By Benjamin Leatherman
Hot girls. Dancing on the bar. What more could you ask for?
Spotlights pierced the north Scottsdale night sky on muggy Saturday night, beckoning in the beautiful people and other top-shelf types to the opening night VIP fete of the Valley’s newest nightspot, the Black Card Ultralounge.
Located near the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard, the proprietors of the BCU have transformed the now-defunct Taste Ultra Lounge (which blinked out of existence earlier this year) axing the Asian-themed furnishings in favor of more baroque-style décor touches (à la Dirty Pretty). But as its name implies, the place has a major upscale bent. The joint takes it's inspiration from the American Express' Centurion Card, the beyond-über status symbol that's been been rapped about by both Kanye and Jay-Z, and will likely never grace your wallet unless you somehow spend more the $250k a year.
The proprietors of the Black Card are hoping said Centurian types and other members of the rich ‘n’ famous set will be flocking to their posh pad, and not just the usual bunch of $30k millionaire types. That’s right, son, they’re looking to host some high-end clientele with serious scrilla lining their pockets, like the kind of crowd that showed up this past Saturday.
Cash only, yo.
The place was fairly packed when we rolled up, with a line stretching out the door. A swarm of bodies filled both rooms of the swanky establishment, with one room functioning as more of a lounge-type area, complete with brown suede couches and chairs, while the other end was ground zero for dancing masses.
The swanky scene was illuminated by numerous glowing candles and the glow of more than a dozen different plasma screens displaying the Black Card logo. We didn't see anyone whipping out their Centurion card to pay for any drinks at the fully stocked bars available at either end of the club, but there were plenty of Rolexes (plus many of the ladies were sporting silicone enhancements and other body work, so we're fairly certain they've got access to plenty of green).
What a lovely foursome...er, twosome.
White shirts with collars popped and sleeves unbuttoned (not to mention designer jeans) were the de rigeur fashion statement for most of the spiky-haired bro patrol in the house.
We'll have what he's having.
The countless lovely lasses in attendance were clad some of the lowest-cut shorty-short skirts you’ve ever seen. (The waitresses also wore corset-like black mini-dresses that were barely there). Oofah. Word is the proprietors are planning on charging a fairly steep cover to get inside (somewhere in the range of $15), but if this is the kind of eye candy that’s going to regularly be on display at the nightspot, it’s totally worth the price.
The party was pumpin’ and bumpin’ with beats coming by way of a rather hyperactive DJ who worked the decks with primo skill and efficiency, laying down mashups and mixes of club bangers, rock, Top 40, and hip-hop. As the dance floor was filled with a throng of thrashing and writhing bodies, moving around to such tracks as “Party Like a Rock Star” by the Shop Boyz and Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” flowed through the club, followed by a mashup of “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell with Katy Perry chartbuster “I Kissed a Girl.”
The naughty and ambisextrous song (which you can currently hear getting played over the airwaves nearly a million times an hour) kinda set the tone of decadence and depravity for the evening. (The Black Card has kinda adopted the song as something of an anthem for its weekly “Cherry Chapstick Saturdays” ladies night, which features the slogan: “It’s not what good girls do”).
There was plenty of bumping and grinding to be seen in the secluded corners of this dope den of debauchery (not that we were watching or anything…okay, maybe just a little). We’re sure plenty of numbers were exchanged between those hotties and honeys who were getting that particular groove on.
And as the party was nearing its end, the alcohol must’ve been kicking in something fierce as numerous females started hopping up on the bars to put on something of a showcase of sexiness for those around them. It quickly went from just one or two ladies to nearly a half-dozen liquored-up chickadees doing the Coyote Ugly thing.
If this is the kinda thing that’s gonna go down every weekend at the Black Card, we’re undoubtedly going to become regular visitors (provided our bank accounts will allow it).