Ybor’s indie mecca

The walls are exposed brick. The air is thick with synthetic fog, smoke and sweat. The standard uniform is a favorite pair of jeans and a band T-shirt. Everyone is screaming the words to The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” and dancing like they’re at home in front of a mirror.

Sitting on a corner a few streets down from the main strip in Ybor City, The Orpheum provides a place to appreciate local and independent music. And on Saturday nights, called the Retro Red Square Recall, a packed dance floor listens while DJ Noi and Rig play everything from Brit pop and indie rock to hip-hop and ’80s tunes.

The Orpheum’s Web site, RRSR.com, describes the night as “an evening of cheers, beers and ears for the latest dance music and sounds that will never ever hit today’s public radio airwaves.” In one night, at one place, a playlist will include bands like Bloc Party, Le Tigre and Hot Hot Heat lined up with ’80s artists like The Cure and Depeche Mode, with a little Missy Elliot and Jay-Z mixed in, too.

The Orpheum is a great change of scenery from the other clubs in Ybor. Its patrons seem less worried about finding someone to take home for the night and more concerned with listening to their favorite songs and dancing their hearts out. If you are looking for love, this is the wrong place to do it. Everyone is covered in sweat and screaming at the top of their lungs, not seeming to even be aware of anything else but the song.

The bathrooms at Orpheum may be a new experience for some clubbers as there are no doors on the bathrooms. The men’s room especially leaves its visitors exposed to all those waiting in the hallway. A word to the wise: Hide your innocent eyes when taking a potty break.

Nine bucks gets everyone 18 and up in the door, and if you’re 21, wells and draft beers are free all night long. Doors open at 10 p.m. For more information, check out RRSR.com.

The Orpheum 1902 Republica de Cuba Ave.

Grade: A+