Three international clubs reinvent the party scene
Le Baron de Paris / Tokyo
Hidden on a quiet stretch in fashionable Aoyama, Tokyo’s Le Baron de Paris is where the highbrow, design obsessed go for a little late night fun. Outside, a glowing neon pink “B” lets you know you’ve found it. Run by a diverse crew, including French graffiti artist André Saraiva and industrial designer Marc Newson, the sexy, sophisticated club draws the same fashionable guests as its sister venue in Paris (think Japanese high rollers and the international jet-set). Looking for something even more exclusive? Book one of the secret rooms in the private, VIP-only Amour Bar for an upscale take on karaoke.
Santos’ Party House / New York
When the New York City rocker best known for the fist-pumping anthem “Party Hard” opens a dance club, all bets are that it’s got to be good. So it should come as no surprise that Andrew W.K.’s Chinatown performance space, Santos’ Party House, is one of NYC’s best places to see a band or dance ‘til dawn. With co-owners Spencer Sweeney, a performance artist, architect and Pianos’ owner Ron Castellano, and Lower East Side nightlife fixture Larry Gold, W.K. presides over the art gallery-turned dance hall with a killer sound system and welcoming vibe. The mammoth multilevel venue and ever-friendly hosts maintain eclectic crowds of models, skaters and other downtown types for live music and cabaret performances. And yes—they party hard.
Blind Date Swingers Club / Berlin
If one thing is certain about Berlin’s Blind Date Swingers Club: you’ll never leave empty-handed. The city’s newest roving party is part nightclub, part swap meet; the price of admission being a homemade mix CD to be swapped so that each guest leaves with a random mix on the way out. Helmed by fashion blogger Zana Bayne of garbagedress.com, the monthly CD exchange party draws a mix of young art and fashion types to top-secret locations around the city (the most recent installment was in a swanky West Berlin apartment), where DJs spin a soundtrack of synth, no wave, and other danceable sonic oddities.
– Heather Corcoran
