Everyone seems to agree that downtown Madison desperately needs another dance venue. If you run down the line of what is available, it is easy to understand why. Bullfeather's, 303 N. Henry St., has ended their Thursday dance nights; Spices, 117 State St., let their old manager go a few months ago and has not been the same since, even when they were very inconsistent before that. Meanwhile, the Cardinal Bar, 418 E. Wilson St., is too far from campus and has too old a crowd for students, while Club Amazon, 624 University Ave., is to dance clubs what the Cincinnati Bengals are to the NFL.
Enter Club Majestic, 115 King St. Located in the former home of the historic Majestic Theater, Club Majestic is a new attempt to open an honest-to-goodness dance club in the downtown area. Unfortunately, from design to prices to music, Club Majestic fails in almost every conceivable way.
First and foremost, Club Majestic is poorly designed. The most fun part of entering the club is imagining how much better a design job you and your friends could have done, which alone almost makes the club worth a pity visit. The ground floor is tacky and features a very small dance floor, which would become a problem if the space ever became a worthwhile place to dance. The lighting and color scheme, combined with the uninspired d??cor of the furniture and walls, hints that the club's designer has seen \Scarface,"" ""The Birdcage"" and the ""Beverly Hills Cop"" movies a few too many times.
Meanwhile, the upstairs portion of the club is a wasted opportunity of biblical proportions. They could have sealed off the upstairs for a musical alternative, but did not. They could have featured a second dance floor, but did not. They could have had more comfortable seating, but did not. Instead, they opted for an under-staffed bar and movie theater-style seating, which offers a design perfect for discomfort and anti-social behavior. If they were smart, they would have put comfortable couches around a second dance floor or anything other than the escalating leather seats that look like the back seats of old Peugeots.
The second major problem is the music. Granted, Club Majestic is not directly angling for the college crowd, but the music is unacceptable. There are few things in the world more unpleasant than bad techno. And neglecting to have even one hip-hop night per week is not only neglecting a huge part of Madison's nightlife crowd, but also reeks of trying to keep away non-white patrons.
The music affects the crowd, which could become a serious problem for Club Majestic. Very few successful nightspots in Madison cater to both the adult crowd and the student crowd. For now, Club Majestic seems to be attracting an awful lot of middle-aged patrons, which does not create a pleasant environment for students. At the same time, if the club ever did fill entirely with students, it would be an easy target for cops busting underage drinkers.
With all that said, it's ridiculous how much money Club Majestic tries to extort out of its customers. A $7 cover is ridiculous for such a lame club. For the two months last year when Madison Masala, 227 State St., was the hottest spot in Madison, a $5 cover was reasonable, but Club Majestic hasn't earned its stripes yet. Meanwhile, charging more than twice as much for mixed drinks as most other bars do is unacceptable. A run of the mill vodka tonic at Club Majestic costs as much as nice martinis at the nearby Kimia Lounge, 14 W. Mifflin St.
If there is a bright spot to the opening of Club Majestic, it is the crowds that will be drawn to the area on weekend nights. Nice places like the Kimia Lounge and Madison's are fun places to hang out during nights out on the town and hopefully, Club Majestic will draw more attention to these places. At the same time, Club Majestic does not deserve the money, crowds or hype. At the very least, the club is in the penalty box for a couple of months until it gets its act together.
