They Will Rock You

Grit seekers shake it all night long on Queen West By Courtney Shea

Image credit: Ryan Szulc

Concept: Collaborating club kings Charles Khabouth (Ultra Supper Club, The Guvernment) and Nick Di Donato (C Lounge, Velvet Underground) aim to please Toronto headbangers with this ode to a grittier era when men rocked tight leather, worshipped hairspray and bit off bats’ heads with abandon. Not that the venue itself has much of a filth factor: chic booths border a large dance floor and stage, where the likes of Dragonette have already performed.

Crowd: Neither as goth nor as grunge as one would imagine. Instead, Abercrombie-bedecked guys and gals unleash their inner Ozzies to a roster of rock usually reserved for retro night. Putting the sound quality of your old cassette collection to shame, classics from Zep, Guns n’ Roses, Daft Punk and Joan Jett blend with newer offerings from The Strokes and The Killers.

Cocktail: The Jäger Bomb—a shot of Jägermeister dropped into a tumbler of Red Bull—is a saviour for the weary and whiplashed.

Tattoo Rock Parlour, 567 Queen St. W., 416-703-5488. $5–$10. Tuesday to Saturday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

March 2008