Cat Club

Recently discovered this gem of the SOMA district and immediately fell in love. A friend of mine decided to round up the troops and head to Cat Club for their version of 80's night, and boy do they have this blast from the past down to a fine art. Two rooms bumping the best of the 80's filled with people dressed to a T in their best 80's themed outfits (I brought out the overall shorts paired with leg-warmers and a magenta windbreaker). Screens set-up for your music video viewing pleasure, there's even a cage to dance in if you're feeling frisky ;) Bottle service available upon request, but the drinks are pretty stiff from what I recall of the evening. There's all sorts of events happening during the week and weekend, so if the 80's aren't your idea of a fun night out maybe karaoke or bondage tickles your fancy.

The Cat Club in SoMa is one of the best Darkwave centric bars in the city. From Bondage-a-Go-Go on Wednesday, to 80s on Thursday, and independent parties on Friday and Saturday, you can find the right mix for you throughout the month. 80s Thursday is a great bet for mingling and having a cheap night out; doors at 9p, free before 9:30p and $2 well drinks for the first hour to get the party started. Generally speaking, the back room is darker in tone than the front room. The bar is long with two large dance floors, one up front to great you when you walk in the door, and the other all the way in the back past the manned coat check and bathrooms. Two full service bars serve both rooms, with credit cards honored in the front, and excellent bartenders. Cat Club is also home to Strangelove, Dark Shadows, and The Witching Hour, so bring your blackest finery.

The virtues of San Francisco’s diversity are embraced at the Cat Club; the melting pot population of the city can come together and melt a little bit more during weekly event nights spanning from Bondage A GO GO Wednesdays (a sadistic carnival of sin) to an 80s dance party on Thursdays (where neon spandex pants create a plumage of colors on the dance floor with such enthusiasm that you’d think the 80s were only yesteryear, rather than twenty plus years in the past). These regular events, including Kor Karaoke on Tuesdays, are punctuated by other infrequent and unique happenings like Dark Shadows; The Witching Hour; & Club Leisure (much of the music moves across the map: indie/electro/ goth/ 90s/mod/britpop/post punk). Regardless of your style(s) and favorite party music, just about anyone can have a great time at Cat Club— even if they have to step out of their comfort zone (if you're not used to racy cosplay and self-severing debauchery). The south of Market neighborhood on Folsom has a great vibe and the age range of patrons is 20s to the late 40s. You will find that most people are on the darker sides of their respective spectrum—steampunk, goths, metalheads, rockabilly, club-hoppers, and young girls just looking to have fun—but any walk of life can revel in an atmosphere that is always down-to-earth (in a gritty kind of way). The drinks aren’t complex in flavor or form, but you can’t beat the price of rum and coke at 5 bucks (well drinks all around?). But, hey, it’s all about the energy on the dances floors. The moment you walk in you find yourself on a small dance floor bound by the end of the front bar and an industrial go-go cage just to the right. If you show up later in the night you may find yourself fighting past a crowd as you ascend a ramp that leads to the bathrooms, coat check, and then on the back bar surrounded by a second dance floor with a large projection screen bubbling with music videos. The split in the club tends to create two cosmoses where patrons flow freely between two worlds (usually the back room is used for special exhibits like featured DJs and lovely bondage displays on Wednesdays involving ropes, whips, and chains). Beyond a dress code of all black for Bondage A Go Go nights (no Giants jerseys or tennis shoes), you’re free to dress how you please for your late night out.

Not my type of club/bar, but for those I am about to describe you will LOVE IT. This place is like stepping into a London 80's night club. Spinning vintage 80's and euro-pop music, this club is a go to place for the older crowd who miss their nightclubs from their teenage years. One of their most popular night's is indeed the 80's night. There are two rooms, one in the front and another one towards the back with full-run bars to fill all your drinking needs.