Pacha NYC will be closing its doors for good
this year. The well-known NYC Electronic Dance Music nightclub has reached its
share of events and raves and will be celebrating its last New Years Eve party
with a 72 hour marathon with Sound Factory’s former resident DJ Jonathan
Peters. PachaNYC has been around for a good 10 years and it has been a second
home to New York’s nightclub attendees and people from all over the world who
travel to New York and look for a place to see their favorite DJs play the
sound of House, Techno, and Dubstep. This weekend DJ Erick Morillo will be
playing at the 10-year anniversary party. He was one of the first investors in
the 4-floor venue, which has brought famous Dj’s such as Afrojack, Tiesto,
Nicole Moudaber, and Dirty South. I remember my first time at Pacha was in
November of 2010. Once I stepped foot in the club I felt the energy and
positivity all over the venue. Random people would come up to me to talk and
make friends. I was like “Is this real?” Living in NY, I always felt people
were very standoffish. The workers of the club were very nice and they made
sure their customers were well taken care of. The second time I stepped foot in
the club was in January of 2011, for my brothers birthday. The line was around
the corner and I was with a group of people who just wanted to get in. We
actually met one of the bouncers who lived in the same neighborhood as I, and
he let us skip the line. I felt like we were stars. After that day, PachaNYC
became my second “home.” I became a resident, coming every Friday and Saturday
after that. About a month later I found out why it was so crowded that day and
it was because “Afrojack” was playing. I had no idea who he was at the time.
All I know that it was one of the best nights of my life! After attending
religiously every weekend for the next 3 years, I began to work and promote. I
felt like it was what I love to do and to be a part of something that makes
people have a goof time and meet people from all over the world for the love of
music was what made me happy.
A few months back, one of
NYC’s biggest promoters Rob
Fernandez suddenly passed away in July 10, 2015. He was the Director of
Promotions and Booking for PachaNYC for the past 10 years. Alongside Eddie
Dean, the owner of Pacha, Rob brought in EDM DJ’s such as Danny Tenaglia and
Chris Liebing to play at the legendary NYC club. Every weekend the doors opened
to a huge crowd 19 and over and closed after any other nightclub in NYC.
Partygoers would still be walking in at 5:00am to continue their nights of
partying leaving the place at sunrise. After Rob passed away they put of the
#HouseofRob sign in front of Pacha to pay tribute to all his hard work.
But, why close down? In
reality, as some of us may know there has been nightclubs throughout the years
like “The Tunnel,” “Club Exit,” “Limelight,” and “Sound Factory.” History has
shown that when a club shuts down, it gets renovated and changes its name. In
my opinion, the club will renovate and possible become the future “House of
Rob,” to represent Rob Fernandez’s legendary work throughout the Electronic
Dance Music scene. In reality, Pacha has seen a decline in patrons coming
possibly due to the opening of SpaceNY and an increase in EDM artist playing at
such clubs like Marquee NY and Webster Hall. A few years ago Pacha was the only
EDM club in New York City, which may explain why they had more customers back
then. Although this would be the end of Pacha, next year can be the beginning
of a whole new era. New name, new staff, new customers, more up and coming Dj’s
and a whole new feel of the venue. Sometimes we need a little change in life to
appreciate what we’ve had. I look forward to all the upcoming events this last
week weeks at Pacha. There will be a huge lineup with artists like Carnage,
Markus Schultz, and Pacha’s founding resident and chairman of the board, Erick
Morillo will play this weekend to celebrate a Decade
of Dance, for its 10-year anniversary party. It is going to be sad for
Pacha’s regular weekend residents. But I have to say this is not the end, it is
only the beginning of a new era.
