The best ideas often have a retrospective simplicity. What better cure for the Monday blues than a finger-snapping, retro dance party? Such is the logic behind Motown on Mondays (MOM), a dance-floor franchise that started in San Francisco back in 2009 and has since expanded to eight cities, including Oakland, Brooklyn, and Chicago. Its appeal is self-evident: At the Legionnaire Saloon — where gilt-framed portraits of English nobility share wall space with James Brown concert posters — patrons down $5 margaritas and throng the small dance floor, singing along with half-remembered classics like “Going to a Go-Go” and “My Guy.” Later, the old hits give way to uptempo remixes — “Let’s party our faces off!” cries the DJ — and things get politely funky. Lack of space limits most to a spirited two-step, but there are outbreaks of hand-jive. Throughout, the “Mom” acronym proves remarkably apt — this party is steeped in maternal solicitude. Mom knows Mondays can be tough. She’s pulled out her favorite records, and everyone’s going to dance.
.Best Monday Party
Motown on Mondays at the Legionnaire Saloon