It’s strange that the one place where I don’t get anxiety is in 100 year old concert venues in unfamiliar cities, but I guess we all have our thing. I’ve been wanting to go to Emo Night for a couple of years now, and therefore I was stoked to see that the UK was putting on a night conveniently when I would be home in London for the weekend. For those of you that are unfamiliar, Emo Night originated in Brooklyn, NY as a night where bands in the alternative/pop-punk music scene DJ at a club or venue for a night, playing all of the 2000’s favorites (My Chemical Romance, Boys Like Girls, A Day To Remember) to a room full of kids who may or may not still be going through their scene phase in their 20’s.
I excitedly asked my friends if they wanted to attend this night with me, and they agreed with only minor hesitation. We got to the venue at about midnight, which seemed to be perfect timing seeing as doors were at 11. The room was foggy and there weren’t as many people as I had thought there would be, but the set went until 4am, so I assumed we were just early. Thankfully, the music didn’t take long to start, and the crowd was suddenly dancing to “The Downfall of Us All” by A Day To Remember as one of Emo Night’s founders, Alex Badanes, took the stage and started the night off right.
At this point, my friends were a bit uneasy, as my unsympathetic self laughed and sang along. This is not our typical night out at the bar with Nicki Minaj playing in the background and groups of kids from our school surrounding us. This was grungy and foggy and everything completely out of the ordinary; I was loving every second of it.
After about an hour of Alex DJing, he handed the stage over to UK based band, Trash Boat. I think I can count on one hand the number of songs I’ve listened to by Trash Boat, so I was hoping that their DJ set would entice me enough to give their discography another go. I’m happy to say that it did. Some songs on queue were Misery Business by Paramore, I’m Not Okay by My Chemical Romance as well as some current favorites including Throne by Bring Me The Horizon and Lula On The Beach by Seaway. My friends did not try to hide their surprise at how well I knew most songs being played, however they were captivated by the guys on stage. Trash Boat was all smiles with beers in their hand, acting like the college kids we hang out with, doing what they love as a career. They were constantly looking toward each other for what song to play next, as other close friends huddled around the stage, dancing and encouraging more madness to ensue.
The funny thing about the music industry is that these people seem untouchable. They’re on a stage that separates them from the crowd with a barricade, and a bunch of strangers are singing the songs they wrote right back to them. That’s why Emo Night is so interesting to me; when you take away the guitars and the the drums and the packed venue, all you have is 4 guys on stage playing music that they loved as teenagers, dancing along with those who feel the same.
There’s something about Emo Night that squashes that fan/band barrier and brings everyone together. Music is something that makes everyone feel accepted. It helps create friendships, sparks romance, and allows those who are willing to live their dreams of seeing the world and connecting with those who will listen to do so. While we only stayed for a couple of hours, it was nice to have a little bit of familiarity in the new city I’m starting to call home.
Listen to Trash Boat here and follow them on Twitter and Instagram!