Night of the Living Dead?

NYN got good feedback from last week's article "Is New York Nightlife Dead?". The results were pretty even.

Half the people agree with J.C. that the scene was dead and other cities have taken over: "I LOVE NEW YORK...but i think we've given way to a "wannabe" generation. the 80's and 90's were about doing it and changing the game, but now everyone wants to be like everyone else...it's all about "gettin that paper." soooo, all the clubs that are opening are imitating other venues...same themes, same door procedure, same promises of exclusive events/treatment. Crobar was the shit, CBGB was the shit, for Gods sake, Tunnel and the Limlight were once the cusp of nightlife extravagance. then came MTV...."

The other half, which included Tony S. saw a different scene, not a dead one: "…I was part of the 80's and 90's scene and remember all too well about the Palladium, Mars, The Tunnel, Limelight, etc. And as I venture the clubs today, the faces MAY be a bit younger and the names have changed (Avalon, Pacha, Studio Mezmor) but the one thing that holds true today as it did back then, the club scene is still thriving!"

The two sides of this debate obviously use different criteria and different clubs to check the pulse of New York nightlife so it may be a long time before the issue is settled. In the meantime, there are about 15 million people per year having fun in more than 1,700 spots in the five boroughs. If the New York nightlife scene is dead, we're having too much fun to notice!

Along the same lines, JoonBug posted their Top Venues of 2007 which tracked the most popular spots on their site. One thing that seems clear from this list is the concept that lounges are rising in popularity as people look to combine music, food, dancing and socializing all in the same place. Perhaps club life is being replaced with lounge life?

What is the difference between a club, lounge and bar anyway? The definitions can be vague at times, but if you want to see one source of in depth definitions, you can check out Nightlife 101 for guidance.

What's your opinion? How do you perceive New York nightlife? Do you agree with Joonbug? How do you tell the difference between bars and clubs? Does it even matter if they have a liquor license? Let us know. gamal@newyorknightsonline.com New York Nights