Why DSP is the best night out in Exeter

One thing is for sure, if you’ve been to DSP once, you’re bound to go repeatedly throughout the year. Maybe completing a 12-week streak in my second term was a bit excessive, but that’s what DSP does to you. And here’s why.

 You can get tickets so pres last later than 9.45 pm

Thanks to Orginal Sin hiring what feels like a thousand reps, getting your hands on a ticket for DSP’s upcoming weekly themed extravaganza is never too difficult. Whichever block you’re in, your neighbouring block will be home to their carefully scouted rep, eager to sell you a wristband so they can get their £1 commission (unless you’re in Duryard, nobody goes out in Duryard.)

How do you spot these reps? Orange coats, lanyards and probably an awful black cap with DSP across the back – in case you didn’t already know they were a rep given their continuous posts on the Exeter Freshers’ page. Once you’ve got these tickets you are blessed with entry until 11pm. A rarity in the South-West. You can actually have pres that last longer than 45 minutes.

*Side note: Don’t pull a rep. It’s not a good idea. They’ll stop selling you tickets and before you know it you’re back to the days of queuing in the rain at 9.30 drinking out of a plastic water bottle.

The bouncers are a dream

When the queues are as long as they are, there is only one thing that can get you through the 40-minute wait. A bouncer by the name of Si. Ladies love him, men want to be him and the other bouncers are envious of how much attention we shower him with. A Monday does not go by where I don’t look forward to seeing Si’s warm, welcoming smile at the front of the queue. You don’t get first name basis and a Facebook add anywhere else in Exeter. They’ll pass you an umbrella in the rain, they’ll pretend they care as you tell them about your most recent drama and, on top of it all, they’ll say they missed you if they haven’t seen you in a week, making you feel wanted after suffering yet another mugging off the previous Friday at TP.

*Another side note: Don’t swear at the staff. You will get banned and have to suffer an entire month with a DSP sized hole in your heart.

The music is absolutely filthy

It’s 11.15pm. You’ve just spent £5 on a tequila shot you really did not need. In the distance you hear it. The early beats of the dirtiest remix of them all; Intoxicated and That’s Not Me. You sprint to the dance-floor and trip on the sneaky stairs on the side on the way, but nothing’s stopping you. Throwing yourself into the most pathetic mosh of them all (I mean, it’s not Move for God’s sake what did you expect?!), this is exactly what you came for. A style of dance that feels remotely like what clubbing was back home. A simple head bop with your arms rhythmically flailing. Every week DJ Willby announces that he is mashing it up and, my God, does he deliver. Remixes you didn’t even think needed to be put together are and next thing you know, you’re absolutely giving it to Tom Zanetti.

*Side note no.3: Follow DJ Willby on Instagram. He’s a solid liker and the closest thing we will get to a celebrity in Exeter. He has rightly earned the name Wilbae.

Everyone is there

No matter what halls you’re in, what subject you study or where you’re from – you will all find common ground in the form of DSP. (Except Holland, they’re strictly Rosie’s). DSP is so diverse I’ve even met people from Manchester there – something that I had never experienced after a year of being at Exeter. Rarer still, I met people from Duryard there. And if a club night can get someone from Duryard out, it must be something special. Going through the club photos the next day you are likely to recognise 90 per cent of the people there. If you didn’t know them before, you’ll eventually come to know them after spending consecutive Monday nights together.

Believe it or not, everyone photographed here is from Duryard. Not so Deadyard now hey??

*Surprise, surprise – another side-note: Though this is usually a great thing making DSP feel like one big year 11 house party, it comes with it’s disadvantages. Everyone you want to avoid will be there.

Finding your friends is easy

So, by some twisted turn of fate, you and all your pals have been separated. Maybe someone has gone off to pull, someone’s having an argument in smoker’s area and the others STILL in the queue for the toilets. No problem. With Unit 1 only being made up of a single dance-floor, it is never difficult to be reunited with your friends. Unlike TP – as much as I love you – your three floors, two neighbouring bars (Hole in the Wall and Old Timers?!) and (although nice) unnecessarily massive smoking area has caused many problems for friendship groups over the years. While in DSP I can send a simple text and expect a response depicting one of three locations: dance-floor, toilets or smoker’s. If the shit phone signal fails me, however, I can climb into one of the booths that towers over the dance-floor and scout the crowd for a familiar face.

*Side note only for the freshers: Unit 1 does host three bars, however, so it’s worth labelling each one at the start of the year because a message saying ‘bar’ does not narrow it down enough. Nothing too complicated though; ‘bar by stairs’, ‘bar by DJ’ and ‘bar that nobody actually goes to’ will suffice.

Nickname the bars so you can avoid unhelpful, delayed messages like this on the group chat!

So there you have it. Five reasons why DSP is the best night in Exeter. As much as other clubs try and challenge it and as much as you will try and give these nights a chance, you will always come crawling back to DSP. Back to the place you feel safe. If you have a bad word to say against DSP, you don’t deserve them anyway and we don’t want your negativity contaminating our dirty, sexy air.