In case you missed it, I’m new to town, so this was my very first Block Party.

In some ways, Block Party is like every music festival I’ve ever been to, and in other ways, it seems pretty unique.

The familiar: Impenetrable crowds of young people who are way too drunk. Music on multiple stages. Crowded beer gardens.

The not-as-familiar: A location smack dab in the center of a bustling neighborhood. Outdoor and indoor stages. Very few extracurricular activities besides watching bands.

That said, one can experience several different versions of Block Party. There’s the Main Stage/outside-with-the-masses/young-and-drunk-and-half-dressed version of Block Party, and then there’s the indoor/intimate/I-don’t-feel-so-old/sweaty-rock-bar version of Block Party. I found the latter to be more interesting and enjoyable.

Other observations:

- If you lock eyes with a man standing next to you, you may be confused whether his half-mast gaze, swathed by the dark-red glow of Cha Cha’s subterranean space, is trying to convey yearning or portends another type of internal (p)urge. In either case, it’s best to keep alert.

- If you’re guided into the pit by a stranger, who volunteers to act as a human shield during a ritual of testosterone-fueled exorcism, you may ultimately discover that a cocktail table is more reliable, and you may find solace in the words of another woman who has also decided that the cocktail table is more reliable: “Fucking men.”

- Even if you wear earplugs, your ears may ring for hours afterward, and even until the next morning.

- The beach ball is a passive-aggressive form of catch. And it is very popular.