There's no doubt that the Vancouver Art Gallery's FUSE parties have spanned a massive gap in the city's cultural night life. It fills in the vacuum between nightclubs for the horny and art gallery openings for the elite.

Unfortunately, that's also its weakness.

Although previous FUSE parties were a little more contained, momentum has swelled and word has gotten out.

I thought that the last all-night FUSE party was a real blast.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for the one on Friday night (June 27).

In the same way that rave parties changed in the '90s once it shifted from a dedicated community to wide general access, the FUSE parties have also changed in the type of audience it attracts.

One of the guys I went with, Rodrigo from Brazil, said that the type of people that were there were not what he expected at all. He felt that it was such a diverse and general audience, rather than the art crowd.

While on the one hand, it indicates that there is a huge hunger for something different and cultural in this city, it was clear there were many there who don't appreciate art but were there simply because it was a social event.

There were gaggles of girls who looked like they just came out of Pacific Centre Mall wearing their purchases and scrunched their faces up at the "like totally weird" art on the walls or sighed with irritation at the glacially-paced performance art.

There was a hulking guy yelling on his cell phone saying "I though this was going to be a fucking rave! I thought this was going to be a fucking rave!"

And as my friend Jason said, guys shouldn't show up to an event at the VAG in tank tops.

There were people who ignored the signs that said "please do not touch" and stood leaning against the large sculptural art works, hidden from the view of the ineffective gallery guards.

What underscored the schism between the two opposites clashing that night were the exhibitions on the first and the other floors.

Krazy!, an exhibition about comics, video games, and animé, was on the first floor, and felt like you were walking through a-ha's "Take On Me" video.

The other floors featured high-brow, esoteric works that you'd expect from an art gallery. On the second floor was Rebecca Belmore's work and Zhang Huan's on the third.

A saving grace was the 12_Hour Comic Draw, which featured local comic artists working on a communal comic piece in 12 hours. Attendees could also participate in creating works as well.

There was creative energy burning in that room (which had previously been the site of an overcrowded bar at the last all-night FUSE), which rivalled the social energy outside.

While there were numerous events staged at various times throughout the building, we didn't bother trying to attend any of them because it was too confusing trying to find them. It was hard enough just pushing through the crowds.

My friends went into the room where July Fourth Toilet was performing its eight-hour show, but they quickly came out as they said it was boring, crowded, and sweltering in the room.

While it was a great idea to organize something like this, the size and type of crowd that attended made me long for smaller and more devoted art parties.

While many people were having a bit too much fun, particularly those dancing to the '80s medley (including "Footloose") in the stairwell, I wished I could have enjoyed it too.