Vibe Bar

East London and, even more specifically Brick Lane, is a subcultural Mecca for immigrants and artists alike. Due to the inexpensive cost of living in relation to the rest of the city, it attracts a wide variety of people which contribute to its diverse flare.

One of the little gems found in this urban wonderland is a little place called The Vibe Bar. Found nestled between the aromatic fragrances from the lands of the far east, it boasts a large courtyard filled with bench seating similar to that of a German Beer Garden. It serves one well to arrive early as this hot spot is quick to fill up with locals for the evening.

Beyond the rows of tables and up a small staircase lies the darkened room of the bar where people are found cozying up on couches, plush chairs, or standard bar stools if they’re too quick to drain their drinks. The atmosphere is laid back, relaxed and oh-so-cool. The patrons follow suit, yet they’re not simply oh-so-cool, but oh-too-cool.

Pardon my quip. Perhaps I’ve been around far too many hipsters in my life but the crowd that goes to painstaking lengths to create an image of themselves in order to stick out from the mainstream crowd is often just as ridiculous as those who try just as hard to fit in. Dressed in the appropriate uniforms of their scene, most walked about donned in too-skinny jeans, purposely torn tees and vintage blazers. Of course, no hipster is complete without his or her shaggy coif. It is designed to look as though they just rolled out of bed despite the fact they’ve spent over an hour blow drying, flat-ironing, and piecing out their locks with all sorts of gummy hair styling products. It is the irony of the hipster that is so insulting - their pretense of being something they are not.

Upon entering, we were greeted by a friendly bartender who was quick to give us all free drinks for being Kevin’s “American friends.” However I doubt it had anything to do with the fact we were American. I appreciated the kind gesture, but beyond it I didn’t feel much of a sense of welcoming. We received a few bored looks and rolling eyes which were drawn either by our large group size or our unmistakable accents. I’ve been warned that Londoners don’t care too much for our types. Is it due to this information I’ve received that I am carrying this insecurity with me and projecting it upon the locals I come in contact with? Perhaps. Perhaps I’m also just really good at reading people and observing their signals.

It’s hard being an outsider. It’s even harder being an outsider in a group of people you know don’t necessarily want you there. What made this outing doubly frustrating was the fact that we weren’t just outsiders as Americans but also as non-hipsters who didn’t have a club card to the super cool world of artist elitism. In America the music and art scene isn’t any different. People who claim to be interested in the multiple facets of humanity gather together to discuss cultural differences, diversity and expression in order to better understand who we are. Tolerance, acceptance and understanding are preached amongst this community but they’re mainly catch phrases. If one does not belong to this group, they are not only looked down upon but are socially ostracized. Elitism doesn’t suit the alleged purposes of the hipster; it merely makes them hypocrites who are no better than those they condescend.

Although this rant is filled with bitterness, the Vibe Bar still provided a good time. It was an experience worth having and I intend on returning. It sounds masochistic of me, yes, but the place deserves another chance when visited with a smaller group, or alone. Judgment should be withheld beyond a first impression since so many things can go awry. In order to conduct any experiment it is necessary to do so more than once in order to rule out outside factors which may or may not influence the results.