It's hard to believe how "cutting edge" Club Clearview (R.I.P.) was striving to be in the early 1990s. Because plopping down $80,000 for a virtual reality machine and a re-model in the middle of a recession? That sure seems like a bold move on the part of then-Clearview owners Jeff Swaney and Jeff Yarborough.
In the May 21, 1992 edition of the Dallas Observer, Gilbert Garcia dove head-first into this topic, writing about a new weekly event at the club. Dubbed Cyberium, the new weekly featured techno-rave music and, um, "video projections and light effects," while at the same time introducing Dallas clubgoers and ravers to the smart drink trend with drinks like Psuper Psonic Psybertronic.
The investment plan also aimed to allow the curious and the "cyberjunkies" alike to slip on one of those fancy plastic VR visors and take a virtual trip for $5--but, turns out, the virtual reality machine was just one of the new features the club rolled out for its event aimed at "computer geeks" and "dance-club slaves."
In an article that's half a scene piece and half a study of the lengths in which a venue will go in an effort embrace the newest trends to get people in the doors and on the dance floor, Garcia asks a fair questions: "With many clubs using marketing sleight-of-hand to supplant the notion of live humans playing live music, is Clearview merely waving the white flag to the Dave & Buster's of the world?"
The article seems especially interesting in light of last month's pick
from April
2, 1992 about how the recession was taking its toll on area venues,
and how the clubs were countering with "recession-proof events."
After all, just a few weeks prior to launching Cyberium, Clearview launched Rockabilly Wednesdays.
Give Garcia's original piece a glance after the jump.
