What I found was very far from wack. Inside, there was a decent size room with a wrap-around bar to the left of the entrance. If you couldn’t tell you were in Caribbean club by the music, there were a string of Caribbean flags hanging above the bar. There was also an elevated DJ booth directly across from the entrance and a section with booths for people to sit and eat, directly to the left of the doors. The dance floor was a decent size, enough to fit at least 100 people comfortably. When we got there, there were about 50-60 people on the dance floor. The number increased to about 80-90 as the night progressed. So, it was not too crowded on the dance floor and it also was not so empty that you can see everyone there (I hate that). But, we weren’t really concerned about the dance scene at that moment. We were more focused on getting to the bar and making up our $20 cover in drinks. The bar was crowded as expected with an open bar. When we finally caught the attention of a bartender, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the entire bar was open, meaning top shelf liquors, like Grey Goose, Patron, and Hennessey, and any beer they had were all FREE. Heineken, Corona, Guinness. You want it? You got it. Nevis and Paris started off with the double drinks (a liquor drink and a beer). I, on the other hand, started off slowly with one liquor drink, since I didn’t eat dinner before I left the house. Luckily, they also sold (real) food in the club, and I am not talking about that skimpy bar food, like wings or french fries. They were selling plates of stew chicken, rice and peas, salad, and plantains (typical Caribbean dish) for $10 dollars. The food was so yummy, and the portion was so generous, that I had to save it for lunch the next day. Me belly was definitely full full, oui. Ok, this is a club so I can’t talk entirely about what I filled my belly with (if you can’t tell yet, I am real fat ass at heart. I used to steal chicken from my father’s plate when I was 2).
The scene was cool and laid back. People were dressed casually in jeans, shorts, and t-shirts and tanks. No fancy dress here. The entire night there were more men in the club than women, but it was not an uncomfortable gender imbalance. (If it was a sausage party, the night might have been a bad night for all kinds of obvious reasons). The crowd was for the most part black (I didn’t see any visibly white, Asian, or Hispanics and I didn’t expect to) and relatively young. People looked to be in their early 20s to early 30s. There, however, were a few exceptions. There was an old man with dreads that looked to be in his mid 40s that kept trying to dance with me. He smelled like Heineken and ganja. Oh, did I forget to say that people were smoking in this club? Coming from the northeast, I had gotten so used smoke-free places that I forgot people could still smoke in clubs. Now, I know what you are thinking: Caribbean club; Smoke; Ganja-smelling man. People must have been smoking weed in the club. Well, I can neither confirm nor deny that. I know I wasn’t smoking anything illegal and I will leave it at that. The music was good. The DJ played lots of soca (which made me happy) and mixed it up with dancehall, hip-hop, and some southern rap (this is ATL, shawty!!). Everybody seemed to be having a good time. People were dancing and singing along to music. There was no tension in the air and no violence. Every ting was irie irie!! Free drinks, good food, and great music! With all that going on, I met a few guys on the dance floor. Surprisingly (or not), I didn’t meet any native Atlantans. Most of the guys I spoke to you were from New York—the Bronx or Brooklyn. Even more surprising, I actually met a guy from Dominica (the land where my roots run deep). I rarely have random encounters with Dominicans (pronounced DOM-E-NEE-CANS, not the other way), especially not in clubs. I grew up in a Dominican community in Boston and barely saw other Dominicans outside planned events. So of course, he got my attention for more than the customary 5 minutes (but that is another story). By 3:00am, the club started to empty out (it was a Wednesday night). There were about 10 people, including the three of us, in the club when we left around 3:30am. Overall, it was a good night and a great introduction to Caribbean Atlanta.
One Love
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