Jive

I’ve only been once so maybe some nights it’s better but this was my experience…
I just came here because my friend’s band was playing and usually I have a great night when I go to their gigs but not this time.
The atmosphere was horrible, it felt like some weird youth club where everyone is secretly Christian and trying to convert you. You know that vibe?
It just was not a fun atmosphere at all and my friends all felt the same way. I’d still much rather be here than at some horrible mainstream club like HQ or something though.

I heart jive, when all the other clubs are playing music with lyrics like b**ches on my sack, jive is a music lovers haven.
They have sweet live gigs, and my fave is their gosh night where they play triple J music, this past saturday they played the top 100 of the last 20 years.
You can dance like a dick here too. There is no mating call dancing where men peacock and girls stand in a circle pretending their friends leg is a pole, just people grooving to music they actually like.
Other pros,
Cheapish drinks
Not many fighty punch up types
Cheap door charge, some nights it’s only $ 5.
Only con, sometimes I feel old when 18 year olds are doing stuff I used to do like wear tye die, hideous woollen jumpers (I know your mum didn’t force you to wear it cause she made it like mine did), carrying around tamogochis or gameboys. Because it’s like super retro now.

As I understand it, Jive is a music venue. It’s an institution amongst live music fanciers and Red-​Square-​slash-​HQ-​loathing revellers alike. It has all the characteristics of being unpretentious: sticky floors, no-​nonsense drinks and efficient if indifferent service. The music is sure to get you carrying on like a crazy person in a way that the aforementioned gets the fists pumping with LMFAO and other bogus tunes. Instead, the soundwaves are filled with stuff a little more nostalgic for those pushing their late-​20s and everything in between that isn’t eye roll-​inducing. Well, this is all based on my 45 minutes their last night. Could be wrong. Maybe the place sucks. Nah, I don’t think it does. They had me at the sticky floors.

Why does it feel like I’ve walked into a dirty alley when walking into Jive? It feels dirty, it feels dangerous, it feels a bit crowded when there’s a gig on… and I actually kind of like it in a weird way. It just feels so grunge, which is completely my style, and the set up of the place is just so weird that it’s cool. You’ve got your ‘mosh pit/​dance floor’, then you’ve got up the back with the bar, then you’ve got the balcony… It’s quite awesome. One of those places that no matter where you are, you can enjoy the gig playing. I’ve only been here to watch a band, so I don’t have much to say about the club, but I reckon I could have a night here one time.

I think this is one of the only clubs I can stand being sober at, and that’s saying something. Jive is full of good music, good people, and good fun.
I often find myself stumbling in here on a Saturday night to have a, well, I guess to have a jive. This isn’t a place for sexy leg-​humping business. It’s for that good old fashioned fun dancing, you know, have a twist and a little shake. I enjoy it!
I’m often here to check out a live gig, my favourite sober time was here watching Hungry Kids of Hungary strut their stuff, which was incredible. The crowd was laid-​back and simply there for the music, having a little boogie here and there or just bopping their heads, smiling and singing along. The bands here are often indie, rock style which is A-​Okay with me.
Definitely worth checking out, I’ve never had a bad time here.

Jive is one of the only good clubs in Adelaide. I can’t really stand places like Red Square and Dog & Duck.
Live bands play here on the small stage, and afterwards they play a bunch of cool music.
My favourite part about Jive is the balcony area. It goes right through the centre of the dance floor. You can stand upstairs, drinking, and looking at all the people dancing badly, looking for sexual partners, and destroying their brain cells. It’s very entertaining indeed.

I’m too old to come here for a dance now and guess what? You probably are too. This is a super fun little den where you can drink as many Jaeger’s as you want and vomit as many times as you need and no one will judge you harshly for it.
The packed dance floor is the only place you want to be in this venue and they play a much loved mix of pop and indie and the songs are chosen with the crowd’s desire to sing along in mind. Jive is good wholesome pop loving fun and a must for any young one wanting to dance and have a great night.
Once you hit twenty five I’m sorry, unless there’s a gig on that you really want to see (which is unavoidable because so many great bands play here) you are too old to party at Jive. Time to pass the torch down to the younger generation and get yourself down to somewhere more acceptable for you age. If you don’t love Jive you simply have no heart.

There’s always a massive lineup to get into this place, and although I don’t dig line ups, I respect Jive as it isn’t one of those pretentious clubs that hold the crowds back to create the illusion of a happening place — Jive packs you in like sardines (even with the inclusion of the top balcony). The downside of coarse is it will take forever to order a drink, so think ahead like I do and buy 3 rounds per trip.
Keep Touching the furry wall!

Jive turkey!
I have always wanted to say that.
Jive is great because they’re always hosting gigs and I don’t feel there is enough of this sort of behaviour happening in Adelaide. I remember chilling out in jive when I was 18, watching this couple play some really great music, only to realise a few years later that I was in fact watching Angus & Julia Stone before they were big.
These days though, the door charge is a little steep when there isn’t a gig on and its just a night club and lineups just make me angry, I hate waiting for people to take my money. Just take it! before I have to think about what I’m spending my taxi money on!
Bar service can be a little slow, which is understandable because its a two level club with only one beverage dispenser unit. They should work on that. Upstairs is a seating area where you can watch people on the dance floor, I’ve noticed it can get a bit hot up there though.
My advice is that you try and refrain from climbing up on stage and rock n roll dancing, because they will ask you to get down, and the second time they’ll ask you to get down again and well the third time, you’re out.

Jive is one of few mid-​size venues in Adelaide that regularly host Australian musicians. I’ve seen some great gigs here — Eddy Current Suppression Ring was probably my favourite. Jive itself isn’t my favourite venue in Adelaide, but it’s pretty hard to avoid going here — most popular Australian acts will play here at least once.
The drinks are not as cheap as you’ll get a pub, and there is a no-​glass rule, like at a music festival. The outside of Jive is a hideous shade of blue, and round the side and the back in the car-​park there is whole bunch of murals — some great stuff by Sam Evans and other locals. As you enter, you’ll pass through an ante-​room into the main space — the bar, then a big dance-​floor with a raised stage. Upstairs there is some couches and a balcony where you can watch the crowds from.
The line to get in can be a deal-​breaker here, especially late on Saturday nights when the indie dance night Gosh! is on. Gosh! has ushered many teenagers into their early twenties with a selection of the most horrendously cliched indie tunes you can imagine. I used to go there all the time when I was eighteen, and I don’t turn my nose up at cliches, y’know? That said, every time I’ve ever been there on a Saturday night, the floor has been so sticky I’ve nearly lost my shoes.