Club 152 on Beale Street Scores a Small Victory
I spent most of yesterday hanging out with my new friend Brendan. How he came sweeping into my life is one of those bizarre coincidences I can only chalk up to some forces in the universe looking out for me. We went to Otherlands for $5 cups of coffee and good conversation, we went for a walk in Overton Park, then we came home and watched the new Mike Nichols movie vehicle, Closer. It's an extremely quirky film about people who can't have healthy relationships. I think I need to watch it again in order to figure out what all the hullaballoo was about, it didn't really grab me. After having yet another incredible meal at Saigon Le, clearly the best Vietnamese restaurant in Memphis, he wanted to go out to Dan McGuiness for pints with friends. I abstained, and decided to call it a night for all intents and purpose.
As I sat here thinking of what to do, I made up my mind to really just do nothing at all. I called around to several friends, nobody was doing anything specific. I settled in and prepared to go to sleep nice and early.
It was almost midnight, and I had curled up with a pile of books ready to put myself right to sleep. Then I was hipped to the fact that Justin Hand, one of the best DJ's we have in the Mid-South, was starting a new Saturday night residency at one of my least favorite clubs, Club 152 on Beale Street. It's never been so much that I didn't like the club, really, more that I was never hip to the clientele and, since the City of Memphis had run roughshood over the whole of downtown with the new FedEx Forum, parking can't be fun anymore. The locals tend to either flock to Beale Street or avoid it entirely, depending on the weather, the mood, and what is really going on. It's for visitors to our fair city, many think. But a trip to A. Schwab's never hurt any of us, now did it?
The clincher was this: Justin's residency occurred on the 3rd Floor, a V.I.P. area which required special credential to enter. The 3rd Floor has been completely redesigned with a new look that suits a V.I.P. Room at any class nightspot -- comfy couches, very cool lighting, a seperate dancefloor with plenty of room, gothic candle-style chandeliers, curtained-off rooms to allow for a modicum of privacy for their well-to-do clientele. Most importantly, it caters to the city's growing late-night crowd, only becoming open from Midnight until 6 AM. Wilbur Hensley, Bud Chitham, and Kevin Kane have a lot to be proud of with the renovation of the upstairs space, and the addition of Justin to the mix should make this a place to watch once again. The plan for the V.I.P area of the club is to eventually make it membership only. Patrons will pay either a nightly membership charge or, if they so desire, may purchase a yearly membership. The cost is still TBD, but I can assure you it will be intentionally prohibitive to provide clientele with a break from the tourists and the bridge-and-tunnel crew.
I spent a good 5 hours there listening to a fantastic mix of old and new house, techno, and assorted dance mixes. If anything, Justin performs consistently above par, and last night was no exception. I ran into Kevin Kane, head of the Memphis Convention and Visitor's bureau; Donald Leadbetter, former Memphian and now working in the upper echelons of the cruise industry; and my dear La Lola Bella (aka Lauren) looking as lovely as ever. I was fortunate to be joined by Mark Richens and the lovely Jill who was visiting us from Nashville, Emily and Jen from Cooper-Young's perennial hotspot Dish (formerly Melange), and later in the evening by Brendan and his roommate Fabrizio. We danced, talked, and laughed the night away.
My favorite moment of the night: staring at the neon sign over the women's restroom was so distorted at times it made me think someone had slipped me a Mickey Finn.
All in all, I think I can safely recommend the 3rd Floor experience at 152 because of what I know it will soon become.
As I sat here thinking of what to do, I made up my mind to really just do nothing at all. I called around to several friends, nobody was doing anything specific. I settled in and prepared to go to sleep nice and early.
It was almost midnight, and I had curled up with a pile of books ready to put myself right to sleep. Then I was hipped to the fact that Justin Hand, one of the best DJ's we have in the Mid-South, was starting a new Saturday night residency at one of my least favorite clubs, Club 152 on Beale Street. It's never been so much that I didn't like the club, really, more that I was never hip to the clientele and, since the City of Memphis had run roughshood over the whole of downtown with the new FedEx Forum, parking can't be fun anymore. The locals tend to either flock to Beale Street or avoid it entirely, depending on the weather, the mood, and what is really going on. It's for visitors to our fair city, many think. But a trip to A. Schwab's never hurt any of us, now did it?
The clincher was this: Justin's residency occurred on the 3rd Floor, a V.I.P. area which required special credential to enter. The 3rd Floor has been completely redesigned with a new look that suits a V.I.P. Room at any class nightspot -- comfy couches, very cool lighting, a seperate dancefloor with plenty of room, gothic candle-style chandeliers, curtained-off rooms to allow for a modicum of privacy for their well-to-do clientele. Most importantly, it caters to the city's growing late-night crowd, only becoming open from Midnight until 6 AM. Wilbur Hensley, Bud Chitham, and Kevin Kane have a lot to be proud of with the renovation of the upstairs space, and the addition of Justin to the mix should make this a place to watch once again. The plan for the V.I.P area of the club is to eventually make it membership only. Patrons will pay either a nightly membership charge or, if they so desire, may purchase a yearly membership. The cost is still TBD, but I can assure you it will be intentionally prohibitive to provide clientele with a break from the tourists and the bridge-and-tunnel crew.
I spent a good 5 hours there listening to a fantastic mix of old and new house, techno, and assorted dance mixes. If anything, Justin performs consistently above par, and last night was no exception. I ran into Kevin Kane, head of the Memphis Convention and Visitor's bureau; Donald Leadbetter, former Memphian and now working in the upper echelons of the cruise industry; and my dear La Lola Bella (aka Lauren) looking as lovely as ever. I was fortunate to be joined by Mark Richens and the lovely Jill who was visiting us from Nashville, Emily and Jen from Cooper-Young's perennial hotspot Dish (formerly Melange), and later in the evening by Brendan and his roommate Fabrizio. We danced, talked, and laughed the night away.
My favorite moment of the night: staring at the neon sign over the women's restroom was so distorted at times it made me think someone had slipped me a Mickey Finn.
All in all, I think I can safely recommend the 3rd Floor experience at 152 because of what I know it will soon become.
posted by EJ at 1/16/2005 12:30:00 PM
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