Best-Looking Club (Washtenaw County)
The Cavern Club
With the addition of two new clubs, this place just keeps getting more and more, well, cavernous. The Cavern Club is just one part of a full complex: Visitors can choose between the downstairs Cavern Club or the newer Gotham City (NYC-themed) and Millennium Club. Both new upstairs venues have their own appeal, but the jewel of this complex is undoubtedly the Cavern Club, our readers’ choice for Best-Looking Club. I had an inkling that the Cavern Club might seem a bit like a true cave. After all, the building is a former brewery and flour mill — windowless and dim. The atmosphere, however, is far from dank, with the low-lighted space creating an intimate feel. With interconnecting tunnels — the remnants from a time when this was still a brewery — set apart from the main room, it is easy to see how this club got its name. These separate areas create quieter spaces for chatting couples, groups, and those who want to take a breather from the band. The true locus of the club is a high-ceilinged main room with a beautiful, antique-adorned bar; a giant bat-shaped kite hovers above it. Off to the side are a stage and dance floor (though the dancing inevitably spills over into the rest of the open area). The club stays true to its famous Liverpool namesake by providing a terrific lineup of live music, mostly local R&B singers and ensembles. The key to the Cavern Club’s charm is its acceptance of the building’s inherent structural quirks. Instead of working against these idiosyncrasies, the Cavern Club incorporates them into its look, creating spaces for whatever mood strikes a particular customer.
Intimate or jumpin’, the Cavern Club lets club-goers choose what their pace for the evening will be.
