While I was interning in New York City this summer, I fell in love ... with a dance bar. Both times I went there, the music was a back-in-time tour of dance hits, from the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” to Run DMC’s “It’s Tricky” to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” By 4 a.m., I was quite literally “Twistin’ the Night Away” à la Sam Cooke. Like I said, it was love.
Back in Cambridge, something was just ... missing; there was a Bowery Electric shaped void in my heart. Determined to bring back my (two) glory nights, I Googled “dance bars Boston” and set a date for Saturday with Middlesex Lounge.
The name can be misleading, but Middlesex Lounge is not a casual drinking spot or hook-up club—it’s a dance bar with sweet beats and a let-loose vibe. The Yelp reviews gave fair warning that if you weren’t at this Central Square bar by 11 p.m., you would face an hour-long wait in line. In fact, my roommate and I rolled up to Middlesex around 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday night after a leisurely 20 minute walk, and waited for nearly two hours. While the line wasn’t that long, the bouncers were practicing the tried and true method of letting in only their friends.
Pretty big minus points there, but I remained eager to experience the self-proclaimed “height of all that is unpretentiously vogue.” I started to get a feel for the party people while I was waiting, and was impressed by how diverse they were. In front were some svelte hipsters and Eurotrash. Behind us, a group of recent Harvard grads (I eavesdropped) and a guy who kept lecturing people about not cutting in line. Integrity!
When we finally got to the door, I paid the $5 cover and put my hand out for a stamp. The bouncer turned my arm over and emblazoned a black “MSEX” across my inner wrist. I see you, Middlesex Lounge—unpretentiously vogue indeed. Armed with faux wrist tats and the urgent need to dance, my roommate and I entered.
Middlesex consists of one large room with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto Mass. Ave. The walls are all black, and you feel like you’re in a cosmic greenhouse. Trendy, but not too trendy. Eighty percent of the room is dedicated to the dance floor, with some tables and seating lining the edges. On the far side of the room is the bar, a large metal-topped slab of stone that spans all of one wall and part of another. Although there was a crowd in front of the bar, I was able to work my way up front without much trouble and order my usual screwdriver, plus a vodka cranberry for my lady. It’s only $7 for a mixed drink, and they definitely give you your money’s worth. The bartender poured both glasses full of juice and vodka—then only charged me for one. This customer service made it easier to ignore the fact that these drinks were walking a fine line between good party investment and way too strong.
What I cared about most, of course, was the quality of the dance party, and it was a-ma-zing. Here I began to see one benefit of picky bouncers: the dance floor was full, but there was still enough space to move around. DJ Kon (who plays every Saturday) spun a perfect mix of 90s hip-hop, 2000s Top 40s, and a few rogue disco tunes. He threw in Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” at just the right moment. To me, this was heaven. Now I just need to try out their Electronica-themed party “Make it New” on Thursdays and their once-monthly DISCOnnection, which features disco, funk, R&B, and classics.
Another great thing about Middlesex’s dance party was the dance floor etiquette. Kind of like “Safety Dance”—you can dance if you want to, you can leave your friends behind; but if you don’t want to dance with someone it’s cool and you don’t have to worry about an awkward surprise grind from the back. There was that dude who came up to my roommate and started making out with her neck ... but he was in the minority.
Middlesex Lounge is located at 315 Mass. Ave in Central Square. Open Mon-Wed 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m.- 1 a.m.; Thu-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5 p.m.-2 a.m.; and Sat 5 p.m.-2 a.m.
