-->
As an inhabitant of the city, I have visited thousands of
parties and clubs in Antwerp. In this post I want to discuss several clubs and
locations for people who want to have a good night out. Before I start summarizing
them I want to clarify something, in my opinion we have 3 types of clubs:
- Commercial club: A club that plays the
mainstream music. People don't really come for specific music. People just
want to gather, dance, drink, be social, pick up a flirt and forget the night.
The music itself is basically everything we hear on the radio as of dance
music. By the time of writing most common is RnB and progressive house in
general. Some examples: David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, Afrojack,
Pitbull, Nicole Scherzinger, Britney Spears ... This type of club is
perfect for the people who just go out once in a while and just don't give
a fuck, beer, vodka, girls, guys, music, it's all there. Note that most
people are more like standing, and listening to the music with minor movement.
- Subculture club: You could name it
underground or alternative but when it comes to it, it attracts a more
specific type of people. People go to these clubs for a specific type of
music or atmosphere. The people who like theses types of clubs think twice
before they'll enter a club. These people are more demanding (like me).
Most people that are present here like to dance and wont be standing aside
with their drink.
- All-round club: How should I describe this one?
This is the club where they play everything! Mainstream, child songs,
wrong music, oldies, rock, name it and they play it. This type of clubs
attracts often the people from age 30-50. Actually it is a commercial club
for the older people, older people means a wider range of mainstream from
the past decennia's. Additional to that they play this wrong music, which
is perfect for wasted party people.
Now with these types I can easily categorize each club and
tell what you can expect from them. I must warn everyone that if you would like
to party here in Antwerp, plans it on a Thursday or Saturday evening. Thursday
is the night of the student. Almost everywhere you will have free entrance,
some of them require a member card that costs not more than €5. Security guards
are also less strict for dress code on Thursdays but avoid hats
or anything on your head. Perfect day for cheap night out with young people
from the age of 18 to 26.
Friday night is a calm
evening. A few clubs have parties and most of them are organized by external organizations.
There is even a chance there won't be any advertisement on the clubs webpage at
all for Friday night events because the external organizers are responsible for
the advertisement themselves. Good research, Facebook events and other event
websites are the road to find something on Friday.
Saturday is THE night for
going out in general. Every club opens his doors. It is obvious you will have
to pay an entrance fee in 99% of the clubs on Saturdays. Dress code
requirements are taken more serious. Best is to dress casual/chique if you
would go to the more commercial clubs.
Age restrictions are pretty
clear. For clubs it is mandatory to be 18 or above. But often youngsters get in
without being checked, often younger girls. Especially on Thursdays this is the
case. Make sure that the guys always have ID with them, girls are not being
checked that easily or they should look really young.
Security can be a pain in
the ass for male customers. Just follow their directions and when
leaving the club give them 1 or 2 euros of fee that they don't deserve but in
some clubs at certain nights they can be bitchy or be kind of annoying if you
don't. If you enter and give them 5 of 10 euro, you are safe for the whole
evening if something WOULD go wrong like a fight, but this rarely happens. By
law they are not allowed to accept money, but often they are holding the doors
closed at the exit and keep their hand ready. Nothing you can do about it. I am
glad there is security in all the clubs, but they can be often assholes.
Commercial clubs
- Average price:
- Saturday: €10 - €15 (some require membership card: €5)
- Thursday: €0 (some require membership card: €5)
- Dress code:
- Saturday: Casual/chique, no sport shoes or hats
allowed. Some clubs require a shirt (not T-shirts allowed), depends on
the club, websites mention often the required dress code.
- Thursday: Avoid hats, less strict dress code.
Club Noxx (http://www.noxxantwerp.eu/)
This is the biggest club in Antwerp. You have 3 areas on
the ground floor and an additional one (Sky Club) on the higher level. People
from the Sky club can look down to the dance floors on the ground level. The
ceiling of the club is full of LED's that create awesome effects.
On Thursdays there are beside the normal party crowd
a bunch of youngsters (close to age of 18 that somehow get in). Often the
youngsters are in large groups present there and want to prove themselves. This
often creates annoying puberty aggressive atmosphere in my opinion. Thursdays
are also free of entrance, only a member card of 3 euro is required.
On Saturdays there are often bigger performances
from famous DJ's or hip-hop/RnB stars. Some performances can cost up to 25 €,
this is also the most expensive club in Antwerp. Make sure to check the website
before visiting on Saturdays.
This club offers often good commercial music but is more on
the expensive side, paying €3 euros for a beer. But the down side is the
younger crowd on Thursdays and the show-off by most people because the clubs
has a prestigious reputation. To see and being seen is a prominent philosophy here
on all days. Definitely not my favourite.
Club Local (http://www.cafelocal.be/, Saturdays:
http://www.paradisesaturdays.be/)
Another famous club in Antwerp.
On Thursdays it’s free, and the dress code is relax.
Beers are for the normal clubbing price of 2,5 euro. Make sure you buy your
tokens for drinks at the entrance; you cannot pay cash at the bar. Good tip,
don't buy too many of them immediately, you don’t make profit with it and
otherwise you have left overs that you cannot exchange for money again. But the
tokens are valid on every opening of the club, so not a total waste. On
Thursdays the music is often the same, every week, again and again. Hearing the
same song 4 times in an evening (ok ok, 3 times) are common.
On Saturdays there is a total other vibe. People are
standing in line from 22u30 (at least) to enter the club that opens at 23u. Member
card required of 5 euro, and an entrance fee of 10 euro. Dress code is more
casual/chique, don’t put on any sportswear or hats. This is the typical commercial
club with classy dressed people. Good atmosphere and good-looking ladies there
to be honest, but can be very crowded in the beginning of the evening (00u00 -
03u00). I personally hate overcrowded clubs, so for me it’s a huge turn off.
But if you don't mind and want a good night out in a commercial club. This is a
good tip, but make sure to be in time or late on the night.
If you check the site for Saturdays you will see that every
Saturday there is another theme. This gives a nicer touch to the evening, some
days they give away free candy, other days free McFlurry stuff etc... Worth checking
out.
De kaai aka Hangar 26 (http://www.de-kaai.be/)
In daytime it is a classy restaurant and at night a nightclub.
This is one of my favourite commercial clubs in Antwerp. It is only open on
Saturdays but is free of entrance. Only need to dress classy/chique/casual
like usual and you are guaranteed for a good evening. The customers are in
general people in their later twenties and you thirties. Peaceful atmosphere, but
keep in mind, in every club there might be a fight for some drunken reason. We
all know the effects of alcohol. The music is commercial with a good touch of
house to it, at the time of writing DJaxx
& Neurotique play there records, and they sure know how to please the
crowd with any type of music.
Red N Blue (http://www.redandblue.be/)
This is one of the most famous gay clubs in Belgium. But
the parties on Thursdays are for all straight and gay people.
On Thursdays it is free entrance but a member card
is required that can vary between 3 and 5 euro. Like I said, on Thursdays it is
like any other commercial club with almost only students. It is a pretty big
club and has lots of bars. Has a trendy and nice design. Often used for student
parties by student unions. There is some more aggressive vibes on Thursdays but
easily ignored if you are a calm person. Often the party does not start early;
people come in later on the evening. The best thing is to come in on time so
you experience the moment that the clubs gradually gets loaded. Then it feels
less crowded then you would come in later on and get dropped in a full club.
But it is often crowded on Thursdays.
On Saturdays it is the night for the gay and lesbian
crow. I cannot give you more information then the website because I never
entered the club on Saturday. No issues with the gay and lesbian crowd but
obviously as a straight I don't enter easily a gay club. But anyway, it is a
big club, and even has a cage hanging on the ceiling where I guess people dance
in on Saturdays. So from the interior and size I guess there should be some
good vibe going on, on Saturdays.
Roxy Club (http://www.velvetgroup.be/portal/ > Roxy)
By the time of writing Roxy club is still pretty new, it is
a small but cosy club in the North Antwerp located in an abandoned building.
You would never guess there is a club inside, till you enter. Cool interior,
only somewhat aggressive security.
This one is somewhat different. You have on Tuesday, Friday
and Saturday party. Sometimes 3th party organisations do some parties here.
On Tuesdays there is 'Mardi', this is derived from
the Mardi parties that where located in Stantwerpen. A popup bar/club that is
close by the location of the club in the summer months (see site >
Strantwerpen). I only went to the Mardi parties in Strantwerpen, but they where
fun. Didn’t stay for too long crowded and the typical commercial people came to
have a good night. Drinks are not that cheap, I think a beer is about 3 euros.
If you want a calm party, Mardi is perfect because it is not overloaded in the
middle of the week.
On Fridays: New concept on time of writing, check
site for more information
On Saturdays it is 'Nanno is back'. Nanno was a
previous concept on a boat that was lying in the docks of Antwerp, now they
moved to the Roxy club. I only went to Nanno when it was still on the boat.
Best description is, that it has the Noxx crowd (lot of underage/youngsters
somehow) but in a small version. The music is a good balance between hip-hop/RnB
and mainstream house from what I remember. I had good evenings there but again
a 'to see and being seen is a prominent philosophy' is present there. This
annoyed me till I got drunk.
Prices are pretty unknown for me because I never entered on
this new location, which was organised by an external organisation, but I guess
it is going to be the typical 10 - 15 euro entrance fee with membership card.
Industria - Mansion (http://www.aec.be/ or http://www.mansionantwerp.com/)
This is one of the oldest clubbing locations in Antwerp. It
had already thousands of different concepts and the current one is Mansion on Saturdays.
On Thursdays this club is closed.
On Saturday it is 5 euro member card and 10 euro
entrance fee. If you know one of the people that make publicity for Mansion,
they can put you on the guest list so you only need to pay the member card fee.
Typical commercial club and dress code. It has 1 (soon 2) dance floor(s), in
the late hours the commercial music turns more to house. The location is far up
north, has a beautiful and nice interior. Old industrial look with some wooden
architecture. Really nice location, club gets filled up around 01u00. No urge
to come too early, good environment and rarely overcrowded which is perfect.
All-round clubs
In Antwerp you will have to look outside the city centre in
smaller villages to find real all-round clubs, the best you can do is look for
small bars with a dance floor in Antwerp. I might post some update about that
in the future. But a good location is the big market (Grote Markt) in Antwerp,
also a lot of karaoke bars can be found there. Often free (or small) entrance fee.
Subculture clubs
The subculture clubs are often versatile in their types of
events. For concerts you can go to Petrol, Kavka or Trix. But for real parties
with djs you can to the same locations but on other evenings. With subculture
clubs it is important to check their website before you enter to know what to
expect. Public and Cafe d'anvers are pretty consistent with their days of
opening and music style but make sure to check their site in advance. The
people that go to these clubs are people that come in general for that certain
music style of the evening. They will be dressed related to the type of music. You
know, typically to subcultures.
Now I have been writing for an hour or 2 straight, going to
prepare a shisha and a track and I am ready to continue.
Petrol (http://www.petrolclub.be/)
Petrol is
located in an old industrial warehouse at the south of Antwerp close to the
Schelde. This location is used for concerts and clubbing. The club has this
underground vibe because of its location and interior. Minimalistic and dark.
Excellent for a rave-, techno-, reggae party or any concert. Maximum capacity
is about 1000 people, and the drinks are paid with tokens that you can buy for
2,5 euro each or 9 euro for 4. So basically if you pay per four tokens you get
a 0,25 euro discount on each token.
This
exotic location provides 2 dance floors. One big main dance floor as you enter
the club and one small one in the back beside the small stage. The main dance
floor always starts with a small surface barricaded with curtains. If enough
people enter the curtains are being removed to create more space when
necessary. When there are not sufficient people the atmosphere is being
preserved.
On
Thursdays this club is in general closed, often (but not always) open on
Saturdays and rarely on Fridays. One reason to know is by checking the webpage.
It is hard to predict when the club is going to be full or almost empty. But if
you go for the music that they provide that evening there is no need to feat.
You will have a cosy evening. Acoustics are fine in my opinion for concerts.
This club is one of my favourites. Only the entrance fee can go up to 15 euro
and even more with concerts. But the site always displays the entrance fee for
given date.
Kavka (http://www.kavka.be/)
Kavka is a small version of Petrol. Parties or concerts for
about 300 people are perfect here. This is a cosy location for everyone that
likes music of any kinds. Some examples techno, drum n bass, dubstep, reggae,
hip-hop, hardcore and metal, it all depends on the evening and the party. I
guess the drinks are often around 2 – 2,5 euro and is in the middle of Antwerp.
The entrance fee is cheaper than petrol and often less then
10 euro. This is also one of my favourites and close where I live. Again same
as Petrol, check the webpage to check if something is going on the day you
would like to party.
Trix (http://www.trixonline.be/)
Trix is not really a club. It is a centre for people who
have a passion for music. You can rent there a room for your band, do some
post-production or rent a studio (from what I understood). Beside these facilities
they also have a big hall or two where external organisations do parties. One
of them is Stealth Bombers, a party well known for its big names from the drum
n bass scene. Parties here will be announced with flyers, websites, posters and
Facebook. The reason why I mention Trix in this overview is actually for the
people that are busy with music of their own can gather here or rent
facilities.
Publik (http://www.decinema.be/)
Former name was ‘De Cinema’ and the webpage still refers
tot that. This club is close by the University of Antwerp. Some people might
call this a commercial club but it isn’t actually. This club plays hip-hop/RnB/Latin
and almost no mainstream house/hits (if its not hip-hop/RnB).
On Fridays and Saturdays the club is open and has an
entrance fee of about 10 euro. There is a slight chance that you need to have a
membership card, but not when I was visiting.
The male customers need to wear
shirts since last year, and girls can of course do whatever they like to dress themselves.
In this club you will find a lot of African, Latin or other ethnic visitors.
They all come to enjoy the music and just dance. You won’t pick up a fight
easily here in my opinion, what most people would actually suspect with all
this ethnic groups in a club (Reality check, no racism). The party here really
starts late, no need to enter before 01u00 or you would like to sit down first
and get into the mood. Check the page for more details but if you like this
music you will have a good evening.
Stereo Six (http://www.velvetgroup.be/portal/ > Stereo Six)
Previously had the name Stereo Sushi because in daytime the
club was a Sushi bar and at night a club. The average visitor here is 25+ and
the music differs from the concept there is. But often you will find here
house, soul, old-school RnB or even deep house. The ‘Love below’ concept is primary
soul, old-school RnB/hip-hop and 80’s. Another concept is BED (Beautiful Exotic
Dancing) which is more focused on (old)house, deep house and some minor
mainstream.
The average commercial club visitor is not guaranteed to have a
crazy evening here that is why I moved this club to the subculture division. It
has its own type of music and cosy vibe. The club is really close to Club Local
and the entrance fee is about 10 euros often. No membership cards here but the
drinks are pretty expensive, starting from 3 euro for a beer.
I personally like to visit the place when Joris Voorn plays
here or when the Love Below is having its party here. Hard to describe here, it
really has a soul mentality this club but sometimes there are almost no
visitors and when it is full it won’t be before 01u00 because of all the pubs
and lounge bars that are close by.
Cafe d'Anvers (http://www.cafe-d-anvers.com/)
This is THE club for the house, techhouse and minimal
crowd. This are the main styles which are played on Fridays and Saturdays.
The real house/minimal crowd comes here to have a good party on a real
seventies dance floor that lights up. Often not really crowded and good music
ensures a good evening. Entrance fee often around 10 euros and a beer for about
3 euro doesn’t make this a cheap club. But when you are in for the music this
location in the red light district won’t let you down.
On Thursdays it
is free entrance here and often a lot of students. Not too crowded but
sufficient. The music is not just mainstream; they will play more the drum n
bass, dubstep and house hits. I would say they play mainly (tech)house spiced
with a few (less mainstream) commercial hits.
On most evenings the balcony is open where they play RnB and
hip-hop to please the ladies, always nice to relax a little bit. From the
balcony you have a perfect overview of the lower main dance floor.
I hope this guide is useful to have a good night out. And next blog something unrelated to music but the perfect way to relax > Preparing the perfect Shisha !
