Because sometimes you just need a break from the 20,000-pound chandeliers, lighting rigs designed to look like spacecraft and $40,000 bottle service.
Yes, the Las Vegas Strip features some of the most lavish, over-the-top clubs in the world populated by superstar DJs and their six-figure paychecks. But if all that glitz, glam and $9 Red Bulls aren’t really your thing, Vegas also boasts a vibrant indie dance club scene.
Ready for a quick primer? Check out these six spots.
Electric Mushroom
518 Fremont St.
Ever wonder what it would be like to have your pupils surgically replaced with a couple of tiny black light bulbs and then whisked away to a Day-Glo fantasyland of incandescent fungi?
Wonder no more, for this is exactly how it feels upon entering Electric Mushroom, where everything glows like a firefly’s abdomen.
Yes, those are Alice’s legs dangling from a purple ceiling lamp alongside psychedelic visuals pulsating across screens above the DJ booth and elsewhere, the sounds here ranging from mainstream EDM to reggaeton-heavy Latin music nights.
The cocktail and food menu continues the mushroom theme, from the Truffledelphia cheesesteak to the Microdose Lite beer, because who wants to plunge down the rabbit hole on an empty stomach?
Substance
450 Fremont St.
Big names, (relatively) small room, that’s the vibe here, where EDM notables like Gareth Emery, Kill the Noise, Yellow Claw and AC Slater have performed in the compact, luminous room on Neonopolis’ second floor.
The decor is minimalist in this open, 18,000-square-foot space where low ceilings bracket high times.
By contrast, the audiovisual flourishes are decidedly maximalist: A massive, 100-foot-long video wall looms behind the DJ booth, brightening the room like flashes of lightning illuminating a dark sky. The sound system packs 200,000 watts that reverberate all the way down to your heels, conjuring an almost ticklish sensation.
Prepare to be overwhelmed.
Bauhaus Vegas
115 N. Seventh St.
Night owls flock to this new downtown after-hours spot, which caters to dance-till-dawn types who may start at other clubs only to finish strong here.
Multicolored lights illuminate this shadowy space, pulsating behind cloudlike formations on the ceiling, where myriad disco balls gleam like stars in a night sky where dawn never comes.
The recently opened club is the sister location of Texas’ popular Bauhaus Houston, and like its predecessor, it primarily caters to the indie techno and house scenes.
Pro tip: Many of the shows are free before midnight-1 a.m. by RSVPing at bauhauslv.com.
We All Scream
517 Fremont St.
Ice cream, like beer, makes pretty much everything better.
In a total coup for smiling, both are available here at the rare nightspot that also serves up frozen delights courtesy of Sorry, Not Sorry Creamery.
But really, said delectables are just the cherry on top of this always jumping multilevel club with a pair of outdoor dance floors, including a rooftop patio.
The walls swarm with spray-painted murals, making We All Scream feel of a piece with the Fremont East Entertainment District’s vibrant street art scene.
And if you’re turning 21, this is the place to celebrate: Birthday boys and girls get a free bottle of vodka or tequila with an advance reservation at weallscream.com.
Club Ego
1000 E. Sahara Ave.
Why does Club Ego have such a big head? Well, it’s one of the few off-Strip after-hours spots where you can get down until the sun comes up.
Doors open at 2 a.m. and close six hours later, right around the time that more domesticated party animals are just sitting down for breakfast.
Chandeliers cast a pink hue over the chic, sleekly designed room, which is primarily soundtracked by house and techno DJs.
“#CanYouKeepUp,” a neon sign behind the bar reads, doubling as the club’s unofficial motto.
Well, can you?
Oddfellows
150 Las Vegas Blvd. North
So, how does this self-anointed “dance club for people who don’t like dance clubs” live up to that billing?
By being the most come-as-you-are, anything-goes spot of its kind downtown — or anywhere else in the city, really.
Come here and get gritty amid an industrial, playfully sinister atmosphere enhanced by images of everyone’s favorite goatlord, Baphomet, alongside exposed brick walls and a loose, dancehall-of-the-damned vibe.
Oh, and the bathrooms are the most heavily graffitied lavatories this side of the Double Down.
The sounds here vary thanks to a broad range of themed nights featuring everything from pop to nu metal, emo to ’80s jams.
If the music’s eclectic, so is the crowd, which is the whole point of Oddfellows: All you have to do to fit in here is walk through the door.