There was a time when I spent hours in dance clubs.
asserted
I → be → clubs
I never saw a single episode of the first run of Seinfeld, because for eight straight years, I left the house at 9 p.m. to oversee a club gig in Hamilton.
asserted
I → see → Hamilton
I called 1995 “the summer of clubs.”
asserted
I → call → clubs
As a lowly afternoon radio announcer, I was always looking for ways to boost my income.
asserted
I → look → income
The easiest way was to host an alt-rock night at a club.
asserted
way → host → club
Owners were always looking for ways to get people in the door every night of the week.
asserted
Owners → look → week
That summer, I hosted nights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, which involved a long trip to Buffalo, a last call at 3:50 a.m. and an arrival back home at around 7 a.m.
asserted
which → host → a.m.
Other announcers at the station had similar schedules.
asserted
announcers → have → schedules
It was exhausting, but the income helped us toward the down payment on a house.
asserted
income → exhaust → house
And it was gratifying, too, presiding over an evening that featured hundreds of people dancing like no one was watching.
asserted
one → preside → people
At one point, we had events on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday night.
asserted
we → have → night
These broadcasts brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, were highly rated and attracted hundreds of people each night.
asserted
broadcasts → bring → people
Other contemporary music stations in Toronto were doing the same thing.
asserted
stations → do → thing
If you scanned across the dial on a Friday or Saturday night, you could eavesdrop on what was happening in clubs across the city.
uncertain
what → scan → city
If you cared to step out, the west end of downtown, along King and Richmond streets, had every second door leading to a club.
asserted
end → care → club
It stretched over four floors and 53,000 square feet.
asserted
It → stretch → floors
It was later taken over by Ontario-born New York City club legend Peter Gatien (The Limelight, Palladium, Tunnel) and turned into CiRCA.
asserted
It → take → CiRCA
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Sidewalks were jammed with lines of people waiting to get into each one.
asserted
Sidewalks → get → one
Toronto cops patrolled the Entertainment District area on horseback until dawn and city council was constantly getting complaints about crowds, noise and the inevitable idiot behaviour.
asserted
council → patrol → crowds
Meanwhile, we’d hear insane stories about club scenes in places like New York, London, Berlin and Ibiza.
asserted
we → hear → York
This was in addition to all the raves happening in Toronto at the time, which made the city one of the two or three biggest rave capitals on the planet.
asserted
city → happen → planet
You could disappear into the mysterious darkness of a dance club and lose your mind for a little bit.
uncertain
You → disappear → bit
Many bad decisions were had, but at least most went unrecorded for posterity.
asserted
most → have → posterity
Shifting musical tastes can be blamed too, as can local authorities who saw clubs as the enemy and did what they could to make conducting business as difficult as possible.
uncertain
conducting → shift → business
And when COVID-19 came along, that was the death knell for whoever was left.
asserted
whoever → come → ?
It also resulted in a two-year hiatus when it came to those all-important ages, 18 to 21, who were finally old enough to go out with all the adults.
asserted
who → result → adults
They never got into the habit.
asserted
They → get → habit
But I have a theory that the biggest killer of dance clubs was the smartphone.
asserted
killer → have → clubs
Before smartphones and you wanted to meet someone new, you had to leave your home, travel through time and space, endure the dignities of rude doormen, pay an extortionate cover charge, another charge for coat check and then empty the rest of your wallet on drinks.
asserted
you → want → drinks
For that, you got a whole lot of social interaction (both good and bad), exposure to great music at high volumes and a chance to dance away your cares.
asserted
you → get → cares
- Alberta introduces new flag rules and restrictions for all schools starting in 2027
- Potential school support worker strike in N.S. puts families in limbo
- Ontario begins probe of eight private career colleges over alleged OSAP ‘fraud’
-
asserted
Ontario → introduce → fraud
Thousands of school support workers in Nova Scotia could strike next week
With smartphones, none of that is necessary.
uncertain
none → strike → that
You have 250 million songs at your fingertips through streaming music services.
asserted
You → have → services
That’s what texting, WhatsApp and social media are for, isn’t it?
asserted
it → ’ → ?
There’s one other smartphone factor to consider, something that has just been confirmed by a study conducted by LifeStance Health, a U.S. mental health-care provider.
asserted
that → ’ → Health
It suggests we’ve gone from FOMO that might occur when we stay home to the fear of accidentally going viral.
uncertain
we → suggest → fear
This survey asked 1,000 American adults about attitudes toward going out to dance.
asserted
survey → ask → attitudes
Almost half (49 per cent) said that dancing in public made them too anxious.
asserted
them → say → public
The idea of dancing like no one is watching (there’s that saying again) fills them with such fear of being recorded on a smartphone and humiliated on social media that they’d rather just stay home.
asserted
they → dance → media
Gen Z (43 per cent) fears “acting silly” will turn them into social media jokes.
asserted
acting → fear → jokes
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
