C/O Yoohyun Park
Stringent restrictions on clubs and gathering spaces have changed student nightlife
Nights on the town replaced by Netflix parties, social gatherings constrained to a Zoom screen — those have been the realities of the university social scene for the last year. The spaces once meant for dancing and screaming at the top of your lungs just to find your voice gone the next day have disappeared over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hole left by where these social spaces once stood is felt not only by students, but also by business owners and the greater Hamilton community.
Restrictions and guidelines for nightclubs, music venues and entertainment establishments have been especially stringent over the course of the pandemic, largely due to concerns over the ability to enforce mask-wearing and social distancing. As a result, a number of local nightlife hotspots have had to creatively rethink the way they operate and do business within the Hamilton community.
“Nightclubs weren't even able to open up — we're lucky because we had seating and an in-house food menu. If you didn't have seats, you weren't able to open until July 2021, so we removed all our couches from the VIP area and moved bottle service onto the dance floor. It turned into a seated party,” said Dash Majithia, manager of Zen Lounge.
Brodie Schwendiman, owner and operator of The Casbah, a live music venue on King Street West, echoed similar sentiments in regards to the ways they’ve adapted their business to meet demands of ever-changing restrictions.
“From an operational standpoint, the main way we have changed how we interact with the community would be that we have a patio now . . . People know Casbah as a place to go to see music bands or listen to a DJ. Most people wouldn’t go to The Casbah for dinner so it required a lot of extra promotional energy,” explained Schwendiman.
Though the transformation of these spaces into mainly food establishments has allowed them to continue operating given the less stringent restrictions on restaurants, there’s been a disappearance of the floors once meant for dance, crowding and heat islands of energy.
The limited operations of these gathering spaces has negative ramifications on the student social scene and larger Hamilton nightlife.
“Why do people want to go to the nightclub? To talk to other people, to dance — all of the things that were not allowed. [At Zen Lounge] you had to sit in your group that you came with. There was a max of six or eight people per table. You weren't allowed to dance. You weren't allowed to walk around and mingle,” said Majithia.
There finally seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of McMaster students’ return to campus. However, having been away from campus for so long, there is now an entire generation of undergrads who have never had a ‘normal’ undergraduate social experience. And, those social experiences aren’t always easy to find — especially right now.
Schwendiman went on to describe that, even before the pandemic, there were difficulties for small music venues like his in reaching a student audience. Non-campus-affiliated groups had a more difficult time advertising events geared towards students in the areas around campus and the variable commute to off-campus venues added a barrier to access for many.
However, nightlife establishments have now almost completely lost their student client base. In a niche market where business owners often came to know their regular student visitors on a first-name basis, the undergrad and student crowds have been especially sparse as of late.
“I feel like we've lost touch with all these groups in the last few years because the people that were coming to us to do their parties and stuff moved on. The kids never came back,” said Majithia.
On the brink of a full return to campus for the Winter 2022 semester, students back in the Hamilton area can slowly find their way into the hustle and bustle of student life and with it, the nightlife of the surrounding areas.
“Finding the time is sometimes challenging, but what I would say to students is that I encourage them to carve out time to do their own research about Hamilton's cultural scene. Online, there's all kinds of places to learn about what's going on. Social media is such an important thing now, so it's very easy to access what's going on just by surfing around,” said Schwendiman.
Despite the difficulties posed by restrictions that nightlife establishments have dealt with in the face of the pandemic, business owners and the Hamilton community are excited to welcome students back to the area. Take a night off and see what it means to experience the vibrant social spheres of the Hamilton community.
By: Nina
It’s a Saturday evening and I’ve been sitting in my room all day claiming that I’ve been studying. My friends and I decide to go out. We could go to Hess and pay $10 to listen to 99.9 Virgin Radio, or we could slip beneath the earth’s surface and sizzle on the molten hot dance floor at Sous Bas.
Sous Bas is a bar located at 145 Main Street East in Hamilton. It first opened its doors this June, but started in 2015 as a pop up party series on Rebecca Street. The pop ups were started by Erika McMeekin and Kelly Seagram, who wanted to create a high quality and inclusive dance floor.
It is difficult to describe Sous Bas in one sentence, which speaks to how it is more than just a bar. The environment serves as a safe space for individuals who identify as anything. It is a place where being unique is not simply embraced, but encouraged.
Walking into Sous Bas is like walking into a house party of a close friend. Warmth lingers in the atmosphere with the personalized scented candles placed delicately around the room. Comfort is inevitable with the huge couches positioned for your friends and you to catch your breath. The environment is reminiscent of childhood sleepovers in your parents’ basement, but with an X-rated twist of sexy dance tunes.
Dancing allows me to forget daily problems and feel control on the dance floor. I don’t want societal woes like racism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, sexism and body shaming to be associated with my nights out.
In Hess, I am on hyper alert with these issues and unable to enjoy myself. At Sous Bas, I literally lose myself in the music and forget where I am.
Due to my own experiences in Hess, I have been alienated from typical club scenes altogether. When I used to go out, I would not drink too much as I wanted to stay alert and ready to defend myself against predatory men. I never wore heels because I wanted to be able to run in case I needed to.
After experiencing Sous Bas, I realized that these were not required anxieties for a night out. These anxieties only came to me because of the constant discomfort I felt in Hess’ hegemonic masculine spaces full of homophobic slurs, aggressive cat calling and large absence of racial minorities.
The environment is reminiscent of childhood sleepovers in your parents’ basement, but with an X-rated twist of sexy dance tunes.
A large part of my reasons for feeling safe at Sous Bas is the prevalence of kind and supportive staff. In many clubs, bouncers are prone to power tripping and aggression. Sous Bas does not look to scare off partygoers. It expresses that it is a judgment free zone, and hate will not be tolerated. As someone who identifies as a woman, it is important to have supportive staff members that will be reliable incase of trouble.
Aside from feeling safe, I also feel able to be myself at Sous Bas. I can wear whatever I feel for that night’s look, whether that’s seven-inch heels or black sneakers, a bomb-ass jumpsuit or leggings and a t-shirt. It’s a place where my armpit hair can flow freely on the dance floor and the sparkles on my face can glisten from the majestic disco ball. The DJs are all energetic and spin musical styles such as house, hip hop, R&B, reggae, boogie, disco, funk and soca.
Sticking with importance of diversity in the club scene, Sous Bas hires a multitude of DJs. They look to hire women, people of colour and queer DJs as much as possible as these individuals are often absent from club culture. When I am on the dance floor, I feel energized and inspired watching women curate amazing sets.
Sous Bas has a lot to offer to its partygoers. To be certain the theme for the night fits who you are, you can find descriptions of what each DJ will be playing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday on Facebook and Instagram @Sousbas. Bring your friends, a good attitude and most importantly, a towel to wipe up all the sweat from dancing.
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By: Mitali Chaudhary
Nestled in the loft of an Irish pub just off of the loud bass and strobe lights of Hess Village is a throwback to simpler times: The Arcade Bar. Retro, cozy and stocked with an impressive collection of classic arcade games, it offers a fresh take on Hamilton nightlife.
Arcade’s humble beginnings mirror those of its soft-spoken owner, Justin Kavanagh, who moved to Canada from Ireland ten years ago, and whose passions include restoring classic cars and motorcycles. Inspired by his admiration for the 70s and 80s, Kavanagh interestingly coined the name of the bar first, and then realized that including the arcade games that were such a significant part of his childhood would create a niche in the club and bar scene that Hamilton has yet to experience. Offering a selection of craft beer, cocktails and food cooked by his wife, it delivers a different, but fun way to spend a Friday night.
The concept of an arcade-bar fusion is not Arcade’s only defining quality. As an alternative to clubs, which allow for a grimy floor and scant conversation, the bar creates a more mellow environment where dancing and drinking is still encouraged, but also a place where real connections can still be made with others.
This might be a hint at a shift in the wants of bar-goers and the newer cohort of students that are flooding to McMaster, and Hamilton. As Kavanagh notes, “There seems to be a major move towards smaller, independent, food-based [places] … it seems that the next generation doesn’t want those giant clubs.” Indeed, the incredibly loud, packed nightclubs of the early 2000s might be on their way out, as young adults crave a more intimate space. Arcade’s unique setup, and resulting unique demographic, makes it a strong alternative; an interesting mix of twenty-somethings to sixty-year-old regulars comprise the usual attendees, which according to the owner, makes for very interesting conversations.
The bar’s distinct character is also playing a part in bringing some attention to the smaller businesses on George St., normally passed up by Hess regulars. “Nobody really knows this strip,” remarks Justin. This might be changing soon however, since the entire area has been displaying obvious signs of a transition, as many new pubs and restaurants are opening along the road, and quite a few of the clubs on Hess are rumoured to be in the process of being sold or shut down.
It’s clear that Arcade is one of what is definitely soon to be many that cater to a change in interest in the nightlife scene, though it is currently the only “barcade” in Hamilton. “People want something slightly different to do,” as Kavanagh puts it, and The Arcade Bar offers just that.
Photo Credit: Mitali Chaudhary
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