Beige World editor in chief David Burnett gives his impressions of Election Night at EXO in St. Louis, MO.
David Burnett, Beige World Editor In Chief:
I decided to check out the Election Night party at EXO (http://www.exostl.com), a new upscale two-story lounge and restaurant here in St. Louis, MO. For those of you who have never been to EXO, you've GOT to check it out. It's such a warm and cozy place, and a great place to just chill.
When I first got there, the polls had already been closed for about 45 minutes, and CNN's Election Night coverage was on all the flat screen and projection TVs scattered throughout the club. There were some early election returns, but there really wasn't a whole lot to go on.
Guests were treated to a few samples from EXO's Southern-inspired restaurant menu - cornbread with maple butter, grilled shrimp, and hot wings. Absolutely DELICIOUS!
I'm probably not unlike most folks when I say that, for me, the days leading up to this night had sort of a Super Bowl-like feel, like we were all gearing up for the big game. At the beginning of the night, some were anxious, some were nervous about what the final results might be, but everyone was in a generally good mood.
And then, at 10:00 PM CST, CNN declared Barack Obama the winner. The place went NUTS! I saw both cheers AND tears of joy throughout the club. And I thought to myself, "Someone who kinda looks like me is headed for the White House!"
A short time after the announcement, DJ Charlie Chan Soprano (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=111177792) stopped the music briefly to allow the crowd - which had grown considerably by then - to hear John McCain's concession speech, and then Barack Obama's acceptance speech a few moments later.
Obama gave such an uplifting and positive speech. It was the perfect ending for such an historic campaign.
After Obama's speech, DJ Charlie Chan Soprano got back to work on the turntables. At that point, the party went into full overdrive with a variety of old school and new school hits.
A little bit later in the evening, Ludacris came into EXO under a cover of security, going straight to the DJ booth on the second floor. He was in town to promote his upcoming album, Theater of the Mind, set to hit stores on Tuesday, November 25th.
Ludacris gave everyone a sneak preview of the album by playing snippets from a few tracks. He also aired his new music video on the TV screens. Based on what I heard, Theater of the Mind sounds like a bona fide winner to me. Airplay should NOT be a problem.
At the end of the evening, when I left EXO, the streets were lined with honking cars and people screaming their heads off. It was as if the St. Louis Rams had just won the Super Bowl. What a night!
Feel free to post a comment about the event (if you were there), or if you have anything to say about the election.
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