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Entertainment Minty Fresh Club For years, a classy sign has loomed over a small grocery store on the west end of Kasr Al Nil Street downtown. Fancy letters set against an elegant black backdrop spell out “After Eight.” Replicating the design on the box for the wafer-thin minty chocolates of the same name, the sign has always looked like an advertisement for the product – or perhaps the incongruent name of the tiny shop underneath. In fact, it announces the long-established After Eight club, whose entrance is towards the back of the alley over which the sign hangs. January 10 marked the grand opening of the revamped After Eight, under new management. There are still the tuxedo-vested waiters, and the whole place retains the kind of old-world 1940s dinner-club feel that permeates downtown Cairo. But the new After Eight has somehow managed to retain the air of authentic retro ambiance without the typical mustiness. It’s amazing what a coat of paint and the right light fixtures can do. Live music’s what the new After Eight is supposed to be about, with a flyer for the place announcing a variety of upcoming jazz and fusion acts. This is welcome news for music connoisseurs, who up to now have had extremely limited options for catching live acts in Cairo. But the place is built for conversation, either at the bar or along the long tables lining the sides. On opening night, when it was packed and the band was rocking, neighborly banter was easy to strike up. The stage is actually in the center of the main room, with a wooden floor and four pillars carving out the band’s turf. The same structure will most likely serve as the dance floor on DJ nights. The central stage proved an exceptional way to catch the evening’s band, West El Balad, a percussion-heavy ensemble that draws on Arabic melodic and rhythmic traditions infused with a dose of American-style contemporary folk. One fan remarked that he thought of them as kind of an Arabic Dave Matthews Band – an apt description. The group has an established following, with fans spanning the entire decade plus of “Generation X,” who crammed the space between the tables and stage to gyrate and groove their way through the set, occasionally singing along. Meanwhile, the old regular crowd, who most likely paid their intellectual dues in the 1970s, clung stubbornly and somewhat indignantly to the bar. First Café Riche, then After Eight... the last bastion of the downtown lefties may be the Greek Club. Of course, who shows up, and in what numbers, will depend to some extent on what band is playing, but in general the new blood at After Eight is more the Cairo Jazz Club crowd as opposed to La Bodega or Morocco crowd. With regular DJ El Sheikh churning out tunes heavy on the Latin influence, expect After Eight to become a dancing hotspot. A good night out doesn’t come cheap these days, and on this night there was a cover charge of £E 45, with £E 5 going directly to the band and the remainder doled out in tickets redeemable for drinks. With a weak vodka tonic going for £E 30, the tickets didn’t go far. A flyer at the door announced upcoming Jazz Nights with a cover of only £E 2.50, however, and also advertised a selection of snacking delicacies like mini pizzas, canapes, mixed veggies and dips, and more, for prices between £E 10 and £E 21. All shows start – you guessed it – after eight, with a free drink for early birds offered between 7 and 7:30pm. Diana Boeke
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