Last Spring, Lupo's Heartbreak
Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island hosted a world famous event called Day Glow.
Day Glow is a world renowned live concert, featuring famous DJ's, soaring
aerial acts, stilit walkers, contortion acts, fire shows, and giant cannons
that deliver it's famous "paint blast". It's known as "The
World's Largest Paint Party" because these "paint blasts cover the
entire audience in neon colored paint. Below, I've included a video just so you
can get an idea what I'm talking about. This video is actually from the exact
event I attended. My friends and I are getting off the bus in the video around
1:40 in. After seeing this, I think you'll have a better understanding about
what I'm about to describe to you.
After watching this video, I'm sure
you can get the idea that this event was overwhelming crowded with people.
People were lined up and down the streets waiting to get in for hours before
the event even started. Everyone was dressed up in either rave attire, meaning
bright neon colors, or in all white so that when the continuous paint blasts
occurred the neon colored paint would decorate their outfits. Once the line
starting moving everyone poured through the doors. I've never seen people so
excited for an event in my life and I've been to a lot of concerts. However,
there's something about the experience of Day Glow that really creates excitement
in the crowds. As I'm sure you saw in the video, everyone lining the streets
was cheering. Inside Lupo's the walls were covered with giant tarps, obviously
to protect the club from getting to destroyed by the paint that would soon be
covering every person inside, as well as the floors and walls. Below I included
some pictures, in the background of the second one you can see a clear view of
the tarps covering the walls. The first two pictures are of my friends and I,
prior to the paint blast. The third picture is of two of my other friends, a beautiful
picture to represent the aftermath of the paint blasting! The reason why I'm
not in this paint covered picture is because I chose not to be covered with the
paint. As amazing as my experience was at Day Glow, and I did have an amazing
time (and can't wait to go again when Day Glow comes to URI campus this Spring)
the crowd of people swarming around the stage made me feel extremely
overwhelmed. I can honestly say I have never been somewhere so crowded and the
combination of thousands of people only centimeters apart wanting to be covered
in paint and slipping and falling into each other for some reason just isn't
especially appealing to me. And that is exactly what was happening. Everyone
wanted to be up as close to the stage as possible so that they could get
covered in paint. Therefore 1) I would have had to push through the crowd to
the get through, 2) once in the crowd, I would be surrounded by people pushing
and shoving, and 3) once the paint came out everyone was slipping and falling
into each other. The thought of being part of that crazy crowd basically just
frightened me. So, I chose to stay towards the back, where somehow the paint
still reached and I slipped a few times myself, but I never ended up as covered
as my friends in the last picture below. A few of my other paintless friends in
the pictures stayed towards the back with me as well. Mostly we just danced and
enjoyed the music while avoiding the paint. Regardless, I certainly experienced
my first overwhelming mob of people while attending Day Glow, but I made it out
alive and still managed to really enjoy myself.
When Day Glow comes back to Rhode
Island this Spring, specifically to the URI campus I can say that I will give
being part of the crowd a second chance. Mostly because the majority of those
in attendance will be URI students. Knowing that makes me feel more comfortable
than having no idea what kind of crazy people could of been next to my side at
an event as open as Day Glow when hosted in Providence.
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