Mobile Clubbing Weekend

It’s been a busy weekend. I’ve been out for each of the last four nights and each of those nights has involved loud music and staying out late.

This picture is from Friday’s Mobile Clubbing event which was held at Tate Modern.

Mobile Clubbing is a bizarre experience which involves turning up at a pre-arranged time and place (pre-arranged via the internet, of course!) and dancing to your personal stereo, along with a horde of strangers. The Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern was a perfect venue for this. Even the artwork currently on display conveniently allows plenty of room for people to dance around in the open space.

And speaking of the “artwork” … I guess it is pretty much obligatory for me to offer my comment. Being fair, the hall was very busy when I got there, so I couldn’t really take in the awesome wonder of a hole in the ground all at once. Being realistic, though, it is a hole in the ground. Neat idea with the name, though - Shibboleth. Only this time I think the Shibboleth is meant to flush out pretentious art critics and not the Ephraimites.

And that was just the start of the weekend clubbing experience …

Actually, Thursday was the start, but that was a pretty bog standard evening at London’s default nightclub, Tiger Tiger, to celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday. Tiger Tiger, the safe, reliable, predictable McDonalds of the London club scene. Or if you’ve turned up in an all male group on a popular night you’d probably be turned away and end up in On Anon - London’s Club of Last Resort.

It was a relief to go somewhere more unusual for Saturday’s outing - Shunt Lounge and Theatre Company. Shunt is buried underneath the arches of London Bridge station, similar to the next door SE1 venue. As well as the usual club stuff - lights, music, alcohol, we were also treated to a short theatre performance. This involved the audience wearing wireless headphones to listen to the (minimal) dialogue and atmospheric sound effects. I think the headphones were meant mainly to drown out the connecting room’s club noise but they also made the performance feel a lot more involving than simply sitting and listening. Clever use of surround sound made it feel like we were a part of the action. Nice sound quality, too.

I ended the weekend with more unusual clubbing. This time the B-Boy Championships at Brixton Academy. The event featured the world’s best lockers, poppers and breakers battling it out on stage to see who was best. Korea won the team event - two large teams taking turns in the centre of the stage to show off their dance moves, fight style. Despite the “battle” metaphor it was a thoroughly sporting contest and very good natured. I found I was really getting into the music, too.

And finally, if you were wondering what I decided to dance to at Mobile Clubbing: