You can always expect to hear the sounds of heavy beats and rowdy crowds on the corner of 500 South and 200 West when driving through downtown Salt Lake City on the weekends. This is the home of Club Sound and In the Venue, two of the oldest venues in the city.
Open every Friday night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., the Club offers a great space for dancing for all nightlife lovers over the age of 18. Located right near the Salt Lake City Central TRAX station, and with the low cost of $6 to $8 in cash, (readmission is typically free, while the back bar is credit card only) this party scene is perfect for college students.
Once through the doors, you are immediately immersed in the perfect club environment. Club Sound’s petite size makes the light shows all the more intense. The warehouse is fairly clean, and when I went, the DJ played a wide variety of songs that all members of the audience could have fun with. The room has a dance floor, seating areas, a bar and a stage and cage spot for dancers wanting to show off their skill, which nearly every member of the crowd took advantage of over the course of the night (usually when Beyoncé came over the speakers).
This double-venue warehouse space holds two urban concert halls, which can host everything from parties to large-scale band tours. Club Sound itself isn’t quite big enough to accommodate the latter of these, but In the Venue bears much of the crowd load.
The concert venue offers an open space, leaving plenty of room for band set up, an area for a merchandise table and a wide variety of attendee interaction. There is a lower level for those ready to mosh, dance and reach for the band, as well as a sitting space and back areas for less enthusiastic concertgoers.
The partner venue, Club Sound, may not be the best place for concerts, but as a locale for a night of dancing with friends, it’s one of the most fun and inviting environments in Salt Lake City. When other hosts such as The Complex can quickly become overwhelming due to the sheer volume of people they can hold, in this case Club Sound’s diminished size keeps the crowds at a manageable level.
The staff is accommodating, making sure the guest’s experience is as cheap and enjoyable as possible. When I went there with some friends, a worker allowed us to put all of our jackets on one hanger in order to avoid paying the cost for multiple people.
The best aspect of Club Sound, though, is the variety of people who attend their events. The club is a very open environment and was very welcoming to all members of the LGBTQ+ community, who made up the majority of the crowd.