First off, I should put it on the table that I am an avid electronic music fan. I have been to more events than I can name, and Dayglow did not disappoint.
When I pulled up to Franklin County Veterans Memorial Thursday night, there was a mile-long line of young people wearing white and neon. Most of the attendees seemed to be in their early 20s or younger.
I asked the parking attendant where the VIP line was, and he pointed me toward the ever-extending line. I was shocked there could be so many VIPs but didn’t ask any questions.
The price to park was $10, which was annoying since the price of admission started out at $42, and VIP tickets cost $72.
Lucky for me, while I was in line, security started asking people if they were general admission or VIP. More than half the line was directed to the North Hall entrance.
When I walked into the main room, there was a large stage with a DJ. Bass-filled house music pulsated throughout the room and fueled the dancing frenzy that was at the front of the stage.
The crowd reeked of sweat and something foreign that I could not put my finger on. At the beginning I was kind of panicking because I was by myself, but as the night progressed, I felt more at ease.
In need of quenching my thirst, I asked the first person I saw where the bar was. They pointed me in the direction of a chain-linked fence. Everyone with a drink in hand was kept in the cage until we had finished our drinks. I thought this was odd considering I had been to parties before where there was a vast amount of people under 21 years of age, and they never confined us to an area.
While in line, I met a guy named Frank. We talked over a drink then we moved out to the floor to find his friend. We got into the middle of the crowd where it was difficult to actually dance, aside from jumping up and down.
Getting hit with the paint felt amazing. It was cool on my skin, which had felt like it was burning from dancing so hard.
After getting my fill of being splattered and getting elbowed by sweaty people, I had to exit the dance floor. That was when I lost my new friend.
I wanted another drink, so I went to the bar. I stood in line and watched person after person cut in front of me. After 20 minutes, I decided to abandon the idea of getting a drink and went to dance. There was a countdown to the “paint cannons,” which were supposed to be the pinnacle of night. I danced with the crowd in anticipation of an epic cannon shooting neon paint at the crowd, but it never really happened.
Instead, two women on stilts wearing giant butterfly wings appeared on the stage. There was also a man, or at least I thought, in a full-body spandex suit on stilts.
The Devil From Acapulco was quite a sight to see. Towering over the crowd at about nine feet, he was the main attraction. I wasn’t close enough, but I talked to someone who said he had the “paint cannons.” I saw him walk by at one point and he was actually really impressive, with his metallic suit that looked like knights’ armor.
I noticed most of the neon paint was coming from people who had their own bottles. I approached the table where the bottles were being sold and walked away when I discovered they were priced at $10. When Dutch import and headliner DJ Chuckie, whose real name is Clyde Narain, came on, I walked up to dance floor by myself and started dancing.
The headliner was fantastic, or maybe it was that last $11 vodka tonic, which had minimal tonic water. Whatever it was, I really enjoyed dancing and getting covered in paint by this time.
Chuckie played Avicii’s song “Levels,” which I’d deem as the best-known electronic music song nowadays.
People were shooting their $10 paint toward anything near their vicinity, and just about everyone was covered.
When I left around 1 a.m., the party was still in full swing, and there were about 4,000 people dancing to the beats of Chuckie’s music. The party was scheduled to last until 2 a.m.
In all, I would say it was a successful night. I danced so hard that my shirt and hair were soaking with sweat and paint, which are pretty much requirements for a successful Dayglow experience.
