“Is this the right location?”. When I arrived at the event, the cold Manchester air that I had underestimated was sending shivers all over my body. Warmth. That’s all I could think about. This night out had been planned for a while and when I pictured the location this was definitely not what I expected. The taxi dropped us off underneath the tunnel of the train station. The setting looked quirky yet exciting. It was my first time in Manchester and my first type of musical event that wasn’t being held in a stadium. I had no idea what to expect. We walked round the suspicious corner that was blocking the impatient crowd. It was only 10:30pm, but I knew then that It was going to be an intense and memorable night.
The moment I walked through the plastic strip curtains, the overwhelming heat hit me like a ton of bricks. The cold I felt a moment ago was instantly gone due to the amount of bodies crammed together. I was shocked as I tried to take in my surroundings. The venue had 3 different rooms. 3 different moods. 3 different types of music. The pounding beat of the music blasted through my ear drums. It was so loud, so forceful, but it sent a rush over my body. A rush of joy that I could see everyone there felt too.
Everyone that surround me on that night was in an up beat mood. We all came together to enjoy what we paid for, great music and atmosphere that brought us together. I know that typically people feel like this at every concert they go to, but this felt different. As we were underground and listening to house music that isn’t liked by everyone, it just felt more intimate, like there was social solidarity. As I went with a group of close friends it was easy to see that I wasn’t the only person who felt like this. “It was an amazing experience being surrounded by so many people as passionate about the event as I was. The venue, the music and the atmosphere was exhilarating.”- Sophie Mason, 20, Student.
This wasn’t my usual scene. I had little knowledge about these events. Before meeting my university friends, I would have never even heard about this type of event but this night showed me a different side of the music world. The location for this event was something I had never seen before. It was held in a car park located underneath a bridge, and above was the train station that we arrived at earlier that day. This rustic location just set the vibe for the event. The music we were listening to throughout the night was underground genres, so it made sense that we were underground too. The smell of sweat and cheap alcohol invaded my nostrils throughout the whole night, but the heat that overwhelmed this venue was nearly unbearable so it was expected.
As I walked round this large and insane venue I had a constant grin upon my face that stretched ear to ear, I felt that whist I was there I had no worries at all. All I had to do was listen to the music whist being surround by people who were having the time of their lives, just like me. “I felt social solidarity, being surrounded by people who were all there for the same thing as I was. This was the music, the main attraction ’Bicep’ (an electronic music duo). Electronic/House/DNB are all quite underground genres so meeting like- minded people was amazing. The music takes you to another place of existence, combined with a light show that boggled the mind. The music just speaks for all of us; saying we are here, we are alive”- Gianina Mesina, 19, Student.
At concerts and other music events, it isn’t really the place to socially interact with others who you have never met before, but this certain event was different. Due to it being such a large venue, there was many different rooms, some for music and some for even just sitting, chatting and chilling. This gave me the chance to meet new and interesting people when I needed a five-minute break from the music and dancing. Due to this type of event only being liked by a certain selection of people, I enjoyed the night more, and was engaged in every conversation I had on this extraordinary night in Manchester.
5:30 am. Once we checked the time we realised how long the night had been. The dancing, the chatting, the deep and powerful beats of the music had pulled us in with full force. We didn’t have a care in the world abut the time, or how early we had to get up for our train back to London, we were just in the moment. Everyone was.
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