Phazez This DJ-oriented club helped introduce the Alamo City to a variety of late ‘80s trends, including goth, post-punk, industrial music and underground hip-hop. Little surprise that periodic reunions organized around the now-defunct club continue to draw fans. Pictured here: Phazez patrons, left to right, David Goodall, Lanie Cathcart and Scott Grimmitt during a busy night. Credit: Courtesy Photo / David Milne

Bars come, bars go. Few leave indelible marks on a city’s music and cultural scene.

However, in just three short years, 1986-1989, Phazez put a deep and powerful enough stamp on San Antonio clubgoers that organizers are now holding their fourth reunion for the nightspot’s former patrons.

Phazez, which operated from the San Pedro Avenue space now occupied by The Bang Bang Bar, is widely credited to opening San Antonio’s ears to goth, industrial, post-punk, underground hip-hop and myriad other musical movements that percolated up in the late 1980s.

Scheduled for Saturday, April 6, the reunion will take place at the Bonham Exchange. The gathering also celebrates Changez, a Phazez-affiliated club that offered similar music and attitude.

During its run, Phazez provided a safe space for those seeking the next iterations of underground music and goth culture. It was also a place where LGBTQ+ and straight patrons could freely mingle without fear of harassment from the city’s more conservative elements.

While the club was known for sharing a vibrant DJ culture with the Alamo City, it also booked touring acts including Firehose, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and even a solo show by punk forefather Jonathan Richman. Entertainment also included an eclectic movie night and a homespun macabre performance-art series.

The April 6 reunion will include DJs David Milne and Raleigh, both Phazez stalwarts, spinning tracks that helped make the club a Texas-wide tastemaker back in the day.

The suggested cover will benefit the San Antonio AIDS Foundation and High Voltage Music Inc., which provides music instruction in underserved Alamo City communities. Only those who donate will be eligible for door-prize drawings during the night.

$15 suggested donation, and Bonham will charge additional $5 cover after 10 p.m., 7 p.m.-2 a.m., Saturday, April 6, Rainbow Ballroom at Bonham Exchange, Bonham Exchange, 411 Bonham, tinyurl.com/phazez.

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This article appears in Apr 3-16, 2024.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...