The Fez Club is now The Side Show!

The trance crowd has a new home at the Side Show at the old Fez.  

The Side show has just been opened in the old Fez Club. Expect the Friday nights to be trance nights. Expect the rest in our weekly newsletter.

==== The Fez is now officially the Side Show ====


Cape Town’s clubs have short life spans, so it’s rare to call one iconic; but that’s just what the Fez Club is. Having first opened its big wooden doors in 1998, this intimate nightlife venue rocked the Cape Town scene solidly for years. It went into hibernation in 2005, and it seemed as if the cheeky monkey with his ubiquitous fez hat (the brand’s logo), had found other concrete jungles to prowl. Come 2009 and the monkey returned, Fez reopened on the corner of Bree Street and Mechau Street, and Cape Town’s nights of Moroccan mayhem were back.

Early evening at the club plays host to The Brasserie, a dining concept that melds a restaurant experience and artist performances into one big show. Earlier I watched trapeze artists ascend to the ceiling, bewitching dancers beguile and opera singers steal the limelight. Now, it’s a club transformed, the only hint of the previous revelry are snapshots of glitter in the shifting lasers.

I love you, but I’ve chosen disco

Tonight Andy Norman is on the decks, and the crowd is eating it up. There’s a giant white head that hangs above the crowd, projection are flashed onto its blank countenance –from landscapes to black and white movies, and it gives the night a dreamlike quality.

Even more surreal are the emerging performers; one floats above us in white drifting chiffon on a ceiling swing, while others take to the stage in a flirty shimmy.

Explore

The club is separated into different parts; downstairs, where we are now, is the main dance floor, running along the one side are luxury booths that can seat eight to ten people each. There is a minimum spend of R1500 on each table, and there’s plenty to drink – from French champagne to the spirits of your choice.

Above the main floor is the balcony, also with booth seating and the same rules apply. It’s often used as the VIP area. Speaking of, Very Important People, there’s a special room reserved for the VVIPs. Also upstairs, this space accommodates 60 people, has its own private bar and a view of the dance floor.

Then there’s the Caz Room, more of an intimate experience it seats 18 people and comes with its own waitress.

Upstairs there’s another bar as well as an outside deck for those both seeking fresh air and somewhere to smoke.

On our way out, we exit through the front passing the main bar and front booths. It’s the wee hours of the morning, but this party’s still going strong. And I’m happy to report that Saturdays in Cape Town are finally back on track.

What you need to know: The dress code is smart casual, to wild and sensual. 

We also visited The Brasserie, and were spell-bound by the delectable dining and magic performances.

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