A Typology of Toronto Nightclubs at the Turn of the Millennium

The international trend for large, corporately owned nightclubs that are similar around the globe is changing and homogenizing the public drinking cultures in many large cities. To better understand this phenomenon, we examined the different types of clubs in Toronto, Canada. The typology is drawn from qualitative and quantitative data compiled by trained observers who conducted 1,056 nights of unobtrusive observations in 75 high-capacity nightclubs. Ten club “types” were constructed using the genre of music as the primary distinction: Dance, Superclub, Rave, Lounge, Upscale, Pop, Salsa, Reggae-Rap, Alternative, and Live Music. These types roughly approximate different subcultures, and provided a means to explore differences related to age, gender, ethnicity patterns, and alcohol and drug usage, as well as the apparent functions for which patrons frequented the different types of clubs. The predominant pattern of the current club scene in Toronto is one of large, corporately owned clubs frequented by a youthful multiethnic clientele, with most club environments characterized by slick décor and heightened sexuality.