The stages of Shabang every Leicester student will recognise

Shabang: That one ex who won’t go away. Either love it or hate it, we all know you’ll be back with a VK in each hand after slagging it off last week.

The Party Bus

It all starts with the dreaded queue where you can meet all walks of life living in the student village. Not only do you have to deal with this, but you and your mates thought it would be a great idea to get the very last bus which makes the queuing experience so much better.

This horror is all forgotten when you see the faint outline of a dirty white bus emerge from the distance.

A ride on the bus is the best indicator of whether you’ll need to stock buy VKs when you get to the O2, or whether you’ve clearly had too much. If you’re sat there in silence wanting to die because everyone around you is wasted, then you need a drink. If you are belting out the anthem of ‘Back Seat of the Bus’ then you so do not need more.

I feel that the song ‘A Whole New World’ should play upon arrival of this bus.

The Queuing

The queuing process of the O2 is a real test to see who is the most organised out of your mates. Your group will most likely split up into the organised lot, who bought tickets earlier, and the unorganised group, also known as the cash payers, and finally the ‘what are you even doing here’ group who have to take the walk of shame to the nearest cash machine.

The group you are now with is the team you will be spending your night with – you probably won’t see the other guys until about Wednesday afternoon.

The Bouncer

Confronting the bouncer is like that one video game boss that you were always unsure about as a kid. Even when I’m sober and showing the bouncer my ID, it’s still awkward and scarier than the thought of dropping cheesy chips on the floor. When you are confronting a bouncer drunk, it’s like applying for a job that you are clearly not qualified for. Sometimes, the bouncer has challenged me to walk in a straight line or to read out certain parts of my ID, and I can honestly say that I have tried harder in these ‘bouncer trials’ than I have for any exam that I have taken in my life.

The feeling of getting through is truly a sense of achievement. As you turn around to see the masses that are yet to be judged by the bouncer, they all look at you in wonder and amazement as you walk through the golden gates of the O2.

Even the bouncers love the odd Shabang photo.

The Photos

We’ve all seen the photographer roaming around the O2 and immediately you think it’s the best idea to take a picture and capture what a wonderful time you’re having with your mates. It’s only until a few days later the regret sinks in when one of your friends tags you in the photo on Facebook. When you see yourself with half your face asleep, drink spilt down your shirt and your mouth stained aluminous green from an apple VK, that’s when you realise that photos are a bad mistake.

Don’t worry guys, we’ve all been there…

Dabbing. Enough said.

The Shabang T-Shirts

As soon as the DJ announces the giveaway you can sense the change in mood through the entire O2. It becomes every man and women for themselves just to have the sweet glory of a Shabang T-shirt. The very few that possess a Shabang shirt wear them with pride as if they’ve won Olympic gold and walk around like royalty, but the rest of us peasants fight to the death each week to try and get a taste of glory.

The sheer carnage of the Shabang T-shirt giveaways.

Melissa understands.

Johnny’s Food Factory

It’s now 3.30 and Shabang has turned into a small get together in the R&B room, so you decide to call it a night. You stand outside waiting for what remains of your group to meet you outside, but very quickly get distracted by the smell of burgers and chips. You know for a fact that you’re already £400 into your overdraft, but you don’t care. And rightly so – cheesy chips are so worth the debt.

Home time

Being a second or third year, you’ll be able to have a wobbly walk back to your homes, but the freshers will really suffer. The group you set out with of 15 strong has now dwindled down to three and a stranger who is almost paralytic. You stride over to the taxis, confident of your negotiation skills that you can muster up a sweet deal back to home. You will always be greeted with the response “£2 each guys.”

The taxi ride back is where you contemplate your life, attempt to check your bank balance, but ultimately chicken out, and review the events of your Shabang experience.

The next day you ask yourself why you went out to Shabang and realise how much you hate it. Nevertheless, you will be back next Friday, doing it all over again.

Till next Friday, my sweet prince.

Photo credits: Rockstar Promotions