Vancouver’s nightlife and culture options seem to be taking a turn for the better these days, spurred on by the arrival of two new venues with a direct lineage and a defined connection. Turnover of spaces is nothing new, but when they say we can rebuild them, we’re not just talking about the six million dollar man anymore.

The Cobalt was Vancouver’s home for hardcore. Tucked under a hotel of a very suspicious nature somewhere deep on Main street, it was a place where punks, metal-heads, the homeless, the lost and the damned cold be found raising one fist in the air.

That was until recently when it was bought out by two local bartenders, seeking new territory for their dream. Rebuilt from scratch into a wood laden, dimly lit and amazing sounding hole in the wall, the newly appointed 917 Main has hosted the likes of Kutz, Trus’me and even yours truly on the decks so far and it’s barely been open a month.

The bar is made from timbres taken directly from the support beams of Vancouver’s legendary Richards on Richards, the last sacrifice to Vancouver city council’s need to keep entertainment confined to certain areas of the city.

Richards may be dead, but it’s spirit has simply moved down the block, as its owners have taken the liquor license and established the 560 club in the space of the old A&B Sound records on Seymour. This is where things get interesting.

Four floors, the presence of some of the city’s most serious art galleries and the same booking policy that Richards had before it left us. 560 could just be the breath of fresh air that Vancouver needs and we haven’t even begun to touch the 11-ft ceilinge, 6000 sq. foot unisex bathroom with its own bar, DJ, and dance floor.

Those afraid of a post-Olympic hangover be damned, I’m pretty sure with these spots in full effect, the hangovers for Vancouver are yet to come.