Ten feet below street level, in the core of Gastown is one of Blueprint’s newest underground clubs, M.I.A. About a year ago M.I.A. (Missing in Action) replaced the famous Shine Nightclub, continuing the area’s 20+ year reputation for harbouring alternative and underground communities of electronic music. M.I.A. is a loud, immersive and modern nightclub with an intimate atmosphere that features a world- class Funktion One sound system. I highly recommend exploring M.I.A.’s passionate deviation from the Top 40/EDM standard of the Granville strip.
Entering M.I.A. is like entering a space ship. A tunnelling hallway entirely lit by geometric LED lights opens to a dance floor with a low ceiling embedded with rotating wash lights and a network of pulsing LED strips that extend to each corner of the room. Between the two bars at opposite ends of the room is a compact DJ booth raised only slightly above floor-level, keeping the DJ in close proximity to the dancers. At M.I.A. the use of cellphones is politely discouraged in event posters and on their website, though this is ultimately not reinforceable and people use them anyway.
The atmosphere is warm and lush and you can expect to have to either stand or dance (as you should!) because the lounge seating off to the side will be occupied on a busy night. When internationally renowned special guests such as DJ Sneak, Justin Martin, Ben UFO or Green Velvet came to M.I.A. the floor was crowded towards the front. That said, I have almost always found it comfortable with negligible elbowing or rogue fist bumps.
M.I.A.’s music changes considerably between nights of the week. I’m a regular attendee of their Deep Down Inside Saturday nights (likely named after the classic 90’s deep house song Deep Inside by Hardrive) because it features deep house and techno. There is also FVDED Fridays featuring open format bass music, special guests and record label showcases introducing their own unique styles. I had the pleasure to meet some of the regular Saturday opening DJs such as Iain Howie, Jared Love and Jay Tripwire. UBC students have the opportunity to get a taste of these local DJs at the Koerner’s Secret Garden series this summer hosted by the Sunwave artist collective.
M.I.A. is great for dancing but if you want to hang out, you should reserve a VIP booth across from the sound system, with standard club prices for drinks. The club could benefit from a second dance floor, perhaps even a full sized designated chill-out lounge with its own DJs to give dancers a place to rest and relax, but it is better for exploring music over its various nights than the venue itself.
There are very few venues in Vancouver that can attract huge international artists to such an intimate space. Some describe the club as grimy but it may be better described as intimate with its low ceiling and proximity to the DJ. This unique and desirable atmosphere is completed with exceptional audio visuals, from the sensuous LED installations and powerful Funktion One sound system. M.I.A. is particularly convenient for UBC students because the club closes at 3 a.m., coinciding with the last night bus back to UBC, the N17, at around 3:15. M.I.A. is a welcome break form the occasionally superficial environment of the Granville strip. It is a great place to explore. If you go for the music you will not be disappointed.
You can subscribe to their events on the Are You MIA facebook page for regular updates or you can find out more at areyoumia.com.
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