Let’s throw a party where everyone wears the same thing.
Let’s throw a party where everyone wears the same thing and an awesome band plays.
Let’s throw a party where everyone wears the same thing, an awesome band plays AND everyone goes nuts drenching each other in fluorescent paint!
I think that’s how the brainstorming session went when Adidas dreamed up their invite only paint party with the Ting Tings. Their Los Angeles show was actually their second crack at the idea and it seems that they learned a lot from their first show, which took place in their hometown, Manchester, UK on February 27th. That show looked like a blast, but having experienced the LA show, it paled in comparison to the melee that ensued at the former Hollywood club.
Vanessa and I arrived to a line wrapped around the block, but wait wasn’t too bad and we were soon ushered in and given our all black track suits. Just the experience of going into a dark black room where everyone was wearing the same black outfit was surreal in itself.
We slugged a couple complimentary beers while a DJ spun some tracks to get the sea of track suits and smiles into a dancing mood. I had my camera with me and knowing that paint and electronics don’t mix, wrapped my gear in plastic, so as we waiting I tested my paint proof rig with a few test shots. All was looking good.
Soon the tension boiled over and we were graciously let into a second chamber of the room that was covered in all black record sleeves that would eventually be used as custom album covers. Orange fluorescent paint was handed out and the madness really began. I braved a couple passes straight into the heart of the fracas snapping off a hundred or so pics, only to find that the rubber band holding my plastic shield around my lens had slid back and switched my focus from auto to manual. It left me with a hundred or so shots of blurred blackness and orangeness.
I remedied the problem and went back through for a second pass, but everyone was already drenched in orange paint. Having smothered each other they turned on me and my camera. “I got him in the beard!” rang into my ears after a cool splash hit me across the face. The thick paint had a pleasant saltiness to it, that I would later find out is rather stingy to the eye. They handed out cheap plastic glasses after a little while, but for me, it was too late. I had already taken good dose of glowing green paint directly in the eye. The shock and pain lasted about a minute and as I regained my wits, the Ting Tings took the stage and the sea of black and neon started undulating then thrashing as fluorescent spurts of paint flashed through the air with the beat.
As the set went on, paint be came scarce and we began picking up empties from the floor, uncapping them and flicking whatever paint was left into the crowd (or anyone nearby that wasn’t already soaked). The Ting Tings kept up the frenetic energy throughout the whole set, sending V and I home drenched in sweat, paint and wearing ear-to-ear smiles with our matching track suits.
