Guys hitting on girls, expensive drinks, loud music, smoke everywhere, and no parking – it was another Saturday night in Hoboken’s bars.
Jason, Dave, Rich and I, all of us in our 20s, met at my house and left in my car with some cash in our pockets to have a good time. Dave used to come to Hoboken almost every Saturday night during his college days, so he had a pretty good idea of where to go.
7:02 p.m.
We arrived in Hoboken. We could not find parking on the street, so we paid $20 to park at the deck on Third Street. Then, we decided to go to Benny Tudino’s for some pizza. The slices are huge and reasonably priced there, like we like them.
At first, the four of us talked about our jobs. But the talk quickly moved to our plans for the evening.
Jason, Rich and I decided that we just wanted to relax and take it easy for the night; not spend too much money. But Dave talked about finding girls, hooking up and getting laid.
Most of the guys I know think like Dave when they go out to bars and clubs. More often than not, they actually meet girls, but there have only been a few times in which I’ve actually seen them go home with them.
“Where do you guys want to go?” I asked.
“Home,” said Jason, the only one of us who doesn’t drink. He is a good friend and always the designated driver when we go out.
A guy like Jason, quiet and reserved, goes out because he does not want to stay home alone and would rather see his friends, despite not enjoying what his friends do.
“Let’s just check out a bunch of places,” Dave suggested.
We sat at Benny’s for a little while longer and then left.
8:14 p.m.
We crossed Washington Street and walked a couple of blocks down to the Black Bear Bar and Grill. The place was not crowded and the music playing was mainstream top-40.
“It’s way too early. Nobody comes yet,” Dave said.
I knew I needed to get the party started, so I ordered three shots of Malibu rum and three Coronas for the boys. We did the shots. Jason, the non-drinker, just chilled the whole time.
Dave walked up to me and said the girls across the bar were looking at us. I didn’t really care. He and Rich walked up to them. Jason and I stayed where we were and talked about our jobs, basketball and cars.
“You think the Sixers are going to take it?” Jason asked me.
“Maybe. If Iverson keeps scoring 50 a game they will,” I said.
Moments later, Dave returned with a look of disappointment.
“Those girls suck. Let’s get out of here,” he said.
I suspected the girls did not give Dave or Rich their telephone numbers or ask them to hang out. Jason laughed at Dave as we left the bar.
9:32 p.m.
We walked further down Washington Street, and after making a turn onto Newark Street, we arrived at the Cadillac Bar. At the door we were greeted by a tall bouncer who checked our driver’s licenses. Since I’m the youngest at 22, we didn’t have a problem getting in. We paid $5 each at the door.
“I hate these cover charges,” Jason said to us. “They rip you off this way.”
I agreed.
Dave and Rich went to the bar to order more drinks. Jason and I had to use the bathroom. When we came back I noticed Dave had gotten me a Guinness.
“Thanks, man,” I said to him.
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied.
A short time later a band went up to the tiny stage and played cover songs by Pearl Jam and Third Eye Blind. They were pretty good. Dave began to say “Hi” to every girl who walked by.
“I’m trying to get them to talk,” Dave said frustrated. “I don’t understand why they come out with attitude.”
We relocated to the room next door, called Boo Boo’s Funkadelic. It had a different feel than the bar we were at previously. It was dark and a DJ played house and club music. We went by the lounge area near the pool table and sat at one of the tall tables.
“Are we the only ones not smoking?” Rich asked.
It certainly looked that way.
We each had a drink. Jason got thirsty so he went to the bar to order something. When he came back he told us he was mad.
“I can’t believe I paid $4 for this stupid bottle of water. What the hell?” he said. “Everything is expensive at clubs.”
“You should go to the city,” Dave said.
Rich and I laughed at Jason. In what seemed to be less than one minute, he was done with his water.
Everyone looked the same there. The girls traveled in packs wearing tight sleeveless shirts and tight black pants, while the majority of guys had gel in their hair, buttoned-down shirts with dress pants and Polo Sport cologne. Dave and I went to the dance floor to check out the action, but nothing much was brewing.
“It’s still too early,” Dave said to me. “Let’s get out of here.”
11: 09 p.m.
We left Boo Boo’s Funkadelic and waited outside on the sidewalk on Newark Street, deciding where to go. Jason wanted to go home, since he had to wake up early the next day for church. Rich did not like the club The Planet, he said, because one time he got into a minor altercation. We finally decided on River Street, the club next door to Boo Boo’s. The cover charge was a ridiculous $10.
As soon as we walked in, a girl went up to Dave and gave him a big hug. Dave introduced her to us.
“This is Jessica,” he said. “I went to school with her.”
We all greeted her. The club was packed. Everyone was pushing and shoving just to move around. Fights between guys abounded. Bouncers were always on the scene throwing people out. It was quite entertaining to watch.
We followed Dave and Jessica upstairs in the techno room. There, Jessica introduced us to her sister and four of her friends from school. I promptly forgot their names.
We talked. Dave bought some of the girls shots. Jason went and bought water again. Rich and I had another beer. I looked down at the dance floor and I saw a mass of people crunched together like sardines. Some were dancing, others getting intimate kissing and hugging. The music was so loud I couldn’t hear Rich talk to me an inch away. We went to the dance floor. Dave danced with Jessica while Rich and Jason danced with some of the girls. Jessica introduced me to her friend Laura and I danced with her.
“Do you want to go to the bar?” I yelled at her, after a couple of seconds of pretending to be dancing. “Yeah,” she said.
At the bar I bought her a drink. I nursed my beer.
She was a pretty girl. She told me she had finals next week and Jessica basically had forced her to hang out. “I don’t like coming here. I don’t like the scene,” she said.
“Why?”
“The girls are fun and I like hanging with them,” she said. “But at clubs, guys walk up to you thinking you automatically want them. They come from behind at you on the dance floor. That’s not cool.”
Jason and Rich came up to Laura and me and told me they were going to the room where we first came in to enjoy some hip-hop music.
A few minutes later I saw them jumping around smiling like two clowns dancing to rap songs by Slick Rick, Old Dirty Bastard and Ice Cube.
I got bored so I grabbed Laura by the hand and joined Rich and Jason. Laura did not like rap music but told me she didn’t care. Several minutes later, Jessica walked up with Dave and her friends and told us they had to leave to go back to campus.
“One of my friends doesn’t feel good,” Laura told me as they exited the club.
Dave said good-bye to Jessica.
1:41 a.m.
We left the club and began walking back to the parking deck. I gave Jason the keys to the car and the ticket to give to the guy at the deck.
“They were cool,” Dave said of the girls, walking to the car.
As we were leaving the deck, everyone was hungry, so we went to the Malibu diner on 14th Street.
As we entered, I looked in the mirror and noticed we were a mess. Our nice dry-clean-only shirts were wrinkled and our Italian shoes had footprints from being stepped on. Our hair was all over the place and we looked tired. Except for Jason. Apparently his water diet had preserved his looks.
After we sat down, I ordered orange juice, coffee, scrambled eggs with home fries, and bacon.
“Damn, you guys smell like cigarettes,” Jason told us. We did.
“When I get home I’m going to shower,” Dave said.
“I’m going straight to bed,” Rich added.
I was busy eating, and Jason was busy ignoring us, since we were somewhat drunk and laughing loudly at jokes that in retrospect were not funny whatsoever.
2:53 a.m.
We walked out of the diner. Rich was almost asleep. We got in the car. Dave and Rich sat in the back seat. I sat in the passenger seat playing with the radio like I had never seen one before. Jason drove.
“Did you have a good time?” Jason asked me.
“Yeah. That girl Laura was cool,” I said.
“Are you going to call her?” he asked me.
“No. She has a boyfriend.”
I had had a good time. Jason does not come out with us often, so it was nice to see him. Dave and Rich generally go to bars looking for sleazy girls. I know of guys that go out and spend money trying to pick up women, and if they don’t succeed, they consider the entire night a waste of time. It makes me wonder why they go out so much. There was no traffic leaving Hoboken. I settled with a radio station that was playing slow, mellow music. Suddenly, it got really quiet in the car. I heard Jason say: “Who pays $4 for a cup of water? It just makes no sense.”