Columbia locals adorned their most flashy ‘70s-themed outfits outside The Blue Note in downtown Columbia on Friday, Sept. 16 for the Gimme Gimme Disco. Gimme Gimme Disco is an ABBA-themed dance party that tours the U.S.
Streetlights revealed different faces in line — mostly students who wanted to dance the night away, and older adults discussing among themselves the prevalence of disco today. According to University of East London Prof. Tim Lawrence, the disco started as a safe place for individual expression at a time in the 20th century when it was only socially acceptable to show up at clubs with a partner.
TikTok, a popular social media app that has dominated our society since the COVID-19 pandemic began, is a large contributor to the culture of disco’s survival today. The song “Rasputin” by Boney M., a popular ‘70s discotheque band, is an audio on TikTok with 3.1 million videos. Content creator Gen X Guy made a “70s Music Challenge” with a video posted on July 11, 2021. That audio now has 10,300 thousand videos attached to it. The popularity of disco songs and creation of challenges that test viewers’ musical knowledge have allowed the app to keep disco music on our minds.
Some people in line for Gimme Gimme Disco presented their interpretation of ‘70s dress, and others kept it simple with a ‘70s pop band tee and loose jeans.
Sean Richenberger (left) and Faith Fleming (right) wait in the line outside The Blue Note in color-coordinating outfits on Friday, Sept. 16. Fleming’s retro glasses tie the modern outfit to ‘70s-era fashion.
A lot of people began to yell over bass-boosted discotheque songs as they entered the venue. Many danced across the inside, even in the upper level, jumping along and screaming the lyrics to the choruses. Halfway through the show, one of the security guards handed the DJ a small trophy for selling out The Blue Note.
The tracklist consisted of ‘70s and ‘80s pop music mixes, showcasing Swedish band ABBA’s top hits. The DJ balanced ABBA with “Rasputin” by Boney M., “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” by Whitney Houston and other classic hits from that era. This tracklist maintained the high energy throughout the night without becoming too reminiscent of “Mamma Mia!,” a 2008 film inspired by a musical created by Judy Cramer based on ABBA’s music.
Adults of all ages danced near the stage. The center of the dance floor looked like a mosh pit as everyone began violently jumping and swaying their hands to the beat. The people who stayed until the last song complained when the set stopped shortly after midnight.
Camille Squires, a reporter at Quartz, mentioned on a podcast episode that disco culture is essentially the “idea of … meeting people where they’re at and on the dance floor, grabbing a partner for a song and changing partners the next song, and being willing to embark on a common project of fun together, … a lesson that’s applicable to having a good time on the disco dance floor.”
Edited by Egan Ward | eward@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Amelia Hurley and Jacob Richey | jrichey@themaneater.com
