If you're looking for a truly funky experience, then Tandem Nights (04455 1130 9431) is a weekly party on Friday nights, mixing live musicians with DJs, and offers a soulful respite from the dirge of techno and progressive house music that seem to plague most of Mexico City's clubs. The pub surroundings offer a friendly, unpretentious atmosphere with the onus on projecting a house party vibe set to the sweet sounds of jazz, rare-groove, and the best in R&B. For more information, email Tandemnights02@yahoo.com or swing by to The Tandem Pub, Rio Nazas 73 corner with Rio Tigris in Colonia Cuauhtemoc.
Tucked away in the Centro Historico, La Perla, a cabaret bar, is definitely for our more adventurous night-dwellers. Small, hot, and decorated in gaudy colors, be prepared to step into a David Lynch speakeasy. La Perla boasts some outrageous female-impersonator acts along with a passion for the kitsch and the downright weird. The music can jump from salsa to Madonna to hard surf punk within minutes. Beer is served up in two-liter bottles and the staff look like they might strike you down or equally give you a kiss depending on how they feel that night. If you get your kicks from strange places, then La Perla is definitely worth a visit. Cuba 44, Centro Historico. Open Friday and Saturday nights from 9pm.
If the alternative rock scene waxes your lyric, then the Bulldog www.bulldogcafe.com has been championing the cause for several years now. Set in a huge club with three floors that look down onto the main dance floor, there's plenty of room to "mosh" if one so chooses. Although the music is quite grungy, the crowd is anything but; that's because the door entry is 250 pesos (or $25). The reason for such an exorbitant cover charge? An all-night free bar. Be prepared for a young crowd whose sole intention is to get drunk, make out, and dance the night away. It can be fun if you choose to go in a big group with similar intentions. Rubens 6, Mixcoac. Tel: 5611 8818.
From journal Nightclubs and discos in Mexico City