From the May 2 – May 8, 2002 issue

Music

Speaker Freak

AT THE SOCIAL

For anyone starting a new night, one of the biggest hurdles is creating a defined space out of thin air. It is even trickier when trying to create something in a location like Pioneer Square, which seems to carry a lot of baggage with it. People either avoid Pioneer Square or flock to it, because they are anticipating an evening flooded with Jell-O shots, frat-boy antics, Mardi Gras beads, and cheesiness in general.

The first time I went to the Social, a deep house night put on at Lulu's, a cozy restaurant/piano bar on the eastern edge of Pioneer Square, I could instantly tell it was a night that transcends Pioneer Square stereotypes. It also quickly reminded me of how we can proactively define our spaces. I was no longer at a bar in Pioneer Square; I was just at a bar dancing to great house music with people who had the same intent.

The Social was started by local DJ/producer Mathew Anderson in October of 2001, with an intelligent, informed crowd in mind. "I want to get people as individuals," he says, "not as an entire crowd." Oftentimes with dance music people just want background music to get drunk and socialize to, not even knowing what's going on right under their noses. But Anderson appreciates building an evening for people who are listening. He says his payoff is when "someone comes up to me and says, 'Hey, that new PJ track is good,' or someone teases me because they know I play that certain Naked record to mix myself out of a hole."

My latest excursion to the Social exemplified why I enjoy going out to listen and dance to music. The evening was an intimate affair--I danced and drank with old friends, as well as with friends I had just met. We all had that shared, soulful optimism for our evening, and for the space that we were all defining for ourselves at that moment. NICOLAE WHITE

The Social takes place every Thursday at Lulu's, 421 Second Ave., 342-9457.

nicolae@thestranger.com

Buy Tickets for Other Events