by Myrle Lamarch on I don't want to fall down this rabbit hole again. If Alice in Wonderland is a characteristic example of "literary nonsense," a style in literature that plays with the conventions of language and the rules of logic via sensical and non-sensical elements...then I would say Wonderland portrays the "club nonsense" just as well. I was dissappointed to put it mildly. I love Alice in Wonderland. I was Alice for Halloween this year. The potential of this club due to the aspect of fantasy, the timeliness of Tim Burton's rendition out later this year, starring a bewitching Johnny Depp as the Mad Hater... instead of making Wonderland rise to the occassion, its possible that it cracked under the pressure. Wonderland was a mix of trashy cheese. The decor was done poorly and even under low light the table seating, bar and carpetting all looked cheap. The costumed employees instead of looking scary chic in goth style costumes, just looked sort of drugged out. I'm not going to get into the clientelle. Bleh. The dj played great music think... Tribe Called Quest followed by Nas and wrapped up with a Lady Gaga remix. The problem was the dj couldn't allow one song to play for more than 5 seconds before switching to something else. Maybe he was late for a very important date... I don't know. Parking is crazy. Make one turn and like playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts, it might be off with your head or onto the 101 or a mile in the wrong direction before an opportunity presents itself to turn around. (There is a parking lot around the corner. Be smart . Park there.) If someone else can come up with a better/cooler/more interesting rendition of the place beyond the looking glass please let me know.
by Karrie Deutsch on Things which I love to do on a Saturday: 1) Sit outside, on the water, in the sunshine, 2) Drink (preferably beer or sangria), 3) Hang out with friends and feel the stress melt away, and 4) Be able to indulge the occasional burger and fries craving without leaving the bar or compromising quality. I only discovered this place a month ago (and my life is already the better for it). It's already been responsible for a sunburn, the sudden re-discovery of a love for Corona (particularly when it's cheap and comes in buckets), and a serious appreciation for pitchers of sangria (I like to think that calories don't count when fruit is involved). I've only been during the day, so I can't speak to the crowd at night, but if you want to do a little people watching, a little helicopter flight technique critiquing, and get away from it all for a while, this is a great place to go. The bartenders are friendly, staff members come by often and unobtrusively to bus tables, and I actually enjoy the fact that there's no table service - I'm not stuck waiting on a server if they're held up, and having to get up and walk and/or climb stairs to get another drink can be a good checks and balances system.
by Christopher M. on Vanguard is a nice club! The interior isn't as posh as other upscale clubs, but isn't shitty either. There is one main room where the headlining house DJ spins, another smaller room in the back playing hip-hop or some other genre of music, and a large outdoors area with another DJ. The sound system is amazing! Someone told me Vanguard was in some DJ magazine and it said it had thesecond most expensive sound system of any club in the U.S. The club does gets packed for big names, making it hard to dance and causing lines to use the bathroom, so that's a bit annoying. Drinks are expensive. $5 waters; $4 beers; $10+ cocktails. Cover is a bit expensive unless you get guest list or buy a pre-sale ticket, then it's reasonable. They have very famous electronic dance music DJs consistently. Mostly progressive/electro house DJs for Giant Saturdays and deep/soulful/funky house DJs for Marques Wyatt's Deep Sundays. People are overall friendly, although some are the typical stuck up LA types. A lot of really good looking people with style. More of an upscale house crowd.
