Winnipeg Nightlife

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Jamie Hall has been a major figure in Winnipeg’s Nightlife Scene for many years now. In addition to having his own company which has thrown countless socials and events, Jamie has also been involved in Concerts, TV Shows, Politics and even many local nightclubs themselves.

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All of this experience has given Jamie a perspective that very few have on the inner workings of the nightlife scene. Below is an article recently written by Jamie himself. It provides an in depth view of what is currently going on with Winnipeg Nightclubs, problem and threats they face, true stories behind some of the publicity and advice that everyone can use to make the scene better.

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Thank you Jamie for letting me re post the article. Please visit Jamie’s personal website for further reading: http://www.jamie-hall.com/

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Nightclubs are great places to be entertained, enjoy a night out and get away from the stress of the real world. If you and your friends know how to handle your liquor you can have the time of your life in a nightclub. With all of the positivity you’d think that people would be happier about the scene but something strange is happening in Winnipeg. The more clubs advance in the city, the more negative people get.
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Granted, there has been some nightclub violence over the last few years but in comparison to the violent incidents in other cities at clubs as well as the violence on the streets of Winnipeg and in homes, clubs are actually quite safe. So why is everyone so quick to jump on a club in Winnipeg if something happens outside of it on the streets? This is the first question.
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With low fares to Las Vegas and more exposure to social media, showing people what clubs are like in other cities, people expect more out of Winnipeg nightclubs. The public looks at Vegas and looks at Winnipeg and asks the question, “why can’t Winnipeg have any clubs like that?”
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The greatest piece of negativity we experience is the common misconception that nightclubs here are “bunk”, “crappy” or the suggestion that “they’re all the same”. The last question I will attempt to answer is why people feel this way.
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VIOLENCE
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A fist fight breaks out in a nightclub and everyone has come to expect guns or knives to follow. With the hundreds of thousands of visitors to nightclubs in Winnipeg each year you’d think that we could be a bit more positive. In recent memory there have been seven incidents involving these types of weapons. Of those seven:
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- 1 was inside of a club (The Empire).
- 1 was blocks away from the club (Vivid).
- 2 was outside of the club and the shooter weren’t allowed in earlier in the night (Alive and Metro).
- 3 were outside of the club and actually stemmed from an altercation inside (Dylans and Desire).
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There is no question that the media fuels much of this fire. I witnessed this first hand with the “Vivid incident”. The media should be ashamed and be fined heavily for their part in slandering a great establishment. When a shooting happens down the street from a home do they stand outside of the home and focus in on the address? They certainly don’t. They go to the scene of the shooting.
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The media can’t be blamed entirely for the negative turn however. The City of Winnipeg Police and the government have to look at better ways of regulating nightclub security and violence. The City has a strict rule that they do not Police nightclubs because they are not “hired guns”. This mentality has to change if the City expects to move forward. Owners need to have an open door policy for the Police and the Police need to recognize that when there is alcohol there is a chance of incident.
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The North End has a higher crime rate than all other areas in the City so the Police spend more time looking at solutions to the problems and they spend more time Policing the area. The Police should not have to stand at nightclubs all night but if the public concern is so high then why don’t they look at better communication practices? Economy drives a city and if nightclubs are left to suffer because of an influx of violence in the city then there is a terrible standard set. The statistics state that there are more guns on the streets of Winnipeg than ever before but yet when a violent incident breaks out at a club, $12 per hour security guards are expected to put their lives on the line. Those who cause incident in clubs laugh when club personnel tell them the Police have been called because they are fully aware that it will be hours or days before the Police come.
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There should be better training put in place for security and a better line of communication between heads of security and the Police. This seems to be getting better recently but the government and Police need to gather the club owners and managers, hold a press conference and announce and official hard lined change in policy. Then when the policy is tested politicians have to step up and not leave the clubs out in the cold.
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The public must also recognize that given the obvious void between violent and non-violent nights inside of clubs in our city the hype is far too over-blown. On any given day you can find a great number of people with the opinion that the media sensationalizes details and many will even go as far as saying they don’t trust local media. Then an incident at a club happens and everyone is ready to demonize the club because the media told them that the club was involved or at fault. It is irony at it’s finest.
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The situation can be improved but the security personnel of Winnipeg’s nightclubs should be commended for their service to the citizens of Winnipeg given the little assistance they receive from the city as a whole in comparison to other markets. The statistic don’t lie. Clubs are safer than what the media might want you to think and if we all did some thinking on our own without the assistance of a TV or a paper positivity could prevail.
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VEGAS COMES TO WINNIPEG
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We have all heard the phrase which was coined by Blush Ultraclub; “A Vegas style nightclub”. Stereo and for a small time, Whiskey Dix used this marketing strategy. The current ownership of Vivid is calling the club a “Manhattan style club” and The Estate was using the term “Hollywood” to sell the room. Many other clubs reference other cities where the level of clubbing is much higher than in Winnipeg. This is a dangerous trend because what it has done is create an expectation that could not possibly be achieved in Winnipeg.
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The first, and the most serious of issues is that when a person travels from Winnipeg to Las Vegas, they are on a high. It’s time to let loose, vacation and go after some of those “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” moments. No one living in Winnipeg is on the same high at home that they are on when they visit Vegas or NYC.
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This clearly addresses the vibe but why can’t we have the decor or the level of entertainment that these cities have? The first challenge is cover charge. Our average cover is either $4 or $5. When the jump went from $4 to $5 in many Winnipeg clubs there was quite the push against the move. What people don’t realize is that if you look at clubs in Winnipeg and compare them to many “locals clubs” in Vegas that charge similar cover the room and experience is very similar. You can’t get LAX for $5. This is a business after all and at $5 cover to build a club that costs over $1 Million is impractical and financial suicide. The simple math behind the scene is that if we want multi-million dollar clubs we need to pay more.
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The reason our club entertainment is lacking is because it is very hard to get a celebrity to Winni-where. Celebrities are expensive and in Las Vegas they are already partying so why not get $10K to do so? To get those same celebrities to Winnipeg is an uphill battle at best and given that our city is not an entertainment mecca or world-renowned region we should not expect very many celebrities to visit our sleepy little hamlet.
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ALL THE SAME CRAP
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A popular misconception is that all of the nightclubs in Winnipeg are the same and that main similarity is that they are “crap”. This simply is not the case. Here is a list of the major clubs in Winnipeg and their unique features:
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- Republic: Many large shows and a social atmosphere that accepts everyone and has no bias.
- Whiskey Dix: A country meets Top 40 vibe with the city’s craziest patio.
- Stereo: A video orientated club with 360 degree video walls.
- Vivid: Winnipeg’s most intense light show.
- Cowboys, Silverados, The Pal: Low brow country orientated establishments.
- Blush: A large two level, high class venue.
- Alive: A more mature atmosphere with personal staff.
- TYC: Winnipeg’s largest club.
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There are of course clubs that need to find an identity like Monty’s, mybar and The OC. Despite having great people behind them these clubs fail to have direction and do come off quite similar.
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The offering and selection of clubs that we have in this city is actually quite varied. If they were all available along a strip like Vegas or Montreal we might see this but because they are so spread out there is a detachment.
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THE ONUS
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There are some challenges facing the city and the scene. The first challenge that needs to be addressed is the number of minors getting into all nightclubs. A buck is not a buck. All club owners need to demand the government produce stronger ID and club owners have to challenge IDs more often when they think someone is under age. You cannot have a successful adult scene if you are condoning minors in your establishment just because “the year is right”. What you are doing is allowing the scene to sink.
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The second challenge that must be addressed is communication. Success nightclub scenes don’t work at destroying each other. Successful nightclub scenes have owners and managers that communicate and strengthen the scene together. There is a sort of coalition if you will and I have witnessed them first hand. They communicate on everything from what promoters should be allowed into clubs to who should be banned. If this scene is going to survive cabin country, blizzards, violence, negativity, the media and everything else Winnipeg throws at it, the lines of communication must open up in a new way. The greatest challenge to this would likely come from Canad Inns and their corporate attitude but the ivory tower only stands if the loyal subjects stay loyal. Downtown is already on its way to making progress in this regard but the communications must be streamlined.
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Lastly the onus is on you, the patrons and the citizens of this city. If you feed the negativity you are only hurting the scene which you have come to love. There are many reasons to commend the club scene in Winnipeg and it’s time that people start recognizing this. Dollar for dollar the value of our clubs is quite high. We have lost some great rooms because of negativity and if we continue we will surely lose more. If you’re looking for the Vegas vibe you won’t find it in Winnipeg. If you want safer clubs you have to first give respect where respect is due and then look to the government for improvements. If you think all of the clubs are the same then you’re not looking hard enough.
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Positivity breeds positivity my friends and if we get positive the scene will give more back because there is strength in numbers. Over the next year you are going to see a huge shift in one direction or another. For the same reason that we are in a recession, nightclubs are having to adjust; technology. The clubs that adapt will prosper once people are going out again. The clubs that think the “good ol’ days” still prevail will be left in the dust.
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So here is my challenge to the nightclub owners and managers of Winnipeg. Set up a line of communication. For the patrons, stop concentrating on the negative and if you’re worried about violence call your City Councillor and tell him/her you want Police more actively involved in a proactive approach to nightclub crime. If you want a Vegas style club go to Vegas. If you want a club scene to prosper get positive overall.
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Thanks for taking the time to read this (very) long note. Enjoy the clubs!
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Jamie Hall

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