They played loud, fast, hyper. The music wasn’t playing at us, it was asking us to play too, and we did.

The room was full of people discovering something together: energy and curiosity.

Half the city I have grown to know with love was in that room; at points, four of my friend groups were standing next to each other without knowing it!

Somewhere in there, we started a mosh, like the ones I knew from Seattle, except this was Honolulu, and it was for J-pop.

A room full of strangers silently agreeing to push and catch each other. I walked into the crowd with the people from Death by Boredom; we looked at each other, our eyes excited, and the next thing you know we’re all shoving and laughing and screaming.

Faces all around: confused, amused, having fun. People shouted that to each other that they’d never seen or been in anything like this. A first. In the best sense.

Earlier in the night, there was Effie (esqeon). Here she is, mid-set.

Nanea was now mixing with the smoke machine, keeping time to the beat, the room slowly turning to haze.

At the end of it all, the real thank-you isn’t for one moment, it’s for the room.

ESU (eastsideunderground !!!) built a center where real art and real people are welcome, and nights like this are what that looks like when it works. Any city is luckier for having one.

Thank you for replaying this night with me.

See you soon.

<3