Soma - VIP For A Night

I had the opportunity to check out Soma for the first time last night because a close friend of mine who is a well-known former local media personality had their going-away party there. When I strolled up to go inside, I was turned away for wearing a ball cap. No big deal... I call my buddy, and next thing I know, I'm ushered in to the club where I see a handful of other people wearing hats, which I thought was pretty funny. I understand dress-codes and all that, and since I never go there anyways, it's not a big deal, but I always get kick out of how the rules are broken for people the doorman knows.

The first impression of the place was pretty positive, otherwise. Lots of interesting people milling in the front lounge... or people trying really hard to look interesting, anyways. The seating area is raised from the floor across from the bar, and the place was so packed that I had to walk on it just to get to the back lounge/dance area. The dance floor is set between booths on both sides of the room, and a half row of booths in the middle of the room. The private party room that I went to was upstairs, and looked out over the whole of this second lounge. The DJ was right across from us on a perch on the other side of the room. There were four comfortable black leather couches and two large black leather ottomans, and a weird lamp that was full of liquid that essentially looked like a large undrinkable Cosmopolitan. Each couch had wood end-tables with a natural finish, and a coffee tables to match. there were speakers in the rear of the room that were pumping music to the whole club, so it was a bit of a challenge to talk, but it could have been worse. The DJ was spinning a mix of nineties rap and dance classics that definitely appealed to all of us 20-somethings. There was bonding over Wrex-n-Effect's "Rump Shaker," if that tells you anything. I even heard Biggie's "Hypnotize." Now if only they spun "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems"... it would have been like freshman year of college all over again!

The service was great, as one would hope, and the waitress was kind and quick. The guy working the entrance to the private room, however, kept hassling my friend and was being a bit of a prick. It didn't ruin the vibe, though, thankfully.

The funniest part of the night for most of us was when a bunch of people we didn't know came strolling up and sat down. It wasn't a big deal, except they were all a bunch of under-age looking girls. They got up and left eventually because they said we were too boring! Hey, for a bunch of people who never hit the dance clubs, it was definitely a crazier night out than most of us have had since college. It was great to see people's reactions to local media personalities wild'n out and waving their hands to Naughty By Nature's "Hip Hop Hooray." Memories are made of this.

If only this celebration was not involving one of my best friends leaving town for good. I may not be a frequent goer of Soma, but the party there was a fitting finale. Just make sure you do your hair before you leave the house.