Audien at The Ritz

Well I finally made it out to Raleigh for an event. I first heard Audien when sitting home alone, bored with the TV to the point of putting on a music channel instead. I was quite pleased with the result - very danceable, high-energy music. Then I all but forgot about Audien until facebook recommended the event in Raleigh (really creepy, facebook, but I guess it worked). So off I went. I got there a half hour early and was the first person there. Really, why do I do this? I hung out with a friend until 9:00, about an hour into the event, aiming to arrive fashionably late.

The Ritz was pretty impressive. A very similar setup to Label in Charlotte - High ceilings, a balcony on the second floor going around 3 sides, bars on either side of the dance floor, which lay below a stage. What I liked about the Ritz though was the lighting/atmosphere. They didn't use those awful purple lights saturating the entire venue. It was rather dark and the majority of light came from the giant projection screen behind the DJ and the lights/lasers from the stage. Aside from lighting, the color scheme was dark and earthy. The floor seemed dirty. This pleased me =)

There are thee key differences between the Ritz and where I want my events to be. 1) I don't want any variance in elevation inside the venue. No balcony, no stage. Balconies allow people to spectate, whereas I want these events to be participatory. Elevating people also gives a false sense of hierarchy. Everyone is equal on the dancefloor, even the DJ. Doing away with expensive tickets for VIP goes without saying. 2) Lower ceiling. Not too much reason behind this, except that my favorite warehouse raves had low ceilings and I'd like this to continue. 3) Multiple rooms/DJ's. Everybody likes a little variety.

Back to the event though. I had a blast. I met a ton of great people who have their own unique style and energy. And I had a surprise where I ran into some old friends too. Audien was killer. Better than on Spotify, better than on the TV. Despite the massive crowd huddled against the stage there was still enough room in the back for the awesome people to dance. I danced for four hours and then drove my tired ass home to Greensboro.

In general though, Raleigh has that right kind of energy that I was looking for. I definitely need to do more exploring in Raleigh and see what other shenanigans the city holds.