It’s electric! What was your favorite Dayton-area night club?

Credit: Peter Wine

Credit: Peter Wine

If you are a Gen Xer, or a late-stage Baby Boomer who lived in the Dayton area, you more than likely went to nightclubs on the weekends. You probably went to several. In one weekend. I know I did. Dayton, and by extension, the Miami Valley, had a good number of nightspots through the decades that you could rock out at. Since I’m practicing full disclosure, I’ll list the haunts I frequented in my party years:

The Odyssey — THE teen club you went to in the ’80s/early ’90s. Every weekend.

The Zoo — The second teen club you went to in the ’80s/early ’90s.

The L.A. Lounge — At one point, it was the hottest “urban” spot in the Miami Valley.

The entire Oregon District — Not an exaggeration. Newcom’s. Sloopy’s. Ned Peppers. I’d hit them all on Thursday and Saturday nights.

Daddy-O’s — Before this building reopened as Diamonds, it was Daddy-O’s, one of the few nightspots that catered to Gen X in the ’90s.

Georgio’s — It being attached to a hotel meant that the clientele and the club were “grown and sexy.” No worries about fights or drama here.

Credit: Ron Alvey

Credit: Ron Alvey

The Yellow Rose Nightclub — The country and western spot had a killer college/Top 40 music night on Thursdays back in the day.

South Beach — For a few years, arguably the best place to dance in the Miami Valley.

Frogs Nightclub — Took the title from the L.A. Lounge as the best urban nightclub in the area.

Hammerjax — In its prime, a club that did an excellent job of creating a Vegas-lite atmosphere.

Julia’s Nite Club — Currently, the premier place to party if you’re 35 and up.

Yeah, that list is long. And, my brain cells are still intact and my liver continues to function. The list speaks to how fun those night spots were, and some (Julia’s) still are.

Going out with your friends on the weekends is a very American thing to do, and, at times necessary. In the COVID age, it’s not practical to rove the town as it once was, but, in time, we as a collective will go back out, order a nice beverage at some Dayton-area nightspot, and raise a glass to the return of typical civilization.

And then, go on to do the Electric Slide.

Contact this contributing writer at grgsmmsjr@gmail.com.

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