It was a dark and stormy night…

No, really, it was.

Atmosphere was the key word here – the turbulent weather had set the stage just right for the Monash Music Club’s Social Night. It seemed as if divine intervention favored the musicians and their cause. Following their brief residency at the foyer in C&S week, the Monash Music Club managed to recruit a large crowd of fresh-faced musicians and music-lovers alike. 

Snaking around the Monash Sports Centre’s façade, a crowd of all walks of life and tastes could be seen lining up, desperate to step through the glass doors of the student lounge and seek asylum in its temporary musical refuge. Notable apparel worn by the attending members were surveyed to be three Nirvana graphic tees, five flannel shirts, and one guitar-and-wallet-chain combo. To maintain my journalistic integrity and blend in with the crowd, a Slipknot shirt was my weapon of choice, only to be clocked as a poser within the first five minutes by the club’s logistics officer – but I digress.

Below the bright lights and vivid colors of the MUSA offices, the ground floor’s student lounge was transformed into a candlelit garage-band setup. Out were the harsh rays of fluorescent bulbs, and in were warm glows of lamps scattered around the lounge. In the sea of the crowd, one could weave through and stumble upon a section dedicated to any instrument. Drummers were rapping their snares, bassists were plucking their strings, keyboardists were tickling their ivories, and the feedback from the amps made an ear-piercing announcement every two minutes just to let you know that they weren’t blown out just yet. Off to the side the table tennis setup was also dismantled, replaced with couches and cushions for those who chose to mingle and complete the checklist handed to them when they escaped the pouring rain.

One can thank the committee members all they want for reconstructing the student lounge for musicians to get together, but what made it a true Social Night were the Monashians who showed up and showed out. At the twin drum sets there was a Mr. Miyagi-type with his own Daniel-san, teaching him the ways of the percussionist with the strictest technique – wax on, wax off. In the listening space tucked deep in the back of the lounge, a little community of vocalists gathered around a stereo to sing their favorite tracks, akin to our ancestors gathering around a campfire singing hymns passed down from generation-to-generation. I, myself, found a cozy community among the keyboardists, who gracefully tutored me on different chord transitions I could apply when improvising on my own Roland back home.

In the midst of all the noise and commotion in the student lounge, a community emerged. In a world where skill gaps were blatant and obvious, where knowledge of music theory reigned supreme, where arbitrary ABRSM scores can define your position within the social hierarchy, the Monash Music Club’s Social Night provided a constructive space free from the fetters of the grandiose. It proved that there was no need for proving. No need for shame or chagrin. No need for diffidence in the face of us doing what humans do best – we make art.

Photos by Grace L.