There's probably no night club experience comparable to D.C.'s Club Air, located in the courtyard of the Ronald Regan Federal Building and International Trade Center. If being surrounded on all sides by 50-foot Georgian-style marble columns, multiple fully-stocked bars and D.C.'s hippest party-goers isn't enough to amaze you, then the food at Air's gourmet grill certainly will.
This open-air club has become one of D.C.'s hottest attractions this summer, replicating similar party destinations in Miami, Fl. Owned by NBA star Michael Jordan, Air is both a tribute to Jordan's Nike namesake and a truly unique and refreshing outdoor dancing experience.
The club is set up and broken down every weekend in the federal building's courtyard, adjacent to MJ's restaurant, Jordan's. Six-foot white walls block off the entrance, in front of which party-goers are separated into VIP customers, and those who simply heard about it word-of-mouth.
This past Saturday night, I was lucky enough to be situated in the very important person section because of my affiliation with a recent Hopkins/SAIS grad who does some promoting for the club.
We arrived at 9 p.m. and were let in with no cover charge, and promptly made our way to one of the bars, where drinks were free until 10 p.m. In no time Air began to fill with people, most of them sipping drinks and listening to the D.J. spinning house tracks.
Considering the sheer amount of open space available at Air, I was surprised it took so little time to get crowded. At any other club, patrons would be suffering from heat and claustrophobia, as clubbers were pouring in within the first couple of hours. Soon the D.J. switched to remixes of Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince, inspiring me and two girls - who went to boarding school with my Hopkins friend - to start tearing up the dance floor.
At this point, we were some of maybe 20 people letting loose on the 30 by 30 foot dance floor, in front of the DJ's colorfully-lit stage. After about half an hour, we all decided to take a bathroom break and to visit the Grill for a small snack.
While it may seem a little off-color, a brief description of the bathroom experience is necessary to convey the uniqueness of Air. Club-goers must venture inside the Ronald Regan Federal Building (leaving all drinks outside) and pass through a metal detector, bag inspection and another hand-held metal detector inspection. Needless to say, don't wait until it's an emergency before you venture inside. Despite all that, Air probably has the nicest bathrooms of any night club I've ever been to - as they also serve federal employees, Monday through Friday.
Next we tried some quesadillas from Air's tasty gourmet grill. Serving up fish tacos, Cuban sandwiches and chicken kabobs, the grill was filling its corner of Air with the irresistible smell of snack food. We moved on to the curvy, coffee shop-esque lawn furniture surrounding the dance floor, that way we could rest our feet and watch our friends jam to the DJ's hip hop mixes.
There were literally all-ages, races and types of people at Air, thus I couldn't pigeon-hole the crowd into one particular group. One of my other friends showed up later, bringing her mom who was in town to visit and who, to her surprise, didn't feel uncomfortable despite her relative seniority to most of the people around her.
After hitting the dance floor a few more times, I went to find my friends and call it a night. While I was ready to head out at 1 a.m., most people would probably stay on until Air closed around three. I did get to meet the club's general manager, as well as the head bartender, Zeek, who gave me some Twizzlers with my whiskey sour and told me about Air's upcoming Halloween party. He let me in on the secret to getting into Air's VIP tents (five white tents with beds and pillows inside) - a hefty $500 and a minimum of 15 guests. I also found out later that the cover charge at Air escalated with the passing hours - starting at $10, then jumping to $20 by midnight, and $30 after 1. It's a good thing I got there early.
For those students interested in checking out club Air (subject to weather conditions and closing for the season after Halloween) here are the vital stats: Air is open Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. You can sign up for a guest list at http://www.flowinsider.com, http://www.monthlybuzz.com or http://www.airclubdc.com, and guarantee yourself a $10 cover charge. Call 202-312-1215 to check and make sure the party is on for the weekend. Air is located at 13 and Pennsylvania Avenues, in the courtyard of the Ronald Regan Federal Building. You can't miss it.
