Shine, Vancouver

Oh man. Shine. I've had quite some nights at Shine. You know something crazy's always going to happen at Shine, but you never fully know what until you get there.

Whether that crazy thing means getting some attitude from their extremely-obnoxious bouncers when you've arrived at their front steps on your birthday to pick up your forgotten-but-retrieved wallet from the night before. Whether that means recognizing that tastefully stencil-painted nude female figure on the wall in the back red room as being one of your best friends! Or whether that means unsuspectedly showing up one night at Shine to dance alone, but then you see all your good friends and join them to dance in the back room.

Anytime I went to that famed Gastown club in the basement of that wedged-shaped building, I'd bump into people and crazy times would ensue, and everyone would laugh about it for months later.

Shine means good, debaucherous times.

Note that Shine's location used to be home to failed nightclubs of the past such as the Boiler Room, the Ocean Triangle, the Aztec. Shine, however, seems to be going strong for several years now and I don't see it fading in the near future.

My favourite night at Shine happens on Friday (Team Wi-ked) where they play a good mix of music. They advertize their Friday Dj's as "hipsters dissing hipsters, the anti-DJ DJs". It's not your run-of-the-mill DJ set. They have the main room out front with more dance tunes, and in the backroom they play 80's and indie rock. Many people also go to Shine on Thursdays for their 80's themed "White Lies".

Dress Code: Swanky, hipster, posh - dress to kill.

The decor in Shine is also notable. It has that funky 1970's Space Odyssey thing going on... bubble booths, red velvet, swanky lighting and tables. Modernist furniture and square white inch tiles in the bathrooms. The crowd can vary at Shine, from hipsters, fashionistas, wannabe gangsta bling blings to indie rockers. It can be all of that and everything else.

There is no stereotypical crowd at Shine. I find it tends to attract scenesters of the city. It can sometimes be a bit of a meat market, and while the DJ's and staff are nice, the bouncers are some of the most obnoxious you'll ever encounter, but don't let that prevent you from checking Shine out at least once.

The cutesy little entry in a flatiron building on Water Street belies the big venue underground. It was a bit of a hotspot when we were there, so there was a line during the night, but once you're in you're sorted.

Disco tunes gave way to dance and pop and all was in a sort of 70's retro style club. Not a bad place at all to spend a night of fun. It wasn't too pretentious either, but it did become a bit of a pick-up place at the end of the night. Still, great for some uncomplicated fun!

Dress Code: If you leave the t-shirts and sneakers behind, it should be fine.

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Get Up Get Down Fridays at Shine. Dope hip hop in the back, the regular stuff in the front. Good times to be had if you're in the mood to feel young again.

Dress Code: No dress code