Clubbing or Clowning? How the Scene Became a Circus

I remember when clubs were real—back when we all had flip phones and there was no pressure to document every second. Nobody was out there snapping pics or trying to “feed their eye.” We went out to forget about everything, to just get lost in the night. You know how people always say “a night to remember”? The truth is, the most unforgettable nights are the ones we barely remember in details—they’re remembered by the feeling. The feeling of being free, of connecting with a room full of strangers, of letting the soundwaves hit your earlobes and make you feel alive; it was about that elusive, almost undefinable sense of connection and liberation.

Fast forward to today, and clubs have morphed into something entirely different. Gone are the dimly lit rooms that once cloaked us in mystery. Instead, we’re met with overwhelming light shows and an incessant craving for attention. Now, it’s not just us dancing in the shadows; we’ve thrown in circus performers—costumed, choreographed, and on shift—to entertain a crowd that’s as hungry for spectacle as it is for a sense of belonging.

We’ve basically injected a circus into the club scene, and honestly, no wonder it’s all become a bit of a joke.

It’s like we traded powerful, unfiltered moments for a packaged, over-produced, highly curated show. The nights that used to be about feeling something real are now engineered for maximum impact—designed for our feeds instead of our souls. When the lights go down and the music fades, it’s that tingly, unremembered feeling of freedom and connection that really counts, not a perfectly choreographed performance.