The New Age of Partying
Sorry we have been away, to any and all read this regularly. We found a place to live in Brooklyn, though no sign of employment. And that’s cool, you know, whatever. Needless to say, we’re pretty stoaked about the move. Anyways, a new ‘events’ section has been added, which features- in order no less- the events we are involved in throwing. Holla…
When left to deal with the reality that an increasing amount of the population is disenfranchised with traditional club nights, promoters have strived to create- or at least sell- dynamic events that span multiple areas of interest. For people to come to an event for the sake of an event, it seems that there must be at least four independent events taking place, namely:
- Clearly identifiable event persona (brand)
- Programming (hooks)
- Nationally recognizable sponsor or big/cool company (usually a magazine)
- Fashion (I mean, if the shit doesn’t have a fashion show, it’s probably not worth attending. Certainly not worth writing about)
*Photographers taking pictures of people enjoying the programming is also essential, but this has been covered so much I dare not speak to its merits or problems.
These things are all fundamental things to any good event, from weddings to AA meetings. But with every event cluttered with art installations, live galleries, and fashion shows, a false sense of importance for these trivialities has emerged that in reality, no one attending the event actually cares about. People show up to the events not because they think the obscurities are important or interesting, but because they feel other people will find these things interesting, and they seek to hang out with this crowd. If events were like food, promoters would be making a giant meat lover’s pizza and feeding it to vegetarians who want to look hot to people who think they like meat. Or something.
Events that are new and creative while also generating a profit generally need a good bit of smoke and mirrors promotional tactics to sell the event in, regardless of actual outcome. The degree of orchestration involved in clever one-off events is so hyper-evolved its more like a miniature business in itself, and becomes quite burdening when the following you seek to maintain constantly shows up expecting the unexpected, or at least convince the drunk passerby to comfortably accept your event programming as ‘cutting edge’ or ‘indie’. This is not to discredit promoters or pass off their handiwork as a cheap thrill. On the contrary, these single elements, when flawlessly stranded together, provide the backbone to an event that remains etched into the desensitized brains of partygoers.
When in doubt, go with what works. Like Sex.
The Soft Serve event held last Tuesday night at Django was a release party for Rockstar Videogames’ Table Tennis game, honored by LA artists like Buff Monster, Free Gums, and Came Crashing (connection unclear) with live painting on canvas and otherwise (and, of course, music by Factory Aire). There were so many sponsors and affiliations cluttering the flyer it looked like a black-tie charity benefit.
More pics of the debauchery can be found here.
