368 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

^ Al Capones was. But it was also once where the sports pub is now at the Ingy (Super 8).

Scandals was the Lyles Place Club.

Max Headroom, great times.

[Holden West]

For you young 'uns, the Max Headroom club was in the basement of the Strath. The entrance (now gone, I believe), was on the south side opposite The Falls lot. It was modelled after the popular (at the time) TV character. Dark, industrial, lots of corrugated metal and of course, yellow and black warning stripes everywhere. I think it was only open less than three years.

[Scaper]

Holden...that vowel swapping compent is gold hhahaha

I still want to know what Julies is now.

[Holden West]

^It's changed names so many times I don't think they even bother naming it anymore. Like that anonymous laundromat near the grocery stores on Haultain Street or that restaurant on the second level of that building on Douglas at Pandora--it has two names--Blue Nile and something else--plus a re-opening soon sign.

[renthefinn]

It sure is. You can't fool the Lord by merely swapping a vowel.

Sweetwaters was a popular dance club during the 80s. It targeted a slightly older demographic. It was downstairs in Market Square--the entrance was beside that Mexican restaurant. I don't know what's there now. It changed hands several times. I remember a short stint as a swanky jazz club later on.

Good memory there, VHF. I forgot about Club Cal. Catered to a rougher crowd if I remember. The Brass Rail was more rock n roll with cover bands like Roxxlyde.

Ah, now I remember Al Capone's. It was in the Ingy hotel up on Douglas.

Sweetwaters went deep into the early 2000's, then it was called deep for a while, not sure what it is now.

Bar Victoria, turned into 'the joint' I think, and the jungle room, what's it called now?

Sugar used to be Wastelands.

[VicHockeyFan]

Sweetwaters is now the Social Club.

That Cats Cradle articel says Len Michaux ran it.

Isn't he the prinicpal of Esquimalt High now?

[Holden West]

Interesting--it must be him. He's mentioned in a 1967 issue of the Martlet edited by Martin Segger. Small town, this.

[Galvanized]

And the club @ Lyle's Place had alot of names. It was pretty popular with the Top 40 crowd, from what I remember. It was a total meat market. Not my style.

It was far from top 40. Scandals was the only alternative night club through the 1990's. They had speaker dancers that looked like the "Suicide Girls" and played a lot of electronic music none of the other clubs played. The guy who owned Scandals also owned the country night club on Discovery. He downsized and shut down both clubs and opened Evolution in place of the country club and the Scandals crowd moved in. Evo carried over the original Wednesday 80's night from Scanals which I think is the longest running 80's night in Victoria. Too bad they didn't carry over the dancers!

[Jada]

Are you sure it played electronica and alternative every night? Because if it had, I would have been there. I know that on the weekends it was radio crap.

[G-Man]

I was there almost every sunday and Tuesday for the $5 triples. It was alternative every night. What year did it close again? 1998 - 99?

[G-Man]

What was the name of the club under Swan's Hotel. It was a jazz club for awhile. i used to go there a fair bit but can't think of the name. It is kind of bizarre to think that there is an abandoned club under that place today.

[VicHockeyFan]

Are you sure it played electronica and alternative every night? Because if it had, I would have been there. I know that on the weekends it was radio crap.

It did. I lived above it for over a year.

[Galvanized]

^Did you live in the Odeon theatre? I remember Scandals having skylights.

On Saturday nights they played rave/underground electronic stuff with some 80's/90's remixes, they also played stuff like Underword, Chem Bros before they were considered mainstream. They also had tv's in the floor and a big video screen that used play wierd videos and movies like Clockwork Orange. Evo used to have Scandals reunion nights, I have a CD from one of them somewhere, I think it says 1990-99.

[Galvanized]

What was the name of the club under Swan's Hotel. It was a jazz club for awhile. i used to go there a fair bit but can't think of the name. It is kind of bizarre to think that there is an abandoned club under that place today.

I remember the jazz club too. That place has had many names over the years. When I turned 19 it was called Al Capones. I heard it was a gay bar for a bit. I remember seeing an ad in the paper about a year ago saying it was for lease.

[VicHockeyFan]

^^ I lived in a suite in the alley above the shoe repair place. Big, ornate wood door led to steps up into my studio pad.

[Jada]

^^ I lived in a suite in the alley above the shoe repair place. Big, ornate wood door led to steps up into my studio pad.

I had friends who lived up there, and they were the guys that owned Whitebird. If I remember correctly, they also had the Sweetwaters spot for a very short while just before it became Lyle's, and had dj's there. But this place was very shortlived.

Maybe I am thinking of a nightclub that was there before Scandals that played Top 40.

[Galvanized]

Cool, I never knew there were apartments in that alley!

Whitebird tried something after Scandals was there but they had liqour license problems from what I heard.

[VicHockeyFan]

Cool, I never knew there were apartments in that alley!

Whitebird tried something after Scandals was there but they had liqour license problems from what I heard.

Just one illegal apartment... so after 6PM I could create all kinds of havoc.

[Jada]

Then the Whitebird guys lived up there too. They used to have massive parties in their space up there. It was a good party spot, with its own private stairway and all the big rooms with interior windows. Good times.

[Mike K.]

The Whitebird guy now runs Jungle Room.