Buckhead Nightlife:Better than ever or the same or worse than before?

[ATLTJL]

I think it's every generation's duty to feel like they lived it up better than the generation below them. Of course, it's largely true because the generation before me didn't have AIDS and DUIs weren't that enforced. Having said that, I think we carved out a niche for ourselves with the rave culture and all night parties that they didn't have.

I'm too old to know the hot spots now. But I work with people in their early/mid 20s, and I asked them what the cool place to go is. They told me they just go to bars once in a while. And I said no, no, where do you go when you want to get dressed up and go shake your behind on a dancefloor and party.....if one of your friends was getting married, where would you take her for her bachelorette party? (yes, I work with mostly women. And I remember from my going out days always seeing the women out in their wedding veils).

The answer I got was....."hmmmmmm, now that you mention it, there really is nowhere like that. Atlanta night life really kind of sucks."

So either I'm right about night life having dried up, or I work with the lamest young women ever.

So I took my question to my gay male friends. The people who thanks to them, I can tell you all about Backstreet, Red Chair, Blakes, and even Buddies/BJ Roosters. Their answer? "hmmmmmmm, the gay scene really dried up and got awful. I guess Blakes is really the only decent place left."

The only way I can think of Atlanta's night life as having improved is we do seem to have a lot of pretty decent live music venues and a lot of quality bands come through. So if you're into live music, I think this is a pretty good spot. If you're into getting dressed up or getting a little wild, I don't know if Atlanta really is an ideal place. Of course, I don't know, maybe this is national trend....but I visit my friend in LA's south bay, and downtown Hermosa Beach still has what I would call a very decent little night life scene.

[stillinthesouth]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Actually, uptown Charlotte has a much better night life district than anything Atlanta currently has.

Many smaller cities do. I've even started to hear a little buzz that Birmingham is starting to develop a neat little scene of its own....even though that's hard for me to believe!

I can tell you that I went to Asheville recently and their scene slaughters ours. We may have places that are better than any of theirs, but they figured out how to put a lot of it in a central district.

I actually think midtown is the best venue because it has the physical space to allow for it. I don't know if Edgewood has enough buildings to support a critical mass of night establishments to create a fun district.

Buckhead is dead and gone, but it's interesting to hear arjay with his NIMBY attitude say maybe I should have it in my backyard. Actually, this is precisely what Duluth is trying to do. With the addition of Eddie Owen Presents, the city has recognized the need to have a place people can go after shows, so they have tried to encourage anyone who wants to open bars or pubs. The trouble is, little Duluth so far has been too far out or lacks the space to attract development, but the laws have been made amenable to it if anyone wants to try to start it up. Of course, we also have a police force that is proactive and will never let things get the way Buckhead did. I, for one, welcome vitality to our downtown even though I know it will probably never happen.

Yup, there are a lot of smaller cities that have much better nightlife districts than Atlanta. A comment I hear from visitors I take out is that Atlanta is a city with a lot of "little pockets" of activity. A big city really should have some larger nightlife districts than Atlanta now has. Midtown seems to be the best opportunity to have an area with a large variety of options, and I like the fact that it's not one dimensional -- there are a bunch of restaurants, and I'm hoping the retail that was promised for the "Midtown Mile" will truly materialize some day.

It would be nice to have more density in Atlanta.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I think it's every generation's duty to feel like they lived it up better than the generation below them. Of course, it's largely true because the generation before me didn't have AIDS and DUIs weren't that enforced. Having said that, I think we carved out a niche for ourselves with the rave culture and all night parties that they didn't have.

I'm too old to know the hot spots now. But I work with people in their early/mid 20s, and I asked them what the cool place to go is. They told me they just go to bars once in a while. And I said no, no, where do you go when you want to get dressed up and go shake your behind on a dancefloor and party.....if one of your friends was getting married, where would you take her for her bachelorette party? (yes, I work with mostly women. And I remember from my going out days always seeing the women out in their wedding veils).

The answer I got was....."hmmmmmm, now that you mention it, there really is nowhere like that. Atlanta night life really kind of sucks."

So either I'm right about night life having dried up, or I work with the lamest young women ever.

So I took my question to my gay male friends. The people who thanks to them, I can tell you all about Backstreet, Red Chair, Blakes, and even Buddies/BJ Roosters. Their answer? "hmmmmmmm, the gay scene really dried up and got awful. I guess Blakes is really the only decent place left."

The only way I can think of Atlanta's night life as having improved is we do seem to have a lot of pretty decent live music venues and a lot of quality bands come through. So if you're into live music, I think this is a pretty good spot. If you're into getting dressed up or getting a little wild, I don't know if Atlanta really is an ideal place. Of course, I don't know, maybe this is national trend....but I visit my friend in LA's south bay, and downtown Hermosa Beach still has what I would call a very decent little night life scene.

I agree there should be a wider variety but I disagree.What about Opera(I despise),CosmoLava,Compund
Sutra,Reghn Havanna Club?
If you like hip hop there seems to be countless options also.