Getting Loose: Doowutchyalike at The Atlantic

If over-the-top comedian Dane Cook has ever said anything true, it’s that sometimes we just want to dance.

It’s in our blood. We just want to forget about everything else around us, shake our booties and move our feet.

At The Atlantic’s Doowutchyalike Night, this is known as “The Power of Get Loose.”

For the last 12 years, The Atlantic has been facilitating a Thursday night dance party for people to get loose each week (The longest running weekly dance night in the city). Hosted by DJs Nick “NickFRESH” Puzo and Cameron Gregory, the dance night has been called Doowutchyalike Night since January 2010. With its checkered dancefloor, dark lighting and welcoming atmosphere, The Atlantic proves to be the perfect spot to dance like nobody’s watching and do what you like to do.

Gregory has been DJing at The Atlantic since it opened in 2003. While Doowutchyalike night was officially started in 2010, he says that Thursday nights at The Atlantic have always had a similar vibe, blending a wide variety of music to get people moving.

Puzo, who has been DJing at the club since 2009, learned to spin records at an early age. Taught by his mother, who was the first on-air mixing DJ in his hometown of Jacksonville, he DJ’d his first house party at the age of 10. On top of DJing, he is a classically trained pianist and plays a variety of other instruments.

A diverse musical background like Gregory’s or Puzo’s bodes well for a night like Doowutchyalike. The night has been classified as an indie dance party, basically meaning anything goes. Like any good DJs, they like to feel out the crowd to see what will get them going.

“You’re getting, not only indie dance, but you’re getting house, you’re getting 80s, 90s, you’re getting funk, you’re getting rap, you’re getting reggae, even a sprinkle of dubstep and trap,” Puzo said, “We try to include everything.”

That anything goes music mentality speaks to the name of the night, Doowutchyalike, where people are encouraged to forget about the hardships in their lives and work up a sweat; they’re encouraged to move in the way that makes them happy. Because of this, Puzo and Gregory enjoy playing music that might be unfamiliar to their audience, but gets people on the dance floor all the same.

“When people come to dance, you would hope that they are dropping their inhibitions; they’re allowing themselves to really have a good time,” Puzo said, “We want it to be fun, but we really people to be getting loose.”

The crowd ranges from your typical college kids enjoying the free beer until 11 p.m. to older folks using a dance party as an excuse to exercise. There is, however, common ground between all those who come to Doowutchyalike night.

“Some people have said over the years that they’ll go to other club nights to socialize, but they come to Doowutchyalike to sweat and dance,” Puzo said.

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