pgh-goth-list Digest, Vol 34, Issue 20

[Adam Rixey]

I think the REAL reason the older crowd doesn't dance is because we're
old, jaded, and (being goths), defeatist.  None of us can come close
to the grace and majesty and pole-humping agility that we've seen on
the dancefloor, so we sit in the bar and try to drown away the
knowledge of our low dexterity scores with sweet sweet alcohol.

Also, I think we're just getting used to the kids not being there, and
it will take awhile for the conditioned response of "going on the
dancefloor means I will lose an eyeball to a wildly flailing glowstick
on a string" mentality to fade away.  Despite what the movies and
popular culture have led us to believe, wearing an eyepatch actually
isn't that cool.

On 6/22/06, Chris Rapier <rapier1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Something else to consider is that every week is basically the same
> crowd at the Upstage and this is the crowd that has lasted throughout
> the years. This crowd is generally not that interested in dancing. So
> that sort of sets the mood there and it has set the mood for years.
> There is nothing wrong with it - its just different.
>
> Also, don't skip the fact that wanting to get laid has something to do
> with it. A lot of people at the upstage have generally moved past the
> 'lets fuck anything that moves' mindset. Or, just as importantly, any
> one regular has basically fucked or screwed around with all of the
> other regulars as he or she sees fit. So you don't have the impulse to
> dance to impress. A lot of the younger kids were still in the 'hump
> like bunnies' stage and dancing is part of the whole pre-humping
> process for most people.
>
> On 6/22/06, j eric townsend <jet at flatline.net> wrote:
> > At 10:24 PM -0700 6/21/06, Sc'Eric (dj.darkFIN) wrote:
> > >It's my personal opinion that most 21+ folks goto clubs to drink and get laid, with the music there as a backdrop.  The kids who are there as underagers are there to have fun BECAUSE of the music.  Music is the vehicle, not the alcohol
> >
> > Interesting point, and one I hadn't considered.  I'll show my age by saying that I was in the last batch of people allowed to drink at 18 in the last state to change its law from 18 to 21.  I also think if you can join the military and kill people, get married and have kids, buy a house or a car, or be tried as an adult you should be able to buy a damn beer.  (cue Mojo Nixon about now.)
> >
> > While I'd agree that age is a factor, I don't know if I'd agree that it is *the* factor in the greater goth/industrial scene.  Maybe it is on the east coast,  or in dying steel towns, I haven't been out here long enough to know.  I moved here from a scene where a lot of the DJs were in their 30s and a lot of my dance-their-asses-off club buddies were between 25 and 40.  I'd say the under-25 crowd represented more the dance floor but I certainly didn't feel like a chickenhawk when I was dancing.   My "club buddy" of ~10 years was a year older than I, and she could easily spend more time than me on the floor.  She also drug my ass to see the Aquabats and made me feel like an old geezer with a cane when I could no longer skank with her and the "kids" after a few songs.
> >
> > Drue made an interesting observation the last time we were at Ceremony:  there's a critical mass of people (or a tipping point, if you must) needed to get a dance floor going.    I think she's spot on -- there needs to be a certain number of people on the floor before the average person will go out and dance.   A handful of us just don't care how damn goofy we look (yes, that was me, the only person dancing to Neubauten a couple of weeks ago), but the average person doesn't want to be one of the few people on the dance floor.  You need to have a catalyst, and I wonder if in Pittsburgh that catalyst is either the 18-21 crowd or the college students.
> >
> > Or maybe it's the music, but that's a different rant.
> > --
> > jet / KG6ZVQ
> > jet at flatline.net
> > pgp:   0xD0D8C2E8  AC9B 0A23 C61A 1B4A 27C5  F799 A681 3C11 D0D8 C2E8
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-- 
Adam Rixey
arixey at gmail.com