November 2015 archive

Passion Blog 9: Life in Color

One of my favorite electronic dance music events that I have attended is Life in Color. Life in Color is a world-touring concert series unlike any other. It refers to itself as “the world’s largest paint party” and it is just that. Formerly known as Dayglow, Life in Color hosts massive electronic music concerts in major cities all around thLIC-Picture1-SFX-Website1-1024x552e world with top-charting DJs playing alongside professional dancers and contortionists in a high-energy, neon crowd.
The idea behind Life in Color is that our bodies are a blank canvas just waiting to be filled and expressed. Everyone that goes to the concert is encouraged to wear white as a representation of a blank canvas, soon to be filled with color. The concerts usually feature three or more DJs, with a countdown till paint blast projected on the screen. When the count down reaches zero, the crowd goes crazy and neon paint is blasted into the crowd from every direction, raining down on all the concertgoers. From that point on, the paint is continuously sprayed onto the audience from the stage to the beat of the music. By the end of the night, attendees are dripping in paint.

I have attended a Life in Color show in Philadelphia twice: once in 2014, and again in 2015. In 2014, the DJs that performed were TJR, Nervo, and Quintino. That was first time at any event like this, so it was not something that I was used to. It was extremely crowded to the point where I was touching everyone around me and it was also very cold outside. My friends and I made our way to the front row in time for the initial paint blast and we got drenched in paint. Immediately I was soaked, cold, and rubbing against other wet attendees covered in paint. This does not sound like very much fun, but as the night went on I got used to it and embraced the paint as it rained down on me. The next year, in 2015, my friends and I decided we wanted to go again. The performers were David Solano, Jauz, and Steve Aoki. I knew what to expect going into it this time, so I was more prepared. I wore sunglasses to prevent paint from going into my eyes (a major problem) and I put my phone in a bag so that it did not get wet with paint. Life in Color 2015 was a lot more fun in my opinion because I was more prepared and I liked these DJs better.

life_in_color_miami_diplo_r3hab_benny_benassiI would not recommend this event for everyone. To enjoy this concert, you must really like electronic dance music and not mind massive, somewhat aggressive crowds. Also, if the idea of getting blasted with paint doesn’t appeal to you, you probably should not go to Life in Color because it is unavoidable. By the time I got home from the concert, the paint had dried and my hair was extremely stiff and my skin was multicolored. Life in Color is an event like no other and that is what keeps me coming back every time the show is in my area. Where else can you dance to your favorite music with thousands of other fans while getting covered in neon paint?

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_in_Color

Recommendations for Deliberation

My recommendation for dealing with the problem of stress among college students is to make general education classes pass or fail. This would relieve some of the stress students have to get good grades in all of their classes. Students would still have to participate and make an effort to pass the class, it would just be less demanding if it was pass/fail. Another idea is that CAPS should host group therapy sessions and bring in students majoring in psychology that want to help others. This would allow CAPS to treat more students and having the option of talking to a psychology major would make some students feel more comfortable because they are talking to another student and not an adult. I also think that during stressful times like finals week, RAs should host more events like offering free food or ice cream as a way for students to take a break from studying and reward themselves.

Paper 4 Ideas

Issue: State Patty’s Day

To: Burrow of State College

Argument: State College police should focus on damage control and containment of destruction of property, rather than trying to stop State Patty’s Day from happening by paying the bars to stay closed and being more strict than usual with underage drinking.

Deliberation Experience

I thought the whole deliberation process was interesting. It was a nice change from sitting in class listening to a lecture or writing a paper on our own. I liked how we had group discussions where everyone had a chance to voice their personal stake in the situation and add their own input at any time. It was interesting to hear where everyone in the group stood on the situations. We built upon each others ideas to form what we thought to be the best solution to the issues discussed. The deliberations were a lot more relaxed and informal than I anticipated them to be, but I liked it because it didn’t feel like work, it was more of just a conversation between peers about important issues.

My idea for the recommendation report is that State College police should not try to end State Patty’s Day altogether, but should rather follow the same procedure they do for football weekends. The two events draw similar crowds in terms of number and both events are filled with binge drinking and the bars make the same amount of money on the two occasions. It would be more effective to stop trying to end the “holiday” but control the crowd more by putting more police on duty to stop things from getting out of hand.

Ibiza: EDM Capital of the World

An island in Spain called Ibiza is considered the electronic dance music capital of the world. Being the largest dance centered resort, the island contains some of the biggest and most popular night clubs in the world. A few top charting DJs hold residency in Ibiza and perform shows there every week. Whenever a big-name DJ releases their tour schedule, you can be sure that there is at least one stop in Ibiza. Partiers from all over the world come to Ibiza to party every day of the week with top DJs in world famous nightclubs.

Ibiza is home to some of the most world-renowned nightclubs. One of these nightclubs is named Amnesia. Amnesia opened in 1976 and has been awarded Best Global Club four years in a row. The nightclub has a custom made sound system using “Expanded Amnesia Technology” that “hones in on frequencies that physically affect the bodies of the dancers” (resident advisor). With a capacity of over 5,000, Amnesia is always a good time.

Ibiza is also home to the world’s largest nightclub, Privilege, with a capacity of 10,000 people. This club is so unique because, aside from its size, it has multiple levels ushuaia-1of dance floors so everywhere you look, you are surrounded by partiers and music. One of the rooms in this club has walls and ceilings made of glass, allowing clubbers to literally party until they see the break of dawn. To top it all off, Privilege has a massive swimming pool right in the middle of the main dance floor.

A party capital like Ibiza is obviously
going to have the issue of visitors abusing drugs. Drugs are extremely common in Ibiza and are sold to tourists to fuel their week of hard partying. The hospital in Ibiza treats more overdoses than anywhere else in the world. On average, it is estimated that 40,000 ecstasy tablets are consumed every night in this island. A survey was given out to 200 tourists during their stay and had shocking results. 75% of men and women said they plan on having five or more drinks a night during their stay. Four out of ten said they plan on doing drugs most nights of their trip. The study showed that the most popular drugs among visitors are ecstasy followed by cocaine and ketamine.

Unfortunately, all of this top-notch entertainment does not comeclub cheap. The cover charge for these famous nightclubs typically start at €40 and only increase from there. On nights when a very popular DJ is performing (aside from the ones who have made residency there) you can expect to pay €80 cover. Alcoholic drink prices at these famous clubs are also very high. A beer will cost you €10 and a drink with liquor is typically €14 or more. Go to Ibiza
with the expectation that you will be spending a lot more money than you would to spend.

Sources:

http://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/night/clubs/privilege_i.htm

http://together.travel/ibiza-how-much-spending-money-to-take/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesia_(nightclub)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-402342/Come-Ibiza-sun-sea-drugs-drugs-drugs.html