One thing that has been prominent through Covid-19 lockdowns, is the importance of dancing. There’s nothing like sweating it out under sexy strobe lights, in unison with others, everyone is letting loose with at least two drinks in hand.
Good nightclub dancing is very much “dance like no-one is watching” vibes, and I think we truly need that energy sometimes – and especially now.
That being said, we all want different things from nightclubs. Some of us want to dance the night away, others want to get lost in a trance of music, booze and babes and others want to meet new and interesting people.
Whatever your flavour, we’ve got something for you.
Here are the 5 best nightclubs in Melbourne.
The Night Cat
Fitzroy
The Night Cat is all about live music and salsa dancing and we’re here for it all. The vibe inside The Night Cat is always electric, with a darkly red-lit boudoir feel, an epic sound system and incredible energy always, The Night Cat is a bit of a Fitzroy institution, with live jazz, funk, Latin American, disco and reggae among its diverse weekly line-up. Entry is usually free, except for Salsa Sundays where you pay $20 at the door and participate in Salsa lessons, followed by live Latin music and lots of dances. The stage is in the middle of the venue, which creates an amazing upbeat pace throughout the entire venue and allows you to see your favourite jazz musician from every angle.
Open every night. Opening hours differ each day, depending on the events.
Revolver Upstairs
Prahran
This is the nightclub you’ll hear about nonstop in Melbourne. Lovingly referred to as ‘Revs’, Revolver Upstairs is the pinnacle of trashy nightlife in Melbourne, that will take you in on Friday night and spit you out Sunday morning, ears still ringing with soul-tinged deep house and slice of throbbing techno. Their longstanding Saturday The Late Show has hosted international DJs and producers for years, such as Maurice Fulton, Flava D, Pearson Sound, Loefah, Pinch and Auntie Flo, as well as weekly residents. Enter into a conversation about Revs with a local and you might hear about ‘the cage’, which isn’t as terrifying as it sounds. It’s actually a booth that hosts local and international dance DJs in a dining room. This room transforms into an actually delicious Thai restaurant during the sunlight hours.
Open till 3am Monday – Wednesday, and pretty much 24 hours the rest of the time.
The Toff in Town
Swanston Street
Curtain House is a feast for the senses, with incredible food and drink, an iconic rooftop, a spicy Mexican restaurant and Toff, a cosy double-sided red-curtained venue, that hosts some insane musical talent. Toff takes over the entire second floor of Curtain House. On one side, you have old tram booths in a fabulous cocktail bar and on the other, you have a live music venue that also serves rad drinks, alongside tapas. Dance and music parties at Toff can go pretty late, and it definitely has slightly upmarket grunge club vibes on the weekend. They have an incredible secret jazz jam session every Tuesday night until 1am, that involves rotating Jazz musicians jumping up and creating improvised tunes. The vibes are epic.
Open Fridays & Saturday from 7pm – 5am
Angel Music Bar
Bourke Street
Angel Music Bar is all about the music, with a collection of records pumping out of Funktion One speakers which are specially designed to fill a room with bass. Live DJs play bangers from John Coltrane, Susan Wong, Esther Phillips and Ute Lemper. You can head upstairs to the 80-room black box venue and party at events by Animals Dancing, Crown Ruler, Cool Room and Pelvis. It’s super dark in the 80’s room, with just one light that projects onto a disco ball and casts a twinkling shadow about the DJ booth. It genuinely feels like you’ve gone back in time to a funky dance party, where reality doesn’t exist – just music.
Open Wednesday & Thursday 9pm – 3am and Friday & Saturday 9pm – 5am
Sub Club
Flinders Street
Not many people know about Sub Club, and that is a big part of its charm. It’s an underground basement nightclub which actually used to be the old ANZ Bank Vault, located in CBD laneway Flinders Court. They aim to blur the lines between art-project and nightclub, which as a concept, is very Melbourne. The line-ups reflect this concept, with forward-thinking curators and subcultures bringing different styles of music and art forward. You should expect lots of bass, techno and electro transmitting out of a 10,000-watt sound system. And of course, a ‘no dickheads’ policy. Just because clubs are known to be wild and carefree, doesn’t mean that our safety and respect for others should go out the window.
Open Fridays & Saturdays 10pm – 7am
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