SPEND THE NIGHT INSIDE THE DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION AT SLEEPLESS: THE MUSIC CENTER AFTER HOURS

Have you heard about the Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours event at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in DTLA? The entire Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is transformed into what’s described as an “immersive and multi-sensory programming series.” A few friends and I checked it out this past weekend. The doors don’t open until 11:30pm… and the party lasts until 3am. I took a nap earlier in the evening because I didn’t want to miss a thing.

As soon as we arrived, we headed for the behind-the-scenes backstage tour. I read that it was first come, first served, so we wanted to get in line early. Because they only take about 10 people at time, we had to wait about 30 minutes to start the tour. I thought it was just a backstage tour of the theater but it was much more than that. The dressing rooms had been transformed into live performance art installations. You actually walked through the dressing rooms, around the performers, some who where singing and other that were playing instruments. It was eerie but oddly interesting.

After the tour we headed over to get headphones and headed into the Silent Disco area. Each headset plays two channels of audio. You just click a button to toggle between two simultaneous DJs. Okay, I’ve done the Silent Disco thing before at the Music Center and it rocked. This time… not so much. One of the music channels was just horrible and inside the Silent Disco area was empty, so we made a beeline for the bar and then decided to head upstairs. Although the event lasts until 3am, they only serve alcohol until 1:30am, so we stopped at another bar upstairs for a second round of drinks before heading into the exclusive Founders Room. This room is not normally open to the general public unless you are on a tour of the entire Music Center. We danced a bit and then decided to head upstairs to what I’ll call the penthouse. This room was a bit more crowded and we danced a little more. There were different things to see, hear and experience throughout the building, like a hallway filled with the sounds of the ocean, or some crazy set-up in the basement. The coolest experience for me was the scene in the second floor lobby. People were just all chilled out lying on giant lounge pillows listening to music while looking up at the massive chandeliers.

“Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours offers the public a new way to curate their own interactive experiences, from the moment they enter to the time they leave,” said Ming Ng, interim vice president of programming, The Music Center. “With Sleepless, the late night crowd can take a sensory dive and be both surprised and amazed as they discover place and space, and the arts, in a whole new way,” she explained.

“Sleepless is not only a social experience, it’s one where each person can enjoy his or her own special moments as light, sounds, movement and performance showcase the beauty and grandeur of one of L.A.’s most iconic settings,” said Alejandro Cohen, executive director, dublab. “We welcomed the opportunity to see how the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion could be re-imagined, and, ultimately, give people a chance to have a great time,” he added.

I have never said this about an event before, but I wish it was a bit more crowded. A few more people in the dance floors (especially in the Silent Disco) would have made for a better time. I also wish that at least one of the venues played more popular dance music. Despite those complaints, it was a really great event. If you buy advance tickets, it’s only $20 and the tour alone was worth that. The next Sleepless event is coming up June 17th, followed by events on September 23rd and November 11th. Click here for more information.