Last night I hung out with David Byrne. Well, technically we stood 20 feet apart and he was on stage and I didn’t really ever talk to him, but still. Perhaps I should truthfully say that I heard David Byrne speak, but you tell me what’s the better story.
Anyway the reason David and I were spending such quality time together was the grand opening of the new Des Moines Social Club downtown. It’s a cultural center for art, music, theatre, dance, socializing, and really anything cool. Oh, and did I mention it’s in an old restored art-deco firehouse? So, yeah, it’s kind of the hippest.
The ribbon cutting of the Des Moines Social Club! That one guy’s head is blocking the very cool, edgy DMSC logo banner, but you can imagine.
The grand opening party was a chance for the people of the city to come and explore the new digs, get a peek at the kinds of the events the Social Club will be offering, and just have a great time. The sheer number and great variety of people at the party wasn’t really surprising, but it did reaffirm something I’ve known for a while: Des Moines is a really, seriously cool town.
It just so happens that David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame) agrees with me on this point and thus made the trip out to present the keynote at the DMSC opening. After performing at the 80/35 music festival this past summer, David wrote about the why Des Moines is a great city, socially and culturally. He presented a lot of this information Saturday night, talking about how “The Dez” (as he called it and it will henceforth be known as) is a fun, vibrant place. It’s a city bustling with young people doing really inspiring things. There’s a huge population of artists, chefs, musicians, and just generally cool, creative folks concentrated in this town, which makes for a great place to work and live.
So check out what the Social Club is up to in its opening summer, and if you haven’t already, check out Des Moines. Cause according to David Byrne, me, and a whole lot of other people, it’s pretty cool.
Abbey @ Drake 