Sometimes I Need to Just Dance at Bowery Electric

Ask Caryn, and she’ll probably give you a different review of this spot, but if I need to dance it out, the first place I’m going is Bowery Electric.

Frankly, it has everything I hate – a line to get in, it’s crowded and there’s a special section that is the best spot in the whole bar (aka the basement) that’s nearly impossible to get in.  But once you get in the basement, my God it’s magical.

I guess to best sum up the Bowery Electric experience, I’ll walk you through it.  You’ll notice a line when you arrive and I will say, it does move quickly.  My advice is to get there by 11:30 or so.  Once inside, you’ll see a bouncer at the top of the stairs to the basement.  The best part of this bar is the basement.  You’ll want to ask if you can head down there, and he or she will let you know what time it’ll open up to the public – because for now, it’s reserved for parties.

You can check your coat in the meantime, and if the whole bar is open, you’ll want to head towards the back where the DJ is.  There’s plenty of room to dance back there.  The night Caryn and I most recently went, that space too was booked for a party so the whole place was pretty darn uncomfortable.  Wall to wall people, and lots of shoving.  I’m telling you though – this was a rarity.  Normally you can move on the upstairs floor.  Still, I powered through, knowing what was ahead.

The trick is if you know when the bouncer is letting folks into the basement, you should line up about 15 minutes ahead of time (sorry Tim and Kristin for blowing our secret).  More than not, people forget about the basement opening up, and are too engrossed in drinks and conversation by then.

While the DJ is good upstairs, I will say once downstairs, she’s fantastic – mainly because I love top 40, pop music and

Dance dance!

anything played at a wedding (which by the way, you will know my friends are there if you hear our buddy Dave yell “I want you to DJ my wedding” about 15 times throughout the night).  Hip hop isn’t allowed, which I’m totally fine with, except for the time I wanted to hear Pitbull’s Give Me Everything and was shut down.  There’s a stage you can dance on, and everyone seems to be bopping around.  While you may see an occasional makeout, you don’t feel nearly as sleazy as you do at Mad River on the UES. No guys are trying to grind on top of you, and everyone is pretty much out to have a good time – even if it means a dance off or two.  To sum it up, it’s a lot of dancing in circles with your friends, to Katy Perry’s Fireworks, to Shout, to Party in the USA, to Build Me Up Buttercup.

Beers are about $6 a piece but I find myself not drinking as much here because I’m too busy dancing.  At the old age of 26, I find myself not being able to stay out too late, but whenever our nights take place at Bowery Electric, I find myself coming home well after 4am.