The Social Club
by j.charles @ textproductions
If it’s true what they say; that all of the good clubs don’t have signs, then ‘The Social Club’ is the perfect example of one that perpetuates this theory. They don’t want you here unless you’re supposed to be, unless you want to be. And once you actually step inside you get why.
The front is simple, but uncharacteristically cool. This club has a window to the street, at eye level. Brick walls surround the black front door, which frames the doorman. He expediently checks i.d. at the door, and quickly whisks you into the entrance. It is separated from the lounge by a brick wall partition that looks very similar to the outside. The club collects its nominal entrance fee here, as well as checks in guest-listers. From here you start to get excited, and before I even got stamped I noticed the bar. You will to, it’s just too unique not to give attention to.
I'd like to take a minute to give all of my readers a heads up before I go any further. There is more to the club than you see when first stepping into the crowd. I found this out the hard way, and I know most backpack kids can’t walk past a bar without posting and waiting for a drink, but here you have a choice between two water spots. One in front, one in the showcase. If the line is large and deep up front you owe it to yourself to travel to the rear.
That said, allow me to state that the main bar is just damn impressive, and i'm glad I had a quick second to sit down and observe it all. Honestly its one of the cleanest, most organized bars i've seen in a hip hop establishment. I guess the first thing you see when you sit down is the bar itself. Not just a weak-ass wood grained bar, it’s actually like a kandy blue with sparkles and shit, smoothed out with a clear coat. Manual juicers adorn both ends of the bar; large chrome extractors that just look good where they are. At the end of the bar closest to the back room showcase, right about where the waitress goes to pick up her drinks, sits a massive stainless steel espresso machine. A proper espresso machine. Another rarity for a hip hop venue.
Behind the bar is just as impressive as the bar itself. Mirrors hang the entire length of the wall running behind the twelve beer taps, face down glasses, liquor shelves and the flat screens. The TV’s are positioned at either end, just in case there’s a Giants game on at 11.30 at night. Below the rear counter of the bar are the glass front refrigerators, which do a good job of showcasing the beers by the bottle and the frosted glasses.
The bartender is solo tonight running his ass off to serve everyone at his bar, in the order of their arrival. His patrons, like me, seem completely unaware that there is not another bar in the house, and in the name of tips, I’m sure he’s not going to inform them. Good for him. He is casually dressed just like a lot of kids in the HUGELY varied crowd, in a white tee shirt and a pair of grey Dickies.
Lighting is ample, but not excessive. Sunken fixtures provide a reasonable amount of light, but the candles on each of the café tables and the hearth not only create an atmosphere, but illuminate the passing asses of several gorgeous women, all of drinking age. That’s right, well above eighteen. No need to check i.d, its already done. Thanks again, doorman.
The hearth sits, very obviously, above the fireplace. Two red velour couches run perpendicular to it, with a coffee table in the middle already littered with beer bottles and sweating rocks glasses. Apparently attractive women love to sit by the fire. Not one time during the night (that I saw) was there a fugly chick in the immediate area. Believe me, I watched.
Because, really, what review would be complete without a sub plot?
The deejay booth in the back left corner rounds out the room. It’s just a one step booth, and all of the electronics are housed in a cubby that sits right next to a café table. Which is a great place to get bumped. This is the ONLY notable flaw with the front room. All the way to the back of the bar/sitting room/makeout spot is a hallway. The one that leads to the showcase. You know, the one I didn’t bother to notice until three Amstel lights into my stay. So about fifteen minutes.
The hallway, like I said, has a few off ramps for your respective bathrooms right there in the lounge. Two neon lights slowly acclimate your eyes to being in no light whatsoever. About halfway through the hall the music from the main stage drowns out fully the beats from the front. It’s literally like a whole nother club. Speakers surround all open space on the dance floor, which begins right when you get into the room. To the left are the sound booth and its technician, a pretty nice analog board, and a stack of electronics floor to ceiling in a vent closet. To the right is the satellite bar. This one has the same style bar, only smaller. And this one was red sparkle, set off even more by the large amount of red lighting pouring from the stage lights in the ceiling.
The dance floor is way bigger than I would ever guess, interspersed with cocktail tables around the structure poles. Lining the walls stage right were booths, stage left got a couch to fill in the space between the bar and stage.
The sound on the dance floor was clean and well timed, and soon it was completely packed in for the show, as it usually is. This is one of those clubs where you better expect to sweat, and even if you can’t dance, you’re gonna want to try. Believe me. Of course, I did come on Latin hip hop night. ‘The Social Club’ pretty much fills the part of the nightlife that I prefer. A comfortably open space interspersed with useful and well placed furniture for lounging in between drinks from either of the well stocked bars; as well as plenty of space to move, good sound and even better bands. The perfect combination of fast and slower in one cover. All you have to do is find it.