Silent Disco and Hot Ice-Cream

Festivals... Love them but I'm getting a bit old for them. Maybe that's why my favourite thing at this year's Sziget Festival was not Franz Ferdinand or the Scissor Sisters and definitely not Prodigy (which I actually thought were unbelievably bad) but the Silent Disco. It's a concept almost as twisted as hot ice-cream only much cooler! :) Picture this:

You enter a full disco. Everyone dancing. Everyone moving and smiling. Some people flirting. Some smoking heavily. Some looking stoned out of their right mind. There are two DJs at a stage at the far end of the dance floor. All normal so far... Except that it's silent in there. Everyone wears headphones and the DJs making music are playing on two different radio wave lengths which you can receive and alternate with your wireless headphones. Really cool, really new, really amusing!

If you wish for, you take the headphones off and chat. You don't have to shout because the dance floor is silent. That's terribly sociable for a disco. If you wish to be alone you chuck them on your ears and dance. That's terribly unsociable for a disco but provides superb sound quality. If you just want a laugh, you take them off and watch: some people dance for Chanel 1, which is hardcore techno, and others choose Chanel 2 which is pop, rock, discomusic. People move, smile, headbang, raise hands, shake arse at different rhythms. And the best part is the singers: those who listen to the disco channel sing along. Unaware of the fact that the dance hall is silent and won't swallow their mousy little voices. You are free to listen and dance for the self-appointed Kylie Minogues and Black Eyed Peas. Hilarious! :))

If you ever see a Silent Disco Party in your town, don't resist your curiosity. It's actually better than cold hot-dog or slow fast-food. It's a lot of fun especially if you cannot deal with amplifiers blowing your hair off at festivals any more because you feel you are getting a bit old for that, just like me.