Rotture

Well my first experience at Rotture and I was the first one in and one of the last to leave. Go me.
It was "Shut Up and Dance" night. Wasn't sure what to expect but was with a large group of lady friends so how can you go wrong?
To sum it up...it was fun. Not terribly crowded as you see in some dance clubs and everyone was just having a good time. The DJ plays 80s goth type music so there were definitely some people dressed the part.
It could withstand a bit of a touch up on the tables/chairs but other than that it's your typical divey club.

Parking - sketch. Yes, this is on SE 3rd in that weird industrial area. Don't recommend on walking alone if you have to park far.
$5 entry fee. Not bad.
$4 wells, cheap beers....also not bad. Paid $7 for a vodka red bull...that came with the entire red bull and a healthy dose of vodka. Win!
All in all definitely a fun time if you're with a group of people and just out to dance!

Gluten Free Options: Very limited - no cider or wines, but you can get creative with the liquors.
Bathrooms: Multiple occupancy.

I've been to Rotture a few times over the years. I like the secret-society feeling of going to a club in the middle of the industrial district, mounting an endless trail of narrow stairs, and then showing my ID to a bouncer who is slightly amused at my mildly out-of-breath self. I've seen shows here before, and while I think it's all right for that, where it really shines is as a dance venue. The stage is raised just high enough to give the DJ a nice view of the crowd without making them inaccessible as God, and the dance floor, while small-ish, still has enough space for a good crowd of people to shake their collective butts. There's a deck at the far end of Rotture, which has a nice view of the area and serves as a space to get a breath of fresh (nicotine-laden from those getting their smoke break on) air.

ANDAZ: Five Freakin' Stars!
Monthly Dance Night
Music: Bhangra mixed by DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid
Cover: $3 from 9-10pm; $7 after 10pm

I am in love. I went to this dance night for the first time over the weekend, and it's set the new bar for what I expect for a dance event. I'd heard DJ Anjali before, and always enjoyed her mixing - and this was no exception. She and The Incredible Kid kept the dance floor packed all night long with great beats and endlessly danceable music. I spent the night like thus: dance until a hot sweaty mess, rehydrate, breathe, repeat. If dancing is my religion, then my soles have just found their spiritual home and a monthly date with Andaz.

Raah-tur?
Row-te-uhr?

Well, however the hell you pronounce it, Rotture is legit.

I came here for the first time to catch A-Trak on a Friday night and was immediately impressed with the openness of the space, enabling the patrons who want to get down with adequate room to just dance dance dance.

The drinks are reasonably priced, there's loads of seating options to kick your feet up, the acoustics are tight, and the lighting is soft and low. I also like that it's 21+ over, ensuring a more established crowd.

Yeah, I would totally come back.

Went to see a friend's band and as always it sounded great. Plenty of space to hang at the bar, or watch the band up close. After the bands the DJ starts.
Every thing from Goth Kids to Social rejects, to Hot chicks in all pink garters, accessorized with a big fluffy tu tu and pink rubber boots.
Yes I loved this place.

This would be a much better place to dance if they would paint the wall that they show video on a light gray, instead of that stark white. It's to bright and kills the energy on the dance floor.
IMO......

Great shows at this east-to-miss warehouse space.

Rotture always seems to host the acts I want to get down on/to. So I go there pretty regularly. This is not a bad place to see a show. If you can ignore the clientèle. Which I can, but I still feel like the oldest person in the room and seriously would you TAKE OFF YOUR SHUTTER SHADES AND PULL YOUR DAMN PANTS UP.

The staff are not dismissive and rude. (Show of hands: Who thinks it's sad that is a distinguishing characteristic?) And frankly, they're pretty damned efficient. It makes me snarggle every time an order for a PBR is met with shrugged shoulders/shaken head/pointing at beer list. Cheap beer is cheap beer people. I know that the Hamms logo doesn't match your Chrome messenger bag, but it's pretty dark in here and clashing is the new coordination.

The few gripes I have probably aren't even their fault.

- On more than one occasion I've been charged substantially more than the advertised price of the show. One time they were collecting covers for a show that was advertised as free. So so so so lame.

- It's really hard to dance on a floor that has had about 30% of every drink sold that night spilled on it. I know that you kids really only buy drinks to have something to hold on to while you stand there and bobb awkwardly to music that your friends like, but get a sippy cup or something.

- Headliners that don't start playing until after Tri-Met stops running. So in addition to getting overcharged for the cover, I have to buy a cab home. Good damn you people make it hard for my broke ass to dance.

- The last time I went there I ran into my middle school boyfriend. He's a hipster and coke dealer now. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

The closer I got to this place, the more I felt like I was going to be hit over the head and left in a Motel 6 with my kidneys removed. That said, you really shouldn't judge a book by it's cover because Rotture is really awesome when you finally make it inside.

Why did I even venture to this crack-den-esque part of town anyway? I was invited to attend an event catering more to gay males, so I obviously felt out of place and I just knew I'd be tarred and feathered for impeding on their figurative parade. But most of the people in there were fun and I even got down with a couple of strangers. If you want to get to the second floor, get there early, but if not the line is still worth the wait. It can get really packed and sweaty though, so make sure to layer on the deodorant extra thick! The bartender was quick and efficient, and the door man obviously had some sort of complex, but he wasn't too much of a jerk-wad. I can't say the same for one of the certified hall monitors, aka "security". He was clearly upset over his lot in life and decided to exert what little sense of power he felt he had over the patrons. If a black, dank cloud could be personified it would be him.

Though I deducted stars for that dude's stank attitude, this doesn't mean that you should avoid going here. Just make sure to watch out for the tall, black hoodie wearing guard dog with the no-shave-November-is-all-year-round beard and you'll be good!

Oh gawd... how many times can they "reinvent" the B-complex without doing anything substantial to the busted-ass broken-down interior? 10 to 20 I'm gonna guess. I have some not so awesome memories from my years in this place (yeah, it's been around and the same for a long ass time), and they keep resurfacing every time I find myself back in this warehouse-cum-oh-so-cool hipster trainwreck.

Filthy, falling apart, I'm sure not up to code, and in a sketchy part of town, the Hippodrome seems to be doing the re-hashed 90's uber-cool neon thing on a weekly basis. I am guessing this from the plethora of posters on the bathroom walls that are clogged with improperly used umlauts and high-contrast pink/yellow/green images of people in super tight high-water pants looking too cool for muthafuckin school! I don't actually come here on a regular basis... so I can't confirm the oozing hipness of this place on first-hand knowledge.

I ended up back here recently for a Wieden+Kennedy event, and I am frankly surprised that they wanted to utilize this venue. I thought they were cooler than that. Oh well. I need to go home and wash off the soles of my shoes now. I wouldn't want to track Rotture all over my hardwoods.

The bar staff is friendly tho... and they poured me a stiffy for $4... so that's cool.

"21 and over! Cash only! If you're under 21 or don't have your ID, go home! There's an ATM at the porn store"

Well, okay. The staff isn't super duper friendly, but they were efficient enough.

It's not very big, I couldn't imagine seeing a well attended show here. The venue is mostly L shaped, with a bar covering most of the length of the room, with tables opposite. I imagine if there's more than 100 people actually wanting to be next to the stage, it would be bad.

The sound was good, although the speaker in the back cut out for a while early in the show. I was up front when the one loud song was played ("Hot Topic is not Punk Rock" by MC Lars) and I don't recall it being super distorty.

in a partially related note, there's a nerdcore guy out of Tri-Cities called Beefy. He's awesome. And Frontalot did indeed front the most.

Rotture is probably one of my favorite places to see shows these days. It's just one room, but super-spacious and with a giant porch with a killer view for smoking and/or cavorting (I love to cavort).
The sound is good, they book a wide variety of killer shows, and they do a bunch of dance nights too.
The drinks aren't too overpriced, and you guys, they sell sparks. jamming, right?

I think it's pretty laid back and awesome and seriously, if people keep complaining about hipsters, I might go cuckoo. It's Portland, and they're just people. Deal with it. It's quite possible you are one.