I stared at my wardrobe for what seemed like hours trying to piece together a last minute costume for the 2012 San Diego Monster Bash party in downtown on Saturday night. I didn’t have many options. I considered a cowboy costume, denim from head to toe with a red bandana around my neck. I ultimately ruled against it because of the countless stories I’d heard about how careful one should be while wearing certain colors in California. My only other option was wearing a blazer, dress shirt and tie—telling anyone who asked I was Carlton Banks from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” I’ve lived with the comparison for a while now, so I figured one more night of smiling and Tom Jones-inspired dancing wouldn’t hurt.
Eight downtown blocks were sectioned off for the event and security was tight. Many eager partygoers were turned away at the door because bouncers believed parts of their costumes could be used as weapons. Run-DMC was denied entrance if the group didn’t get rid of its massive throwback boom box and Edward Scissorhands had to lose his well-crafted plastic blades. Thankfully security found nothing dangerous about a spoiled prep school student from Bel-Air, and let me in with no issue.
The main entrance—aptly dubbed “the gates of hell”—led attendees into the party with a smoke machine at the end startling unsuspecting individuals with a quick blast. Three DJ booths pumped music from every direction and projectors beamed scenes from classic horror movies on the sides of buildings. Dancers dressed as Disney characters (with slightly tighter outfits) were positioned around the party and moved seductively on platforms. They were paired up with dwarfs from “Snow White” who were more than happy to share the space. Beer and liquor vendors were readily available to add a little “spirit” to an already festive environment.
Monster Bash inspired some interesting costumes. A well-constructed party bot with flashing lights made an appearance and a realistic Predator lurked around the party, drawing many picture requests. My personal favorites were creatures with stilts on their arms and legs towering above everyone in the crowd. They moved around gracefully like giraffes and interacted with partygoers with a playful curiosity everyone was attracted to.
Of course, there were what I refer to as “sexy prefix costumes,” (the sexy cop, sexy bunny, sexy crayon) that involves girls dressing up as anything they can imagine using the least amount of material possible. While it’s easy to comment on the vanity associated with women and their Halloween outfits, few take the time to point out how juiceheads and gym rats use Halloween as an excuse to prance around shirtless. Other costumes included an Iron Man who forgot the rest of his armor at home and an oversized baby that humped anything that moved, just to name a few.
After a few laps around the party I decided to check out some of the DJs. I used to believe dubstep and house music were the unwanted children of the AOL dial-up tone and the sound of fingernails scratching a chalkboard. I never understood the allure of the genre, but DJ Dani Deahl changed all of that. She suckered me onto the dance floor by playing the instrumental to Big Sean’s “Lamborghini Mercy,” then quickly switched to a dubstep mash- up of the track. Before I knew it, I was fist pumping and dubstepping with Sub-Zero, Thing 1 and Neo from the Matrix all night. The bass hit my chest like an earthquake in my ribs, and it was amazing. With all the stress the school year can bring, it’s liberating to spaz out on a dance floor with total strangers to a medley of electronic sounds that make no sense at all. After a long night of dancing and hanging out with the undead, I walked back to my car ready to kick off Halloween week with a new respect for dub.
