One of Iceland’s most beloved musician, Páll Óskar, will be hosting his first men only party in Reykjavík on December the 17th. He says it’s the perfect chance for men to meet each other in the flesh and hopefully hook up.
“This is a private party for men only, but special men only events have been few and far between in Iceland, to say the least, and I want to make my contribution to change that,” says legendary musician Páll Óskar, who is going to host a private party for men at Ægisgarður brewery and bar, just outside Reykjavík city center on December the 17th.
The party will essentially be a so-called “Palla-ball” (which could loosely be translated as Páll’s party), where Páll Óskar will both DJ and perform. The kind of party he has been throwing in various places around the country for the past years to much acclaim. The only difference is that this time around it’s intended for men only and there will be a limited number of tickets available.
“I think the last time I DJed at a men only party was some 5 years ago at the bar Barbara in down town Reykjavík,” says Páll Óskar, but men only events – apart from the Bears on Ice festival – are scarce in Iceland.
Páll Óskar doesn’t know why that is but he’s ready to make a change. “This is an experiment I want to do, because I, personally, miss men only parties where you get the chance to meet gay guys in an environment created by themselves and on their terms. That’s extremely important to me.”
“We will create a mood that will be similar to that of gay clubs abroad. Ægisgarður is the perfect location because it’s suitably raw, suitably open and there’s enough room … to make out.”
Páll Óskar is organizing the party in co-operation with Ægisgarður and says there will be no expense spared when it comes to lights and sound … and hot bartenders. “We will create a mood that will be similar to that of gay clubs abroad. Ægisgarður is the perfect location because it’s suitably raw, suitably open and there’s enough room to dance but also enough room to have deep, meaningful conversations about matters close to your heart. Or to make out. Who knows – maybe you’ll get lucky,” says Páll Óskar with a laugh.
“Ægisgarður is also not in a residential area so we can make as much noise as we want.”
Little less conversation – little more action
The target group for the party are gay guys, but Páll Óskar says that all men are welcome, whether they’re bi, pan, trans, straight, poly, etc. “I have already advertised the event in a Facebook group called Hommaspjallið (The Gay chat) where there are some 627 guys, mostly gay, who are already out of the closet and living their life as openly gay men,” he says and adds that he thinks that there are probably around some 1500 men still living in the closet in Iceland. “And of course our dear beloved closet cases are heartily welcome as well,” he says with a smile.
But does Páll Óskar think straight men will attend? “I can’t say – that’s also a part of the experiment. I have a beautiful relationship with straight men, a mutual respect that was non-existent many years ago. I think it was created around the time when I released the single “Allt fyrir ástina” in 2006-2007. Then I noticed that straight men became less shy to show up at my parties and concerts. I cherish this bond,” he says and quickly adds: “But of course no one is going to be asked about their sexual orientation.”
And in order to avoid any kind of confusion, Páll Óskar underlines that the party is for men only. “Women who show up will of course not be literally thrown out, but they will be politely told that it’s a closed event. We will be living by Emmsjé Gauti’s line: “It’s just me and the guys” (Bara ég og strákarnir”),” he says, quoting the famous Icelandic rapper.
Asked if he’s planning on organizing more men only parties in the future, Páll Óskar says that’s something he will decide on December the 17th. “We’ll see. I’m just really looking forward to see how this will turn out. And I’m also excited to play music that I usually don’t get a chance to play. Straight people don’t get Kylie, for example. She is the gay men’s true diva,” says Páll Óskar, referring to Australian singer Kylie Minogue.
“This is an experiment I want to do, because I, personally, miss men only parties where you get the chance to meet gay guys in an environment created by themselves and on their terms.”
“This will be a standard Palla-ball in the sense that I will DJ for almost 5 hours and when the time is right perform my own songs with my dancers. Perform all the tricks in the book. A Palla-ball is also essentially a sing-along. I want everyone to sing along. When everyone knows a song and sings it at the same time you feel a certain solidarity. Utter happiness is born under those circumstances and you wake up the next day and the first thing you think is: Men, that was fun!”