Elepent

While in Chicago, we decided to check out the club known as Neo.  We’ve had plenty of friends in Chicago recommend it as the goth-industrially place to go in town, and haven’t ever had the opportunity to drop in until now.

Neo did not look like this when we were there.

The place looks promising, with a Sunday night flyer promising “Sanctuary,” a night of electro, synthpop and industrial.  It’s another veteran club, located down a delightfully foreboding alley.  Inside, Neo is compact, with a flowing, multi-tiered layout that could’ve been carved out by monstrous ants.   The dance floor’s a bit uneven, and the mirror that lines one side of it is faded, but the sound system is good and the bar staff is friendly.  The crowd couldn’t be called that–there were only five or six other patrons at eleven-thirty, but then it was a very chilly February evening in Chicago, so we couldn’t blame folks for staying home.  Even empty, Neo feels comfortable, like an oasis from the real world, and that’s the right way to go.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the music on the night we were there.  In spite of the “Sanctuary” flyer, the DJ seemed content to spin Gang of Four, Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand tunes.  When I visited the DJ booth to ask for something stompy, I got a disinterested, negative response, and then he grudgingly spun some ohGr for us, before going back to the indie-pop.  Quite disappointing.  Fortunately, there’s no cover charge on Sunday nights, so we didn’t have to feel badly about leaving after about an hour.  Maybe we’ll give Neo another chance the next time we’re in town…or maybe not.