Club Report: Ode to IBar

When Pleasure Island closed in late-2008, Barbarella (then Independent Bar) became our new downtown home. Even when covering shows at other downtown clubs, would always try to visit IBar too on Saturday nights!
And just as it should be on a Saturday night, DJ Indie John (USA) was in the booth last night pumping out the good stuff!
Was told that over 200 people had already come in the door prior to my 10:30PM arrival. Everyone trying to recapture IBar memories as its number of weeks remaining can sadly be counted on just one hand.
How much of this kitsch will be moved to their new (but still mystery) location remains to be seen. John says their famous VIP bench seat will not be moving.
The Saturday night format is 80’s New Wave and it’s been drawing crowds for decades. Unfortunately, many of the regulars never returned post-Covid and we haven’t seen crowds like this very often in the last couple years.
Spotted in VIP: Sandra & Carol
Spotted in the booth: Tracy with Lighting Tech Ernie & DJ Kimball Collins (USA).
Spotted on the dance platform: A couple from last night’s downtown Onsie Bar Crawl.
The music accompanied by DJ Rob Video Edits and Promo Only music videos.
Barbarella‘s final weekend in this location will be on February 25-26. With our travel schedule, we will miss the final night but we’ll try to catch a couple other nights here before then. They don’t know yet whether there will be a gap between the closing here and the reopening at the new location since so many things need to be moved. We’ll keep you updated.
Whether you knew this place as Beach Club, Barbarella, Independent Bar or Barbarella again, one constant always occurred here: A good time was had by all.