Nightlife picking up for 30 somethings

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If you regularly attend performances in the Greater Binghamton area, you may have noticed, as I have, that the majority of people you run into tend to be older. With the possible exception of the Binghamton Philharmonic (whose audience tends to be skewing younger these days), audiences for just about every arts event are NOT between the ages of 25 to 45.
It's the same with the nightlife around here, with many bars and such catering either to the college crowd or the older set.
So imagine my surprise Thursday night, when I went with one of my friends (the picky one you may remember from my Snidely's write-up) to the Roberson Center's Wine and Food Fest and saw that most of the crowd fell into the late 20s to mid-40s age range.
We got there on the late side -- the event was from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and we got there at 8 -- but there were still loads of people there (and apparently there were even more when the evening started). The Binghamton Visitor Center welcome room and the courtyard were filled with food vendors, and reps from more than 30 wineries and breweries were ready to pour out samples. Plus, there were two bands, one indoors and one out.
The whole event was, in the words of my picky friend, "astonishing." I have to agree. It should be noted.
Something else that should be noted on the "going out in Binghamton" front is the reconfiguration of the Lost Dog Cafe and Coffeehouse, 222 Water St. Binghamton. They have started using the former Goddess gift shop space, now called The Violet Lounge, for events such as Philosophy on Tap, where participants can partake in adult beverages while attending a brainstorming session led by Mark Dillof.
What really piqued my interest however, is the periodic "After Hours at the Violet Lounge" event with DJ Freeze. It's dance music, but it isn't oldies, disco, rap or hip-hop. And it's about time!
The next session will be 9:30 p.m. to midnight May 13, when DJ Freeze (aka WHRW DJ Dana Brown) will be playing house, trance, techno, electronica and progressive house -- essentially all of the dance music the rest of the known world is listening to that is virtually impossible to find around here. There's a bar, there's enough room to dance and there's no cover charge.
Full details of the Lost Dog's schedule, including dates for "After Hours at the Violet Lounge," can be found online at www.lost dogcafe.net, or call 771-6063. Brown said there's room there for about 60 people, and that's going to include me -- and I'm bringing my picky friend.