Last Dance: The Bang! Must Die! is one last boogie down production for this long-running party at The Blind Pig

PULP LIFE PREVIEW REVIEW

The Bang! poster collage

It's the last dance -- last dance for love.

Yes, it's the last chance for romance Saturday night.

After 18 years, The Bang! dance party needs you to hold and scold -- and get so, so bad -- at The Blind Pig as it waves goodbye with one final blowout: The Bang! Must Die!

Founded by artists Jeremy Wheeler and Jason Gibner, the first Bang! party was held in 2001 at the now-shuttered Half-Ass Inn (Halfway Inn) in U-M's East Quad. The following year it moved to The Blind Pig -- with occasional visits to Ypsilanti and elsewhere -- and it eventually became a monthly event for a long while, getting more and more elaborate over the years as The Bang! crew went wild building elaborate props that supported the dances' playful themes.

Filtered through Wheeler's distinctive, retro-cool aesthetic -- which you can see in the posters above -- The Bang! encouraged people to dress up in outrageous clothes, shake off their everyday grime, and get dirty on the dancefloor. Perusing a photo archive on Flickr from older Bang! throwdowns, you can all but smell the PBR pouring out of the pores of the revelers. As the sweaty, open-mouthed ravers cut through the humid club air, The Bling Pig took on the look of a thrift shop on acid, where all the VCR tapes and '80s aerobic leotards suddenly rediscovered their worth on Earth.

Silly sexual japes abounded at The Bang! and the photo gallery is rich with crotch shots. One hirsute gentleman even figured out how to don a thong at most every Bang!, no matter the theme. 

We rooted through thousands of pics and chose some of our favorites, which you can see below, along with a short documentary on The Bang! and some other video footage. But first, read these two oral histories of The Bang! -- then wish it well in the afterlife by donning a crazy costume and dancing your face off on October 26:

➥ "The Bang! Must Die: the History of the Sweatiest Dance Party in Town" [Damn Arbor, October 22, 2019]
➥ "After 18 years of dance-party madness, here's why The Bang! must die" [Concentrate, October 16, 2019]

New Years Bang! 2005-2006

New Years Bang! 2005-2006

Physical Bang! 2013

Physical Bang! 2013

Physical Bang! 2010. Photo by Danny Menzo.

Physical Bang! 2010. Photo by Danny Menzo.

Physical Bang! 2010. Photo by Danny Menzo.

Physical Bang! 2010. Photo by Danny Menzo.

Gay-Lick Bang! 2011

Gay-Lick Bang! 2011

Bang of the Dead, 2010

Bang of the Dead, 2010

Bang of the Dead, 2010

Bang of the Dead, 2010

Blacklight to the Future Bang! 2010-2011

Blacklight to the Future Bang! 2010-2011

Love Bang! 2011

Love Bang! 2011

Gay-Lick Bang! 2011

Gay-Lick Bang! 2011

Love Bang! 2013

Love Bang! 2013

Space Bang! 2013

Space Bang! 2013

Sweat Bang! 2005

Sweat Bang! 2005

11 Year Bang! 2012

11 Year Bang! 2012

Headbang! 2009

Headbang! 2009

Headbang! 2009

Headbang! 2009

Headbang! 2009

Headbang! 2009

Robo Bang! 2009

Robo Bang! 2009

Back2School Bang! 2008

Back2School Bang! 2008


Christopher Porter is a library technician and the editor of Pulp.


The Bang Must Die! happens Saturday, October 26 at The Blind Pig. Visit the Facebook event page for more details.