It's not common to "Game of Thrones" cosplay at a rave, but on Thursday at Social bar, it was completely acceptable.
Kristian Nairn, most popularly known as Hodor from the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” took over Social Bar in the Vista Thursday night and kept the party going until 2 a.m.
Ever wondered what's on Hodor's iPod?
AND THERE HE IS #RaveOfThrones pic.twitter.com/mTfh2lXGq7
— Erika Ryan (@Rika_Ryan) February 13, 2015
Nairn’s first opener, LiDDLEUGLEEZ, took the stage at 10 p.m. and had the bar completely packed by 11 p.m. Around 11:30 p.m., Danny B started to get the crowd hyped for the main act — Hodor himself.
Danny B asked the crowd: “How’s the crowd feelin’ tonight?”
“Hodor! Hodor!”
People are chanting Hodor. Well, I guess they could have been saying anything. #RaveOfThrones
— lois carlisle (@loiscarlisle) February 13, 2015
At 12:30 a.m. Kristian Nairn was escorted to the stage, and it was clear he was having just as much fun as everyone else in the room as he took a video of the crowd with his cellphone.
“This is my first time in Columbia,” he said into the microphone. “But this is f---ing awesome!”
Ladies and gentlemen, the largest DJ in the land. #RaveOfThrones pic.twitter.com/yWCrFfR1Wx
— lois carlisle (@loiscarlisle) February 13, 2015
According to Nairn, college students are the best crowds to DJ for, and that’s exactly what brought him to Columbia on Thursday.
“There are so many amazing little college towns and some of them get overlooked a lot,” Nairn said. “College crowds are my favorite crowds, in the U.K. and the U.S. They’re always so full of energy … Everybody’s just together, having a good time.”
And they were, indeed, having a good time — maybe even a little too much fun.
Someone just elbowed me in the back of the head while fist pumping #RaveOfThrones
— Erika Ryan (@Rika_Ryan) February 13, 2015
The crowd was incredibly diverse at Social on Thursday — it’s not everyday that you find cosplayers dancing along side ravers. With some fans wearing fur capes and other “Game of Thrones” inspired dress, there were just as many wearing classic rave wear: light up gloves, neon shirts, frayed shorts, etc. It looked like something off of an HBO back lot. A White Walker could have twerked his way through the crowd and no one would have batted an eye or, as it were, drawn a sword.
Let’s not forget the guys that spent the night in a Native American headdress and glowing polar bear hats.
The faces of @BarSocial tonight #RaveOfThrones pic.twitter.com/jdAGIOtG9C
— Erika Ryan (@Rika_Ryan) February 13, 2015
Throughout the hour and a half that Nairn mixed tunes on stage, he played a lot of his original songs to a personalized light show. As you might expect, he even remixed the “Game of Thrones” theme, and the crowd went wild. Someone in the balcony shouted, "King of the North!" and cheers erupted.
HE REMIXED THE GAME OF THRONES THEME SONG YES YEEES #RaveOfThrones
— lois carlisle (@loiscarlisle) February 13, 2015
With cosplayers, rave-enthusiasts, closeted Game of Thrones die-hards, one 6-foot-10 DJ and some guy with a handlebar mustache — there's nothing quite like it in all the Seven Kingdoms.