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Article Excerpt
The international trend for large, corporately owned nightclubs that are similar around the globe is changing and homogenizing the public drinking cultures in many large cities. To better understand this phenomenon, we examined the different types of clubs in Toronto, Canada. The typology is drawn from qualitative and quantitative data compiled by trained observers who conducted 1,056 nights of unobtrusive observations in 75 high-capacity nightclubs. Ten club "types" were constructed using the genre of music as the primary distinction: Dance, Superclub, Rave, Lounge, Upscale, Pop, Salsa, Reggae-Rap, Alternative, and Live Music. These types roughly approximate different subcultures, and provided a means to explore differences related to age, gender, ethnicity patterns, and alcohol and drug usage, as well as the apparent functions for which patrons frequented the different types of clubs. The predominant pattern of the current club scene in Toronto is one of large, corporately owned clubs frequented by a youthful multiethnic clientele, with most club environments characterized by slick decor and heightened sexuality.
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The urban nightlife of young adults has changed dramatically over the past few decades. The dance music scene that emerged in the 1980s has continued to grow, evolve and fragment according to music genre. The term "clubbing" is used to describe the experience of attending nightclubs, dance clubs, or lounges, and commonly involves dancing to music played by a disc jockey (DJ), "scoping" (i.e., appraising other patrons to identify prospective romantic/sexual partners), socializing, and choosing from a wide array of intoxicants to heighten one's pleasure. Describing the club scene in the U.K., Malbon (1999) noted that club culture has become the dominant form of entertainment for "twenty-somethings" and is now a major cultural industry. Internationally, clubbing is well established as a major feature of the nighttime environment on all continents (Bellis et al., 2002). Despite its scale, however, this phenomenon has been the focus of relatively little research (Webster et al., 2002; Malbon, 1999).
The emergence of clubbing can be traced to the disco scene of the 1970s and the techno-rave scene that emerged in the late 1980s in several U.K. and U.S. cities, with many events taking place in illegal warehouse settings (see, for example, Measham et al., 2001; Webster et al., 2002; Malbon, 1999). From these underground origins, the scene has evolved into a highly commercialized and lucrative industry as it has moved into permanent legal locations, primarily nightclubs. The club music has also diversified and fragmented into various musical genres, such as "techno," "house," "acid jazz," "jungle," "ambient," and "trance" (Malbon, 1999). Malbon (1999) noted in his ethnography of the late 1990s clubbing scene in London, U.K., that dance clubs were most often distinguished by the different genres of music they offered, although large clubs may have a variety of music genres represented within a single venue.
A similar pattern in the evolution of clubbing has occurred in Toronto recently. The "entertainment district" (known locally as "clubland") contains a large concentration of nightclubs, restaurants, and shops in an eight-square-block district of renovated warehouses in the city core. This is where the most popular and distinctive nightclubs in Toronto are found. More than 30,000 people can be in this area during peak times, frequenting more than 100 clubs, bars, and restaurants, some with licensed capacities of 2,500 customers or more. These clubs are noted for their slick and stylized decor, with elaborate light shows, provocatively dressed go-go dancers and bar staff, strong security presence, and popular DJs. This proliferation of nightclubs within the central core of the city is similar to the pattern observed by Chatterton and Hollands (2003) in several cities across England.
As noted by Hollands and Chatterton (2003), the increasing corporate influence and control of the nightclub industry in the U.K. may be viewed as a reflection of the broader changes in the global economy and the impact of globalization on the urban entertainment environment. They conclude that the traditional drinking environments are being displaced by "gentrified nightlife environments that consciously sanitize and exclude the poor and disenfranchised ... reinforced through subtle demarcations based around dress and style codes, interior design, drink prices, and entry requirements" (Hollands and Chatterton, 2003: 369-370). This description appears to parallel recent developments in Toronto, where the historical tradition of taverns and pubs serving local needs is giving way to mainstream and commercially oriented nightclubs, lounges, and bars that target rich, young urban adults.
A number of key factors can be identified in the development of the entertainment district in Toronto. In the early 1990s, Ontario extended the serving hours until 2 AM, which provided a greater opportunity for dance-related entertainment in licensed premises. However, the limited number of Toronto dance clubs that then existed were located in close proximity to residential neighborhoods, which led to numerous complaints concerning the loud crowds and booming sound systems (Hendley, 1999). Spurred on by these complaints, city politicians were forced to find a new home for the dance clubs, and found the opportunity in numerous abandoned warehouses in the city core, which historically housed the garment industry. During this same period, local promoters began staging rave dance events in unregulated warehouse spaces. These events were immensely popular and soon led to Toronto's gaining the reputation of having the biggest rave-culture scene in North America (Hendley, 1999). However, a number of tragic Ecstasy-related deaths at these rave events led to tough regulations imposed by the city that required these events to be held in licensed nightclub venues, based on the logic that preventing fewer unregulated raves would result in fewer ravers, less drug use, and less likelihood of overdoses. This underground scene peaked in the late 1990s, coinciding with the start of the explosive nightclub growth in the entertainment district. Other factors that may have contributed to the growth of the entertainment district include the close proximity to large American cities, with visitors from Detroit, Chicago, and New York taking advantage of the lower drinking age and favorable currency exchange. The move toward large techno clubs in the entertainment district has also been accompanied by corporately owned groups of clubs to address the various market segments as well as the proliferation of the club prototypes across a number of cities.
Another recent development in urban nightlife has been the evolution of techno music. The DJs are often regarded as performing artists in much the same way as those who create the music. The sheer volume of sound is an important difference between "club sounds" and other music, as it literally amplifies the music's presence in your bones. Jackson (2004) describes club music as eclectic and inventive, with each musical style offering a subtle alteration in the experience of clubbing. Jackson (2004:27) notes: "As you pass through the door of a club the boom of the bass slaps you in the face. It is a wakeup call to the fact that you have entered an intense sensory environment, where music, rather than existing as a background hum, has leapt to the forefront of perception."
The international trend for large, corporately owned nightclubs that are similar around the globe is changing and homogenizing the public drinking cultures in many large cities. To better understand this phenomenon, it is useful to examine the different types of clubs that operate within this context.
Existing typologies related to licensed premises
The use of typologies to differentiate bars and create meaningful categories for comparison have been employed by a number of researchers over the years. Cavan's (1966) ethnography of 100 bars in San Francisco in the mid-1960s used function--how patrons use the bars that they attend--to create a four-category typology to demonstrate how behavioral norms varied for different types of drinking establishments. The four types identified by Cavan included:
1. "Convenience Bars"--a setting where drinks can be purchased or consumed when the need or desire arises. These included many of the downtown bars, as well as areas where there is an influx of large numbers of people (e.g., in the vicinity of a football stadium).
2. "Nightspot Bars"--the appeal of these establishments focused on the entertainment offered: stage shows, live music, and dancing. The entertainment rather than the alcohol was the primary draw for these establishments.
3. "Marketplace Bars"--these included "pick-up" bars (for patrons hoping to meet someone with the intention of pursuing a romantic or sexual encounter) as well as bars where commercial transactions of sex, drugs, gambling, and stolen goods take place.
4. "Home Territory Bars"--these bars were grouped together on the basis of the shared characteristics of the patrons (e.g., class, race), including neighborhood pubs and skid-row taverns.
More recently, Chatterton and Hollands (2002) developed a generalized typology of "nightlife spaces" in large U.K. cities that included the following:
1. "Mainstream" spaces, which denote the proliferation of corporately owned bars and clubs in the city centers that promote "upmarket" identities and specifically target rich groups such as professionals and high-level service sector workers. These mainstream bars and clubs, characterized by smart attire, commercial chart music, and pleasure-seeking and hedonistic behavior, have become the dominant mode of young-adult participation in urban nightlife culture.
2. "Residual" spaces, consisting of the traditional pubs, ale houses, and market taverns that were a common feature of city centers but are now in decline or disappearing altogether due to the changing priorities of nightlife operators.
3. "Alternative" spaces, which cater specifically to youth cultures and tastes and are primarily organized around identities such as ethnicity, sexuality, or politics, or are related to style or dress (e.g., rock, goth, hip-hop).
Both Webster et al. (2002) and Malbon (1999) differentiated nightclubs by genres of music, with different forms of music attracting different groups of patrons. In his description of the clubbing scene in late 1990s London, U.K., Malbon (1999) notes that clubs were most often distinguished by both clubbers and listing sources according to musical type and night of the week--e.g., techno, house, jungle. Malbon concedes however, that clubs are far more likely to offer an eclectic blend of music within a single club than just one choice. For example, some rooms may be set aside to play house or techno music, while others play jazz or drum 'n' bass. Primarily relying on interviews from club-goers themselves, Webster et al. (2002:12) noted that preferences in the choice of drug among patrons were associated with sub-genres of clubs based on music. For example, "techno" music was associated with Ecstasy, amphetamines, and ketamine, while patrons of premises where "garage" music was played were more likely to consume alcohol, cocaine, and Ecstasy.
In the present paper, we develop a typology of nightclubs in Toronto, Canada, and compare the types identified (Cavan, 1966; Chatterton & Hollands, 2002). Using this typology, we describe the nature of clubbing nightlife in terms...
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