Subway party
Encyclopedia
Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, or recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
that occurs on a mass transit system. Generally, people meet at a predetermined station in their city's mass transit system, wait until their numbers have achieved critical mass
Critical mass (sociodynamics)
Critical mass is a sociodynamic term to describe the existence of sufficient momentum in a social system such that the momentum becomes self-sustaining and creates further growth....
, and board the train. From there, revelers may engage in many different activities, from playing music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and dancing to exchanging gifts.
There are several kinds of subway parties, the two most distinct being the rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
subway party and the late night
Night
Night or nighttime is the period of time when the sun is below the horizon. This occurs after dusk. The opposite of night is day...
subway party.
Rush hour subway parties
The stated goal of the rush hour subway party is to spread joy to commuters, whose daily treks into the center of their metropolis can be long, boring or stressful. Several subway party groups have boarded subway cars dressed in costumes to give presents to commuters, and have been known to play drums, wear wings and sprinkle glitter on the willing.Critics of these kind of subway parties say that, by introducing chaos, these activities may place the already-crowded subway riders in danger or cause delays. Also, some people may simply become annoyed by them.
Late night subway parties
Late night subway parties are for the enjoyment of the attendees. Party-goers don costumes, decorate the subway car, bring musical instruments and sometimes the parties have a theme.With the advent of email and cellphones, invitations to subway parties can now be distributed electronically. The party usually starts at one subway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
station and acquires more participants as it proceeds through the system. The instructions often ask people to meet by the last car of the train.
Other subway parties
On nights that are especially festive such as New Year'sNew Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
or World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
victories, a spontaneous subway party may occur. People may already be drinking above ground and decide to board the subway. When this happens, the general feeling of revelry continues below ground.
In 2005, the Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
declared October "culture month", perhaps inspired by recent subway parties in the city. This campaign included "culture cars", which were randomly-selected cars that contained spontaneous, professional singing, dancing and music.
History of the subway party
In 1904, the New York City SubwayNew York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
System opened. Photographs from the event show people dressed in tuxedos and top hats and drinking champagne to celebrate.
In the 1980s, Michael Alig
Michael Alig
Michael Alig is the co-founding member of the Club Kids, a group of young clubgoers led by long time best friend James St. James and Alig in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
and the Club Kids
Club Kids
The Club Kids were a group of young New York City club personalities mostly led by Michael Alig and James St. James in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
threw parties on New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
subway trains where they purportedly took the drug ecstasy
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...
. The events were promoted through word of mouth
Word of mouth
Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...
and telephones. These parties are detailed in the book Disco Bloodbath
Disco Bloodbath
Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland is a 1999 memoir written by James St. James about his life as a Manhattan celebutante and club kid. The book specifically chronicles his friend Michael Alig's rise to fame and his subsequent murder of fellow club kid and drug dealer...
.
Today, subway parties are only loosely related to the flash mob
Flash mob
A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression...
phenomenon. The details for subway parties are published on blogs, websites and mailing lists. People assemble seemingly spontaneously in dozens of cities throughout the world.
External links
- newmindspace An interactive public art group responsible for several subway parties in TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. - Improv Toronto is an interactive TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
based group which holds subway dance parties. - first warm night on flickr A massive street event in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
that began as a record-breaking subway party - ZedTV A video of a rush hour subway party.
- rafgier A subway party in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. - New York Times An article about a BART party in San Francisco.
- Urban75 A blog entry about a TubeLondon UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
party in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - ARTSUCKS.COM A Subway Fashion Show / Party New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. - ARTSUCKS.COM A Halloween Subway Party New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Photo galleries
- Rise of the Robots Skytrain Party by Newmindspace taking place in Vancouver, Canada on 18 Aug 2006.
- Fête dans le métro taking place in Montréal, Canada on 30 Mar 2007.
Sources
- McGinn, Dave. "Don't stop the guerrilla party train". Dose magazine, 18 Aug 2005.
- Lazarovic, Sarah. "Revelers See Stars at Underground Celebration". Globe and Mail, 16 Aug 2005.
- "Subway parties". CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
's The Hour with George StroumboulopoulosGeorge StroumboulopoulosGeorge Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...
, 12 Dec 2005. - James St. James. "Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland".