Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > July > 13 > Entry
Pangaea to become The Phoenix
Pangaea, the exemplar of Austin’s ultra-lounge trend, will become The Phoenix, a firebird-themed club by the end of August.
Michael Ault, the international club founder and Pangaea lead partner, says the upstairs spot on Colorado Street will come with “new staff, new owners, new everything.”
Ault had helped to introduce practices more familiar to Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York City, including a lounge-and-dance combination with high-flying DJs. Other imports — like the exterior velvet rope and bottle service — were not so popular in egalitarian, laid-back Austin.
“(They) had created a growing number of haters,” Ault said. “And we thought we might attempt to ‘reset’ that equation.”
Pangaea had continued to draw crowds until its final days last week, but Ault felt two seasons were enough — an eternity in club cultures of some other cities.
Ault hopes the large space above Cuba Libre will be revived with structural and decorative changes, which including red, tufted velvet, chandeliers and 16th and 17th century paintings. A small VIP area — common in larger Austin clubs — will complement a greatly expanded front room.
“It seemed appropriate given the death of an old powerful brand,” Ault said of the club’s firebird motif, “and the hopeful rebirth of a new reinvigorated creature”
Permalink | Comments (19) | Post your comment Categories: Nightlife
Comments
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By ca
October 23, 2009 10:40 PM | Link to this
Hey, Pangea was not an Austin vibe at all and it needed to be closed down. This is not Moscow, Rome, Paris, London, or Cheesey Miami or LA. WE ARE IN AUSTIN, so do it the Austin way. Pangea would have been fine if they didn't have that stupid bottle service and VIP only rule where you COULD NOT sit on the couches unless you purchased bottle service and some cheesy/trashy girl would come out with a bottle that had dorky sparklers on it. Really? And thank GOD Phoenix opened up...hopefully it is cool and guys wont be roaming around in those lame Affliction shirts that should be banned along with intentional ripped up jeans. That attire belongs in LA and MIAMI where guys look cheesed out.
By Sam
September 3, 2009 6:58 PM | Link to this
Pangaea made us wait in line for over 1 hour for no reason at SXSW and the club wasn't even halfway full! We were there when the doors opened around 7:30 but the slow moving line didn't let us in till 8:45 so we missed the opening band. Once we got in, we were amazed at all the empty space inside and ticked off they made us wait. The Pangaea management was purposely only letting 1 person in every few minutes. This made the line appear long and made Pangaea falsely look like a trendy place. At the expense of people trying to spend money in Pangaea. This is why people diss Pangaea and their velvet rope.
By Samuel T.
July 17, 2009 2:25 AM | Link to this
I for one, must admit I was skeptical of this sort of establishment when initially introduced. This didnt feel like Austin, however, times have changed whether we warm to that fact or not. I visited Pangaea several times and was impressed with the atmosphere and the audience. My wife and I would frequent this spot and celebrated our 20th anniversary amongst friends. There are 100's of bars for every type of customer and hope we can all attempt to stimulate Austin's ever growing city and nightlife. Good luck Phoenix!
By So Sad
July 16, 2009 3:58 PM | Link to this
I am so sad they are closing... Just had my birthday there last week, got bottle service, and loved it. It was actually one of the only clubs that was comparable to Houston and Dallas clubs and that is why I actually went there... I am so over the "dirty 6th" side of Austin night life and was loving Pangea.... also the music and DJ's were always amazing. Me and my friends met one of the DJs there and they ended up meeting him up in Miami.... Too bad, BAD MOVE!!!!! The new on will suck... I can tell you that much.... the whole allure of it and the fun of it was that is was upscale and a little more selective with the people they let in.. that is why the crowd was great.....
By Jackson Gold
July 14, 2009 10:36 AM | Link to this
I really liked this bar and I'm sad it's going away. Sure it's not a typical Austin bar but I appreciated the decor and enjoyed the attractive crowd that attended. I never had bottle service there but I drank at the bar quite a bit and I thought the prices were reasonable.
By Bret Branon
July 13, 2009 10:02 PM | Link to this
Thanks for mentioning the Sound System at Pangea. That was brought to you by Damon Lange at Nomad Sound.
High Five Nomad Sound!
By Phil
July 13, 2009 7:25 PM | Link to this
you guys are all such babies .... you think Pangaea has attitude, try going out in Moscow, or anywhere else.
By william
July 13, 2009 7:19 PM | Link to this
my guess is that they made a lot of money. I certainly spent plenty.
By Derek
July 13, 2009 5:32 PM | Link to this
Now where am I going to go to get a 250 dollar bottle of mid-level vodka?
By I told you
July 13, 2009 4:48 PM | Link to this
Last year for SXSW when The scoffed at SXSWers and didn't allow Badge holders to be allowed in their venue, citing that they didn't want "that crowd" this city is for and about music, get with the program or get out of the way. "4.09" was what i called pangea's expiration date, so i was little off
By James
July 13, 2009 4:37 PM | Link to this
I kind of wondered who wanted to go out and drop hundreds to sit around guzzling pricey booze with deafening noise these days. Money is kind of tight right now and even party animals have to pay the rent.
By Jeremy
July 13, 2009 2:20 PM | Link to this
Objectively speaking, I'm guessing the negative comments are coming from people who weren't the intended audience for a club like Pangaea. I'm not an ultra lounge/bottle service kind of guy myself but a brief description of the club should have been enough to tell any potential patrons what they were in for. Just don't see how anyone has gotten burned by the mere presence of this club. If every bar/lounge downtown attempted to cater to all persons we'd have a pretty bland nightlife.
By thoog
July 13, 2009 2:06 PM | Link to this
Good riddance to bad rubbish. Pangaea was a monument to wretched excess. It was never anything except a cesspool of morons who have such small egos they have to try to substitute ludicrous spending for the personalities they don't have.
By AC
July 13, 2009 1:24 PM | Link to this
I'm not surprised. They were charging a $30 cover one night, and expected us to pay the $30 to buy bottle service? No, that's not how it works. If you have people wanting to spend hundreds on bottle service, you don't hit them up for $30 at the door.
And we won't even go into the lame backwards hat wearing owner who hits on all the attractive girl patrons. Real class act, that guy.
By Michael Barnes
July 13, 2009 1:23 PM | Link to this
OK guys, especially you anonymous ones, remember: No foul language. No libel. Can't publish those. Be mad or snarky all you want. Just keep it clean.
By Phooey
July 13, 2009 12:40 PM | Link to this
How dare those "haters" in Austin rebel against the snooty business practices so beloved in South Beach. (Ha!) Actually, I hope the Phoenix flops on its face as well, since this stupid club was willing to pay higher rent, knocking the Alamo Drafthouse from its orignal location and making its cutomers deal with harder-to-find parking on 6th Street and harrassment from the homeless "locals." Boooo!
By Joe S
July 13, 2009 12:37 PM | Link to this
I hope that someone lost a lot of money on Pangea. That place is a disgrace in Austin. The only thing worth saving is the sound system.
By John
July 13, 2009 11:48 AM | Link to this
Good. This place was the worst bar in town.
By Mixxula
July 13, 2009 11:03 AM | Link to this
And a new dj. Hit me... mixxula.com