Swedish Dance Club Cuts Booze For The Night

[summer]

i find this so interesting.  How awkward people find dancing while being sober....how awkward they find talking to people.   It's probably such a different atmosphere. 


www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/09/28/352279829/sober-and-sold-out-dance-club-in-sweden-cuts-booze-for-a-night

Breathalyzers were placed in the doorway of a nightclub in Stockholm this weekend, with an unusual purpose: to ensure no guests had been drinking alcohol. It was all part of a plan for a booze-free night out called Sober, where staff were also on the lookout for anyone who seemed to be on drugs.



The plan for a club in a hip Stockholm neighborhood to host a monthly alcohol-free night created a buzz, if you will, when it was announced by comedian Mårten Andersson last month. And it seems to have been a hit, with nearly 900 people packing the sold-out venue to hear DJs on two separate dance floors and sip boozeless cocktails, faux beer and sham Champagne.



According to a reporter who went to the club Friday night, the Sodra Theatre filled up early, with an eclectic crowd checking out music by Zoo Brazil, the Bee Gees and others.



"The crowd was much more diverse than you get at most European club nights," Maddy Savage writes for Sweden's The Local, "with curious teenagers joining former alcoholics in their fifties, clean-living yogis and breastfeeding mothers in their thirties."

Speaking to Vice about Sober last month, Andersson explained that he got the idea for Sober after he stopped drinking. He wanted more people to try it — particularly in Sweden, where he said people spend too much time getting hammered.



"I've been sober for six months," Andersson said. "It's great — I've never felt better. I'm so much calmer these days. I feel better, I look better, and my self-esteem has never been this high. I'm proud of myself in a way I've never been before."



In The Local, Savage reports that while many people seemed to be having fun, at least a few people were having second thoughts.



"People don't usually dance when they are sober, so it is like an awkward social experiment," a young man named Maximillian said.



"A lot of guys here in Sweden are kind of shy when they are not drinking," his friend Hampus added.



Perhaps those guys will benefit from the type of contemplation Andersson encourages.



"The idea of SOBER is not only that there should be a club where you do not drink alcohol but something deeper than that," Andersson wrote in a blog post on the event's website. "We want to ultimately get people to drop their autopilot and take the time to stop and think about what you actually want out of life."

[irishbride2]

Sept 29, 2014 3:03:49 GMT -5 summer said:

"The idea of SOBER is not only that there should be a club where you do not drink alcohol but something deeper than that," Andersson wrote in a blog post on the event's website. "We want to ultimately get people to drop their autopilot and take the time to stop and think about what you actually want out of life."

This line made me LOL.

[lys]

People need to learn how to live and have fun without using alcohol as a crutch.
Yes, you can use alcohol responsibly, but if you NEED to have alcohol in order to have a good time, dance, socialize, deal with a stressful day - you need to learn a few more "life skills".

[wawa]

Sept 29, 2014 9:17:03 GMT -5 lys said:

People need to learn how to live and have fun without using alcohol as a crutch.
Yes, you can use alcohol responsibly, but if you NEED to have alcohol in order to have a good time, dance, socialize, deal with a stressful day - you need to learn a few more "life skills".

club style dancing while sober does not count as a life skill.
ballroom dancing while sober could perhaps count as a life skill.

[lys]

Not requiring alcohol in order to get up and dance = a coping life skill. Dancing does not require booze.

[irishbride2]

Sept 30, 2014 8:23:29 GMT -5 lys said:

Not requiring alcohol in order to get up and dance = a coping life skill. Dancing does not require booze.

 I would not go clubbing without having a drink or two. I don't think that means I lack a coping life skill, lol. But then again, I don't go clubbing anyway. Clubbing is not my thing. 

I'm intrigued as to your life if this is a life skill for you. This is not something that I need to work on as it really doesn't jump out at me randomly. lol. 

[tacosforlife]

Look, if I am in a club, yes, I need booze to cope with the fact that I am in a club.

#sorrynotsorry

[ECB]

I have many life skills. I have many friends, I like to go out and socialize, etc etc etc. (and I do most of this sober!). I do NOT dance if I haven't had a drink or two to loosen me up. Absolutely not.

dancing sober =\= life skill

[cville]

I would totally dance sober at a nightclub in Stockholm hosting a sober night intended to make people think about their future life choices. Because the whole surreal experience would 100% ensure that I FELT like I was high.

#soberlifeskills  #scandanaviansobriety

[pixy0stix]

Sept 30, 2014 8:35:22 GMT -5 ECB said:

I have many life skills. I have many friends, I like to go out and socialize, etc etc etc. (and I do most of this sober!). I do NOT dance if I haven't had a drink or two to loosen me up. Absolutely not.

dancing sober =\= life skill

Why can't you dance without drinking? Embarrassment?

Pretty much I do this while sober or when I've been drinking. I give no damns.

[ECB]

Sept 30, 2014 8:49:58 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Sept 30, 2014 8:35:22 GMT -5 ECB said:

I have many life skills. I have many friends, I like to go out and socialize, etc etc etc. (and I do most of this sober!). I do NOT dance if I haven't had a drink or two to loosen me up. Absolutely not.

dancing sober =\= life skill

Why can't you dance without drinking? Embarrassment?

Comfort/ self-consciousness?  Why does it matter?  I still don't think that not wanting to dance while sober means I'm lacking in life skills, though. 

[wawa]

I mean...I can dance sober. I've been to one bachelorette party and two weddings while KTFU for pete's sake. But I'm still not going to call dancing at a club sober a life skill.

It's just...not. Changing a flat tire, making small talk in mixed company, loading a dishwasher properly, arguing with cable customer service people without losing your mind - these are all life skills. Things that you should know how to do in order to go through life smoothly. Sober clubbing? Nope.

Of course I'm taking lys overly literally because if it was anybody else I'd be perfectly happy to assume she meant more that being able to socialize with strangers and have fun sober is a life skill. But this is more fun.

[pixy0stix]

Sept 30, 2014 8:52:34 GMT -5 ECB said:

Sept 30, 2014 8:49:58 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Why can't you dance without drinking? Embarrassment?

Comfort/ self-consciousness?  Why does it matter?  I still don't think that not wanting to dance while sober means I'm lacking in life skills, though. 

I really don't want to agree with lys, but... lacking life skills doesn't mean that you're floundering through life. It just means that you haven't built the confidence in that one area that you need to perform that one thing, that you can carry on to other areas of your life. Such as giving presentations in front of groups, etc.

I guess my issue with this is that if you really truly *need* alcohol to do something in your life, then maybe you should evaluate yourself and figure out a way to not use that crutch.

Unless you're just internet bullshitting how much you neeeeeeeed da booze, then I guess go on with your bad self.

[cville]

Sept 30, 2014 8:57:39 GMT -5 wawa said:

I mean...I can dance sober. I've been to one bachelorette party and two weddings while KTFU for pete's sake. But I'm still not going to call dancing at a club sober a life skill.

It's just...not. Changing a flat tire, making small talk in mixed company, loading a dishwasher properly, arguing with cable customer service people without losing your mind - these are all life skills. Things that you should know how to do in order to go through life smoothly. Sober clubbing? Nope.

Of course I'm taking lys overly literally because if it was anybody else I'd be perfectly happy to assume she meant more that being able to socialize with strangers and have fun sober is a life skill. But this is more fun.

Ohshit.

[pixy0stix]

Sept 30, 2014 8:57:39 GMT -5 wawa said:

 arguing with cable customer service people without losing your mind 

This is unpossible.

[irishbride2]

I don't like club style dancing. So if I were forced to do it (?) then a drink woudl be helpful. I however just do not do it. That does not mean I lack in life skills. There are other things I do not do because they are not things I enjoy. 

Its one thing if its a skill you need to navigate society, like interacting with other humans. But clubbing is not one of those things, lol. 

[ECB]

Sept 30, 2014 8:57:44 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

It just means that you haven't built the confidence in that one area that you need to perform that one thing, that you can carry on to other areas of your life. Such as giving presentations in front of groups, etc.

My job requires me to get up in front of people all the time.  Like this afternoon.  Being up in front of people isn't the issue.  "Performing" in and of itself isn't the issue.  I'm simply self conscious in the area of dancing.  Alcohol gives me a little of that liquid courage.  I don't think this is a sign of anything bigger than that. 

But let's also put this in perspective - I haven't really been in a situation in quite a few years where dancing in front of others is even an issue! 

[summer]

Terminology on what is a "life skill" aside, I'm going to go with lys on this one. I kinda think most people should be able to dance and socialize normally in a place that was meant for dancing and socializing, that they knowingly and willingly went to, without being buzzed as a crutch. I mean, people know I like a drink or two, but if you neeeeed it to enjoy yourself, than that's different.

This is all assuming you want to be at said place. If you are at your ILs or somewhere you hate, than yes, you definitely need shots.