205 Club

Profile

With Serge Becker of La Esquina and the Box involved, the reinvention of former rock dive 6s and 8s was bound to be high-concept: The upstairs re-creates Warhol’s Factory via tinfoil on brick, gunmetal filing cabinets under the bar, and faux water damage on the walls and ceiling. On any given day the Warholesque spirit is kept alive by a raised D.J. pulpit populated with the likes of Kid America and Jamal Ali and mismatched vintage furniture filled with fashion folk, Japanese hipsters, and skateboarding chuggers of Colt 45s, here to gawk at transgressive artists like Dan Colen, Ryan McGinley, and Neck Face (who graffiti-ed the building’s exterior). Meanwhile the Purple Group (of Cielo) brings a more Euro crowd to a low-ceilinged, candlelit basement where plywood walls are covered in text from Craigslist personals ads and dark electronica from outfits like Rub and Tug keeps everyone dancing (and cruising) until 4 a.m. — Daniel Maurer

While you don’t need to buy a bottle to score one of the mod chairs or the u-booths, expect to wait at the velvet rope during peak times unless you know which names to drop.