I decided to give up alcohol for an undefined period just about one week ago. I had been thinking about it for years and I actually have had sober januaries after New Year's hangovers but I've never taken those exactly seriously. Once I managed not to drink 27 days, but my attitude was completely wrong. I took it as an agony because my social life is (too) much about meeting my friends in bars at weekends and drinking beer with them. It actually was a sort of an agony because I stayed alone at home at weekends or met my friends quickly and had a soda while they were getting tipsy.
Last weekend - my first non-alcoholic one for months - was all about dubstep, the genre of music I love and play in my dj-sets. Local dj's Koala, Klango and Kfka spinned records in Bar Beatroot at thursday and it was a nice start. It wasn't about dancing that much. Mostly just hanging around and meeting great people from the Helsinki dubstep scene. Mala, Sgt. Pokes, Tes La Rok, Fooishbar, Wil Blaze and Dead-O dj:d and performed at friday in Slam It! at Club Kuudes Linja. To complete the weekend, the Helsinki Dubstep Massive had a change to enjoy live performance by Sweden's #1 dubstep crew L-Wiz as well as dj sets by Bassbash underground heroes Hereill and Neverready with DJ MF.
All those nights were great but in this post I'm focusing on Mala's set and reflections of my feelings while dancing to his tunes without alcohol. I'll write a report about L-Wiz live set asap.
I was a little nervous about going to club and staying sober. My nervousness was not really about not being actually drunk. It was rather about breaking the habit and having stamina to order a soda instead of beer. I don't actually enjoy the effects of alcohol that much, because to me drinking is more like a habit and the drunkennes is the side effect of it.
I had prepared myself mentally because I had thought it's going to be difficult. It wasn't. I had told my friends about my decision and thet mostly respected it. The only hard part of the night was my first time on the bar. To me it's usually a situation three of familiar words: "One beer please." It was hard to order a soda for the first time, but not really that bad. The bartender did not look at me strangely and I realised, that she was just doing her job and did not care what people drink.
The dancefloor was packed when Mala and MC Sgt. Pokes began their set. Mala's firs tune was a deep and beautiful reggae-like vocal intro of his set. I just felt the music, eventhough the intro did not really have a beat or a bassline.
Mala spinned a set of his own special dubplates, his solo tunes, classic's by Digital Mystikz and just good tunes by many other producers, while Pokes was on the microphone and brought more energy to the set.
I was drunk, of music. It was actually much better than an average tipsy night. I just danced (or actuallyskanked) furiously and had a good time. I enjoyed the music more because my senses weren't blurred because of alcohol. When Mala dropped "Anti War Dub" and Pokes shouted: "Remember the message.", I was totally high on music.
Right now being without alcohol feels good. I don't have a hangover, although I went out last night as well. I really think that alcohol is more a habit than a drug to me.
