Looking at it from the outside, the front of the Black Cat is simple and intriguing with a design of a cat against a black background (taking up two stories) interspersed with yellow bricks. Due to this, the venue makes itself known to the passer-bys. It gives off a sort-of artsy vibe, a vibe that the owners probably wanted in order to attract a more alternative crowd.
As we went inside, I realized that the venue consisted of different rooms with various purposes. The Red Room was particularly relaxing, with a bar, a jukebox, billiards, pinball and seating booth (it actually reminded me of my favorite bar/club back home). It is certainly one of the best places to go with friends to have a solid night out. While the drinks were slightly more expensive than I thought they would be ($12 for a watered-down vodka with Red Bull), the noise and the music (the jukebox mostly has classic and indie rock aka awesome music!) made the Red Room into a very satisfying experience.
The people around me, drinking and conversing loudly, ranged between early twenties to early thirties and they seemed more or less to be the alternative (i.e. hipster) crowd that I had imagined before going in.
But our plans were not to remain in the Red Room for the rest of the night. There was a 90’s pop dance party going on in the Backstage and that was exactly what we were here for. The Backstage is a very small room with dark lighting and minimal decorations. Its size surprised me, as I had no knowledge of the bigger stage upstairs. Nevertheless, the room was just about full and the party was just getting started (and what a party it was!).
Unlike the Red Room, the crowd here mainly consisted of college students and had a much more mainstream club feel. The music, while incorporating many 90’s pop/rock/dance hits, finally strayed away from this concept to the current repertoire. I felt that the two rooms were starkly different due to the fact that they provided two distinctive atmospheres for two distinctive mindsets. Perhaps the contrasting features between them show its development from a more underground music venue to a more mainstream nightclub.
Nevertheless, it was a really fun and exciting outing. I was also very tired by the end of it; after three hours of dancing and drinking, it was only natural. The Black Cat is definitely a venue that I would gladly visit again in my next three years at college.
No comments:
Post a Comment