Pop Culture Party Review

Rumors and infamy can probably best describe the word of mouth these types of parties get. They’re out of the way, full of weird people and have strange themes. Yesterday, I decided to go to the Pop Culture Party, and I must say, the infamy is there, everyone’s weird and the theme was unfamiliar at best. But, it had something most parties and events lack these days: genuine, visceral an raw FUN.

The venue was behind Gallery Vanlian on the auxiliary seaside road, in the Philka Building which as far as I can tell, is a warehouse or factory or something. On the second floor,  there’s a large, high-ceilinged hall where the party was happening, with the DJ booth on one side and the bar on the opposite corner. The hall was flanked with balconies on each side, allowing you to step out for a breath of fresh air every now and then.

I arrived there at around 1:00AM  and the song playing was Deadmau5′s Sofi Needs A Ladder, which by itself put me in a jubilant mood going in. Then, the male version of Lady Gaga, complete with fireworks for nipples, skipped by me and at that moment, I knew the night was going to be interesting…

I found Mika, Saro, Maria and Johnny and of course, the lovely Poly there, and the dancing began. There was an unmistakable feeling of liberation in the venue, and the usual constipated-like inhibitions did not exist. You could be dressed in an outfit worthy of Rio’s Carnaval, or like me, in sweatpants and a tshirt, and still not feel out of place. A sea of shaved heads, dreadlocks, wigs, hats and helmets with hands in the air filled the dancefloor, which was flooded with the remnants of the open bar policy.

Now, to the part you’ve all been waiting for: was it a gay party? Newp! There were probably as many homosexual people in that party as any other place, the difference is, they don’t necessarily have to tone it down a or keep it on the low like in other places, where management or security might not be too thrilled about that type of PDA. So, it was a party full of all kinds of happy people with different styles, tastes and sexual preferences, all in perfect harmony. I know some of my readers wouldn’t really like the idea, but to each his or her own and what’s important at the end of the day, is being happy with whomever you are. So, it’s not really anyone’s business as long as everybody’s happy =).

Anyway, getting back to the actual party, the notorious Lebanese electricity failed the organizers, and the venue blew a fuse at around 3:00 AM, forcing the party to grind to a halt. Here’s where I bumped into Ali and Sara and we whined together about the government, talked about life and neuroscience of course. Several minutes later though, the power was restored and the music was playing again, allowing the party to go strong well into the early hours of the morning with whoever was left standing!

All in all, PC was a fun night, with an affordable price and a down-to-earth approach to partying. There, the partying was for the fun of it, the music was for dancing and the drinking was for 25$ open bar. It wasn’t partying for putting it on Facebook, the music wasn’t radio rubbish and the drinks weren’t as expensive as your most prized furniture. Bottom line is, looking forward to the next one!

Here are some pics from Facebook too (muuch better quality than mine =P)