitality has confirmed that Mansion will close its doors next week. On Friday, September 4, 2015, Mansion is having Nicky Romero perform for what it is calling on Facebook “Mansion Closing Weekend.”

“Nicky Romero takes to the Mansion Nightclub decks one last time during Mansion Closing Weekend,” the event’s Facebook page says.

When Mansion opened in 2004, taking over the space formerly occupied by another iconic nightclub, Level, it seemed to signal the arrival of Miami’s nightlife scene on a global scale. South Beach almost immediately shifted to a bottle-service-oriented experience, and Mansion was at one point the place to be if you wanted to show off how many bottles you could buy in one night. The venue also hosted many iconic DJs and performers like Deadmau5, David Guetta, Justice, Laidback Luke, and even some off-kilter shows like a performance by a recently hospitalized Britney Spears after her very public meltdown in 2007, and a raunchy set by Peaches.

But sometimes Mansion’s bottle-service clientele would clash with performers, resulting in the venue cutting sets short. It happened to both DJ Shadow and Dennis Ferrer. In February 2012, after his set was stopped, Ferrer tweeted, “Haha @mansion_miami made me get off the decks!! said I don’t play commercial enough!! WTF!!!!!”

Still, with its stunning aerial dancers and ornate interior, Mansion has managed to stay afloat for much longer than most. But Miami’s club scene is an evolving landscape. The recent emergence of places like Libertine and Do Not Sit on the Furniture point to a shift in tastes toward smaller, more intimate venues. It begs the question: Is the mega nightclub on its way out in Miami? Places like Space and LIV endure, so certainly not yet.

We’ll keep you updated on what will become of Mansion’s space as more details emerge. It’s very possible that Mansion may undergo a renovation + name change and come back bigger and better than ever.

 

Los angeles skyline at sunset

801 Hill – The Latest Addition to DTLA Nightlife Scene

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Downtown is re-club-ifying at an alarming rate, now that the streets are running green with the neighborhood’s newfound wealth. Bars like Honeycut have been doing wine raves and the 90’s club redux thing for a while now, Soho House is getting its own private partygoing in the Arts District, and newcomers like Precinct are hoping to revive the once-thriving gay bar and club scene in the area.

Next up is 801 Hill, a modestly-named nightclub spot situated in the former home of The Vault. The Hill Street address has been undergoing quite a renovation as of late, with the entire 8th and Hill corner getting a makeover that plans to drop in some retail space and a healthy-eating sweetgreen location.

At 801 Hill, which seems to have just soft-opened over the weekend, the focus is still on bottle service and DJ booths, however. The entire room is outfitted in dark tones and gleaming touches, from satin drapes to chandeliers. The bar is predictably backlit with neon lighting, and (at least for now) the dance floor is littered with a sweaty twentysomething crowd eager to party. Around the edges, circular black booths make bottle service a priority.

801 Hill soft-opened over the weekend with free admission until midnight and $99 bottles on offer, but don’t expect deals like that to last forever. They’ll likely be partying again this weekend though, so head to their Facebook page for details.

New Nightclub Confession Opens in Hollywood

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Chris Breed (Cabana Club, Maui & Sons) is back in Hollywood, this time at the swanky new Confession, which officially opens on June 5 inside the Pig ‘N Whistle space behind the Egyptian theater.

Breed’s Sunset Entertainment Group takes over the historic interior, adding a few clubbier elements like a confession booth (actually a Twitter-ready photo booth), state-of-the-art sound system, and updated drink program by Frederic Vial. By day, the place remains Pig ‘N Whistle, but starting from 9 p.m. on Monday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, transforms to Confession.

With a cathedral-like interior of hand-carved woodwork, the juxtaposition between late night revelry and the place’s “holier” elements probably won’t be ironic to anyone hanging out at the tables (don’t worry, no religious icons anywhere). Want to skip the velvet rope? Hit the website for more information.

Confession
1666 McFadden Place
Hollywood, CA

 

XIV Summer Sessions is Back at Boardwalk

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Summer’s arrived – which means the return of day drinking, sun dresses, tank tops, and yacht parties.

Don’t own a yacht? SBE has you covered with their new night/dayclub concept – Boardwalk.

Located at the old Colony at Cahuenga and Hollywood, SBE’s roofless new party spot is primed for some good old Sunday debauchery that’s got all the awesomeness of a boat party without the seasickness. Summer’s here and XIV Summer Sessions is back in full swing.

Imagine you’re standing on the blond-wood deck of a yacht gone full Jordan Belfort. Let’s see, there’s thundering beats from big-name DJs in a dinghy draped with bikini-wrapped dancers. Confetti dumping. Bottle service delivered on wooden lifeboats. Champagne spraying. Anchors, life preservers and… assorted Hollywood-issued flotation devices.

So when you need to extend a weekend beyond normal limits, you’ll head here with friends and enter XIV Yacht Club—that’s what they’re calling their Sunday party, and each week the vibe will change to invoke a different “port,” like Maui or Saint-Tropez. For Memorial Day, it’s Camp Pendleton.

Saturday nights will be Asian night, put on by Go Productions LA. Friday nights TBA.

 

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Vessel SF Closing May 30, 2015

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Vessel SF, a SF nightlife institution for over 8 years, is closing doors for renovation at the end of May 2015. From the VesselSF website:

Friends and Family of Vessel, the end of an era is upon us. After 8 years of being a staple in the San Francisco nightlife scene, Vessel is closing its doors and will reopen in the Summer of 2015 under a whole new name and concept. We can’t express how much every single person that’s shared memories at the club means to us and we invite you to come celebrate our subterranean playground one last time!

There was a very short list of DJ’s who we thought would be the right fit to play the last song on our beloved dance floor and we’re honored to welcome Max Vangeli back to his San Francisco home for a final bow. Max is a world renowned producer that’s thrived in the dance music scene over the last 10 years and Vessel was truly his home where he started to perfect his craft. Max has since gone on to play the best of the best festivals in the world including Tomorrowland, Ultra and EDC as well as playing every major club across the globe so bringing him back to his roots will bring out the best in him.

We would be honored to see old and new faces to help us close this place down in style!

Vessel SF has been one of my personal favorite clubs in SF – it didn’t always have the hottest DJs or the best ratio but we invariably had a great time. Check back for announcements of the new concept later this summer!

 

Grand Nightclub SF Closed for Renovation

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From The Grand Nightclub’s instagram: All good things come to an end at some point or another. We had a stellar run! As nightclubs are evolving all over the world, as should we. The Grand Nightclub will be closed as of April 1st, 2015 for a major remodel and redecoration effort. With the goal of reopening before Summer 2015, The Grand Nightclub will be your premier San Francisco nightclub destination!

Reopen dates TBA, but it sounds like hopefully The Grand will be back open around June or July at the latest. Stay tuned!

Temple SF the Only Bay Area Club on Top 100 List

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San Francisco is known for many things but nightlife is definitely not one of them. Nightclub & Bar magazine released their annual Top 100 list of the highest-grossing American nightclubs yesterday, and only one Bay Area club made the cut: Temple Nightclub, which clocked in at a respectable #24, with estimated annual revenues of $10-15 million. As usual, Vegas and Miami dominated the list, with nine of the top ten slots, but SF doesn’t even hold a candle to San Diego (which has 7 entrants on the list), Dallas (7), Boston (4), or Scottsdale, Arizona (3).

But while SF may lack clubbing cred, Temple appears to have only benefited from its recent renovation, which added a cafe, recording studio, and co-working space to the mix. The refreshed club now features an improved sound system, not to mention some sweet LED lighting powered by patrons’ dance moves. One additional player that could probably do well in SF’s club game if they felt like it: Hakkasan, which has no clubbing component at its SF restaurant location, but manages to bring in over $100 million in Vegas, making it #2 overall on the top 100 list.

Top EDM Nightclubs in Las Vegas

First Look – Omnia Las Vegas – Pictures & Video

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Check out the first captured photos of Omnia Nightclub at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in all her glory:

The ribbon is officially cut, a new chapter begins at @CaesarsPalace! #OMNIALasVegas A photo posted by OMNIA Nightclub (@omnianightclub) on

Beautiful weather for our opening night! Enjoy a view of the Las Vegas Strip from the Terrace. #OMNIALasVegas

A photo posted by OMNIA Nightclub (@omnianightclub) on

#Omnia #omnianightclub #grandopening #vegas #caesars #hakkasangroup #chandelier #lights A video posted by BrandoninLV (@brandoninlv) on

Hakkasan and NOW Omnia! Hakkasan group just got that much stronger. View from behind the DJ. #Hakkasan #Omnia #Vegas

A photo posted by maxmasterson1011 (@maxmasterson1011) on

#omnia #lasvegas #$5Mchandelier #hakkasangroup #nightclub A video posted by Rodalyn (@zummerlove) on

#omnia #omnialv #omniavegas #omniaopening A video posted by @timessquare69 on

HOLY #OMNIA!!! This just happened! #hakkasangroup

A video posted by Christopher Quiban (@qris_luv) on