Was scanning through some old youtube videos of some of my favourite afterhours from the 90's and decided to post my list of the top 3 favourite clubs of all time (afterhours only) in Canada from coast to coast.
1. Sona (Montreal)
Club Sona was at one point in the mid 90's listed as the #1 afterhours to go to in the entire North America. According to nightlife publications at that time, it ranked higher than Crobar in Chicago, and Twilo in New York. While its renovations and size was nowhere nearly as grand as the aforementioned clubs, there was something raw about Sona that i've always enjoyed. I was first exposed to it in 1998 when driving down to Montreal and a friend of mine said he wanted to check out Sona. From there, I knew it topped 'Industry' in Toronto and 'Atomic' in Ottawa. Owned by Tiga (the electro producer), Sona was eventually shut down in the early 2000's in hopes of reopening with 514 productions, but this never came to fruitition. I will never forget when Laurent Garnier played a 12 hour set in the upstairs room and my friends and I were rolling on a baggie of candies. It was the club that launched the careers of Misstress Barbara and DJ Preach. It's closure changed the landscape of partying in Montreal forever, and sparked the birth of Stereo and Aria. Good times Sona, may you rest in peace!
2. Industry (Toronto)
This club reminds me of the legendary "Womb" in Tokyo, but instead of being parked in Shibuya, this was parked hidden somewhere on King St. I used to check this club out in the 90's to watch Kenny Glasgow and Mario J, and also Peter and Tyrone. It was during this time that Kenny Glasgow started his Method Label and got deeply into dark techno (ie; think Surgeon meets Oliver Ho). Peter and Tyrone would always play tech-house in the main room. Fond memories of that club included watching my roomate do coke in the bathroom and him asking me if it was normal for his heart to beat irregularly (LOL I love you Nick!!!)........good times. Industry shut down in the early 2000's and the majority of the crowd moved over to Guvernment (which I was never fond of).
3. Atomic (Ottawa)
There was always something nice about this club. I wasn't sure if it was because of the atmosphere or the layout, but there was always something inviting about Atomic. This club single handedly launched the career of Max Graham and was the most popular afterhours to go to in Ottawa. I remember when Carleton University used to throw raves at the Architecture building, most of the people would shift over to Atomic for the "after-afterparty". Fond memories include Taro dancing around in his gino outfit...that was pure humor.......unfortunately, Atomic also shut down in the early 2000's.
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