Friday, February 11, 2011

Club Reports: Ritz, JJ's Cafe & Bar, Amphitheater, The Castle (Tampa)

Visited the Ybor City district of Tampa last night to see what was happening. Thursday nights can get pretty crowded but jacket-weather last night probably kept some partiers at home. Whereas much of Orlando's night life is located in its downtown, such is not the case for downtown Tampa. But just a couple miles away is 7th Avenue which runs through a historic Cuban cigar-making district called Ybor City which is now home to block after block of restaurants, shops, bars and night clubs.
Indigo Girls were in-concert at club Ritz Ybor.
It was karaoke night at JJ's Cafe & Bar. Dancing to karaoke allowed.
The club many of you have been asking about....Tantra....is no more. Originally called Amphitheater before it was called Tantra, apparently it is reverting back to its prior name with "Entertainment Complex" added. It must be under renovations because it was closed last night. Or worse, perhaps it already reverted and already went bust?
Signage inside mentions some of the club features including that revolving dance floor. Considering that revolving dance floors are rather rare in the world, it's ironic that one was located relatively close to the one in Mannequins. But don't get your panties in a wad that PI actually had nearby competition. This one is one-third the size of the one in Mannequins. I'm sure they will retain it though as it is something unique!
And then there's The Castle!!
Thursday night is always Pop'n'Wave Night at The Castle featuring DJ Mike Roehr. I believe the Wave refers to current New Wave/Alternative videos that gets played until well after midnight; much of it carrying 2010 and even 2011 copyrights. This is as fresh as it gets; I've mentioned previously hearing this really strange artist named Lady Gaga here a few years ago before anyone knew who she was!


I was proudly wearing my Independent Bar t-shirt last night which a couple people recognized. The club is very similar to I-Bar. Located in a former church, The Castle is a must-visit for anyone partying in Ybor.
For a broader tour of Ybor City clubs, see my article from last May on the subject: http://savepleasureisland.blogspot.com/2010/05/club-reports-ybor-city-tampa.html

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Friday night at Ybor's 'The Honey Pot' (which is their "Steam Fridays" gay night) is awesome. It reminded me alot of Mannequins, complete with good music (it gets a little too hip hop and rap at times though), great lighting, and even the occasional CO2 blast!.

...although no giant rotating dance floor.
The hot go-go boys made up for that, however. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Mannequins was NOT a gay club THANK YOU VERY MUCH! NOT a gay club
it had ONE count it ONE gay NIGHT! and that didn't started for years after it opened! so lets NOT start the GAY bullsh*t about Mannequins!

Anonymous said...

No, I did not imply MDP was a gay club, it was a dance club.
What I meant, and you obviously misunderstood, was that The Honey Pot reminded me of MDP because of it's music, lighting and effects.

KingBob said...

No, Mannequins was not a so-called "gay" club. We do know that Thursdays at Mannequins, a free night for Disney cast members, attracted a large (but not largely) gay clientele.

Anonymous said...

Bob, are you saying that fat gays did not go to MDP? LOL...Just kidding. No matter what night of the week it was, Mannequins always had a mixture of every type of people...Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, whatever. God, I miss Mannequins!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Bob! I called the phone number in your picture from Ampitheater and some dude answered, said that this was his new number...so, I'm thinking that there is nothing open there now. I've searched for more information and can't find anything recent....

KingBob said...

Anon at 1:16pm, Mannequins patrons were a mix of everything and that was part of the appeal. Everyone was welcome and there was always lots to look at!

Anon at 2:52pm, thanks for your investigation and reporting! Appears then that they apparently reopened as Amphitheater and have already closed down again. So sad.

Anonymous said...

Bob,
There is new news about the Amphitheater. DJ Icey will be opening up for the new club in April with DJ X and other old DJ's from that club.It is listed as April 16th,2011.Check out Iceys website.Duane and Lyn here.