If you’re the dancing type, you may have noticed the distinct lack of EDM events in Portland. EDM is an all-encompassing genre standing for “electronic dance music.” Essentially, it is the catchall term for electro-house, dubstep, moombahton and everything else people dance to these days.
If you’re the dancing type, you may have noticed the distinct lack of EDM events in Portland. EDM is an all-encompassing genre standing for “electronic dance music.” Essentially, it is the catchall term for electro-house, dubstep, moombahton and everything else people dance to these days.
Navigating Portland EDM is a challenging task. First of all, nobody ever seems to update their websites or social networking representations. Frankly, when one is looking to dance their ass off, the last thing one wants to face is a cyber-jungle of empty event pages. It can be absolutely maddening!
If you’re freshly 21 or new to town, you may not know that each club has a schedule that usually follows a certain day every month—for example, “second Friday” or “third Saturday.” Because most of these are virtual word-of-mouth type events, I’m going to help you cut through that rigmarole and help you see what’s good.
See You Next Tuesday
205 NW Fourth Ave.
Crown Room
Night: Every Tuesday, 9 p.m.
This night has been doing dubstep for longer than you’ve been listening to it, and they’ve been doing it well. SYNT always seems to be pulling in top tier talent from all around the world for your dancing pleasure, and acts like Hatcha and Silkie from across the pond.
The rest of the nights feature great mixes of amateur and pro DJ’s alike. The sound system is incredible, and the bass can be felt from two blocks away. Best of all, it’s free! So get your bass face on, yo!
After Dark
440 NW Glisan St.
Groove Suite
Night: Every Saturday, 10 p.m.
Groove Suite has long boasted one of the best sound systems in town, and one would have to be a contrarian to disagree. The system itself was built a time ago when this place was called π-rem. When it debuted, the audio quality was stunning, and when the name switched over, the system came with it.
This works out very well for you, the potential dancer, because After Dark is one of the best nights in town for house and electro house. These people know their stuff, too, as they’ll regularly feature house DJs from Chicago, the birthplace of house music. Their vast collections will keep you moving all night.
Rockbox
1001 SE Morrison St.
Holocene
Night: Third Fridays, 9 p.m.
Rockbox has been doing its thing for almost three years now and was an instant success at birth, partly thanks to the appeal of the term “dance party” within the kind of demographic that Holocene caters to—the hip. If you consider that to be yourself, Rockbox offers a trio of resident viynlists: DJs Kez, Matt Nelkin (KPSU represent) and Dundiggy.
It’s not difficult to have a good time on Holocene’s recessed dance floor: the drinks are fantastic and the people are pretty. You’ll hear a smattering of cuts that aren’t EDM here, but a good chunk of them are newer electro and Baltimore club.
As for all the rest, a skilled DJ can wring the good stuff out of things you wouldn’t normally like. Deft performers mean the mixes are tight all night, so don’t forget those insoles.
