Milonga volume

I went to the milonga on Sunday. I had tied it to a day out in Edinburgh, to the Queens Gallery, which I can't recommend enough. 

The Counting House, venue for the Edinburgh milonga had, unusually a visiting DJ, this one from Amsterdam: Jimi Chimichurri which is one reason I had wanted to go. She looked fun and danced both roles. For reference, the set, as many do, started fairly classic but turned increasingly away from that. It was also loud, that loudness where you have to raise your voice for a conversation and you want to leave. But I'd stayed after my day out to have a meal and wait for the milonga to start, never mind the hour's travel. With time invested, sometimes hope does not die immediately.  I spent more time at that noise level than was good for me. I quit on one of the tracks with a new partner. I stayed a good deal outside the room chatting, translating lyrics, waiting for the music to change or the volume to come down or both. 

One guy I met said his theory that the reason so many DJs play so loudly is "they must be half deaf."  This is not the first time an experienced dancer has said so. I can only think, it must be true even though so many of them sit behind the speakers where they don't hear what the dancers hear and are - one hopes not deliberately - slightly more protected than the rest of us.

I could only think this must unfortunately also be the case at the Midnight Milonga in Glasgow on Saturday. DJ Iain played the good music so very loudly in that small room that I think I danced two tandas before leaving within two hours. It was a two hour round trip for a matter of minutes in the ronda.  I can't see myself rushing back. I last went in January when much of the music was non-traditional with some classic tandas inbetween (DJ Susan).  I find a note from last year that says  I stayed 45 minutes.  Hope burns eternal. 

The rest of the time there I spent again outside the room, protecting my ears. I remember thinking that at some 10-15 metres from the room the volume was about what it should be. Again, instead, I translated lyrics or chatted. 

A propos that milonga, I mentioned recently that milongas in the south of the UK can be around £10 whereas here they are more often perhaps £7 and some of these include tea and cakes. The Midnight Milonga is an exception. It is £10. Fresh fruit is included but not the cakes and other nibbles there used to be, perhaps because they come in packaging. The milonga has now gone "zero waste". A sign said bring your own cup from now on and use one of their jam jars for tonight.  So I drank wine from a jam jar.  The price is the same though. I remember money has always been a bit of an issue for the teacher-organiser. 

Regarding sound levels, it was a similar story at the first milonga at my recent weekend in Toulouse. My friend and I were sitting at the table next to DJ Greg who seemed energetic, hyped even, which tends to worry me, in a DJ.  Memories of head-banging to Pugliese crowd in.   I spoke to him later without recognising him at first, perhaps because he was so calm, even analytical.  On that first night though the music was too loud for me.  Within five minutes of meeting the friend I was looking forward to chatting with, I had to tell him I was going to sit in the area behind the speakers.  I was worried he might be offended as we don't know one another well but such dilemmas loud music forces upon us.  My friend stayed where he was. He is already deaf in one ear.  He had an unhappy time that weekend.  I wondered if I could have mitigated that at all had we been able to sit together properly in the milonga that first night but the volume prevented that.

Be aware how either short exposure to very loud noise or prolonged exposure to unsafe levels of noise can damage your hearing. Get the app, mentioned here. And don't risk staying anywhere where it even crosses your mind that it's loud.