No, you're wrong. Nightlife in Chiang Mai is not "dead". There are night clubs, roof terraces, jazz clubs, bars, karaoke, there's everything. It's just the ladybar scene, which exists, is pretty dead, with old ugly women, ok fine. But most people who come to Chiang Mai don't come for that.
Is it Pattaya, no, is it Bangkok, no, but if you want to go to a roof terrace and listen to music, if you want to go to a good bar, if you want to go to a jazz club for live music, it's all there.