The Chamber

This place was surreal.

I dressed in black with black boots in order to try to fit in. People left me alone, so I think it may have worked.

The interior was nicely compartmentalized into small spaces and large spaces, with couches, tables, and a dance floor. The music was machine gun awesome.

What I love about this place is that when I drive by it the outside of it looks like its an empty abandoned building and I always cramp my neck looking at it as I drive slowly by.

I had not been to the Chamber in years.  I just got out of that whole goth scene years ago.  It got to the point the music was never the same with the onslaught of crappy techno bands posing as industrial ala VNV Nation, and just plain shit music like She Wants Revenge.  This ain't no Skinny Puppy, or Ministry of the 80s and 90s it all just turned into garbage overnight in my ears at least.  The Phantasy used to be this incredible club when I was growing up.  I saw countless bands here; Peter Murphy, Love and Rockets, Erasure, Ministry, Jane's Addiction, Jesus and Mary Chain, Thrill Kill Kult, Revolting Cocks, Dead Kennedy's, Black Flag, Public Image, 7 Seconds...put it this way, If they were alternative in the 80s they either played the upstairs with the famous boat for a small show or if they were bigger the played the Theater.  And the Phantasy begat The Chamber some years later.

I don't know why exactly the Phantasy died out in popularity.  It was "THE" place to be in the 80s.  If it was bigger than the Phantasy the show went to The Agora.  I'd like to hear that story one day honestly.  Do they still have shows?  Yep, they sure do.  However I have yet to see a bill I would want to go to in many many moons.  No offense to the club, no offense to the bands that play there, but I just think the eclectic dynamic of the club is gone.  It seems like the goth thing, for the longest time there, was the only thing going on at the club.  Here I go pissing off that whole industrial and goth circuit, which for the record is alive and kicking in the area though.  Honestly the thing I don't like about the whole Industrial and or goth music thing is that it has never grown much from what it was in the 80s.  It all sounds the same and the fact that it never went away is just another reason it will never have that retro comeback feeling for me.  In order to come back into style you need to actually go away.

That being said, did I like the Chamber?  God yes I did.  I had a blast.  The bartenders are great, the prices are reasonable, and they even have a nice patio now.  It was a bit hot in there, circulation kind of sucks and for me (non-vampire) it is too dark.  Those are my only bitches about the place.  You have to understand people LOVE this place and have such respect for it that when they had a huge fire not too long ago the regulars were there rebuilding and cleaning up for free for weeks.  I don't know any other bar in the area that would have that kind of outpouring of support.  So please stop MF'ing me already.  I grew up in this building through High School.  I used to hang out in that very spot when it was the rehearsal hall for a little known band called Nine Inch Nails.  It brings back so many great memories for me, and honestly for me it isn't so bad as a guilty pleasure here and there.  So, I am sorry I was such a stranger for such a long time.  I think it is a nice place for that whole entire scene to hold on to.

Personally I could see it being so much more though.  Not just The Chamber though mind you.  The Chamber can stay the Chamber it is what it is.  It's a small dark, really dark mind you, haven for what once was me 20 years ago (I'm old shut up).  But that whole building that houses what used to be 3 of the best concert venues in the Cleveland area needs to somehow make a resurgence.  I don't know how they can do it, and I don't know if they can do it either.  Like I said I don't know the back story of why and when it started to cease to be what it once was.  All I know is there is potential still there.  Parking sucks yeah, but parking sucked 20 years ago too.  Get over it.  I wish them all the success in the world because that complex is a piece of Cleveland history and deserves to be a viable option to see a show in the area.

They had a fire in the Phantasy/ Chamber/whatever complex a few months ago. This is my first visit post fire. Or even in the last five years. It's exactly the same. Same people(goth Ric Ocasek), same music( Rammstein??!! eegads!), same bar staff and probably the same beer from five years ago. A friend was in town and wanted to drop in, so we obliged.
Newest update: they play True Blood on tv instead of horror movies. It was season 2, which isn't out on dvd yet. That means they were showing tapes. That's dedication. The smoke damage smell is still very prevalent, and when combined with the exposed wooden beams overhead, it feels like a gothic steakhouse. Forbidden Corral?
The bathrooms actually seem cleaner. Scrubbing out soot will help a toilet immensely. Ironically, they have a patio out back for smoking,  which in no way could smell as smoky as it does inside the club now. Like the sulfurous pits of hell!