Here’s the situation. You’re on your way to work so you figure you’ll jam over to your favorite cafe like you do everyday and get that very necessary first hit of caffeine. You’re about two blocks away and you start hearing a rhythmic throb. By the time you arrive you can’t even see the cafe because there are hundreds of people out front raving. So what do you do? Do you show brand loyalty and fight through the crowd to get your morning cuppa or do you hotfoot it somewhere less… boom boom?
This is a decision many around Texas, Austin in particular, are having to make thanks to the latest craze: morning DJ sets.
The new trend serves as an escape from the late-night, alcohol-fueled bender for those who still want to dance their asses off but avoid the hangover. As reported by My San Antonio, the AM DJ set has gained popularity thanks to Mushroom Cowboy’s Ryan Robinson, who created The Morning Spin, whose slogan is “10am in the new 10pm.” Prior AM DJ sets have been held as Austin cafe like Mañana, 2nd & Roast, and Proud Mary. (To be fair, they don’t always happen at cafes and they mostly occur at 10am on weekends, so they aren’t entirely disruptive to the 9–5 working schmuck just trying to grab a coffee.)
Thanh Pham, the founder of the Latt3 Coffee and Beats event series, says that the AM DJ sets are growing in popularity because folks are putting a higher priority on their health, which means drinking less—if at all—and sleeping more. “A lot of people are wanting to do something fun, but not necessarily pay the tax of alcohol the next day.”
Now, I’m all for more hangs with less alcohol, but this, this is too much [insert Old Man Yells at Cloud meme]. It’s all just so Austin in a very All-I-Know-About-Austin-Is-South-By-Southwest sort of way. At South By, where the vacuum of time doesn’t exist and there are no rules whatsoever, it makes sense. Everyone is looking for creative ways to get involved, which may mean a morning DJ set. But if I were to be visiting family down in Austin and wanted to grab some brekkie with the kiddos at Proud Mary, only to arrive to the uncha uncha club with folks slinging hot co-ferments over their heads when the beat drops (even worse if some of that stewed fruit juice got in my mouth), I think I’d 1) break out in hives, and 2) put a barstool through the window.
But who knows, YMMV. If this sounds like your bag, then more power to you. All I ask is that you keep an orderly walkway open for anyone who just wants to get a little coffee.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
