Death of Clubland (aka: Is Adam Vaughan trying to kill the Club District?)

[taal]

What are the clubs like in the 905 ?

There are some in Markham (near Hi-way and Leslie) some in Vaughan (Near 400 and Jane, around movie theatre) and more in Mississauga / Oakville.

What sort of age groups do they cater to ? I've been to the ones in Vaughan and it seems to cater to the young age group, like the traditional entertainment district.

What about the others ?

 

[freshcutgrass]

I'd argue it's the high end exclusiveness of clubland that killed club culture period. Granted most clubs in the 80s and early 90s were dives but what made them fun was the music (you'd rarely hear anywhere else or else first at a club) and the mix of people -street kids, punks, trustafarians, people slumming etc.

That's all gone and bottle service and VIP rooms seem to sustain them now -and the clientele is universally bland and uninteresting.

I think you have a point. I think Clubland is dying from a thousand cuts. And one of them is that what constitutes "clubbing" these days. In the 80's/90's, there was a diverse scene that while just as stupid as any other youth scene, seemed to have some substance to it....Goths, Punks, Rockabilly, New Wave, Ravers, etc, etc. Music and dancing seemed to be important. House Music seemed to take over, but probably peaked by the new millennium.

Now it seems to be all about pretending to be Paris Hilton....arriving in a stretch SUV, velvet ropes and expensive cocktails. It appears that texting has replaced dancing as the main activity at clubs. And the music....do young people actually think club music today is actually good?

No wonder they are fighting and racing around the streets in their rice rockets....it's the only outlet to get rid of all that youth angst & energy. I think some of the problem is that "clubbing" these days is a bit of an empty shell. I can tell you I sure wouldn't want to be a 20 year old today...it's depressing to even think about it.

As for Adam Vaughan....whether you like him or not, his job is to serve the constituents of Ward 20, which elected him with 75% of the vote. Few, if any of the 60,000 kids who flocked to to Clubland vote in his ward.

 

[TheKingEast]

Well, they didn't really have top 40 clubs back in the 80's 90's. At least not as many as today. Even in the 2000's there were reggae clubs, hip hop clubs, rave type clubs, dance clubs. Now, all those clubs on King West are top 40. I can honestly say that all these clubs are the same....same clientelle, same vibe, same music, etc... It was far different before. You knew where to go if you wanted to listen to a certain kind of music.

 

[adma]

It appears that texting has replaced dancing as the main activity at clubs.

And to be frank: why do you even have to go to a club to text? It's superfluous. (Translation: the dominance of the clubs of yore have been eclipsed by sexier technology.)

Back when college kids were clubbing in the 80s, they were still typing their term papers out on typewriters, more often than not.

 

[Towered]

I was just reading an article in the LA times about their high end night club industry and how it's sustained by pulling in types like pro-athletes and celebrities who may spend thousands or even tens of thousands a night. I know you can find this in other US cities too where there is lots of money floating around, like New York, Miami and San Francisco.

Do we have high end night clubs where people regularly drop thousands of dollars on bottles of expensive champagne and vodka? I've always believed there are people who do this kind of stuff here, but frankly I can't figure where or when (I'm excluding when TIFF is on). I'm not really the type to hang around the Entertainment District or King West, so I don't know exactly what everyone does there, but I've never gotten that vibe when I have been out in the area. Sure, there are people throwing money around and getting bottle service at VIP (or VVIP etc..) tables, but I don't think they are spending thousands of dollars, or are they? Maybe in Yorkville?

If you are say, Jose Bautista, and you want to party and drop some serious cash doing it, where do you go?

I honestly want to know what kind of "entrepreneur" you have to be in order to be able to drop hundreds of dollars at a club in a single night when you're in your 20's. I went through King West just last night and this question went through my head over and over as I looked at the crowds of wankers around me. Seriously, can any of you explain this? Is it just people who come from old money and have nothing better to do? What do these people do for a living that allows them to blow money like that without concern?

 

[freshcutgrass]

Back when college kids were clubbing in the 80s, they were still typing their term papers out on typewriters, more often than not.

Imagine how difficult it must have been to try to learn spelling, grammar and punctuation, and still have time to go clubbing.
Were they geniuses?
Did they have help from aliens?

Reminds me....I just picked up a mint Lettera 33 (to go along with my 1935 Royal Junior and 1960's Hermes Rocket).

Now, all those clubs on King West are top 40. I can honestly say that all these clubs are the same....same clientelle, same vibe, same music, etc... It was far different before.

It would be almost bearable if anything in the top 40 was worth listening to. Clubbing sounds painfully boring.

Hmmmm....I think I shall open a club. Instead of paying Paris Hilton to show up, I might get Shirley Bassey.

 

[freshcutgrass]

What do these people do for a living that allows them to blow money like that without concern?

Unfortunately, boredom is one of the few problems you can't solve by throwing money at it. But pretty girls will sit at your table as long as the bottles keep coming.

From what I've seen, it appears that the purpose of clubbing, is it's where guys go to learn how to be "players".

 

[TheKingEast]

I honestly want to know what kind of "entrepreneur" you have to be in order to be able to drop hundreds of dollars at a club in a single night when you're in your 20's. I went through King West just last night and this question went through my head over and over as I looked at the crowds of wankers around me. Seriously, can any of you explain this? Is it just people who come from old money and have nothing better to do? What do these people do for a living that allows them to blow money like that without concern?

The same kids who are buying $350K condos and driving BMW's. A lot of young people make good money in this city...from brokers to real estate agents, bankers, to working in IT, etc.... Then you have the ones who sell drugs and come from money.

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

I see this as short-lived. First of all, there's not as much available space, and a lot of them are located either in buildings that are going to be torn down for new development or spaces that will find higher paying tenants.

Every nightclub lease I have seen in the past five years has a very high base rent, usually in the neighbourhood of $30psf. While that's not at the level of Queen West retail space, it's nothing to sneeze at. Certainly, of all potential uses for built space in the Entertainment District (e.g. restaurant, retail (other than Queen W frontage), commercial, office, massage parlour), clubs pay the highest rent.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Certainly, of all potential uses for built space in the Entertainment District (e.g. restaurant, retail (other than Queen W frontage), commercial, office, massage parlour), clubs pay the highest rent.

But they are almost always in spaces not suitable for any other tenants.....basements or derelict type buildings. You're probably right about the high rents though for those spaces, as landlords need to fill the space. In general though, I bet they are not desirable tenants. Clubs are bad neighbours and a hassle for landlords, and the bigger they are, the worse the problems. It's a shady business.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

"What do these people do for a living that allows them to blow money like that without concern?"

Corporate law is hugely lucrative. I've worked in two Bay Street firms, and it's very common for associates who aren't even thirty to be pulling down income in the 300-400K range, even more than that depending on the practice area. Mind you, they work 80 hour weeks, but when they party, they party.

 

[Jonny5]

"What do these people do for a living that allows them to blow money like that without concern?"

Corporate law is hugely lucrative. I've worked in two Bay Street firms, and it's very common for associates who aren't even thirty to be pulling down income in the 300-400K range, even more than that depending on the practice area. Mind you, they work 80 hour weeks, but when they party, they party.

Corporate law has always been a mystery to me. I've always heard there is good money there, but the few I know working in it have had the long hours but not the good pay. However, that makes more sense to me than what someone above wrote about entrepreneurs in "350k condos and driving BWMs." That just reminds me of a former co-worker who acted like he was a big shot when he started making just over $100k, only to be schooled by a woman from North Toronto one night who rejected him because he was "middle class." I guess you could say he fit into the crowd from the video below, who want to pretend they are big spenders, but are really nobodies.

[video=youtube;8AKPaKTi9d8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AKPaKTi9d8 [/video]

 

[TheKingEast]

Corporate law has always been a mystery to me. I've always heard there is good money there, but the few I know working in it have had the long hours but not the good pay. However, that makes more sense to me than what someone above wrote about entrepreneurs in "350k condos and driving BWMs." That just reminds me of a former co-worker who acted like he was a big shot when he started making just over $100k, only to be schooled by a woman from North Toronto one night who rejected him because he was "middle class." I guess you could say he fit into the crowd from the video below, who want to pretend they are big spenders, but are really nobodies.

[video=youtube;8AKPaKTi9d8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AKPaKTi9d8 [/video]

I'm not sure what's so hard to understand. It has nothing to do with what people are making or thinking they're big shots. The question was asked...who spends thousands of dollars on bottle service and I told you who.

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

But they are almost always in spaces not suitable for any other tenants.....basements or derelict type buildings. You're probably right about the high rents though for those spaces, as landlords need to fill the space. In general though, I bet they are not desirable tenants. Clubs are bad neighbours and a hassle for landlords, and the bigger they are, the worse the problems. It's a shady business.

Yes, they're terrible tenants, except when they pay the rent on time, and then they're the best tenants. But yeah, I've had club owners try to pay $45k monthly rent in cash. Maybe I would feel differently if I got to keep that money, but I always refused and told them to get me a bank draft (which, mysteriously, was provided in a series of bank drafts in the amount of $4,990).

Wow, I really don't miss that one particular aspect of my previous job.

I am also reminded how entertaining it has been to watch developers go in front of Adam Vaughan's community consultation sessions and successfully pitch "closing down the clubs in x building" as an excuse for receiving community support for additional height/density. In reality, the "closing down the clubs" only happens when construction starts two or three years down the road. Moreover, once a club is told that its end is near, all pretence at running a respectable business goes out the window, along with dress codes, age restrictions, observance of noise by-laws, observance of the fire code, observance of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, etc. To top it off, a large percentage of such development plans never come to fruition, so the clubs dopn't end up leaving.

 

[voxpopulicosmicum]

"What do these people do for a living that allows them to blow money like that without concern?"

Corporate law is hugely lucrative. I've worked in two Bay Street firms, and it's very common for associates who aren't even thirty to be pulling down income in the 300-400K range, even more than that depending on the practice area. Mind you, they work 80 hour weeks, but when they party, they party.

There aren't many firms I know of that pay 4th/5th year associates $300-400k (I can't see how a 29-year-ol could be more than a 5th year call), although I guess a senior non-unit partner at a certain profitable 2-tier shop would be in that range. Also, 80-hour weeks are less common than associates would have you believe. In general, the money is wonderful but not to the level of "fuck you". It is a nice, risk-averse profession, but I think the days of the current compensation model are numbered.