I spent a day and a night at a day and night party

We’ve all seen the pictures. Ravers of the early 1990s clad in bucket hats, vintage brands and surrounded by that old school casual vibe which makes people in retro photographs look mega cool. They’re dancing like nobody’s watching in a warehouse somewhere in Manchester from the evening until the early hours.

I wanted to explore why the rave has been resurrected and nightclubs are being left behind. I got myself down to a 14 hour event in Manchester to see why people have ditched the heels and club classics for Ellesse tops and DJ sets.

The event began at 1pm set to run until the early hours. There was an initial rush of people to get in, students desperate to start the party early. The afternoon was buzzing – British summer time had officially begun, and people were already dancing, drinking and excited at the prospect of a prolonged end of exams celebration.

I took the opportunity of the afternoon to speak to some punters to see what appealed to them about the long event. One said that students love to drink casually, and that this event was a chance to have a day sesh which morphed into a night out without having to go home. The woman checking tickets on the door agreed that people seemed excited for a day long antics, emphasising that long parties are a seasonal trend. The summer brings with it freedom and opportunity for students and they have the time to party all day and night.

As the event progressed and evening hit, the party seemed to lull slightly at around 7p.m. I think it was that strange in between stage after the sun has set on day drinking, but pre drinks wouldn’t have started. The promoters took some time out to talk to me whilst there was a dip in the celebratory vibe. They said from their perspective DJ events are a waste of time and money unless they are at least 6 or 7 hours long. There was no hesitation from them that they had definitely seen a resurgence of rave culture. The most likely reason for this, they said, was that people love value for money. Their answer was logical; why would people have paid a fiver tonight to get into a club, when for slightly more they could see Big Narstie at a local venue? What was interesting was their notion that people purely love to be entertained, and the idea of being entertained for the duration of the day and night had naturally appealed to students.

I also spoke to partygoers about why they chose to attend this longer party over a traditional Tuesday night out. One said that they thought that at this event everyone had a common goal. They explained they hadn’t seen anyone pretentious only there to post the photos on social media, no one there only to pull – people we’ve all experienced in clubs. It was obvious the people felt united, attending purely for the love of the music and the DJs playing. I have to admit, it was refreshing to see people actually move to music they loved hearing, rather than sidestepping to generic chart music nobody seems to enjoy.

A communal atmosphere echoed throughout the party at around 10p.m.; it was sociable and evident that the punters had mutual reasons for attending. Speaking to friends there, they said they bought their tickets entirely for Big Narstie and the DJ sets, not just because it was a Tuesday and they had finished their exams. When asked what it was that appealed to them about the music, they said that a specific DJ playing their latest set was something safe they knew they would enjoy. It seemed the risk with clubs is leaving at 3a.m. thinking the music was a dreadful mash up of people-pleasing tunes.

By this point, the party had hit traditional clubbing time, and people were, incredibly, still dancing. Maybe there’s something about that repetitive beat that keeps people going. Some people I spoke to even had after parties planned. Clearly they hadn’t fallen into that all too familiar clubbing tradition of reaching 3a.m. and knowing it is time for a kebab and bed. I overheard someone say they’d already gone from 1p.m. until 4a.m. anyway, so what was the harm in a few more hours?

This 14 hour event made it apparent to me why students are reverting back to a retro style of partying. One promoter said to me as I was leaving that long events like this are better because the DJ can take the crowd on a journey, and this party definitely seemed to be about more than how expensive your outfit is or who posted it better on Instagram.

We partied for 14 hours purely for the music and the moves.