Sip some booze in your dancin’ shoes while the neighbors snooze

The word “disco” might be passé, but dance clubs with EDM (electronic dance music – pretty much the same thing) are still wildly popular around the world. Powerful sound systems fire bass-laden grooves onto the dance floor as partiers gyrate to their hearts’ content. Those of us in the know, know that the off-season “ghost town” rumors about our summer resort are greatly exaggerated. Most restaurants are open, and late-evening fun is just a few minutes away. And at least one of our local venues offers pounding dance music – provided by three (count ‘em, 3!) DJs at the same time! Gadzooks! How is that possible!? (Hopefully you’re wondering the same thing, or this column ends here.)

As the sun sets in pretty much any big city around the world, state-of-the-art lighting and pounding music systems flex their electronic muscles. And it’s a feast for the ears and the eyes! Dancers show off their best steps as multicolored lasers launch knife-edged beams over their heads. Glittering LED panels project intense polychromatic shapes as strobes hurl bursts of visible energy with split-second precision in perfect rhythm with … wait … there’s no music! The room is strangely quiet, other than clinking glasses and shuffling feet. What in the world are these people dancing to!?

Welcome to silent disco. Step a little closer: Each dancer is wearing headphones wirelessly connected to hidden transmitters throughout the room. When local noise ordinances kick in at night, the multi-thousand-watt subwoofers, midrange projectors and tweeters must go silent. But it doesn’t matter: The dancing continues unabated, and I have to tell you it’s quite a sight with no sound.

Silent disco first came onto the scene in Delaware several years ago at Firefly Music Festival in Dover (not without its own noise ordinances). Dancers cavorted until 5 a.m. while the neighbors snoozed peacefully. A number of years ago, Ivy in Dewey Beach was a glittering dance club that featured silent disco (it’s now a fun, waterfront event/wedding space). Nowadays, all that hi-tech glitter is happening just a few steps north at Lefty’s Alley & Eats near Lewes.

John Snow, one of the creators of Ivy’s disco events, told me that the most striking side effect of silent disco happens when the dancers sing along with the music. Of course, most dancers do that; intoning “Jesse’s Girl” or “Don’t You Love Me Baby” or “She Works Hard for the Money” along with their favorite songs. But, up to now, all that off-key vocalization was masked by the loud music. Well, not with silent disco. Dancers, be advised: Though you might sound really good to yourself (especially after a martini or three), the combined result in the otherwise quiet room is hilariously unharmonious.

Intrigued? Dust off your dancing shoes and check out Lefty’s Alley & Eats next Friday, Jan. 19. Downbeat’s at 8 p.m. There’s a nominal fee for the headsets, and the rest is up to you. You can dance, sip at their multiple bars and nibble from their inventive menu (while trying not to sing under your breath) until 11 p.m. The neighbors will be none the wiser.