Shake! ending five-year run

Shake! at Rogue Bar. (Credit: Jeremiah Toller/Special for Metromix)

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After a five-year run, Saturday night at the Rogue Bar in Scottsdale is the last night of Shake!, the weekly dance party for rockers, hipsters and others who hate to wash their hair.

DJ William Reed has been hosting the rock-and-roll dance party with help from a host of other DJs, including Kevin the M.O.B., Dirty Dave, DJ Funkfinger, Prince $$, Death to the Throne and guest DJs including BCAD, Jared Alan, Sleazy Sean and countless others.

Photos: A look back at Shake!

The night was important to the Valley nightlife scene because it finally gave people a place to dance to classic, indie and electro rock. Reed brought in important people in the rock and dance scenes to DJ, including members of the Misshapes, Le Tigre, Peter Bjorn and John and Andy Rourke of the Smiths. Reed hosted over-the-top theme nights and had a regular photographer there to capture all the absurd fashions and skanky shenanigans. He gave hundreds of people each Saturday night a reason to tease their hair, put on skinny jeans and drink incredibly cheap booze in a dark and sweaty room.

And I mean that in the best possible way.

But beyond that, Shake! mattered because it gave innovative DJs a place to hone their skills before launching their own new parties.

Now, Kevin the M.O.B. still hosts is Friday night parties at Phoenix's Homme Lounge called Party Foul. Alan has moved on to the incredibly popular Cheap Thrills Saturday night party at the Black Forest Mill. And he's relaunching the fauxShow electro dance party Nov. 6 at Sanctum in Phoenix. Prince $$ will host a ladies-centric Pretty Young Things at Majerle's downtown on First Fridays, along with DJ Funkfinger. And Funkfinger has just been added to the bill at the Obscura Brit-pop and indie dance night at the Ruby Room in downtown Phoenix every second Friday.

As for Reed, he'll be joining Alan at Cheap Thrills on Saturdays, and remaking the Friday night at the Mondrian Scottsdale into a dance party called Harlot.

“Shake! has some significance in that it brought new music to the dance floor,” said DJ Funkfinger, who's served as a regular at Shake!. “Indie music in a dance setting wasn't really around before. Shake! broke a lot of dance music, and had that harder rock-and-roll vibe to it, and they tried to replicate it in Scottsdale, but that never worked really well. It still fills a niche, and it's going to be missed.”

The final party will be a zombie dance spectacular with Prince $$, Reed and Disco Tex.

Details: $5 cover. Rogue Bar at 423 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 480-947-3580, myspace.com/shakeroguebar.