Reviewed by Nanette.
La Tropicana
I'm revealing my age when I quote the theme song from the t.v. show
"Alice" by saying "there's a new girl in town and she's looking good!"
The Masquerade on North Ave. in midtown now hosts a latin night on Saturdays
calling it Tropicana Club. The promoter (Atlanta
Tropical) just moved here from Orlando where he was doing some work
on their hot latin scene. He has paired up locally with P.R.
Productions.
Perk number one that makes this place a keeper is the total area of dance
space. Take Kazoo's and Sanctuary combined and there's still room for intimidated
spectators. Every salsa joint in town would have to be empty for you to accidentally
get stepped on here. The floor itself is in pretty bad shape. Lots of unevenness
and repaired seams to trip over so ladies, don't waste your good heels on
this place. In all fairness, I was wearing my Ru Paul platforms on opening
night so maybe it was just me. I did ask around with some of the other dancers
who do many multiple spins and the consensus was that as long as you get
a good spot, the condition of the floor was nothing to go home crying about.
Perk number two is the wide variety of latin music played in this joint.
In the past this attempt to please everyone has been the kiss of death for
many a new contender. But we're not talking Shakira/Julio Iglesias pop and
merengue until you're too exhausted. We're talking Carnaval rhythms from
Brazil, cha-cha, mambo, fun stuff that the Atlanta scene likes to dance.
In talking with Alex, the promoter, I told him that it would kill him if
he didn't play more salsa. The next week--bam!--everyone was commenting on
how pleased they were with how much more salsa they were hearing. Live music
enthusiasts will get a kick out of the band, Serenata Band. I personally
do not have a preference for live bands. Bang two pots together in rhythm
and I'll dance. What I do like about this band though is that they're not
too intrusive. It's not like we all paid forty dollars to see the Rolling
Stones, we came to dance. And this band provides a steady but non-intrusive
background for that to happen. They switch back and forth giving equal time
to the band and d.j. music.
Perk number three (I saved the best for last); free admission for ladies
before 11p.m. I've been out of work for months, free admission eases the
guilt for me about spending any money on entertainment at all. And decreases
some of the financial burden of impressing a date for you guys. Regular admission
is only $5.
The drinks are reasonably priced, free on-street parking has been available
every time I've gotten there before 11, and the crowd so far is brisk with
good and accommodating dancers. Your 18 to 20 year old brothers and cousins
are also welcome if you can't shake them for the night. My biggest hope is
that the Atlanta dancers scene can expand enough to encourage the variety
of music played here. I know some of us are spending a lot of money for new
salsa moves but, come on, there a lot of countries in latin America and they
don't all dance salsa 24/7.
As far as this reviewer is concerned as long as the doors are open, "todos
los Sabados" I'll see you at Tropicana Club.
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