Avalon Bar

I went here a few times in my early clubbing days. The only thing is the line was always super long and despite a large number of patrons being foul-​mouthed with discount store dresses or trying too hard to look «hard,» I always had fun. Looking back, the church setting is kind of sacrilegious. But what did I know as a teen? I wouldn’t set foot here today because I’ve grown out of that crowd.

I went here once on Halloween a couple of years ago. We were «supposed» to get in for free before midnight on the guestlist. As anyone who regularly goes out in NYC can tell you, these sites that offer free admission to clubs usually don’t work. Unfortunately, I was not one of those in the «know» so to speak, so they tried to charge us $ 40 per person at the door.
I really didn’t feel like paying $ 80 (for me and the gf) to get in, so we left the line. Some guy stopped us on the way out and asked us why we were leaving, and we told him the story. He wound up giving us bands to get inside for free. Annoying that it had to go down that way, especially since my 2 friends that came with us wound up paying $ 80 to get in right after us. Oh well.
Inside the music was decent. We left kind of early (by 2 am) and the place wasn’t terribly crowded. Drinks were as pricey as you’d expect in a big NYC club. All in all, not my favorite place, and I don’t think I’d go back. I’d give it a 2.5 only because my girlfriend and I started pretending to dance to techno in the middle of the dance floor and a crowd formed around us thinking we were serious. lol

Well, I’ve only been here once to see (Japanese rock band) Dir en grey’s first East Coast performance, so I can’t relate to the other complaints by other patrons.
I thought the venue itself was nice, I like the second level, I was never up there, but it looks like an awesome place to be at a show. I had a good time here, it seemed tight for the sold out show but not bad.

Terrible! Way too crowded, bad crowd, old people! White hair and all! The church itself is beautiful but I kind of feel a little guilty partying in a former church! I wouldnt recommend it but I have been to worse.

Not my cup of tea at all. I like that it’s a church conversion; that makes the place at least architecturally interesting. But not much more about it appeals to me. The crowd sucks. This is the type of club that advertises its parties on the radio, so if you’re into that sort of thing happy partying.

what an amazing way to waste such perfect space. This club is pretty tight, considering its a church. but, the crowd is very G H E T T O. hey if thats u, live and let live, im not here to judge. I think it’s so corny, I hate waiting in this huuuge ass line to see a bunch of retards tryin to act hard and what not. I probably went on a bad night, but it has nooo class. i give it some sum props just cuz i enjoy the idea that sum creative person decided to turn a church into a night club. thats hott!

If you decide to come here — you have to be in a certain mind set to do so.
I forgot which DJ I came here to see — but perhaps Paul Oakenfold?
The crowd is not what I am used to back at home.
My friend M and I came here to meet up with some other people We never came here before, so we decided to walk around this multi-​tiered club.
Beware of the Metal Staircases! This place is huge and you can seriously get lost in here.
As I sat down on the main floor, I peered out to the dance floor and glanced around my surrounding –I thought to myself nobody was really break dancing instead there were a lot of bopping of heads –up and down.
All of sudden — this drugged up Asian dude grab my head towards him, but only to scream in my ears.
I could not even make out what he was saying to me. The music was so loud and deafening and yet this dude was trying to scream over the music in my ears.
M could see I was getting annoyed at this drugged up Asian dude — so he came over and told me that we should head back home.
Overall, I wouldn’t come back here again regardless which DJ is spinning here. We both agreed it’s a lot more fun in Texas.
It’s just too many weird people here!

I deducted one star because by the time the music gets good the place is too crowded to dance.
All in all I like this night club. Formerly known as limelight (never been there under that ownership), Avalon brings every type of person. There has even been a 90 year old man who tap danced to the techno music.

SKIP LATIN NIGHT! I went back to Avalon last night, and it was a major disappointment. The place was dead, although they kept people waiting outside in line. It cost $ 60 for two of us to get in, and only one room was open in the club. The staff was rude and the drinks way overpriced, and the music was just lousy. On th ephone they advertised a variety of latin music but once there, it was just a conglomeration of 60 second clips of reggaeton songs, barely played long enough to dance to before the dj would switch to another song. No Salsa or Merengue. Overall just a major disappointment, I’ll seriously reconsider next time I’m thinking about going back.

This place is okay despite being an old church. The only thing that gets to me is they hold the line to make it seem like a million people are in there but the once you get in the place its only you and the people you’ve been standing outside with!

I didn’t know this is a gay club, paid $ 30 to get in this saturday and walked right out.

I’ve been here both to a hardcore show and to the club on a Saturday night, both were over a year ago.
The show was excellent and really loud, the acoustics were good (it was the perfect band for it, or maybe because it was a church, but who knows since they’ve turned it into a maze of just space and more space). I saw Isis at Irving as well and I actually prefered this Avalon show.
I went to the club on a party list, 15 cover, as a third wheel to a friend who was trying to get in this girl’s business. It ended up fizzling a couple dates later. I couldn’t hear anything anyone was saying, but truthfully the music in the main floor was pretty sick, the DJ really knew how to get people busy with the hizzy (WOW I’M LAME). Seriously he played some really good beats. The crowd was actually really good for a club, I didn’t find the women to be of interest but they were having a lot of fun, and the place was really cool. There’s literally room upon room of bumping and grinding, and then some pop thrown in for good measure. Lighting varied, it was actually kind of refreshing to see a well lit dance floor its like hey what’s that moving over there oh a human up wait what’s she doing to him OH. Some of the rooms could have used a little more sprucing, but the little hallways and such it really was terribly huge. I definitely got lost a couple times trying to find the group I was with.
I had a problem with the plastic cups, although with the amount of space they have to cover and the amount of party fouls that would probably ensue plastic may have been a good choice. Expensive as usual.
DJ in the bathroom.
Its like ham bites from the salad bar at Ponderosa sprinkled over their BADONKADONKALY RIDICULOUS GOOD mashed potatoes and gravy. Except its a DJ in a bathroom. I usually don’t need to rock out while leaking away but it was compelling. But I didn’t.

I’ve been coming to this club since it was Limelight because of the good DJ’s that would cycle through. The best spots to be are in the private club, Spider Room or the VIP wings. If you’re not into the whole VIP thing, head over to the couch by the DJ both. It’s comfortable and fun for people watching.
The dance floor gets way too crowded now because they put that stage in opposite the DJ booth. It’s not a bad hang, but trekking up and down the labyrinthine expanse of the place on all those stairs after you’ve had a few cocktails, feels more like an exercise plan than a night out clubbing.
The last time I was here the coat check lost my favorite Calvin Klein jacket, grrr. Everytime I think of that it irks me. Then I think of how the DJ that spins in their bathroom must feel

they only get 5 stars bc they used to be limelight and if you know anything about clubs in the 80s and 90s you know why!!! ;)
now they might as well close it and call it a book store! oh wait they are!!!

You’ll love this place if you’re a bridge/​tunneler in high school, a college freshman w/​o a fake ID, or a creepy old man. This 18+ club has lines around the corner b/​c it’s the easiest to get into for what it offers. The DJ often plays radio hits on repeat and the crowd starts to trickle out by 2 AM… curfew for the children.

What’s with all the lukewarm reviews?
This is a NIGHTCLUB inside of a CHURCH… that alone gets 5 stars from me.
I went here a long time ago but I had a fabulous time. I floated away on drinks and dancing with the men I call my gay husbands – my dear Jonathan and Marco.
This place is fun!

Cool in concept – club stage a la church – but floppy in execution. Saw a show here; hated the room & the audience. This was all after I went through hell to get my tickets. So I wouldn’t go back, and the club aspect didn’t do anything to lessen this sentiment. It just didn’t seem to be an enjoyable scene.
But Jack Kerouac lived right in the area part of the time he spent in New York!

I payed 2 dollars for a cup of water b. c they ran out of bottles… enough said

Pretty great place for concerts, nice sound and good sightlines from the floor and the two balcony levels above. Shows start and end earlier than most NYC venues so the club can become a disco, usually starting at 11pm.

Mogwai’s show here last night was one of the best and i have the pics to prove it.
it was a sold out show and we couldn’t get a good viewing spot but then tilted our heads up and found the greatest view of them all. There was some sort of mirror hanging above us, creating one of the most memorable show experiences. The reflection was all trippy like those funny mirrors at carnivals, complementing (maybe even enhancing) Mogwai’s atmospheric blend of guitar cresendos and explosions.
formerly the infamous Limelight, the setting of this venue already sets the mood for a surreal night. It’s a big 3 story church with stairs coming up and down at you like an MC Escher drawing.
highly recommended as a show venue as the stage was big, but not overwhelming. Avalon was able to achieve an intamacy level of smaller clubs despite its size.