What are the current Toronto nightspots?

June 1, 2007 8:06 AM

I'll be in Toronto next week & need some party-all-night places to go on Thursday & Friday nights (June 7th & 8th).

The company I work for is celebrating its 25th anniversary by bringing the Paris, France & Montreal, Canada offices together for a week, culminating in a trip to Toronto (Gananoque, Niagara, etc.). I grew up in Toronto, but have been gone now for nearly 4 years, as such I'm not sure of good recommendations anymore (also my last decade there was more relegated to finding great restaurants than great bars). Many of the people going on the trip will be looking for a little nightlife & have asked me for some ideas. I immediately thought of The Horseshoe (it's that kind of crowd... they want busy, live music is good), but the NXNE festival is going on & I think maybe somewhere else that we can definitely get in might be a better idea. Our hotel is downtown (Front Street specifically). Thanks for all suggestions in advance.

posted by Laura in Canada to travel & transportation (8 comments total)

Sounds like a Matador night to me.
posted by Succa at 9:26 AM on June 1, 2007

On Thursday night Ferry Corsten is spinning at Skybar at Guvernment. It'll go late.

The Guv is pretty good for loud party all night stuff.

Don't know about live music venues, sorry.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:00 AM on June 1, 2007

I should probably mention that not everyone will be young, definitely not twenty-somethings & the majority don't speak English very well (if at all). It probaly won't make a difference to the suggestions, but I thought I'd mention it.
posted by Laura in Canada at 10:07 AM on June 1, 2007

The Drake is always a good time -- there's live music in the basement most ngihts, dj on the main floor, and a great skybar. If its an older crowd with money, show up for dinner and then stick around to see what people think of it. Its popular, so there'll be a line after 10ish.

Another thing to do if they are out-of-towners is to head to Little Italy on College and just head along the strip, people can pop in and out of lots of different places depending on what strikes your fancy. And they definitely won't stand out as "old".
posted by modernnomad at 10:34 AM on June 1, 2007

Little Italy has lots of places, and will work with an older crowd. (That's at College and Bathurst) Its not really a party all night sort of place. This is also true of King St. West (King St and Bathurst), but it's a much lamer part of the city.

Richmond and Adelaide, between Spadina and University are where most of the cities night clubs are. They cater to a 20 something i'm from the burbs sort of crowd. They can be fun though.

Queen St. West has a couple hotels that were turned into hip lounges recently. The Drake, Spin Gallery, and a few other bars are worth checking out. Also good for an older crowd.

The Guvernment, as mentioned above, is open till the early hours of the morning. It's a giant warehouse sort of club. If you just want to drink and party all night, it'd probably work.
posted by chunking express at 11:51 AM on June 1, 2007

Er.. to clarify...

Kool Haus (part of the Guvernment complex) is the large warehouse-type club.

The Guvernment is basically a superclub style on a slightly-large-nightclub size. They're reopening on Saturday after major renovations (tore it down to four walls and started over).

The complex also includes Skybar (rooftop patio--that's where Ferry Corsten is spinning next Thurs--see you there!), The Drink (luxury lounge style; don't think anything is happening there while you're there), The Orange Room (I think it's usually house on Saturdays), Tanja (no clue).
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:11 PM on June 1, 2007

A lot of the places mentioned will be occupied with NXNE shows...schedule
You might try the Beaver on Queen west of Dovercourt, or Squirly's or the Done Right Inn on Queen around Bellwoods, all of which have patios. It's probably going to be fairly warm. There is also usually a counter-NXNE fest held at the Silver Dollar that weekend, but the Dollar is pretty grungy for a corporate event.

But it's not like a whole lot has changed in the last four years so you probably already know basically where to go in the city to find something interesting. Basically any decent live music venue between Bloor and the Lakeshore + Dufferin and University is running NXNE stuff.
posted by loiseau at 1:53 AM on June 2, 2007

Here is the anti-NXNE fest, and the bands are really awesome:

THRS.JUNE.7/SILVER DOLLAR
Magnificent 7 Records & Friends Showcase
The Vandelles 2 a.m.
Cities In Dust 1 a.m.
The Two Koreas 12
The Easy Targets 11
The Miles 10
The Disraelis 9
Lipstick Machine 8 p.m.

FRIDAY.JUNE.8/SILVER DOLLAR
Soundtrack of Our Lives 1:15
Action Makes 12
The Superfantastics 11
The Vestaloynes 10
Key Witness 9
Still Life Still 8 p.m.

FRIDAY.JUNE.8/COMFORT ZONE
Pop Montreal Showcase
Woodhands 12:30
Handsome Furs 11:30
The Nymphets 10:30
Hot Springs 9:30
The Witchies 8:30

SAT.JUNE.9/SILVER DOLLAR
The Old Soul "Infinite Night Party" feat. The Old Soul, The Bicylcles, DJ Daniel Vila . 2 - 4 a.m.
No Dynamics 1
Duchess Says 12
Put The Rifle Down 11
Nif-D 10
Dandi Wind 9
A Certain Symmetry 8 p.m.

SAT.JUNE.9/COMFORT ZONE
Grim Skunk 12:30
Throbbing Purple 11:45
The Brown Hornets 10:45
Holoscene 9:50
Z'Houndz 9

These are all good shows... especially the Saturday night "infinite night" one!
posted by loiseau at 5:52 AM on June 2, 2007