Slake

I have patronized this club hundreds of times over the last 15 years. When it was Downtime, then Rebel, now Slake, sadly no more. It just isn’t worth the hassle. My girlfriend at the time and I arrived for a Xris Smack /​SMACK Halloween party with presale tickets in hand. Assuming the band we wanted to see was going to go on around Midnight, we arrived around 11:30pm and were told the club was at capacity and would not let more people in for about an hour. This was upsetting as we had bought presale tickets.
We did eventually get in halfway through the set of the band we wanted to see. The party had been promoted as being throughout the entire club, but this was also not the case as there was a completely separate party downstairs. The biggest laugh was the fact that even though very few people from our party were seen exiting, the space was only about half full. So they clearly they were not at capacity.
I attempted to contact the club on Facebook about the incident, but received no response.

Decent venue for music, sound could have been better but the room was not over crowded, easy to get a drink from the bar and the crowd was decent (not douchey/b+t, or pretentious)… at least for the event I was there for. The drinks were pretty terrible. Overall it was a weird spot with a eclectic mix of folks.

I love that this is an unassuming and totally unpretentious club — I came in wearing super casual clothes and my favorite (and very comfortable) combat boots, and had a good time! The rest of the crowd seemed pretty chill, and the music was good enough to get your groove on! There are also a couple human cages elevated on the dance floor — and if no one is in it, then you’re free to go as you please! I tried it out, and it was a pretty cool experience — let’s just say I never thought I’d be dancing in a cage on top of a dance floor.
2 stars off because drinks are obscenely expensive here! $ 19 for a Blue Long Island… served in a plastic cup?! That’s so crazy that it doesn’t even matter that the drink was crazy strong! Do yourself a favor and get drunk elsewhere before coming here. Also the coat check lost my beloved infinity scarf, which I still miss to this day :(Be careful with your belongings and make sure all your important things are with you.

Really cool looking venue. However, they sold me stale wine.

This might be the worst bar in NYC. If you’re a dough bag you should go here though. They are coat check nazis. Don’t you dare walk in here earring a jacket. Mandatory coat check. Terrible vibe.

Terrible drinks! Asked the bartender to top up my drink as it was very weak (his pour was very short), I literally couldn’t taste the vodka, he said he couldn’t as he was ‘on camera’ I asked him to make me a fresh drink. He refused. It was a $ 13 plastic cup of soda water and ice. Place was fun with a good vibe but don’t go there if you like a quality drink.

I was very excited to go to Slake to see one of my favorite bands The Walking Tree. Upon arriving we were informed that the doors were going to open at 7pm instead of 6:30. Okay, not a problem. We come back at 7, still aren’t being let it, so we just wait. At around 7:30 we are finally let in, and I go in and honestly it was a cool atmosphere. The show didn’t start for another hour, and the staff was just so rude and inconsiderate. We go into the music hall and it’s just really gross and grimy. The mix of the music was horrible, they might as well have put Hellen Keller behind the soundboard, she would’ve done a better job. Definitely not going back regardless of the band.

First Unilocal review for a bad experience. There was no cover fee, the guards checked our IDs, bags, told me I couldn’t bring my water in, which I then poured in the trash can. Next, we got patted down. I don’t understand why that is necessary or even okay at all if I don’t even always get it when boarding a flight.
After we got in, around 11 p.m., the music was blazing but there were nobody there — not exaggerating, only the staff and my friends. I thought to myself «okay I’ll just get some alcohol and maybe this isn’t so bad» — what a bad call. I got a whisky sour that was simply mixed together with only a lime wedge for $ 9. Oh and it tastes absolutely terrible. At this point I’m done with this place, so I finished the drink and walked out after arriving 10 minutes ago.
Overall, the dance floor looked quite spacious (maybe because there were nobody there) but I’d strongly recommend to proceed with extreme caution as described above.

The entrance to this club is very sketchy, but the inside isn’t too bad. It has a very underground, industrial feel which may or may not be your thing. I personally wasn’t a fan. The drinks are way overpriced, if I remember correctly it was like $ 30-​$ 40 for two redbull and vodkas. I mean seriously?
The sound system is banging it’s one of the better ones I’ve heard at a club and I liked the music they were playing, but when we went it was empty. Maybe it was just a bad night, but the combo of pricey drinks and no people was not a good one. My friends went here for New Years and they said they had a blast, however I would expect a club to be packed for New Years.

The crowd is really cool the security is kinda annoying on the drinking if you’re not 21 so I wouldn’t try them unless it’s really busy. But after all it was a good time, I definitely suggest going if you’re seeing an artist you love.

Freaks galore, super fun wif tons of eye candy rave type club. $ 50 entrance fee so be warned but you can dress up in any manner of elecric daisey zoo carnivale brony attire your little hearts dreams up. No doubt filled wif Parsons and Pratt kids. Just a guess tho. Better than the upstate warehouse raves Ive been to. This place is super duper loopy fun!!! Solid djs. Gross bathrooms. Cute bronys.

Came here for a trance event. It’s small and underground. There are different rooms but I was in the main one which was a decent size. My main issue is that it is like way too bright up in there.
Drink prices are your typical NYC prices– I’d recommend pregaming. It’s a small venue so you can get pretty close up to the stage. Mostly not-​so big named DJs but the music is on point.
Although I heard this was the same owner as webster hall, I didn’t get that feeling at all. Webster hall is def more of a clusterfk and 10x bigger.
One of my top music venues in NYC? probably not
Worth coming to again? Maybe, depends on the who’s playing

I’ve been here a few times, and I’m going again tonight.
I’ve had a great time dancing and enjoying the music every single time without a fail.
This is not one of those clubs you go to be seen. Chill vibe, no pretentious people.
Like many Unilocalers have said, the music is on point.
The first floor has the main dance floor, which isn’t that big. That hasn’t proven to be an issue for me because I’m not trying to do cartwheels while tipsy, and I’ve long ago accepted the fact that there will be inevitable squishing once in a while no matter where you go.
There are cages that are used by the dancers, but your everyday dance enthusiast can help themselves up the stairs and go nuts if they wish! Feel free to dance like a weirdo on the dance floor too. I always, always make sure to incorporate my most cringe-​worthy move every 30 minutes.
The bar area has this gorgeous chandelier and has seats up against the wall giving a more loungey feel in the room. The bartenders are friendly, and while of course, very unsurprisingly, mixed drinks are a little steep, I got two options of cup sizes for my Blue Long Island; I chose the bigger one (because the small one was sooo tiny) and it came out to $ 15 and it was SO strong but delicious that I didn’t mind the price too much in the end.
The second floor is also more loungey, and has coat check. You can see the main dance floor, but I’ve personally never chilled there.
I’d go back, and like I said, I am tonight. :P

From the same people that brought you Webster Hall, comes a brand new club with a brand new name with the exact same interior and the exact same crowd!
Do you ever have nights where you’re completely hammered, was somehow able to get through the line ok, and end up being a sloppy mess all night? No? Well, tell that to the dance-​goers at Slake.
While the DJs here tend to play better music and are more fun and entertaining, the crowd sucks. Due to the tiny size of the dance floor, you’re invariably going to be touching parts with someone else, whether you want to or not. It doesn’t help that half of these people are falling all over you in their drunken stupor.
Also, when this place isn’t completely packed, it’s just completely dead.
However, given their better selection of music and DJs, I think I can deal.

A DJ friend of mine is a fan of Low Steppa so we went to see him this past Saturday. I had always wanted to check this place out, as I hear they play mainly deep house on Saturday nights. This would attribute as to why the place isn’t as packed as other venues but I wouldn’t use the word empty. It’s also why I am a fan of this place. I enjoy Pachas, but there’s times where it becomes the typical club. Everyone packed like sardines, most guys there to creep on girls, most girls there to parade themselves, and few are there to actually enjoy the music. This is a place to come to if you want good vibes and sound. Everyone is here to dance, enough said.

Club Slake, Rebel, Webster Hall are all the same club or at least all owner by the same person. But the Slake Club has much better Quality of Music.
I originally wanted to hit up the bOb Bar Lounge because of all the good things that I heard about it. Really cheap Cover charge ($ 5 after 10pm) a really Awesome DJ who knows how to give the crowd a pleaser mix it up (Hip-​hop R&B, Reggae, 90’s, as well as Old-​School Beats. A place that has a Fun crowd, young age range 20’s early 30’s great Drinks both nonalcoholic and alcoholic which all sounded Great but my only disadvantage was the fact that the bOb Bar Lounge has a very small compact place, similar to a Studio Apartment.
Because of that my Guests and I decided to take my chances and go to Club Slake. Club Slake isn’t all the great either let me just say that right now. Clubs aren’t what it used to be 10 – 15 years ago. Rebel /​Slake had there own locations but when the economy hit or get bad I guess the 2 clubs merged because its under the same owner.
Arriving at Slake me and my Guests weren’t searched at all. What! Coming to think about it I don’t even think anyone was searched. We were told to pay a $ 20 cover get stamped and walk in. When me and my Guests walked in I saw only 5 people on the Dance floor. I was very confused. I stepped out and asked one of the Bouncers where is the real party he said that it’s upstairs «Ladies Night». I said take me there. My guests and I had to pay another $ 20 to go upstairs. We were all Hustled because Ladies night was Garbage too. You had Ladies night on one side and had and you had a Techno theme Downstairs. The place was so empty and desolate. The dress code strictly states no Jeans Sneakers Hats but, yet upon entering the club you have people coming inside with Jeans Sneakers and Hats.
It was a good thing that I left that place early even though I had already paid because I received a Fat Ticket on my Windshield. Read the signs when you Park because they can be very very confusing.
Even though our Club night was Garbage we ended it off well by going to Central Park, Brooklyn Heights and Park and Madison walking around and all going home. Next time I’m in the City maybe I’ll hit up the bOb Bar Lounge or go to another Borough to Party.

Why do my friends keep wanting to come here? I’ve been here three times with different people, at various hours of the night. Each time, the dance floor was mostly empty and the music was boring. The few other people around were either doing listless gyrations that maybe they thought passed for dancing, or standing around staring creepily at those in the first group.
One time they made all the guys in our group pay a $ 10 cover, even though it was dead inside. Actually, they originally wanted $ 20 but our birthday girl got them to reduce it.
The bartenders were nice enough, and the drinks were cheap for a club. However, I’d honestly rather pay more at a better scene, or just NOT club at all and go chill at a dive bar.

Slake is formerly Club Rebel and run by the same owners as Webster Hall. I’ve been coming to this place for years and then I stopped for a while because they changed their format to be more hip hop based for a while but since they renamed it as Slake Electronic music is back on the menu again.
The layout is pretty much the same as when it was Rebel and I like it. There are two floors which usually throw separate events in each. The downstairs is split into the main room and what I like the call the Chandelier room (It probably goes by another name though). At times there is a separate DJ in both rooms and they each also have their own bar which helps overcrowding at one particular bar. The main room is dark and painted black and used to have some fun little dancing cages in it and a couple of couches. The stage is slightly elevated and located all the way in the back so it can get a little hard to navigate closer to the stage when it’s packed but the room isn’t so big that your vision would be obstructed very much from the back.
The upstairs has a more lofty feel to it. They used to throw some fetish parties up there every so often which were also pretty cool. I actually kind of prefer the set up in the upstairs room versus the downstairs eventhough the downstairs has more of a gritty underground vibe in the main room. The bartenders are always friendly and engaging. I can’t remember ever having a bad time here but I usually only go for specific events rather than just on random nights. Parking is also usually not too bad in this area when it comes to the city.

Weird. The layout here is totally weird. I came once to see Vicetone in May and I was so lost the second I got in. They had people entering on the second or third floor, and when I finally got through security, I was thinking why the place was so empty. Turns out we had to walk down multiple staircases to get back down to the main floor. And those weren’t just stairs after another, it was looping from one set of stairs to the other. I felt like a lost cat by the time I hit the main floor.
The main floor itself is also incredibly small. It’s super narrow, and there’s close to no breathing room. At a certain point, my friends and I felt so claustrophobic that we had to escape to the streets for some air for a good 15 minutes. The good thing about a small dance floor and setup though is I was actually able to see the DJ even when standing in the far back. In addition, there’s a lot of empty tables and couches to sit on when away from the main floor, or when taking a break on the other empty floors. Vicetone also killed it that night, so that was a plus. Good music, and a much better venue than Webster and Pacha at the end of the day for electronic music lovers like myself. Book more DJs Slake, and I’ll suck it up and visit again, and again, and again.

Vibe-​wise, Slake is the halfway point between Webster Hall and Output. Which means it’s just about perfect.
The best things about it:
* GLASSES of water. This is the first NYC club I’ve been to that will give you a glass of water for free. You’d think Emperor Bloomberg would’ve signed free water into law.
* Bleep bloops that aren’t your typical, poppy electro-​house garbage
* Small, intimate stages
The ever-​so-​slight-​below-​5-​star things:
* Coat check was somewhat of a trainwreck. They’re a new club, so I can’t be too hard on ‘em.
* Low production value on the show visuals. I’m not one for that, but figured I’d note it in case you care. More lights ‘n’ things than Output, but don’t expect your mind to get blown.
Side note: I went on NYE and the bathroom lines were LONG. A staff member grabbed me out of line, escorted me to a one-​stall men’s room, and stood guard outside the door. LOL/​awesome.