Monarch Theatre

Patrons of The Monarch Theatre seem to frequently contract dance fever whenever beats begin blasting out of its in-house wall of sound. Each victim at this downtown Phoenix dance emporium has their own individual symptoms: some folks start to shimmy, others begin to bounce, while the rest wind up merely pumping fists or bobbing heads as fast as the BPM will allow. The diversity of boogaloos being busted withing the confines of its 7,000-square-foot dance floor tends to encompass a wide variety of electronic dance music during any particular week. If it’s a UK Thursday event, you can expect a skull-shaking auditory assault of dubstep, glitch, or drum ‘n’ bass. When the Solstice crew puts up a special event, expect hours of progressive or deep house. Touring DJs that visit also bring laptops and hard drive full of everything from electro-house and trance to psychedelic, nu-disco, and other atmospheric jams. If anyone’s beat their feet into submission, however, various booths and posh seating opposite of the bar is waiting.