R.I.P. Metropol, The Upstage & my 20's!

Metropol: Friday's 75 cent Rolling Rocks

The Upstage: Monday's 25 cent draft night

Ahhhhh, the churches of my youth: Metropol and The Upstage!
I would love to get one more night of dancing in the orgy of scented fog and strobe lights, Rolling Rock in hand, cigarette in the other and thrashing around the dance floor like a fool for hours at a time - only stopping when drenched and in need of fluids (beer, of course)! These are the two clubs where my friends and I spent our entire 20's (and early 30's). I have amazing memories of both places - it is a shame they both (1) eventually got ruined by frat boys and (2) closed their doors - there is an entire generation that missed out! And SERIOUSLY, can I just say, THANK GOD there was no Facebook back in the good ole days!

I remember before my 21st birthday going to this place called Metropol for the first time to see MINISTRY. We had to sit upstairs in the balcony with all of the other underagers but I remember saying aloud OH MY GOD THIS PLACE IS AWESOME AND AS SOON AS WE ALL TURN 21, WE WILL BE HERE EVERY WEEKEND! And sure enough, we did!

It was a ritual every Friday. The girls and I would spend hours getting ready to hit the 'Pol. Our apartment floor was strewn with every piece of black clothing we owned. Purses were loaded up with ID, cigarettes and ATM card! Calls were made. The meeting place was always the same - Equibank on Walnut Street - which was perfect! All of us lived in the neighborhood so we all met up, withdrew cash and waited on the poor unsuspecting cab driver that had to transport our butts to the Strip District. The cab was whirling with perfume, cigarettes, hairspray and our excited cackling. What would happen tonight? Would that cute guy talk to us?

The cab would roll up and deposit us in front where the line to get in was all the way down the ramp. The guys at the door would card us and take each of our $3 cover charges. Although after years and years, we started to not get carded anymore - we were so proud ha ha! As soon as the doors open, the "thumpa thumpa" music could be felt through your entire body. It was dark and smoky inside. Clumps of people were huddled in various corners of the industrial club. The dance floor was alive and the lights were in full effect! First stop - alcohol. Second stop (and final resting place) - station ourselves outside the bathrooms. We had it down to a science. Easy access to the potties, primping and to scout out all the boys :) Once a fav song of ours came on...we were gone out to the dance floor - smack dab in the middle of the floor...and there we stayed until we needed a beer. We could handle the crowded dance floor and clear our dance space by elbowing people out of the way or using lit cigarettes as a weapon. ha ha When the music selection was not to our liking, it was time to "make a round" (aka check out the boys and say hi to friends). We usually went counterclockwise....starting at the bathrooms, up the stairs, across the stage, down the stairs, past the upper bar, down the stairs and back to our "station".   We would scan the room for our latest crush or go flirt with our favorite bartender. There was a method to our madness! And every once in awhile, we'd meander upstairs to the balcony bar - another key location to scout out boys (hmmm...is there a theme here?).

Then the clock struck 2:00am and the lights came on! AHHHHH....scary! Everyone was sweaty, drunk and scurrying out the door like roaches. It was always a "sobering" moment realizing that the guy you had just spent hours dancing with was a total guido in the light of day. On the other hand, sometimes as we all lined the exit hallway....one of my girls would blow by us and shout "gotta ride" as she walked out the door.

The beauty of The Upstage was that it was the same great music and cute boys as at Metropol but the beer was WAY cheaper! It was a dump - from the black painted walls to the sticky, squishy carpet to the toilet stalls crawling with roaches and no toilet paper to be found...but we didn't care - it was our dump and WE LOVED IT! Mondays were 25 cent draft night and we used to buy as many drafts as each of us could carry and cover the table with cups of beer available to anyone that wanted it. It tasted like the taps hadn't been cleaned in decades but WHO CARES it was 25 cents! ha ha It was an awesome place to dance all night!

So many good memories with good friends! Too bad the youth of today will never get to experience that genre of music and dance...they don't have a clue what they are missing!