The alternative take on Sonar: how to mug it in the sun

The alternative take on Sonar: how to mug it in the sun

20 June, 2008 | 1.22PM

• Written by: Ben Raven
• Filed under: Music News: sonar 2008

If you’re not at Sonar this week you’re no doubt crouched in front of your computer currently trying to eat your fist in anger at all the partying and amazing music you’re missing out on.

But it’s not all sun and fun, says a tense Ben Raven.

Sonar, as any veteran of the event will tell you, is hard work.

There may be a whole city of great partying out there to be done but you have to have the tactical skills of military commander to make each day worth its price in tickets and hangovers.

For starters, if you’re there for the duration you’ll need to get through four days of intense partying.

Even if you don’t go to the official Sonar events there’s a whole city full of clubs, beach bars and hotel room after-parties attempting to lure you into trouble.

Get too messy on the first night and you’ll find you’ll spend Friday morning hiding from the sun in someone’s apartment sitting room talking nonsense and thinking that listening to the sound of your own voice is a much better idea than going to the first of the afternoon’s events at Sonar by Day.

Next thing you’ll know, you’re waking up with a crippling hangover that’ll leave you languishing in the stifling heat or the hydration sapping air con atmosphere of your hotel room for another day.

And then suddenly it’s Saturday and by the time you’re brain and liver is back to normality you’ve missed almost half the event.

If you’re really hardcore you’ll crack right on through without missing a beat.

But then come Monday you’ll find yourself crawling back to reality with the part of your brain responsible for memory wiped clean and all hope of recording the fun you’ve had left on the memory of the digital camera that’s currently being hawked down a Barcelona market by the guy who stole it from your bag at a rave on Sunday night.

You’ll spend the rest of the week trying to invent reasons why you can’t come to work while trying to avoid looking at your bank account which, if it gets hit by any more late credit card charges, could easily be declared a disaster zone by the UN.

In reality, Barcelona during Sonar week is a whole world of stress!

Employ too much tactical prowess to your week and you risk wringing all the fun out of the whole event by missing that amazing impromptu after party set everyone will talk about for years afterwards because you went home to get your pre-planned three hours and forty fives minutes of sleep.

Getting the balancing act right is the key to surviving what could be the dance calendar’s toughest week of partying.

As I write this, I’m currently sweating it out in an internet café, trying to hit deadline before going to the last hour of Sonar by Day, before taking on Madness at Sonar by Night and hopefully a Get Physical versus Cadenza Desolat at the Raum party and the Innervisions party at Be Cool.

After that I’ll be avoiding after-parties like the plague in order to hit the last Sonar By Day tomorrow and make it to a beach party or two before getting involved at the one more Sonar By Night.

On Sunday hopefully I’ll discover the one or two lucky beach parties that will be allowed to carry on by the authorities while the others get shut down for making too much noise.

The beach after-parties are what makes Sonar so special, and with a whole bag full of flyer options on offer it’s a lottery trying to pick the one party that’ll make it to closing time and have the best DJs playing.

And I still haven’t even decided what club party I’m going to finish the weekend off at on Sunday night/Monday morning.

And with all this in mind is the thought that taxis are non-existent, the beach is a very long walk from my hotel and my credit card is already discussing an official resignation with my liver.

So in short if you’re still feeling bad about not being here, don’t.

There’s a lot to be said for the tactical comforts of staying at home!

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