Nightclubs/bars in or around Austin ..please tell me which are good? (Houston: city hall)

[amnesia623]

Hello -

We will be moving to Austin in the summer but visiting there in March. I would like to get a jump on the job hunt and networking and was curious what are the good bars/nightclubs in and around the area?

I am an 18 year veteran of DJin in clubs and also work in marketing.

Thanks

[jobert]

I would line up a job before you move. I don't think there is a big DJ scene in Austin compared to Glendale, Michigan, or even Des Moines (from your previous posts). I would say that we aren't close enough to the gulf for day-trips either. I would try Houston. Better club scene by far.

[centralaustinite]

Definitely more DJs in clubs in Dallas and Houston!

[tongpa-nyi]

Agreement here with other posts. Austin's club scene pales in comparison with Houston in particular. And it's not just because Austin is "small." For a metro area that will soon reach 2 million, our DJ and club choices are pathetic. This is especially hard to explain when you consider the demographics of Austin --- the highest percentage of clubbing-aged people (18 to 35) of any mid-to large metro in the country!

Maybe the problem is that the younger people here lack the money to generate much demand for good nightlife. Or maybe it's just that live music dominates the music scene so much here that it crowds out the DJ alternative...?

I went to see Ferry Corsten at a club on 5th St. a few years ago, at a time when he would have had thousands coming to see him in Houston or Miami. The place was nearly empty and they had decided to stop charging admission because the club desperately needed bodies inside. It was a great gig, too, but because Ferry wasn't one on the radar of rave kids, the show failed. Err... check that... maybe it's because rave kids are usually too young to get into clubs that the show was empty?

[centralaustinite]

Yup, live music dominates the music scene here. School carnival = live music, grocery store = live music, airport = live music, fridays at city hall = live music, college parties = live music, party at the senior center = live music, political protest = live music.

DJs just aren't on the radar of most folks here. The singer/songwriter is king in Austin! It is part of what makes Austin unique!

And the DJ scene is part of the uniqueness of other places. So often I see people who completely take for granted unique things about their city or region, they assume that they exist everywhere and then are angry when the new place doesn't have X. They thought that X was generic and available everywhere, only to find out it was more special and unique than they realized.