Photo: Flickr user teliko82
This week’s Party Report kicks off with the most polarizing of fêtes: Valentine’s Day, the holiday probably best spent drunk. The romance pretty much dies out right there, but the seasonal revelry continues throughout the week to include a basement concert, an art gallery gala, and a New Year’s Eve party (dudes, it’s the end of February, come on). Here’s hoping we get to report a Presidents’ Day party next week.
Monday night: V Day pregame on Garnett
The organizer of a semi-intimate pregame Valentine’s Day pregame lovingly decorates the house with pink and red balloons, bakes brownies, and assembles an array of pink and red drinks. But what begins as a Cupid’s Crush party turns into a Cupid Gets Crunk party—let’s be serious, none of the attendees wants to spend this holiday sober. This is especially evident when a trio of girls arrives in black, boycotting any sentimentality that might have been bubbling earlier in the night.
Thursday night: Opening night party
A Northwestern improv group celebrates the opening of their show with some Mike’s Hard and a ton of cavity-inducing, yet oh-so-strong pink drank. The party starts off mildly with a celebrity guest pianist playing her drunk rendition of Spring Awakening. As more creatures of the night file into the apartment, the festivities take a more middle school route. Once clothing is optional, the thuggin’ becomes fun. An anything but innocent game of spin the bottle makes for a memorable, buzzed, topless night.
Thursday night: Bar night at Olé Lounge
Two words: Open. Bar. Should be an awesome bar night, right? Unfortunately, with only two bartenders—one of whom is straight outta Jersey Shore—working to serve four buses of not-quite-drunk-enough college kids (all of course 21), it takes more than 15 minutes just to get a drink. Frustrating? Yes. Something even more frustrating? All the frat guys standing around, apparently lacking the coordination or balls to dance with any of the girls. But hey, the free alcohol is some type of compensation.
Thursday night: 21st birthday pregame
A newly 21-year-old soror girl borrows a house on Garnett to throw herself a lively pregame before heading to Wrigleyville to celebrate her birthday. She chooses a country-western theme, and guests show up in denimm cut-offs (oh god, some of those legs are pale), flannel, boots, and emasculating sequined cowboy hats. Meanwhile, housemates hole up inside the kitchen pantry and let their alter egos run wild. They manage to frighten most guests out of the kitchen (where the alcohol is stashed) with an elaborately hilarious improv scene in which an overbearing Jewish mother plans a shotgun wedding for her daughter.
Friday night: Block Out Bridgeport
When Block Museum and Northwestern Art Review team up to send students to Bridgeport for free art and wine, you’d think more people would show up. Instead, by the scheduled 6 p.m. departure, the two buses are depressingly empty. “Last time I heard they had to turn people away,” an organizer says. He then shrugs. “Whatever, I get paid either way. More wine for us.” As the bus sits in the Arts Circle, complaints of hunger and sobriety echo. So when the organizer announces a set departure time of 6:30, most on the bus sound relieved and leave to buy snacks in Norris. The handful of art lovers reach Zhou B Art Center about an hour later, and they all quickly dissipate for wine and hors d’oeuvres. Some of the art is good (“I bet the artist is hot”) and some of it is….eh. But critiques are only made in whispers—the artists roam the halls, asking gallery walkers to try frozen shrimp in their studios.
Friday night: Garnett basement show and house party
The album release party and free concert for The Earth Is A Man is held at a popular Garnett party spot on Friday night. Several dozen fans flood the house’s basement for a one-hour set punctuated by infrequent yet still all-too-common requests that the band “TELL JOKES!” and play “FREE BIRD!” (No lighters are waved during the concert, however). After the band finishes its set (during which hardly any guests leave, except to visit the keg upstairs during the breaks between songs), a few faithfuls linger in the basement to congratulate the band members on their show, eventually heading upstairs to the house proper to mingle with the band. Given the early start to the festivities, most leave by midnight in search of more fun.
Friday night: NU at Crescendo
Crescendo welcomes NU students through its plush doors once again. Unfortunately, the Northwestern “password” doesn’t include drink tickets after 9 p.m., and some groups are peeved. After the long and expensive cab ride there and a practically nonexistent dancefloor, Crescendo seems like a classier, less-fun version of TKOE. In fact, considering the price of drinks, disappointing music and cost of cab fare, it might have been more prudent to stay in Evanston. Crescendo is, however, in close proximity to Rock N Roll McDonald’s, which cannot be said about The Keg. By the time the bus arrives to take students back to campus, most people have already left. Those who do take advantage of the free ride are forced to listen to some girl broadcast the mechanics of her bikini wax while a shirtless kid tries to climb out of the window.
Saturday night: Frat party
Fraternity brothers throw a New Year’s Eve-themed rager with two floors worth of rooms-turned-bars, and a dancefloor where a DJ spins awesome mixes all night. From peppermint patties to champagne to jello shots to some concoction involving vodka and chocolate milk, the drink variety is good, as reflected in the subsequent craziness of some of the attendees. At midnight, balloons are released over the dancefloor, reminding us of the Keg’s dancefloor—lots of sloppy hook-ups. The drinks keep flowing until suddenly the majority of the party runs off to catch a shuttle to the Keg.
Saturday night: The Keg
Now that the temperatures are at least above freezing, it seems that more and more Wildcats are making the Keg a regular part of their Saturday nights. Coming off a basketball win and a week of spring-like weather, the huge crowd of Keg-goers is in a great mood, with lots of fist-pumping on the dance floor and the usual games of flip cup in the booths. The girl-guy ratio is a bit off, with lots of girls dancing in circles and fewer guys to spontaneously join in, but eventually a group of suit-clad frat boys shows up to post-game their formal. As to be expected these days, the requisite “I’m-too-old-to-be-here” townies make an appearance, but this time they are dressed up and actually join in on some of the dancing – yikes.
