The Hip-E Club

This was a very fun night out with a few girlfriends. The Hip E club plays all those songs that you loved at school and that you can sing and dance to. It attracts a fairly good crowd and I was pleasantly surprised to find a mix of ages. I am 35 and I wasn’t the oldest one there, which was great!

Lets just say I am not a huge fan of this place. Last time I went was for a friends birthday, so it was somewhat against my will. We waited in line for what seemed like forever. It would of been better if I knew when I got inside it would be amazing, and a great night. But the thought of sleazy guys rubbing up against you, and poor music, didn’t really excite me too much at all.
And when I went in, it was all of those things, so lets just say not a good night.

This place wasn’t that good when it first opened and yes I am old enough to remember it.
I only went in because I was absolutely astounded that it was still there. That astounded that I waited forever in the queue. Even more disturbing to me was most of the people in the queue looked like they were barley old enough to be there.
Once inside very little had changed, it is still grotty and sad looking. They do play some old school songs, but not enough for it to be retro cool. Do yourself a favour, stay away.

If you were showing friends from out of town the night life in Leederville, Hip-​E would be last resort, only visited if you were all so drunk and in the mood there was no way you could go home.
The «best» known night for Hip-​E is Wednesday after the Leedy or Garden has closed for the night and the young crowd swarms. And by swarms I mean swarms. The line is often massive.
The club itself is neither large nor impressive but the one thing that ties it together is everyone is loose and keen for a party.
From memory its a $ 5 cover, only worth it if you are reeeeaalllyy keen to kick on.

What happened to this place? It used to be brilliant when it first opened eons ago and stuck by its Sixties retro guns. The fluoro psychedlic design is still here, in much need of a paintjob (oh, where to start) but gone are the good ol’ classics from a laidback DJ and their place are so-​called old-​skool tunes of a Nineties hip-​hop variety. Which SO doesn’t go with the décor.
I think the Hip-​E Club would do better if it went back to be Sixties-​oriented. Simply pushing the random retro button and having tracks by Technotronic and Black Box inserted between loud B-​boy and G-​thang tracks just does not go with the trippy aesthetic sentiment.
Pop some Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and Beatles on the decks and I might pop back in here for a laff.

This is the shame of Leederville, if we don’t include seedy Leedy (that’s a WHOLE other story).
Hip-​E Club is exactly as one would imagine. Decorated by someone who’s probably blind, this place is mega outdated yet does seem to draw a crowd. Personally, I think it has more to do with cheap drinks, good operating hours, and a semi-​decent mix of old school and top 40 musical selections. For me, the crowd is more important than all those things combined, and this crowd isn’t the cutest or love-​inspiring. It is also home to the newly crowned 18 year olds, which again, isn’t my crowd.
If the above sounds like something you would like, the Hip-​E just may be the place for you.

It’s not really my scene but you can do worse in Leederville.
After nearby bars have started to clear out and others have thrown in the towel trying to get into other venues, The Hip-​E club are happy to welcome in the late-​night dregs.
They are also happy to welcome in a broad caliber of (variously dressed) men, including those in fancy dress costume. This generally equates a girl to guy ratio of 1:2.
The club is decorated in pshcydellic 60s theme and the dance floor features a shagon wagon and on some night’s; seedy, scantily clad go-​go dancers.
The theme could have been cool if done correctly but it’s all really a bit naff. The rotation of cheesey 80s and 90s music doesn’t help the cause but I’ll admit to getting down to some Will Smith at Hip-​E on a couple of occasions… shhh, don’t tell anyone.
It’s cheesey and seedy, but if you embrace it you can have a good time.