Clubs in de New Beat-jaren

Article : Excerpts from "Small practical guide to the New Beat/Acid House clubs in the kingdom of Belgium"
Author : Eric Rozen
Origin : Fabiola magazine issue 32 - February 1989
Translation : the webmaster
(Webmaster's comments are between "<" and ">")

LE VIZIO : located at Gentse Steenweg 293 in Zellik. Resident DJ : Daniel. Very good DJ and an exciting atmosphere with a cosmopolitan crowd. A mixture of New Beat and more classic tunes (like Blancmange, New Order). At its best on Saturday around 23:00.
LE GARAGE : is in the Duquesnoystraat in Brussels, near the Central Station. Resident DJ's : Ihla and Dimitri. The only place of the capital that's daily opened, however, it's filled with tourists. A lot of House and New Beat.
LE FONTAINAS : at the Fontainas-square in Brussels. Resident DJ : Fred. Boystown all the way with a pinch of drag queen presence to top it off. Mixture of Acid and New Beat.
LA GAITE : at Wolvegracht, directly opposite the Munt-square in Brussels. A mixture of New Beat, House but mostly Acid. Resident DJ : Eric. You will find this guy there every single weekend, it's the only venue in Brussels where all the new dance-trends are followed very closely. The joint itself is already a treat : an old theatre repainted in modern colours that guarantee an excellent light show. The crowd is a bit young but very cool, the staff is very friendly and in my opinion the DJ remains being the best in the genre. All the latest material is guaranteed to end up on the turntable immediately after release. Recommended time to visit : Saturday after midnight.
NOBO : at Kaasmarkt 10 in Brussels, formerly known as Scala. Only on Thursdays underground-acid. Resident DJ : Paul. Here a special mention in the margin : Mad Max in the Stone Age! Indeed, this has nothing to do with Scala anymore. The style, clientele and especially the music are very different. So Thursday has become acid-night at Nobo. The crowd is comparable with the one of Le Beau Bruxell (at Boudewijnlaan 19), a bit older, bi-lingual and a bit posh, and the atmosphere is extremely cool. Furthermore a recommendation for the most pleasant doorman of the country. Every Friday and Saturday they perform a drastic switch : then the DJ will play about everything possible between Siouxsie and Psyche 70.
BOCCACCIO : at Solariumdreef 7 in Destelbergen (a few kilometers away from Gent). On Sunday-night a mixture of acid, acid new beat, but especially a lot of new beat. Resident DJ : Olivier. Nobody can leave out this palace. What would a person be without the Boccaccio nights ? To describe the place is barely necessary, to name it the "supermarket of New Beat" would be very appropriate. The Bocca makes a difference by playing classic electro-wave tunes from the early eighties : The Normal, Fad Gadget, Crash Course In Science and other Human Leagues. Avoid this place when Thursday is a public holiday. Instead send your worst enemy : queueing two hours to get in, another hour at the cloackroom and a massive amount of 3,000 wriggling and shoving people will be its share. But, seriously, Boccaccio is much like Mecca : you need to have been there at least once in your life. The price for a drink is reasonable, the music is O.K. and you will always find at least 2,000 other people partying. Therefore the chance of meeting an old friend is not all that small either. One last word of advice : leave the building before 6 A.M. to avoid the early morning traffic jams from people going to work. <At this time the name of the club has been taken over and the place is located both in Halen (near Diest) and in Oostende (the Beach Club), you can visit their current website. At the location of the original Boccaccio in Destelbergen they've openened The Temple, which is still being managed by the owners of the "old" Boccaccio club.>
FIFTY-FIVE : at the Kuiperskaai 55 in Gent. Resident DJ : Eric. The main junction for Acid in this kingdom. The furnishing is very tasty and gives a personal touch to the whole, at least compared to other Acid-joints in the country. The public there are wild and really go for it, and there's a great atmosphere until at least 8 A.M. The Acid played there mostly comes from the underground-regions.
HIGH STREET : An interesting but distant venue situated in Brasschaat <it's actually at St.-Lenaartseweg 3-5 in Hoogstraten> (direction Antwerp, afterwards follow to Breda). DJ is Serge Ramaekers (the guy behind the Confetti's). Excellent choice in music, especially on Sundays. In my humble opinion one of the most fun places to visit. <you can visit their current website>
LA ROCCA at the Antwerpsesteenweg in Lier. Decadent both in concept as atmosphere and they don't hide it. Every Saturday the place to be for the really die hard New Beat clubbers. Resident DJ : Marc. <you can visit their current website>
L'ETCAETERA : in the Kiekenstraat in Leuven. Resident DJ : Ronnie (yes , "big" Ronnie, the guy who started this whole New Beat-phenomenon). Brand new and quite beautiful inside with all sorts of additional attractions.
Also available are DOCKSIDE near Hasselt <has changed its name to VERSUZ>, CHERRY MOON in Lokeren <you can visit their current website>, DELIRE (gay club) in Kuurne and DISCO REVU in Mechelen.
To wind up : BLITZ and JUAN in Charleroi, MACKENZY <could be spelt MACKENZIE> in Bruges and COCOON in Namen <a.k.a. Namur>.