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Comment by drglitch | Hacker News Reader

Speaking about at least NYC, the nightclub prices have gone just a little bit too nuts right before Covid - think $2k for a table for 4 with a single bottle of ($30 dollar) vodka. $25 mix drinks were a norm.

Combined with lack of innovative artists and ever-increasing homogeneity of style (do I sound like a grumpy old man yet?), clubs seemed to have been racing towards a peak. Smaller venues were suddenly cooler, cheaper, and more interesting.

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My experience is in London, but very similar. Even if you can afford it, the "real" nightclubs are total waste of time and money.

Unfortunately a lot of places that were actual music venues (Fabric was the one that got the most press attention, but there were others) got shut down in recent years because of noise complaints, drug investigations, etc. This of course played right into the hand of property developers. I'm sure lockdowns aren't helping either, and there's probably a bunch of suits frothing at the mouth to replace everything with "luxury housing units" in places that currently have decent nightlife like Vauxhall, the northern part of Kingsland Road leading to Tottenham, etc.

On the other hand I don't think it's possible to kill culture, and the people who want to put on events will find a way. At least that's the only optimistic way to look at the current situation.

Ironically it’s those same suits who are paying for the bottle service.

It is possible to kill culture and it's been happening in London for years, the more people are priced out of the city the less interesting things that are happening. You can see that in microcosm in the differences between Berlin and London. The number of small interesting arts and music venues in Berlin is an order of magnitude higher than in London because it's much more affordable to live there and keep doing your thing for little to no financial reward.

Jesus H Christ! 2 G's for a table? You know, where I'm from, a person can get a decently sized house with a 12,000 downpayment. All you have to do is stay home for 6 straight weekends in NYC. Apparently.

Not sure that's a relevant comparison, the class of people that will put a 12000 down payment for this decently sized house are not the same class of people that will splash 2k on a nightclub table in NYC

They’re the same class, one group just has a lot more money than the other

$25,000 for a top table at LIV Miami NYE. $7,500 on a regular night.

I have not been to a club night or otherwise in over 25 years. It's just not my thing. But I am curious what is the difference between a top table and a regular table? What even goes on at a regular table?

Location within the club. In and around DJ booth / dancefloor can cost almost 10x the cheapest table. See and be seen = $$$$$

At these venues you aren't paying for the table per se... these are generally minimum spend amounts for drink/food (pre gratuity).

For ticketed events, table reso also usually includes admission & line bypass for x guests.

This seems very strange, why on earth would you pay that much to listen to music and who are you trying to impress? Is there some implicit assumption that you can meet otherwise unavailable women / men there? That seems extremely unlikely as well.

I assume that it's prostitution with extra steps.

It has been submitted before : https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/07/03/the-secret-economi...

Here : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24390388

Access to higher “””quality””” drugs and women.

Just to add to what everyone else said: I’m in Miami right now and most of the clubs (the ones that open at midnight and close at 0500) basically work such that if you don’t spend $1-10k for table/bottle service you might as well not even go.

It's explicitly conspicuous consumption, a way to signal one's financial status to others without having to wear expensive clothes, watches, shoes, et c.

I would imagine that it gets you a certain amount of attention from a certain type of person.

$12,000 might be a down payment for a parking spot in a major city.

Even ignoring the cost (which isn't that bad for an occasional thing if you don't buy a table, which I've never done), I've never had that much fun at a nightclub. I feel on edge the entire time. It's something about the overall atmosphere of the place that raises your stress levels. I can't quite put a finger on it.

Now a slightly more laid back live music venue I love. Can't tell you how many times I went to Brooklyn Bowl and Rockwood pre-pandemic.

I just can't see how clubs that are basically on some continuum of the sexual socializing scene (from meat market to more meet/greet) aren't getting completely undermined by online dating/hookup/meet apps.

Maybe corner bar for first meets, but who would take a first date to a zoot suit club?

Drug/experience/rave/music clubs should all rebound though.

There's a sentiment rolling lately in music-making communities that EDM is past its peak, and I think it's tied to how the scene has evolved commercially, including its presence in nightclubs, as well as the ushering in of streaming media.

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