New East Bay Spots for Salsa and Timba

Checked out the newly resurrected Caribe on Thursday night over at the Karibbean City in Downtown Oakland. One of the bay area's hot emerging bands Montuno Swing were the featured band along with house dj Carlitos Way. The club looked better than it has in quite some time: new paint job, renovated dance floor, added area seating, vip area and large projection screen. Although the club needs to tweak the boomy sound and the drinks a bit on the expensive side ($10 for a Barcardi and coke) , the place holds a lot of promise for a regular Thursday night East Bay spot for Salsa. The club has only been open for 8 weeks and the crowd is still building. This is the fourth resurrection of the Caribe since its birth as a Thursday night salsa spot in the late 80's. Producer Luis Mendoza is hoping that the place will appeal to both the original patrons as well as the new generation of dancers. This is the second new addition to the East Bay scene if you are counting the hot timba Friday nights over at the Mint Leaf Restaurant in West Berkeley which feature a rotation of timba spinners. This small space is packed full of timbaleros who have moved over from the scene at the late Taza Del Cafe.