Finally, dance parties have become a staple of nightlife in the Valley, and December is a special month for Brian Langan and Conor McGuigan's Panked! disco fiestas. In addition to the standard party, which will be held this Thursday, Dec. 27, McGuigan and Langan are hosting the All Ages Snowball this Saturday, Dec. 29.

Said Langan, "We're hoping everyone dresses nice. It is a ball ... but you can still get down and dirty." The Snowball is the first all ages Panked! party and will be hosted by Afa Gallery. Music will be provided by The Sw!ms and Orange Opera along with the DJ skills of the Panked! pals. The Snowball will have photo booths and "That's What I Call Panked!" CDs will be door prizes.

These festive parties began nine months ago. "We DJ, but we're not DJs," said McGuigan. "We just have a big record collection and we play lots of fun music. We just want people to dance. That's what I like about our dance parties."

Panked! dance parties have exciting, spur-of-the-moment set lists. If there's someone in the room who's dancing their face off and they look ridiculous, it makes getting up there and strutting your stuff easier. McGuigan and Langan allow you to do that every month.

If you missed November's Panksgiving Dance Party, then you missed McGuigan in a pair of shiny gold pants, a "shut up and dance" T-shirt, and a sweatband around his forehead swirling around the dance floor like a break dancer. The duo dresses more ridiculously with each outing and has the innate ability to get people to loosen up. "We try to look as ridiculous as possible for the most part. Short shorts are always fun. We never dress the same way twice," said McGuigan.

"We also try to get new music for every party, but we have some diehard songs that we just won't stop playing," he added. Said Langan, "Yeah, we definitely have our classics. 'I'm Gonna Do It Right' by Kenny Loggins is our big closer. It's off 'Danger Zone.' It's a good end of the night dance number. Not like 'Lady in Red' end of the night, but like dancing your way out the door dance number."

"And we're not too cool where we play things that no one is ever going to know," said McGuigan.

The last Thursday of every month is the regular Panked! party at The Bog. The first hour is upbeat music, like rock and soul, as a motivator for easing everyone into dancing to driving bass beats (like "Rump Shaker," or "Push It") during the second hour. "We love The Bog," said McGuigan. "We like doing the dance parties there because of the bartenders and the fact that it is a small venue. People aren't awkward about dancing because it fills up pretty fast. And that way you don't have Goofy Gus in the corner tappin' his toe."

The Panked! Snowball is sponsored by Magpie Vintage, Embassy Vinyl, and Northern Light Espresso Bar. The party is 6 p.m. to midnight. Cover is $8. The Artists for Art Gallery is located at 514 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton. The Panked! parties at The Bog ($5) are at 341 Adams Ave., Scranton.

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