Walking past my local church in Canberra’s CBD, I notice the distinct sound of rave music. I look at my watch, it’s 8:45pm. I look at the church, I look at my watch again and think WTF, as I am in the midst of carry my groceries home I make a note to check it out tomorrow. The next day I walk in the direction of the church and this time I am greeted by silence.
Most people tend to feel their mood sink a little when they decide to stay sober for a night out, either because they’ve been nominated as the designated driver for the night because it’s their turn, or they’ve just decided to stay sober for some reason. Either way, it can suck when you go out and have to stay sober while all your friends drink up and let loose on the dance floor.
Alcohol seriously brings out the good, the bad and the ugly in most of us – we tend to care so much less about what we say and do, since the concept of being ‘socially appropriate’ just deteriorates as we keep drinking. We’re not in proper functioning order, so who cares, right?
Whenever I go out to nightclubs, I always notice that there are different types of clubbing personalities out there. People perceive the clubbing scene in different ways; it can all depend on their mood, their personality and what they’re into as well.
Okay, so most of us have been in that awkward position where we’re out at a nightclub or bar with one of our friends, and then next minute some random guy approaches her and they start talking. At that point, you’re just lingering there, trying not to interfere, but at the same time, you feel exactly like Dupree (from the movie You, Me And Dupree),
If you have ever gone out dancing, you know music is what draws you in and makes you stay. Finding the perfect venue can be a mission, we’ve all been there, loving the music one second and abandoning ship the next to find if your fav tunes went somewhere else. The solution? Silent Disco! You may be thinking wait, how is that not a juxtaposition?
There are a lot of double standards when it comes to clubbing etiquette. Unlike the real world, (because maybe I’m a little bias) a lot of these apply to men. “Guys can’t wear shorts, or singlets or caps”, “Only guys over 21 allowed”, or the unspoken rule that “guys must be accompanied by girls”.
I’m sure that most of us know one or two people who don’t like to drink and/or dance at nightclubs. I mean, yes there are certain times when we all have to restrain ourselves from drinking because either we’re the designated driver for the night or we’re having an early one at work the next morning and don’t want to stumble there with a killer hangover.
So have you ever felt the need to add fuel to the fire to see how big the blaze can get? Ever seen the stern look on a security guard’s face and felt the need to try get a reaction out of him/her? It’s like trying to get a reaction out of those soldiers with the big black bearskin caps; it can be funny in a totally disruptive way, yet you don’t think about the consequences until you poke too much and cop what you deserve (uh oh!).
Is there an expected age to stop clubbing?
Okay, we all reach that stage when we get over the whole clubbing scene (well most of us!), whether it’d be in our early to mid 20s, late 20s to early 30s, or even at the rare age of 18 where you go out once or twice and then decide the party scene is just not for you.