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Greek American Political Club
Rating Details »
Categories: Local Flavor, Venues & Event Spaces [Edit]
Neighborhood: Central Square288 Green Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 354-8178
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Central (Red)
10 reviews for Greek American Political Club
It's a great big space for dancing-- despite it's lack of elk heads on the wall like at the Elk's Lodge. The nostalgic freak in me misses having Thunderdome there, and wants the dead animal heads and low ceilings back. I know it's creepy, and I don't understand it either, but Thunderdome really did fit in well with the old basement scene.
That being said, the Greek American Political Club did a fine job at helping me forget the old locale and appreciate the new. Thanks for taking me in, GAPC, even though there's not an ounce of Greek blood in this redheaded stepchild!
Word to the wise: Learn to order your drink in Greek. It will be stronger. MUCH stronger.
Now, I'm neither Greek or what I would deem terribly "American", this was a pretty stupendous venue for Thunderdome. While I still sort of miss the Elks Club and it's raging heat and outdoor smoking area, this was a far better venue than down by the river where I lost my interest in the evening, as well as my bladder control waiting for the bathroom line to clear.
Easy to get to from the Central Square stop, and home to what I found out was Salsa dancing....it's a large space with intense alcoholic drinks. That's right, order yourself a redbull and vodka and you'll get exactly that. A cup of straight vodka on the rocks, filled to the brim, and then a can of redbull on the side. This may be why things got a little foggy later on when the music stopped and the schwarma tempted.
The dance floor was large, maybe too large if you're more akin to those nights pushing your way across the dance floor and having drinks spilt on your toes, but being big ain't so bad, it allows room fit for Annie starting Conga Lines and Kabir's rope tricks. The bathroom lines weren't anything to complain about either, and were cleaner as far as I can remember.
Since the ownership and/or management of the Elks Lodge and Villa Victoria have recently changed and they've suffered corporate takeover or a smackdown of rules, Thunderdome and Soul Revival (dance nights) have had to find alternate venues that keep the underground vibe alive.
They headed to the GAPC which host Havana Club on Fridays in their upper room which holds about 450 people and rents for $1,200 a night. The lower area's capacity is around 250. Each space has a meager bar fit with the basics and comes with a handful of older Greek gentleman that range from wonderfully curious and friendly to surly and irritated.
Walking in I tunneled into a twilight high school dance zone. I personally find it entertaining and charming as the experience is so different to that of a nightclub. But the price comes steep. Though the management at most clubs is probably just as interesting to deal with, the price is often significantly lower to host an event if your peeps drink. And you don't have to set-up your own sound system.
Whenever I hear "Thunderdome" I also hear "sweaty." As I planned my costume for the evening I consulted a much wiser, very sage friend of mine:
"Oh no dude, they used to have punk shows there back in the day, it's pretty big, don't worry about it so much."
And so I didn't. And I will admit, I was pleasantly surprised that the GAPC was as big as it was. Service at the bar was slow, to be expected, but I did find a new boyfriend there--thank you to the old man who gave me three hugs and a plastic cup for the water cooler, along with a pep talk on getting what I want in life.
The bathrooms were not horrific--they weren't even scary, so two more points for that. Plus one for the water cooler.
All in all I won't be bummed out if Thunderdome chooses to take residence here again. Despite feeling like the boys should have been awkwardly standing off to one side of the room, the sound was decent, the DJs were great, and the staff were as laidback as they could be while a crowd of rowdy, costumed, drunk, younguns took over their space.
PS--my new boyfriend says he encourages all of the young people to try salsa night upstairs. "The space is much nicer."
If Thunderdome wasn't held here, I think it goes without saying, that I would never have a need to go here. However, with my ancestry hailing from the land of potato famines and Shamrocks, I'm not exactly sure I should be expecting an invite to any of their soirees in the mail any time soon anyway.
I would imagine that the place isn't usually packed with sexy carebears, dominatrixes(i?)(ae?), and whatever Tom E. was, but I could be wrong. A few drinks in I could still acknowledge that it felt like I was walking into my 7th grade dance and was almost expecting "Candy Coated Rainbows" or KC and JoJo to come on accompanied by squeals of "OMG THIS IS MY FAVORITE SONG". However, I was quickly brought back to reality by the fact that I was now equipped with fangs, a rack, and a penchant for face stomping...so it was nothing like 7th grade.
But in it's normal hours I could see the columns adorned with streamers and the shouts of "OOMPA!" being commonplace.
I was also brought to the upper realms of the venue wherein I left the costumes and conga lines below and stepped into the world of Salsa. Crazy. For a girl with no rhythm, who has never been salsa dancing(or any proper dancing) in my entire life, it was pretty overwhelming. I had a great time bopping around for a bit in this strange universe and appreciated in all my missteps that I got to be a part of it for even a little bit.
All in all I had a great time rockin out, breakin handcuffs, destroying my fangs, and flogging a naughty latex nurse with a riding crop.
Totally normal.(hi mom!)
There was a chalkboard on the wall warning normal patrons -- all geroi from the homeland looking for a quick shot of Metaxa and a place to sit and watch futbol with their parea -- that Friday night do not, I repeat, DO NOT show up, as a bunch of weirdo American kids were going to take over. This was Thunderdome, this was madness, but this was not Sparta.
Brethren, sistren, Ellines kai Ellinides, let me just say it was surreal watching folks dressed up as the Asskickers and Mrs. Garrison bump and grind in front of strobe lights to some thomp-a-thomp trance beats... under the watchful eye of Greek revolutionary heros like Kolokotronis and Bouboulina, whose names were and still are practically worshipped by Greeks and the diaspora. Really, going to Thunderdome here was like getting your party on in the Lincoln Memorial.
Which, come to think of it, might be a freaky-deaky party.
[Oh, yea, the Boston Lykeion Ellinidon also meets here twice a week for practice. If you want to learn some traditional Greek dances and practice with an active performing troupe, this is a damn convenient location!]
Friday nights the Greek American Political Club in Central Square offers Salsa lessons and dancing from 8:30-2 am! It's a great (nonthreatening) alternative to typical clubs, because you meet a more varied group of people who genuinely want to dance with you, not just get in your pants! It's a really diverse range of people from young cute college guys to married couples who just love to dance. They also have a cash bar and burritos, as well as chocolate and candy at every table. Check out http://www.havanaclubs...!
Nice alternative to going to a more college aged club. I liked the mix of people here as well. There are tons of grad student looking types, more likely PhD students, as well as some older people. You will feel like you fit in here, regardless of your age. I even saw this mom in her 40s trying to get girls to dance with her 20something son. It was the cutest. The place did get really crowded close to midnight. At times you could hardly dance because there were just so many people. Reasonable prices for stuff at their bar. Cheap parking in the lot nextdoor.
I'm so glad everyone loves HavanaClub salsa nights at the GPAC. I worked with HavanaClub for almost three years, and it couldn't be a more plesant group of people! I don't dance Salsa, but am still more than welcome. Want to hang out with a great group of people check out http://HavanaClubSalsa... and you won't be dissapointed. More to the point however, the GPAC (Greek American Political Club) is actually a private club who rents out their ballroom to Havana Club, I would tell you to check it out, but, like I said, it's a private club. There should be a thread on Yelp for Havana Club! So all of these reviews would get justice in their proper place.
Great place to start learning salsa. The cover is the same regardless of when you arrive ($12) so get here early (8.30pm) and take advantage of the lessons. Also, the later it gets the more the mix of people tends towards experienced dancers, which can make it intimidating for beginners.
