My “Dream” experience

I just spent July 13-20 in Washington D.C., celebrating the 100-year anniversary of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Founded Jan. 15, 1908 on the campus of Howard University, AKA is the first and oldest Greek-letter organization established for college-trained black women.

More than 25,000 members came together in spirit and sisterhood to honor our legacy and look toward the next 100 years. I came away for the experience with a renewed commitment to my illustrious organization.

With a gathering of so many individuals, there’s bound to be a party or three. My e-mail inbox was flooded with so many different celebrations that I eventually lost track. I did, however, make a list of what I received so I would at least have an idea of what was happening every night.

First, this is what I think about going to clubs – they should all be free and the drinks should cost $8 or less. I’ve been over the excitement of going to the club for some time now. I’m more of a lounge/restaurant/bar goer these days.

On Thursday, a few of us ventured out to Love Nightclub. From what I’ve been told from others, this place was known as Dream and had it going on. I was hoping it was still the same since we were shelling out $30 for the Love experience.

The main reason we headed to Love (outside of wanting to get our groove on) was Idris Elba (of The Wire fame) hosting the event, and performances by some R&B singers.

Sidebar: As we were standing in line, an employee made the mistake of telling me that Boris Kodjoe was hosting a party at another club called The Park. I was ready to get out of line and head there because seeing such deliciousness in person really would have made my night!

Upon entering Love, the music was your typical urban radio fare. On the second floor however, the DJ was playing the likes of Cameo, New Edition, Guy, Michael Jackson, etc. This was the floor I needed to be (and stayed) on the rest of the night.

During our cab ride, my thoughts were, “Is Idris Elba really worth $30?”

Three words – yes he was!

There’s something to be said for seeing such a fine specimen of a man in person. Idris didn’t disappoint in the looks department, but he needed to chill with all the profanity. Stringer Bell is dead (if you know The Wire you know what I’m talking about).

I guess I should talk about the performances since this is a blog about music.

The first act was Lloyd, and I’ll be honest – never heard of him, didn’t know what he was singing and won’t be buying his album after seeing him perform. He's a cutie though.

Mario took the stage next and I knew one song – “Let Me Love You.” Again, don’t own any of his albums and he won’t make it into my iPod rotation.

Dwele was up last. Now, I used to own Dwele’s first album “Subject” but sold it after I realized I never listened to it. He gave a decent performance though. Actually, all three acts sounded pretty good.

The night ended with Idris taking over the DJ booth (and mike). He’s apparently done it before because he had the crowd grooving for the rest of the night.

I would recommend Love to anyone looking for a good time. Although it has four levels, only two were open the night I went. Could be that the $30 price tag kept some away.

A bit of advice for those who decide to host parties when large groups come to town – unless there are true ballers and shot callers in town (i.e., NBA All-Star weekend), it’s not a good idea to charge upwards of $50 when the economy is on the brink of a recession and we’ve already spent a grip just coming to town.