Tab Tries: Breakfast Rave

It’s 8am on a bright Wednesday morning, and packed in a warehouse in the wilds of East London, three hundred people have already been dancing for an hour and half.

Two people dressed as unicorns on stage tell the crowd to “go mental” as they turn the music up and start throwing shapes, seemingly oblivious to the fact that most people are still sat on the Tube on their way to work.

Welcome to Morning Glory, London’s first and best ‘Breakfast Rave,’ this month held in the Oval Space in Tower Hamlets. The website promises that you can ‘Rave your way into the day,’ and judging by the packed 800 square-metre venue it’s an increasingly popular choice.

The company describe themselves as “an immersive morning dance experience for those who dare to challenge morning culture and start their day in style!” If morning culture is lugging yourself out of bed, dousing yourself in tea and then slumping off to work, this is definitely something of a scene change.

Dropping it low: slightly more fun than public transport

Just a regular morning

Free massage time!

Started by events producer Samantha Moyo and bodywork therapist Nico Thoemmes, the  monthly event offers free massages, a coffee cart, smoothie bar and, most importantly, a ‘banging dance-floor’. The people attending seemed to be from all walks of life, and most bizarrely, all ages.

A man who couldn’t have been under sixty-five danced like nobody was watching a few feet away from a boy of about three, wearing tiny headphones to protect him from the loud music and wheeling along a miniature suitcase.

Kid Club-I

“Big up to all the parents out there!” cried the DJ at one point. “Give me a whoop if you’re a parent!” he continued, as a significant portion of the crowd hollered back at him.

So this is a family event then? Like one of those festivals with a poetry tent and a creche next to the quinoa bar? Fortunately, that’s not the case. The morning that The Tab went along to the rave, it was an everyone event.

In amongst the parents were pockets of sweaty hipsters, their animal onesies pulled down to their waist, dancing next to what looked like some people who work in IT.

Sure, the Tab got backstage. What of it?

As the morning went on, the DJ happily announced that anyone left was probably late for work, before putting on club banger ‘I can’t wait for the weekend to begin’.

“It’s not the weekend at all! Our weekend starts here. So let’s sing along ironically!”

The motivational dance team!

What’s artier than a breakfast rave? Painting a breakfast rave!

The next logical question then is whether this is a party for people who don’t really have jobs and spend the whole week partying anyway. Not so:

“I absolutely love it.” said Gemma, a 25 year-old who works at a local design firm. “This is the second time I’ve been. You can come in, have a dance with your mates, grab a coffee then roll into work. You feel great for the rest of the day.”

The event specifically states on its website that it is absolutely not an after-party, and all attendees should be sober and ‘ready to face the day’. The only bar in the venue was selling healthy fruit smoothies, and the queue was manageable and orderly.

The bar

Bouncers not necessary

When it comes down to it, that’s the difference between this concept and a night out: it’s clubbing without all the crap bits. It’s hard to go a week nowadays without someone complaining about how terrible club nights are, and for good reason.

There was little need for bouncers at Morning Glory since the guests were all in good spirits, politely moving between each other and smiling, but at the same time dressed like they’d just walked out the Hacienda and dancing twice as hard. With a ‘motivational dance team’ on stage occasionally calling everyone to arms to get down, it was one of the funnest events The Tab has attended in a long time.

If you’re wondering whether to spend your hard-loaned cash on another night at ULU or in a magical morning warehouse full of unicorns, we say: Rave your way into the day!

Tab + unicorn = amazing