Holocene

Yep, as a lot of people have mentioned the door guy is a complete condescending a-​s-​s. I was in town to meet friends, and had just found out earlier that night my license had expired about a month ago. Another bartender had mentioned it as she poured my second (yes, alcoholic) drink. Now, I get it, it’s expired, but 1. I’m no where near 21, don’t even look it, and 2. I just flew here and TSA didn’t even blink or mention it. So… what the hell, the gov will let me get on a plane through all sorts of security theater, but I can’t get into a emo music concert I had already paid for because that same license expired a month ago?
Hey Holocene management, here’s your one-​star-​review. You want things to improve? Get rid of the idiot – chip-​on-​his-​shoulder – condescending – i’m-better-than-you door guy. He doesn’t belong.

After a year of living in Portland (via LA) I am finally done defending Holocene.
If my mom and grandma lived here, they would go to Holocene and they would
totally fit in.
The security guards act as if they’re working some fancy Vegas nightclub. Theres always a guy that works there snapchatting or taking photos of the line outside as if to post it and make it seem like theres actually something cool happening there.
The bartenders are always rude. Last time I went I ordered 1 cocktail, 1 neat whiskey and a beer and the bartender yelled at me and said each person could only order 2 drinks at a time even though I was clearly ordering for me and my BF. I said fine I would pay for one and bf would pay for the 2 and bartender yelled again and said NO, I couldnt do that. I didnt understand why that solution wasn’t possible. Then he eye rolled and said he would let it go and proceeded to give me a shot instead of the cocktail I had asked for.
Seriously so sick of this place. Anytime everyone said Holocene was lame I defended it. Sure it was hit or miss most days but I hit my limit.
The only time Ive had a good night is when Ive seen a band play here.
The DJ nights are L-​A-​M-​E.

Ordered a shot of bulleit on the rocks, bartender poured it out of a bulleit bottle, and when I tasted it it was cut with cheap whiskey. I went to my neighborhood bar right afterwards to do a taste test. Fuck this place. Don’t charge $ 8 if you’re going to cheap out your patrons that way.

Went here for SNAP 90’s night and had a good time. $ 5 where you can party your booty off to hip-​hop and r&b (although the DJ did sneak in a few 2000 songs and I was probably the only one to know since I’m a hardcore 90’s fan). Plenty of people there but not crowded and super friendly people. The place is big enough that you can dance/​walk around without bumping into people. Age went from early 20’s to mid 30’s for the crowd.
It’s a great place and I love that I can find a place to listen to 90’s r&b. I think it would be an awesome if we could get more DJ’s here for events **coughcoughDJSpinnacoughcough*

5 star for one of the best night club in Portland, I’ve been here few times, there is plants of rooms to dance, the security people are friendly, people who go there are nice, It’s so Portland with nice people. Try to go early to escape waiting in the line, the capacity is 300 people. There are 2 stages, it means you have enough room to shake it up and you can go to any stages you want to. I highly recommend here if you are into dancing.

They refused a group of my friends one Friday night (not Gaycation) because «They don’t do bachelorette parties». Why not? «Because girls get out of control.» Wow, stereotype much?!
So, if the door-​guy ASKS if you’re a bachelorette party, apparently all you gotta do is lie and say «No» because another girl walked in past us as we were waiting to talk to a manager, and she had a plastic crown that said BACHELORETTE on her head. When we asked the door guy about her, he told us, «She said she’s not in a bachelorette party».
I emailed their management about it, and was told that their door guys have discretion to not allow people who might be a liability. Well, a group of 30-​year old typical east-​Portland-​y women apparently somehow equate to a liability. Or a case of discrimination. Either way, it will not be a business I’ll be supporting in the future!

HollaScene!!! Came her on a Thursday night for a Soulection show. I definitely did not experience any of the negatives in others previous reviews.
–Bouncers were nice! Even helped me find my friends after I drunkenly lost them!
–Drinks were heavy!!! And I like Heavy!
–Sound system and lighting was on point
–Big bathrooms and they were Clean!!!
I dig it!!! Don’t think I’d come here for a weekend party, but definitely come back for a small show!

I had a really good time her with my friends while seeing a show! There was a lot of places to sit and the atmosphere was really cool. The bartenders were nice and gave me a generous amount of gin in my gin and tonic haha. They charge a fee for you card if it does not reach $ 10 or something like that, but that won’t be a problem!

Unlike many reviewers here, I did not come to Holocene to get down at boogeytown. That statement alone should make sense of how much I don’t dance, or club. Anyway, I came here to attend The Moth storytelling event. Perhaps it’s not the best review of a club since I wasn’t actually clubbing, but it’ll be a review all the same.
The location was great, perfectly centered in the SE and close to other bars, restaurants, shops, etc. Parking was easy, bike parking available. The staff was nice, though the bar was really slow at getting drinks out. I understand customer service and how difficult it can be, but you literally are a bar. Serving drinks efficiently should be the top of the «To-​Do» list.
The bathrooms are way too small and crowded for the amount of people allowed in. As a woman I will always be prepared to wait in line for the toilet, but the length of the wait at Holocene was absolutely insane. Three stalls for a club of that popularity is a bit ridiculous.
Drinks were good, though well overpriced for what you get, even for liquor standards. Environment was cool, welcome, comfortable, and perfect for the event we were attending. I did not have the luxury of dealing with asshole bouncers, though I welcome the challenge next time! I am woman, hear me roar! ;)
I’ll definitely come back for another Moth, but you won’t catch me on the dance floor. You’d be better off trying to watch a geriatric patient whip & nae-​nae. Come to think of it, that does sound pretty awesome…

The worst. The bouncers in this place are wannabe cops, dying for some form of power and having found a pathetic platform through which to exercise it. Never again. I would select zero stars if Unilocal would allow.

One of my favorite venues. Been going here for years now and really enjoy the selection of music, djs and events they bring to the table. One place I always recommend to friends visiting if they want to pop in for a random show as there is usually something good happening there. Sound system is great & love the stage lighting as well. Some drinks I find to be maybe a tad pricey but overall no complaints.

Went with my friend there and I regret my money was spent in such a horrible place with such a horrible service

This place BLOWS! A disgrace to the club scene and a scam of a business. Advertising themselves as having anything remotely close to what «V.I.P» should be, someone please give this club a reality check. How any of the previous reviewers found them to be «sleek», «trendy» or «fancy» is beyond me.
CONS: Lack of sense of reality, CHECK! Terrible customer service, CHECK! V.I.P. clueless, CHECK! Slow bar service, CHECK! Watered down alcohol, CHECK! Terrible cocktails, CHECK! Awful sound system, CHECK! Subpar DJs (at least for Booty Bassment) CHECK! Inferno-​like indoor temperature, CHECK! Slow service, CHECK! Photo booth scam, CHECK! Unprofessional owners, CHECK!
PROS: The people that frequent this place. I don’t care who you are, what you look like or what you like in life, dancing and partying is something we should all be able to do freely and without any judgment from those who think we should look or be a certain way to like a certain genre of music. Portlanders are awesome for this reason, their openness and friendliness shows all throughout their city and it made us feel welcome among them on the dancefloor at Holocene.
After a terrible so-​called «V.I.P.» experience 15 of us endured at Holocene for a friend’s BDAY, we decided to write an e-​mail to the management staff at Holocene to have them perhaps help us understand the value of what we clearly overpaid for. Being that I’m a professional in the same industry, I understand that any business can have a «bad night», so I figured I’d give them a chance to defend their business and practices before I took to their social media and online pages. The result, no reply. After a week of waiting for a response, Holocene has nothing to show but further blatant disregard for patrons, the service industry and business ethics.
Here’s a «summarized» version of what I discussed in my e-​mail to the «management» staff at Holocene, which they never replied to:
A $ 300 deposit and a $ 150 charge upfront just to book the «V.I.P», plus $ 10 at the door, totaling $ 740 just to get in the door. We are walked far enough from the dance floor that we could no longer hear music. Cattle-​like gate into the tent. Literally a military tent. No other info, no «V.I.P» services provided, no courtesy, no thank you, nothing. That «V.I.P» tent is only a few degrees shy of being a military tent during deployment in Afghanistan. Literally camping lanterns hung from the tent, cheap wooden boxes with a cushions and wooden box for a table. My first cocktail at the cash bar was watered down gin. An awfully long wait at the main bar. «Above human» air and attitude having bartender. 3 pours of Grand Marnier neat, we could not order doubles and could not order «neat». Sipped it on the rocks, ice tasted awful again, liquor was watered down too! I later resorted to ordering the one thing I saw on the back bar that hadn’t been cracked open. Disgusting «craft» attempt at a «slushy» cocktail. Nonexistent «V.I.P» service, unbelievably poor circulation of air through the building, «V.I.P» sauna tent, watered down drinks, awful sound system, poor song transitioning, DJs dropping the energy after every song with silence, highly over exposed and virtually invisible $ 4 photo booth photo.
It was only amazing people of Portland, in that club, that night and our phenomenal group of friends that made this experience for us all. We hoped to make amends to our situation and give Holocene another chance in the future. Would have loved nothing more than to be able to recommend this place to our friends all over the world as we all come from different places and all walks of life.
Needless to say, an eternally sour experience and scam on Holocene’s behalf is all that remains. Don’t fall for their game.

Let me start of by saying that I had to BEG to get this «VIP TENT» reserved. I called multiple times to make sure my name was down because I had not gotten a confirmation by email (as promised) of any sort.
Was I aware that this was a TENT you ask? Yes. I was told it was a «swanky tent with couches and lanterns». Well, they didn’t lie, it indeed was a TENT MINUS the swank, with lanterns; Coleman fucking lanterns. Was I aware that there was no bottle service, what I wasn’t aware of was that there was ZERO service. No one to monitor the area, no one to check to make sure our drinks were full, no one to even ask how our night was going. And don’t even get me started on how many dickwads came in asking for blow. SORRY not sorry bro, but we aren’t bout’ that bump life. I also asked specifically if being in this tent, we would still be a part of the party, answer was yes but it clearly was a NO.
Luckily for my amazing friends, family and ever-​so-​welcoming Portlanders, we made the best of this night regardless of the watered down drinks, poor service, joke and rip off of a photo booth, sub par DJ, horrible sound system and middle eastern sticky ass heat. It’s a little sad to say that the highlight of this night was The food truck Gyro (which actually isn’t sad at all, awesome customer service, delicious.)
All in all, don’t waste your time with this joint. I’ve worked in this industry for years and am now a business owner myself. I couldn’t imagine being a bartender and treating people the way they treated my group of people who traveled from all walks of life

Rate a club? Sure why not. Holocene is always a good time! If you’re not careful you might have to wait in line outside, but plan better, get in a bit earlier like 10:30pm and the rest of the night will fly by. I LOVE THE MUSIC HERE and they serve nice draft beer, which is not common for nightclubs. The crowd is pretty much everyone from hipsters, breakdancers, traveling businessmen and your neighbor. I don’t get down much anymore but when I do, you’ll find me doing it here.

First: the Portland club scene is frightfully lacking. Holocene is arguably the nicest space for hosting dance music events– high ceilings, good amount of seating that’s still close to the action, lovely décor. The vibe here depends largely on the night. I have had great times at Bubblin’, Ecstasy, Cock Block, and Atlas (now defunct) parties.
My only beef is that I wish the bookers would expand a bit. It’s one of the only spaces that can also hold enough people to turn a small profit if you are bringing an out-​of-​town headliner, but all the slots are locked down tight by the mostly local crews.
I wouldn’t go hang out there any old night, but I’m always stoked when a party I want to attend is happening here.

Please fire that bearded idiot at the door!!! He was so disrespectful to my friends and me! We waited like an hour to get in and payed 10 bucks each and he kicked us out over some bullshit. I’m a long time customer and I got booted and this fool wouldn’t even let me get my jacket!
We were all outside before we payed to get in and he had the nerve to tell us to «back the fuck up».
Holocene is cool overall but lil snitch ass employees like this guy are bound to ruin it!!!

SNAP! on Friday nights are awesome! We came to my home town for a night to hang out for my best friend’s birthday. If you want a laid back, 90’s kinda night go to Holocene!
This isn’t a super fancy place, more like a warehouse feel. You can dress casual and Sassy’s is not too far down the street. hehe.
One of my friends is a promoter and she got in contact with DJ Docadam who was also spinning that night.
Big thanks to Docadam for showing us a good time =)

«Warehouse Lounge» is the best way to describe this place. It’s spacious and cozy, all at the same time.
I’ve been coming to Holocene for years. My sins are painted all over the walls of this place. I’ve waited in line for shows, I’ve skipped the lines to get inside the venue, i’ve danced on stage with DJ Assault (the king of booty rap/​ghetto house), i’ve slapped an old flame in the doorway on the side of the building after he confessed his feelings for me. I’ve held a girlfriend’s hair back while she was puking in the bathroom at this place. I’ve chilled here by myself. These are all memories spanning 2006-​now, and they’re all good, bittersweet or not.
Now in it’s current year, i’ve been frequenting this club mainly for the Booty Bassment installments every first Saturday of the month. For this particular club night, shit gets SWEATY. Imagine a bunch of hipster-​ish white kids crossed with hip hop club kids packing the dancefloor, grinding to the likes of 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne. They also serve booze slushies and the recipe varies for every club installment — last Saturday was vodka, strawberry, lemonade, and black pepper. I don’t usually do icey slushy drinks, but that was downright DELICIOUS.
Aside from the long waits for drinks on weekends, Holocene is a great club to both roam and perch as a patron. Plenty of little spots for people to chill, two dancefloors for people to occupy, a stage in the back for white girls with dreams of being a rap video extra to cut loose, and there’s even a cash-​only bar in the backroom to cut down on the wait at the main bar.
I love Holocene. The giant ceilings and low lighting make it one of my top club destinations in Portland. I would say if I actually had to wait in line for over 10 minutes, I don’t think i’d frequent it as much, but I don’t, so there. ;)

Oh god, I love this place.
Yeah, and i’m not afraid to admit it.
I mean, who can say that they’ve been here for 90’s night and Afro-​beat night — and loved ever single second of it? Me. It’s kind of magical here. (Seriously). You can come here and dance/​move your heart out… and nobody will care. At all.
It’s on the East side — so it’s a bit hipster. It’s authentic, gritty and straight up fun. So don’t expect to roll up and see folks in tight dresses, button up shirts, and bling bling. It’s not like that. Wear whatever. Shoot, my friend walked in with sandals, shorts and a t-shirt…and it was just lovely.