Since 2015, the downtown hot spot has billed itself as a dance club for people who don’t like dance clubs (and yes, people actually dance here, well into the morning). There’s no bottle service, dress code, or celebrity DJs at Oddfellows; instead, locals flock for sweaty acid-house raves, pop-punk and emo nights, and ’80s and ’90s dance parties every Friday, plus trippy projections from video DJs.

Follow the sign for “THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH” and you’ve found Vegas’ favorite dive bar and the city’s foothold for good old-fashioned punk rock since 1992. The windowless brick building next to the airport has seen some things over the years, including raucous sets from bands like T.S.O.L and the Supersuckers along with scrappy local punk acts. Just as legendary are the infamous bathrooms, 12-hour-long happy hour, and a signature shot simply known as Ass Juice.

The warehouse-style lounge and performance space owns its Arts District heritage with giant pop art murals, installations made from vintage TVs, and a lineup devoted to all things dark and moody. Since 2011, Artifice’s backroom stage has specialized in post-punk, dark wave, and industrial sounds, including sets from My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and a long-running goth night. Stop by during the area’s First Friday street fest for a true taste of local Las Vegas.

Welcome to Las Vegas, where you can dance all night beneath an enormous octopus sculpture whose tentacles put on an LED light show. The beloved party spot is big on spectacle, but don’t confuse it for a Top 40 club: The 500-capacity Fremont East space caters to house and techno heads, booking veterans like Todd Edwards, Tiga, and Mark Farina alongside well-known party collectives like Desert Hearts and Dirtybird. It all goes down on a Void sound system the venue describes as “obnoxious.”

When the nautical-themed Eastside hideaway opened in 1972, it was one of Sin City’s few 24-hour hangouts, hence its status as a late-night haunt for entertainers like Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones. The space has operated under a few different names since the ’70s but returned to its original glory in 2017, complete with throwback tiki decor, rum drinks, and performances from rowdy local rock bands and ’80s-vinyl sets beneath the dance floor disco ball.

The South Pacific meets Vegas kitsch in this 24-hour hideout tucked in a Chinatown strip mall. The surprisingly roomy space opened in 2015 but feels like a ’60s tiki bar on acid, with foulmouthed animatronic parrots and a creepy collection of shrunken heads modeled after guests like Sammy Hagar and Jello Biafra. (The Dead Kennedys singer DJs here on occasion.) Sip a scorpion bowl while catching a set from local surf rock and exotica bands or the occasional Elvis-themed luau.

South of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign is the city’s go-to for all things country, which means line dancing, mechanical-bull riding, and a massive American flag made from red, white, and blue beer cans. Stoney’s has had a few iterations since opening in 2007, but its reputation for breaking up-and-coming country talent remains a constant, booking artists like Kane Brown and Russell Dickerson early in their careers to play on the club’s spur-rattling sound system.

The Fremont East nightclub is pure sensory overload: Every inch of the 10,000-square-foot warehouse is covered in candy-colored murals, from the dance floor to the killer rooftop bar to the in-house ice cream parlor (profits fund public art projects in downtown Las Vegas). From a booth reconfigured from an ice cream truck, DJs spin big room beats ’til late, among them A-Trak, Rusko, and Anderson .Paak’s alter ego, DJ Pee .Wee.

Tech spectacle meets futuristic art bazaar meets warehouse rave at the sprawling entertainment complex just west of I-15. By day, AREA15 is home to interactive art installations and a surrealist supermarket, but at night its concert space showcases artists like Snail Mail and Yves Tumor or hosts festivals like Happy Camper, a summer-camp-themed party headlined by Channel Tres.