Subculture in Amityville: A Nightclub of a Different Sort

Long Island seems overpopulated with cookie-cutter nightclubs featuring an endless procession of look-alike crowds and repetitive hip-hop/dance played continuously into oblivion.

If you’ve been searching high and low for something a little different without having to travel into the city, than perhaps the nightclub Subculture is for you. Masquerading as the bar Molly Blooms, in Amityville, for the remainder of the week, on Fridays, it transforms into Subculture, where the atmosphere is friendly, the drinks are reasonably priced, and snotty pretentiousness is left at the door.

Far from trendy and not ashamed to flaunt it, Subculture is the personification of Cheers in nightclub form. It’s a place where everybody does indeed know your name. It’s a place where friends gather to relax and enjoy music of another sort, and dance the week away.

Rather than promoting gaudy statues and excessive neon, or any of the more hideous trappings of nightclub glitz, Subculture exists mainly as a bar with a decent-sized dance floor and adequate dance lighting. But the lack of over-indulged decor is exactly what makes the club appealing.

Whereas other nightclubs will promote the newest trendy alcoholic flavor, or silicon enhanced bodies, Subculture succeeds and thrives mainly on its music and word-of-mouth, and open, upbeat, friendly atmosphere. The regulars are like a weekend extension of family, and if you spend a few Fridays there, you may find yourself adding a few extra names to your Christmas list next holiday season.

Admission is modest; free before 11, then $5 with a pass, $7 without. Drinks are basic and priced reasonably. The bartenders are just enough to handle the crowds and will take the time to chat if not overwhelmed at the moment.

There is no dress code, come as you will, though the crowd tends to stick to anything black, perpetuating a dark, wild side eager for release from the dreary weekday work reality.

The crowd itself leans toward the older, ranging mainly from mid-20s to late thirties, and anything in-between. But there is no age barrier here, you will find everyone on equal ground once you step through the door.

The music is spun by DJ Cody, a mainstay in the nightclub scene for years. Music spans various genres, and is a welcome vacation from the radio-spawned pop groups repeatedly drummed into your heads. Cody will play new wave hits from the 80s such as The Cure, Depeche Mode, Morissey, Peter Schilling, and Sisters of Mercy, blended with a little punk, splashed with a side of early industrial Ministry and Nine Inch Nails, and then proceed into deeper musical regions. A little electronica and techno enters the mix, and a healthy portion of synthpop in the vein of Covenant and VNV Nation, with a few rock songs thrown in for good measure.
The first Friday of every month is request night, feel free to bring your own CDs, and other Fridays occasionally feature particular artists, such as Depeche Mode night.

The nightclub comes complete with an outside deck to catch some fresh air, or subsequently fill it up with cigarette smoke.

So if you tire of general club culture, inject a little Subculture into your life. Those with excessive attitude need not apply.

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