Music

The Ten Most Influential Clubs in North America

Posted by bumpershine on

Wavves at Bowery Ballroom (07/15/09)
Wavves at Bowery Ballroom
Photo: Tim Griffin (more)

According to Billboard, these are the “10 Most Influential Clubs in North America”:

10 Most Influential Clubs in North America
1. Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
2. 9:30 Club Washington, DC
3. The Troubadour West Hollywood, CA
4. The Empty Bottle Chicago, IL
5. Metro Chicago, IL
6. The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
7. Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA
8. The Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC
9. Showbox at The Market Seattle, WA
10. The Music Box Los Angeles, CA

You won’t get any argument from me about the no. 1 spot, but it’s kind of interesting that Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles each have two clubs on the list, when NYC (arguably the live music capital of the US) only has a single entry. Obviously, there is a lot of subjectivity at work here, but notable absences from the list (IMHO) include the Bowery’s other three marquis properties, The Mercury Lounge, Music Hall of Williamsburg and Terminal 5.

Check out the list of Billboard’s 25 Top Grossing Clubs in North America after the jump.

These are the top-ranked clubs in North America based on box-office data reported to Billboard Boxscore by concert promoters or venue representatives for events that occurred this year from Jan. 1 through June 1.
…
25 Hottest Clubs In North America
1. The Joint / Hard Rock Hotel
2. 9:30 Club
3. Club Nokia
4. House Of Blues (Atlantic City)
5. Harrah’s Stir Concert Cove
6. Harrah’s Horseshoe Riverdome
7. Harrah’s Cherokee
8. Harrah’s Horseshoe
9. Knitting Factory (Boise)
10. Caesars Circus Maximus
11. Knitting Factory (Spokane)
12. Park West
13. Knitting Factory (Reno)
14. La Zona Rosa
15. Edmonton Event Centre
16. Glass Cactus
17. Flames Central
18. Stage AE
19. Harrah’s (Atlantic City)
20. Sound Academy
21. Bluesville at the Harrah’s Horseshoe Casino
22. L’Etoile Banque Nationale
23. Kool Haus
24. Starlite Room
25. Antone’s Nightclub
[Billboard.com]

Also, conspicuously absent from this list is Terminal 5, which according to Pollstar, took the No. 3 spot on the 2010 list of “Top 100 Worldwide Club Venues”.