Last weekend Antwerp’s underground gay party ‘SPEK’ celebrated its 1 year anniversary, precisely on the night that I turned 26. The perfect reason to party!
In just one year SPEK (Dutch for 'bacon') has become the indisputable reigning party for the alternative gay scene in Antwerp. The organizers Bert and Stijn were already well-known in the Antwerp night life and found another formula that resonates with the needs of the non-mainstream gay party crowd: dodgy yet cool venues, a great line-up and its own online community. Plus the visual identity of SPEK is on fleek: retro hipster gay softcore pornography combined with strong graphics. (check the SPEK Tumblr if you dare: )
I arrived with my friends around 1 o’clock at vzw EMMA , a small building near the harbor that you’d easily pass by without noticing. Luckily I was greeted by Bert and blasting bases once we entered. Within two minutes we were all drinking (just €2,5 for most drinks) and dancing as if our lives depended on it. For not being an official party venue, vzw EMMA has one of the best sound systems in Antwerp and SPEK knows how to make the gays dance. And not just the gays: SPEK is super straight-friendly and there are a bunch of straight girls and even guys.
Just like most Antwerp parties outside the mainstream circuit, the SPEK crowd feels like one big eccentric family, so it’s a great place to meet friends and get introduced to new ones. Obviously there are lots of guys who hook up, enticed by the SPEK graphics and pounding music. It’s the perfect party for bold moves, on and off the dance floor.
Since I already have a boyfriend and was surrounded by my friends, I kept my moves on the dance floor and partied the night away. After a while I discovered a second room upstairs where the music was more retro and campy. I loved it! I even started dancing and turning with a drink in one hand and a friend in the other. At one point they played a hilarious Dutch version of Depeche Mode’s ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ (listen here: ) That was the moment I danced a little bit too hard for my own good, lost control of my balance and fell with my jaw on a table corner. The damage was minimal, but my buzz was suddenly gone and a bleeding chin is not the cutest look on your birthday.
My boyfriend and I decided to go home – it was around 4am, which is like the middle of a SPEK party – but one thing is for sure: it was a night to remember!
Next SPEK event:
Text by Vincent Van Reusel
Pics by SPEK