Asylum Night Club

Of all the goth scenes I’ve been to (SF, San Jose, Santa Cruz, and Sac), I love the Sacramento goth scene the best. This club is weirdly situated in that it is nestled in a huge building structure that seems to be a mall! There is an outdoor patio. It was a cold Christmas night, and I couldn’t understand how the skimpily dressed girls with exposed midriffs and fishnets could be out there.
My boyfriend’s sister and I checked out this club when we were bored one Sunday Christmas night (last Christmas or the Christmas before). There were several levels of dance floors, one of which is the general floor and the other is a raised platform with rails. There are lots of lounge areas with couches and cushions. There were quite a lot of people who were not goth who came in for dancing anyway. We spent an hour or so there and took photos. People were generally friendly and don’t give off a pretentious air. We frequently touched up our makeup and hair in the bathroom, making small talk with the girls who come in. Then we stomped/​twisted our way to the dance floor again.
What’s funny is that the DJs pretty much played most of the songs on my mix CD I made, consisting of And One and others. So could I be a DJ too? I will be definitely be back to Asylum when I’m in the area!

I love Asylum the new location is awesome Bryan Hawk is great! the outdoor area is really beautiful and set up well for socializing. The heaters during cold weather are so good you don’t need a jacket. The cover charge is very cheap, and the drinks are normal priced. Benny one of the bartender’s always remebers everyons drink, name and always has a smile and full of energy. He’s the one I always go to. I wish they would OPEN THE OUTSIDE BAR they would make more money from the large group of smokers. If you want to increase the numbers of patrons start promoting and your stand should be Asylum is the only Goth club in the area the next closest one is in San Francisco. Promoting the club should be easy if cost is a worry I know People that will promot for free because we love Asylum.
To me Asylum is more than a club, it’s my home, it’s where I met my husband, my friends, where I found myself again, it’s my one night a week to let go and dance and feel happieness.

this is a pretty nice venue I like the music everyone here just dances and has a chill time only seen two fights happen (one of which I was involved in) the whole time I’ve been going kinda sucks that the changed it to 21 and over but still really nice place to hang out and have a good time with friends

I started going to Asylum when it was still over at The Rage/​Barcode location. There were more pros involved in the move than cons, in my opinion.
1) Location, location, location. The Park Ultra Lounge is more central to Sacramento as a whole than the Barcode location was.
2) Ambience. While the Barcode wasn’t too shabby, the Park is super nice. Fire pits, heat lamps, couches, cabanas, padded benches, clean bathrooms… it’s just nicer to be there.
3) Socialization is optimal! No matter where you went at Barcode, it was loud. And if you went too far out onto the second patio, it could get really cold. At The Park, you are nice and temperate wherever you go on the patio, and conversations can be had at a reasonable volume.
4) The sound system is superb!
Two cons off the top of my head: 1) The deejays aren’t spinning a lot of the same music they were at Barcode. Now, this may be simply due to location shift and trying to feel out the new demographic, but I liked the music the way it was; 2) The dance floor sucks, frankly. Too small and too flat. I miss the catwalk and the cage from Barcode. When you’re wearing 6 inch heels, have a couple of drinks in you, and want to dance your booty off, you need a little something to hold onto. Plus, I really liked the appeal of being elevated somewhat above the throng.
I think it’s an awesome club, and I hope it will continue to thrive in midtown.

AWESOMENESS! I always have fun here at this venue.
THE SIT-​REP (Situation Report)
When ASYLUM first started back Sunday Nights in the early 90’s, I actually came to enjoy it’s sister-​event on Saturday nights known as «Way Bitchen 80’s.» That event disappeared — but a lot of us disappointed clubbers gravitated to Sunday nights to continue with ASYLUM. Were we seduced at that time by DJs Bryan Hawk and Arnold Schwartz. We haven’t left since!
Nowadays with DJ Bryan Hawk at the helm, you can could count on great music and an awesome dancing environment. Since I’ve been attending ASYLUM for the better part of 18 years, I’ve seen a strong ongoing movement for this event these last couple of decades.
THE SET-​UP
I very much enjoy the Dark Alternative, Gothic-​Industrial, Dark Wave 80s, and EBM musical offerings that DJ Bryan Hawk and KJ Groth spin for the dance floor.
Truly wonderful mixes of the best European EBM and Industrial groups, and the occasional DJ extraordinaire performances from such notables as DANIEL ASH (Bauhaus) and GINGER FISH (Marilyn Manson).
CROSS-​CUTS!
What’s really nice about the synchronicity of Industrial-​Clubs in Northern California is how they can work as a team and switch it up. Bryan Hawk often DJs at both Death Guild @ DNA Lounge and at Strangelove @ Cat Club, both in San Francisco.
In turn, Deejay TomasDiablo of Strangelove and DJ Decay (aka David King) of Death Guild will be found guest DJing at ASYLUM. So I-​80 in a sense is really truly a «Music Highway» letting the best go back and forth between our favorite clubs.
SHOUT-​OUTS
The DJs — such as Bryan Hawk, Kj Groth, and David VanDyke — and the Wong Family — who first hosted ASYLUM at BARCODE, and now continue to host ASYLUM at THE PARK ULTRA LOUNGE — should be commended for bringing such notable talent and keeping such a dynamic weekly musical dance event going.
THE LOWDOWN
One of the best and foremost Industrial-​EBM-​Gothic-​DarkWave dancing clubs on in the country.

the best club experience i have ever had!

First of all, this is an excellent club experience for people who aren’t used to that type of social environment.
I absolutely LOVE this place! It’s a lot more focused on the social aspect (HUGE outdoor patio with comfy couches and a firepit) than the dance aspect (there’s plenty of room to dance, but not made to stand out like it was at Barcode), but for a social person like me, that’s Perfect!