Ignatius Feb 23, 2019

This experience was awesome. Every attendee was given wireless headphones that received three channels from DJs spinning next to each other. And when you flipped the switch they would glow red, green or blue so your friends and strangers can know what you're dancing to. There was no open-air music playing, so you could very easily pull the headphones off and have a conversation or chill down, and they were decent headphones that you could really turn up when you wanted to. Blue was hip-hop/R&B, red was pre-2010 throwbacks, and green was top 40 hits and EDM. DJ Blaze was green which was my channel of choice, but I caught some good tracks from the other two. Blaze was on fire all night and kept his listeners hyped up.

So this whole silent disco concept pretty much solves most of what makes clubbing unappealing to people like me, and adds neat elements to the experience. In a typical club, the music is loud and doesn't stop and for some DJs it is rarely creative, (by the way this is why I was a green-homie tonight, red and blue did not impress me much) so it is very difficult to have a conversation. I would normally resort to typing things out on my phone if I had to, but here I'd just pull the headphones off and relax about it. Also it was easier to let loose when everyone around you is indulging in the objectively weird act of club dancing with glowing headphones on. You had a volume control, and there was a people-watching element that you don't get in clubs, you can look through the crowd and see the groups of red, blue and green, you could wonder why the reds are spreading or dancing/cheering enthusiastically and then you switch to check it out. If it hooks you in, your switch adds to the virality of whatever red is currently spinning. There were times when there was even and segregated representation, and there were times when nearly every head was blue. It was fascinating to watch unfold, in a way that typical clubs just aren't. I definitely want to do this again.