Obama Club: Not just another cheesy karaoke club!

Shanghaiist reader Jordan Rosenberg writes in to correct us about the club that everyone's been waiting for:

One of my former co-workers is now working with the club, and threw a relatively small gathering for their birthday there a few weeks ago, which I had the good fortune of attending. I'll admit, the styling is a bit typically Chinese gaudy, but I have to disagree on it being "yet another cheesy karaoke place."

In fact, the most striking thing when entering the place is just how much space they have devoted to the dance floor. It features, easily (not "probably," as the inept marketing materials proclaim), the largest dance floor I've ever seen in Shanghai. It really does put the Bund venues (M1NT, Glamour, Bar Rouge, etc) to shame in terms of a real, western-style dancefloor, with actual space to dance. Actually, it rather reminded me of some of the larger clubs in the Meatpacking district back home in NYC.

While it probably does have some super-cheesy karaoke facilities (I didn't venture upstairs), the bulk of the club is centered around the dancefloor, with tables placed AROUND the floor, not ON the floor, as in most Chinese clubs. I'm actually highly anticipating it, as I've gotten really tired of trying to get my groove on while simultaneously trying not to spill my drink on myself, or the idiotic frenchmen pushing their way through all of the overcrowded places currently on the scene.

Seriously, when was the last time you saw a REAL dance floor in Shanghai, or China at large, for that matter? Should be a good time, and I think the styling will attract a more mixed audience of Chinese and expats, which will be a welcome relief from the self-imposed segregation going on in most places around town. Plus, with a name like Obama Club, how can it go wrong?

In an interview with That's Shanghai, the general manager of Obama Club promised to bring hope and change to Shanghai's dull and dreary nightlife. We can't wait to see just what he means by that!