“Yes we can! Party!”
While I haven’t made my way to The World Expo sites yet this month due to crowds and work, I did go to the newest club creating a buzz in China’s cosmopolitan capital. As I sat in a taxi on a rainy morning in late April after taking my girlfriend to the airport I passed a new structure whose space used to be empty, but this time I saw it was celebrating the grand opening of Obama Club. I knew at that moment that I needed to party there. Due to the name alone I wanted to make Obama Club my recreational home.
Shanghai has more than a million foreign residents. Yes, it’s true. Third on the list are Americans, so it’s fitting that the current US president who visited China in the fall has a club named after him. As a few friends and I waltzed into the biggest and newest club to emerge in Shanghai’s party scene, we immediately noticed the size. It felt like a club in Manhattan with massive amounts of space (2 floors) and hundreds of tables, booths and bars. Attractive scantily clothed women dancing on platforms with gold poles gave Obama Club a bit of a Las Vegas feel, and the decent prices of beers and spirits reminded me of my hometown St. Louis.
As the night progressed, the three DJ’s spinning trance music (which I usually don’t care for) made all of the partygoers dance. The thumping beats were accompanied by a rad laser show and an odorless fog machine. Around 2 o'clock in the morning I realized three critical details for the future success of Obama Club. Firstly, it was a Monday night! That fact gave it parallels to clubs in NYC where people who work in the industry party after the weekend, and I can only imagine what happens on a Friday or Saturday night. Secondly, my friend and I were the only noticeably foreign people there. Most clubs further downtown near the river are constantly flooded with international residents and visitors which creates a less authentic environment. Thirdly, the poles are open for anyone to use as the night/morning goes on, and they also have huge platforms to break-dance, do the robot, worm, pop-lock, or even the nostalgic roger rabbit on with spectators below.
A bottle of Guinness Foreign Extra is modestly priced at 48rmb ($7) and shots of “Obama Flower” are only 30rmb ($4.39). The “Obama Flower” is a scrumptious concoction that tickles your taste buds it was created years ago when Barack’s great uncle was a bartender in Cyprus. With a menu that includes just about everything a party animal could imagine and NO COVER charge it was an affordable night at the club. Yes, it was like we knew someone at the door or a bar back, but we didn’t. Without a doubt the most fun that I have had at any club since I lived in NYC. When in Shanghai, do as the Shanghainese do and throw down at Obama Club!
(Scouted by Thomas Demerath)
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