Now you hear it … now you don’t

The word “disco” might be considered passé, but dance clubs (the exact same thing) are still popular around the world. Powerful sound systems hammer out bass-laden grooves as dancers gyrate to their hearts’ content. Coastal Delaware is fortunate to have at least one dance club event that happens on the third Friday of every month. And it rivals many from New York to Miami.

On that special Friday, the new Spare Room at Lefty’s Alley & Eats explodes with pounding music – from three DJs, yet! And it’s a sight to behold. Except for one thing: If you’re not on the dance floor, the room is strangely silent, other than clinking glasses and shuffling feet. What in the world are these people dancing to!?

Welcome to silent disco! Step a little closer. Every dancer is wearing headphones wirelessly connected to transmitters at the DJ booth. Silent disco first came onto the scene in Delaware at the Firefly Music Festival in Dover (not without its noise ordinances), and it all went perfectly. Dancers cavorted until 5 a.m. while the neighbors snoozed peacefully. Back in 2013, Ivy in Dewey Beach jumped onto the silent bandwagon for a while with their state-of-the-art lighting system. Neighbors heard nothing as music pounded into the dancers’ ears. Ivy is now a popular event space.

Disco at a bowling alley? Lefty’s opened seven years ago as the brainchild of Chad Moore and DJ Hill. Both were concerned about their kids not having anything to do. I can still remember Sister Mary Walburga at St. Bernadette’s elementary school announcing to our fifth-grade class (with sanctimonious fanfare): “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop!”

In an effort to help combat whatever might befall a teenager’s idle mind (nowadays the possibilities seem endless), the two entrepreneurs searched for something that could be equally friendly for kids and adults. The combination of quality food (obviously not fine dining, but many notches up from standard bowling alley fare), a glittering arcade, multiple bowling lanes and even a laser tag arena seemed like the perfect recipe to combat the devil. And the credibility of seven successful years has proven them right.

When they first opened, nearly 25% of the building was a laser tag arena, pretty much a one-time attraction that was squandering the potential for more consistent income. Without that, any business could easily revert to an empty building sporting For Lease signs. So DJ and Chad recently morphed the laser arena into The Spare Room, offering “social interactions” that would engage guests for longer than just a round of laser wars. The Spare Room now offers axe throwing for adult guests with 20 virtual games projected onto the targets. Interestingly, the high-tech system is so new that Lefty’s is currently one of only 15 locations in the country using it.

One of the newest attractions is Lefty’s Topgolf brand golf simulators. It’s all about fun, with no pressure for the perfect swing. The HDTV-equipped Swing Suite provides year-round comfort, with the all-important “clubhouse” for post-round nourishment (minus the ubiquitous cart girl, of course). The clubhouse is actually Lefty’s restaurant, with Chef Ian Frank at the helm. Chef Ian recently won the food competition at the 2022 Southern Delaware Wine, Food & Music Festival. His menu is very different from when Lefty’s first opened – and the pizza is still quite good.

Like the adult axe throwing, the kid-friendly mini-duckpins, the virtual golf course and the state-of-the-art arcade, it’s all about having fun. And every third Friday, the glittering silent disco proves that point. The dancers wear hi-tech headphones that allow them to select the music of any of the three DJs. Colored lights on the headphones reveal what each dancer is hearing, so this opens up all sorts of fun possibilities like theme nights where dancers can choose among ‘70s, ‘80s or ‘90s hits. The DJs get into the act by competing for the most listeners.

Hill tells me that the most striking side effect happens when the dancers sing along with the music. Of course, most dancers do that, with their off-key intonations drowned out by powerful subwoofers and tweeters. Not with silent disco! Your rendition of “Jesse’s Girl” or “Don’t You Want Me Baby” or “She Works Hard for the Money” might sound really good to you (especially after a martini or two), but the combined effect in the otherwise quiet room is delightfully hilarious.

The Spare Room can hold about 100 dancers, and the festivities go from 8 p.m. to midnight. Entry is free at the moment, and DJ Hill reminds me, “…it’s not meant to be a full-time discotheque or club. Just a once-a-month event for everyone to enjoy.” Check out the new Spare Room at Lefty’s. It’s a clever use of space, with enough variety to keep you and the kids busy for an entire evening.