My First Time: Club 935

I finally visited Club 935 last night. The hip-hop nightclub opened a little over a month ago and I blogged about its grand opening event and have listed its parties in my Events for the Week each week, but I just got around to checking it out for myself. And I have to say that I like it, and it's different than any other nightspot in Charlotte.

A few friends and I went there to watch the Carolina Panthers-Arizona Cardinals playoff game (sidenote: you can see Bank of America Stadium from outside the club). Club 935 opened its doors three hours earlier than usual for a game viewing party and it offered free admission before 10 p.m. That drew a large crowd. There were several TVs on which to watch the game and the best part about watching it here is that the DJ played music during halftime and every commercial break.

When the game ended, which I think was a little before 11:30, the vibe turned into a full-fledged party (people quickly got over the Panthers' loss--at least for the night). Club 935 is very big, divided into two large rooms that could be separate clubs. The first room has a large bar, several flatscreens, and a VIP room. It resembles many lounges in Charlotte, and I would compare this room to the size of the Sunset Club (but not nearly as ornate). It's funny because I spent most of my time in this room during the game and it wasn't until I went to the restroom that I saw that there was a second, larger part of the club.

The second room is huge and is where the dancefloor is located (though people danced in the other room too). Also here is a DJ booth, a large bar, flatscreens, raised platforms for dancing (sort of like cages), and a large VIP area with several booths and its own bar. This room itself is larger than most Charlotte clubs.

Club 935 has many appealing features, including plentiful free parking. But you can build the biggest and best club and it still not succeed. Club 935 is the new hotspot, and new places often draw large crowds, but sometimes, particularly with nightclubs, the interest wanes and people stop coming. But I think this place might become the club that people travel from beyond Charlotte to party at. The club is very well-run. There was plenty of staff--bartenders and, most importantly, security. And it's being run by Adolph Shiver, a club and concert promoter who has been throwing big parties and events for years.

And then there's the whole "Where the stars party" motto the club has, which I'm sure Shiver is responsible for. Since the club opened, it has brought in Nia Long, John Legend, Nelly, and several other celebrities and NBA and NFL stars to host parties. It brought in two hip-hop video vixens and models for the weekend: Angel Lola Luv on Friday and Melyssa Ford on Saturday. While it was announced at the club on Saturday when Ford arrived, I never saw her (shoot!), mainly because we didn't stay very late. It's hard to party late when you arrived at a club early to watch a football game, but that didn't stop some people. Plus, many people were still arriving after 1 a.m. when we were leaving. Also when we were leaving, we passed RZA and Ghostface in the hallway. I think they were headed to VIP and they were walking through the crowd all nonchalantly (well, the ever-flashy Ghostface was rocking a jacket with his name on it). They're in town because the Wu-Tang Clan have a concert at Amos' Southend, which is going on as I'm writing this.

The challenges I see for Club 935 are maintaining a safe environment when they're having crowds of what seemed to be like at least 700-800 people last night, if not more, and attracting the kind of crowd they envisioned when opening the club. There were plenty of well-dressed men and women there in blazers and dresses, but then there were some who looked like they don't adhere to dress codes.

Club 935 is located at 935 S. Summit Ave. and you can find out more by visiting www.club935.com.