This new Boise ‘micro’ nightclub fits 84 people. Its ‘stunning’ sound lures touring DJs

Michael Deeds
·2 min read

Things have changed since plans were shared last year for Space Banana, a new alley-entrance bar in downtown Boise.

A focus on oddity cocktails is out.

A proclivity for touring DJs pumping out EDM — electronic dance music — is in.

A “micro-club” located in the alley behind 816 W. Bannock St., Space Banana was slated to open Wednesday, Feb. 14, with its first show: Los Angeles-based techno artist Rinzen. Additional DJs/producers are scheduled to round out the week: Mz Worthy (Thursday), N2N (Friday) and Nala (Saturday). Tickets to those gigs, and others coming, are available online at dice.fm.

“What we’re doing,” co-owner Brandon Dismuke explained in an email, “is fusing a proper cocktail lounge with a nightclub featuring live entertainment.”

Touring EDM performers such as Los Angeles-based DJ N2N, pictured, are doing shows at Space Banana.
Touring EDM performers such as Los Angeles-based DJ N2N, pictured, are doing shows at Space Banana.

The previously avant-garde mixed-drink presentation was “reworked to focus on classic cocktails with a few of our own twists thrown in,” he said. “The program is more of a meticulous study in liquor and (which) specific distilleries produce the ideal product for the cocktails we’re mixing. We’ve also added a selection of fine champagnes and sakes to round out the menu.”

But the biggest bragging point at Space Banana?

That would be the titanic BattleAxe subwoofers from Massachusetts-based HSD Sound Systems. The “output from a single BattleAxe,” HSD brags on its website, “is nothing short of stunning.”

Space Banana’s bass blasts aren’t designed to rattle your innards into a nasty beef stew. “While the system looks massive,” Dismuke said, “it’s not about how loud it gets. The speakers and amps are designed to deliver the highest level of clarity possible. Even when the speakers are cranking, you can still have a conversation at a normal talking level.

“We worked with their audio engineers to tune our space and acoustically treat the room, so you’re getting a studio-quality experience. Because of the HSD, we can attract a level of EDM artists that would previously have not come to a club our size in this region. The DJs that make up our lineup are touring artists with millions of streams on Spotify. Most of these DJs typically don’t play in front of crowds of less than 1,000 people; we can fit 84 so these are going to be unique experiences.”

The atmosphere inside Space Banana is “artsy and futuristic,” he said. But the light system provides “a refined, ambient vibe instead of typical hyperactive nightclub lighting.”

Space Banana opens at 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Walk inside early in the evening and you won’t need a ticket to hang out. You’ll be able to sip a cocktail and check out art installations or the neon space banana. But Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, DJs will take over after 9 p.m. Those are ticketed events.

“This is when the lights start to sparkle,” Space Banana’s website promises, “the dance floor fills, and the volume gets (turned) up.”