If Beethoven had a disco
The deathly silence of a place filled with people can make it quite awkward and uncomfortable to partake in the sorts of dancing you would do while listening to your own headphones. Thus, Friday night's Silent Disco was an experience to be had as over a hundred like-minded music lovers came together to put on their headphones to listen to different DJs spinning a mix of their favorite songs sent straight into a pair of wireless headphones. The partygoers share a sense of belonging to the party as the headphones created a communal vibe not typically felt as you walk down the street listening to your own music. The disco was held at the Central Social Aid and Pleasure Club in Santa Monica where the pulsating beats kept them dancing till 2 a.m.
Upon arrival, you are handed headphones that will allow you to control the volume of the music that the DJ is playing. This creates the experience of a silent disco, as you are able to partake in a different musical experience that is much more intimate and law-abiding.
"The silent disco allows people to be able to party without [interfering with] the growing laws on party music and loud clubs," said Robbie Kowal, creator of the silent disco. "If the music is through headphones, the party is no louder than a speak easy."
"Every once in a while, you get people yelling very private things to their friends," said Stewart Walker of Sunset Promotions. "That is only because they forget to take off their headphones."
Kowal, also known as DJ Motion Potion, experimented with the silent disco with his first appearance in the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee back in 2005. The silent disco movement caught on in San Francisco after Kowal went back home; this weekend's event was the first held in Los Angeles.
As the evening progressed, DJ Motion Potion invites the attendees to continue dancing outside the venue and onto 14th Street; one of the many perks to having the music playing through wireless headphones.
The evening came to an end as everyone reentered the venue, singing, drinking and dancing his or her hearts out.
"At a regular booming club it is a little harder to socially interact, but at a silent disco, all you have to do is press mute."