Don’t you know? This is not your sorority sister’s Lincoln Park bar. “Serving Chicago’s Underground since 1979″, Neo has been cranking out goth/industrial/post-punk nights since lattés and pugs were a gleam in this neighborhood’s eye. Personally, I had no idea. Although I lived my first year in Chicago not two blocks from Neo, I dismissed tales of alternative atmosphere in the ‘hood as mere whimsy. How could a neon sign so pink, next to an Outfitter so Urban, lead down an alley into a venue so punk rock? Instead, I found the need to “Exit” my neighborhood and head to that alternative alternative 4 a.m. club for my weekly Sisters of Mercy fix. Of course that only lasted until – to everyone’s dismay – they put cocktail tables all over the dance floor and replaced the quaint retro porn with enough Suicide Girls to render my every male dance partner a paralyzed mute. Dance left my life for a while. I filled my iPod with Bauhaus and Joy Division, moving only in my mind on snowy El platforms, pouting. Until one day this winter, just like that, I found myself invited by some friends to Atomic, Neo’s Thursday night, 80′s New Wave party. Talk about an a-ha moment. That’s right: I’m writing to you as a complete idiot. Don’t be like me, kids. Don’t waste time thinking Neo can’t possibly be as cool as you’ve heard. Put on your dancing shoes and go. Industrial Fridays and Saturdays. Metal Mondays. Passive-Aggressive Wednesdays, featuring hard electronica. Extensive beer list and plentiful pod seats. Just one thing: for those who would gawk at the goth kids or act saucy with the staff . . . there are plenty of other spots within walking distance.
