CLUB THER-RO-P!!

So a couple of nights ago I went out to The UnderGround, a very happening piano and sofa bar in town. The bar is a mix of patrons and ages and is one place that you can either kick back against the old brick style cutouts, post up at the bar, get ya dance on while grooving on the raised platform stage or grab a sofa and drink and watch the varied flat-screens displaying the sports news of the day. As I interacted with others and in the ambiance of the club I noticed a few things that REALLY caught my fancy. Noticing these things brought me to ponder the different groups that are present. Clubs normally have the dancers, the drinkers, the pick-up artists at the bar and the wallflowers in attendance. When you go to the club it is the one place of leisure that all of them can go and be totally open and free? One of the best ways to free yourself...Dancing!

I noticed many dancers come in with a sort of passive attitude but when their favorite song was played by the D.J. they lost all track of where they were and scurried to the dance floor like Tom (from Tom & Jerry) as he tried to escape the Bulldog!  Musicians are powerful motivators to the end of the "shy" personality whether their song is two months old and climbing Billboards Top 100 or ten years old and hasn't been heard by the masses unless they were lucky enough to hear it on their Pandora QuickMix while exercising or mowing the yard. Witnessing the rush to the dance floor when "The Cha-Cha Slide" came on and the formations that were formed on the dance floor to the direction of Mr. C The Slide Man

To the right now

To the left

Take it back now y'all

      One hop this time, one hop this time

Right foot two stomps

Left foot two stomps

 Slide to the left

   Slide to the right

             Criss cross, criss cross

         Cha cha real smooth

as ladies knew exactly which way to slide & cross before the suggestion was even played! It's an amazing sight as the disco-lights dance to the beat transitioning thru the rainbow of available colors, casting light off of each dancer as their gyrating bodies seem to be spotlighted in their own secretive romance with the bass that is beating against the walls. 

At that moment I realized that these people that are dancing and enjoying themselves and have no regrets. They don't care about the people that are watching, they don't care if they are ON the beat or not and they certainly don't care what opinion anyone has of them as they dance! They will leave the floor when the song is over, go right back and try it again and do as the Drinkers do.

The Drinkers are the individuals that come to the bar to throw back some shots of Jägermeister, Patron and the occasional deadly Tequila shot to end the night (as we all know that the night is over when the Tequila comes to the table)! The drinkers table resembles the table seen in many an Irish bar filled with an overflow of shot glasses, empty beer steins, leftovers that have been picked over for the last five hours and the stack of napkins that have sopped up spilled drinks throughout the night. This is the table that the  barkeep loathes clearing when they leave but loves the tips they provide as well as the jovial-drunken conversation they receive every-time they visit the table with another platter of rounds!  The drinkers much like the dancers just want to have a good time and enjoy the atmosphere as they occasionally crack a playful joke at the bloke that just had a full shot thrown in his face! This club-goer is known as the PUA!

The Pick-Up Artists, PUA, is usually positioned at the best point of contact, which normally is the bar! What better place to be when a potential dance mate appears than the bar because at some point of the night all persons visit this base. The PUA can be male or female (don't be fooled, women have just as much pick-up game as men do) so don't be alarmed when you hear a clever one-liner and turn and they are wearing 6-inch heels and fire-engine red lipstick instead of Jos A. Banks finest. The PUA is a master at their craft because they have decided that whether I get turned down or accepted, I'm still going to have fun! Many PUA's only rock this role for the pure adrenaline rush that comes along with the chase, much like the Dancer gets on the dance-floor and the Drinker gets from playing a high-stakes game of quarters. I find the PUA to be extremely entertaining because they could actually take their show on the road and perform stand up comedy! It takes a lot of heart and self-esteem to be this role as it can get quite physical from thrown drinks, constant rejection and the occasional unexpected acceptance. But on Monday morning the PUA can go back to their accountant, teacher or clerk position and revel in the weekend that they enjoyed when they let it all hang out for 48 hours as they wondered why the people standing up against the wall weren't following suit.

Standing against a wall and making it look good is an art in itself! Think about it, how cool can the average person look just standing around on the lean? Well let me tell you, the Wallflower achieves it like none other. The Wallflower is that trio of guys (yes they travel in threes because guys don't use the bathroom together so when one has to go they have one left to chat it up with) that are Abercromied-down, complete with pressed slacks with a crease that could put your eye out. They like to take in the sights of the club and watch the others dance and drink and bar-talk. The Wallflowers are persons that simply enjoy being in the club for the therapy of being out of the office, out of school and/or out of the house! The therapy of the music, the smells, the drinks and the people present give them the fix that they need to enjoy where they are. They aren't interested in hooking up or being loud as they just want to fade into the background and enjoy the scene. You will see them crack the occasional joke amongst their trio but for the most part they nurse their $4.95 Heineken until it's gone as they catch up on the latest headlines being ran by ESPN or the occasional "all-important" text or email received on their smart phone. They enjoy the wall and wouldn't have it any other way because just like everyone else they are enjoying what they are doing.

How awesome of a mental place to be!! When you don't care as long as you are enjoying yourself!!! Throwing all caution to the wind seems to be the attire to donn when one takes in the club atmosphere.

 Many people I know and interact with have issues with their appearance and/or what someone has said or is going to say about them. Regardless the age, it seems to still be a personality trait that needs to be abandoned! When you worry about what others say or may say about you simply visit your club of choice and look around at the dancers, the drinkers, the pick-up artists at the bar and the wallflowers standing guard at the nearest doorway. Pay attention to the uninhibitedness that they display in their different roles and how comfortable they are in them. They don't care who is watching because they are there to have fun and enjoy their time out with friends or simply enjoy letting their hair down and dance...OUTLOUD!! That is true club Therapy that needs to be employed by all of us. Life is short, WAY too short to add the stresses of what others may say about you because of how you dress, how you talk, how good/bad your body looks, how weaved or not your hair is, how tall/short you are or how bad of a person your are! Live your life like you are always dancing on stage under the dark lights and bass driven heat of life and I bet cha when it comes time to take that last breath, you will not regret it in the least bit.

Feel free to leave your comments below and contact me at zmorganII@gmail.com and via twitter @zmorganII