Like all other artists, I often find an affection for the past and wish that I’d have had the emotional understanding to know that those were very good times in life. And I can say with certainty that the 2000s were wild times. It’s when the elder millennials and the youngest members of Generation X were in clubs, raves, and underground parties. They were enjoying their stupidity, freedom, and youthful radiance. Photographer Merlin Bronques documented this era on a website called Lastnightsparty. The site has completely changed, but it would showcase many of the wildest party photos I’ve ever seen. In 2006, he followed the trend of turning his blog into a book. Nearly 20 years later today, that book is a reminder of an insanely good time before the 2008 recession and before parties went even deeper underground as a result of everyone being broke.
Lastnightsparty feels almost like the thickest envelope that you’ve ever held. And because of this, it reminds me almost of postcards. But it’s not — and this makes it such an extra curious size because almost all the images seem to be in a 16:9 format. Each page is dominated by an image. In rare cases, the images are split down the middle and sometimes in completely jarring ways. Whether that was intentional or not is something I’ve pondered. Maybe I was taking the book too seriously. On the other hand, maybe Bronques just wanted to mess around with people every now and again.
A big part of what makes this book so incredible is the transformative time that it was documented. These were some of the first times where public displays of affection were acceptable for the LGBTQ community and those wanting to experiment. There are plenty of images of women making out and being sexual, men doing the same, and all the genders in between celebrating themselves, too. On top of this, America was a pretty rebellious place after George Bush Jr. was doing what he did in office. It was normal to see things on television like wild moments during The Real World and the Jersey Shore.
Tack on a few other big factors, too:
- It was before Facebook was available to everyone, and the best viewing angle of a person was when they were shot from above, Myspace-style.
- The Apple iPod was still the most common music device.
- Reality television like Survivor put people front and center constantly.
- It was the beginning of people becoming even more self-absorbed and the attention economy.
In Lastnightsparty, you’ll see a very voyeuristic viewpoint explored in its infancy. Bronques photographs people clearly happy to be in front of a camera and illuminated by a flash. Everyone, and every single moment, looks incredible. These are the types of wild party images that folks who are fans of the debaucherous love. I think of the images as candid, raw, wild, and appealing to the carnal side of humanity. You’ll find some famous faces here, too.
The print quality is slightly sheen and adds just enough pop to the color and subjects. Oh yeah, that’s an important point: everything is in color.
As you page through, you’ll stare at the images. These images glorify Terry Richardson’s ideals of photographing wild moments with direct flash and slapping composition in the face. These have been the pillars of many modern photographs we see in publications today.
But most importantly, the images take the idea of the sexy photographer-type and put you, the viewer, front and center. In each image, you can feel the people giving a bit of themselves up for the camera because they’re in such exhilaration.
Lastnightsparty is the celebration of a crazy time, and it can still be purchased on Amazon today.