Rave
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A rave (sometimes referred to as a rave party or simply a party) is an all-night dance event where DJs and other performers play rave music and other types of electronic dance music. The slang expression rave was originally used by people of Caribbean descent in London during the 1960s to describe a party.[1] In the late 1980s, the term began to be used to describe the rave subculture that grew out of the acid house movement.
'Raves' or 'Free-parties' are the sort of event that has been happening for millennia:- hap-hazard gatherings, often around a fire with rudimentary beat based music, invitations to which are usually received by word of mouth, and once the party has started anyone bringing a positive vibe is welcome. This is what makes free parties 'free' and totally different to commercial 'parties' where people can be turned away because they can't afford to get in or are wearing the wrong sort of footwear.
The availability of drugs, particularly ecstasy at modern free parties, has caused them to be the target of criticism from law enforcement officials and parents' groups.
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[edit] History
Mainstream raves, sometimes described by the backronym Radical Audio Visual Experience, began in the late 1980s as a product of, reaction to, and rebellion against trends in popular music, nightclub culture, and commercial radio.
In order to maintain distance and secrecy from the mainstream club scene, warehouses, rental halls, and outside locations most often serve as rave venues. Some police and government officials from several countries have presented laws that make raving illegal, in an effort to curtail rave parties. Such laws consequently forced regional electronic dance music events to move to formal venues, such as nightclubs and amphitheatres. Some venues and jurisdictions additionally prohibited certain types of rave fashion and paraphernalia - i.e. glowsticks.
Early raves were completely do-it-yourself; only a small number of people contributed to event production and promotion. Self-styled production and promotion companies have increasingly organized raves; the "companies" were usually unofficial or loosely defined. The illegal nature of these events and the need to play 'cat and mouse' with police forces have undoubtedly contributed to the 'underground' appeal of the events.
As law enforcement agencies increasingly began paying attention to raves, concealing a party's location became important to an event's success. To that end, event organizers sometimes either promoted events solely by word-of-mouth, or would only reveal the date and location of the event to subscribers of an electronic mailing list or via voicemail. Some even went so far as to provide a series of clues or map checkpoints that ultimately led to the location of the rave.
[edit] 1980's: The Beginning
What could arguably be called raves existed in the early 1980s in the Ecstasy-fueled club scene in clubs like NRG, in Houston, and in the drug-free, all-ages scene in Detroit at venues like The Music Institute[2]. However, it was not until the mid to late 1980s that a wave of psychedelic and other electronic dance music, most notably acid house and techno, emerged and caught on in the clubs, warehouses and free-parties around London and later Manchester. These early raves were called the Acid House Summers. They were mainstream events that attracted thousands of people (up to 25,000[2] instead of the 4,000 that came to earlier warehouse parties) to come, dance and take ecstasy.
Mainstream America, upon learning of the rave phenomenon, responded with hostility. Politicians spoke out against raves and began to fine anyone who held an illegal party as well as administer punishments of up to six months in prison. This, along with ecstasy becoming scarce, ended the early raves.
Police crackdowns on these often-illegal parties drove the scene into the countryside. The word "rave" somehow caught on in the UK to describe common semi-spontaneous weekend parties occurring at various locations outside the M25 Orbital motorway. (It was this that gave the band Orbital their name.)
The early rave scene also flourished underground in some Canadian and U.S. cities such as Montreal, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and as word of the budding scene spread, raves quickly caught on in other cities such as San Diego and New York City and in major urban centres across the European continent.
[edit] 1990's: United Kingdom
From the Acid House scene of the late 80's, the scene transformed from predominantly a London-based phenomenon to a UK-wide mainstream underground youth movement. Organizations such as Fantazia, Universe, Raindance & Amnesia House were by 1991/92 holding massive legal raves in fields and warehouses around the country. The height was achieved in 1992 with Fantazia party called One Step Beyond, which was an all-nighter attracting 25,000 people. Other notable events included Obsession and Universe's Tribal Gathering in 1993.
However, the scene was slowly changing, with local councils waking up to how to prevent organisations gaining licenses by massively increasing the fees, so the days of legal one-off parties were numbered. The scene was also beginning to fragment into many different styles of dance music making large parties more expensive to set up and more difficult to promote. The happy old skool style was replaced by the darker jungle (later renamed drum n bass) and the faster happy hardcore.
The illegal free party scene also reached its zenith for that time when, after a particularly large festival, when many individual sound systems such as Bedlam, Circus Warp, DIY, and Spiral Tribe set up near Castlemorton Common, in May 1992 the government acted. Under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 where the definition of music played at a rave was given as:
“ | "music" includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats. | †|
— Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994[3]
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Sections 63, 64 & 65 of the Act targeted electronic dance music played at raves. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act empowered police to stop a rave in the open air when a hundred or more people are attending, or where two or more are making preparations for a rave. Section 65 allows any uniformed constable who believes a person is on their way to a rave within a five-mile radius to stop them and direct them away from the area; noncompliant citizens may be subject to a maximum fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (£1 000). The Act was ostensibly introduced because of the noise and disruption caused by all night parties to nearby residents, and to protect the countryside. It has also been claimed that it was introduced to kill a popular youth movement that was taking many drinkers out of town centres drinking on taxable alcohol and into fields to take untaxed drugs and drink free water.
After 1993 the main outlet for raves in the UK were a number of licensed venues, amongst them Bowlers (Manchester), The Edge formerly the Eclipse (Coventry), The Sanctuary (Milton Keynes) and Club Kinetic.
Raves were also overshadowed in the press by the death of Leah Betts, a teenager who died after taking ecstasy; journalists emphasized the drug use, even though she actually died from drinking too much water, and that it happened at a party in her own home, not a rave.
[edit] 1990's: Europe
Rave culture was becoming part of a new youth movement. DJs and electronic music producers such as Westbam proclaimed the existence of a "raving society" and promoted electronic music as legitimate competition for rock and roll. Indeed, electronic dance music and rave subculture became mass movements. Raves had tens of thousands of attendees, youth magazines featured styling tips and television networks launched music magazines on house and techno music. The annual Love Parade festivals in Berlin attracted more than one million party goers between 1997 and 2000. In The Netherlands a new, faster (over 180 bpm) and harder form of techno develloped, called gabber or gabba. The commercial version of gabba, happy hardcore topped the music charts across Europe.
[edit] 1990's: Australia
Raves flourished in Australia where raves were generally called Dance Parties. In Melbourne, the underground dance style called the "Melbourne Shuffle" originated at these parties. Some early parties such as Every Picture Tells A Story were broadcast live on free-to-air television from the party's own TV station. The Melbourne raves tended to have a greater amount of artwork, video art, decor and performance as the underground arts community of Melbourne was heavily involved in producing the parties. Fashion was also a very important component. Many party goers were in the fashion industry, which is very large in Melbourne, and they designed and made their own 'party' clothes and accessories. The parties became a fashion show for the designers and created strong retail sales for their works. Often outstanding dancers were sponsored to wear designers ranges at parties.
The Melbourne underground rave community was very large with its own street press, radio stations, TV shows, clothing shops, bars, cafes, theater's, performance venues, record labels, clothing labels, and free street raves such as the Brunswick Street festival (pictured) which regularly drew crowds of 100,000 people. See free youtube videos of Melbourne Underground Raves OldSkool Raves
[edit] 1990's: South Africa
The first mega-rave in South Africa was held in a warehouse on Cape Town's foreshore. Dubbed the World Peace Party, it featured a cross-over crowd of Cape Flats rappers, fashionistas and clubbers dancing to a Rave and Progressive House. The first electronic South African Bands who performed live at the Raves were the Kraftreaktor and The Kiwi Experience.
The first large Johannesburg rave was held at an old cinema in Yeoville in early 1992. Amongst the first Johannesburg rave organisers in the early 90's were Fourth World Productions (responsible for the legendary 1993 nightclub 4th World) World's End Productions and Damn New Thing Productions.
[edit] 2000's: Worldwide
In the early 2000s illegal parties still existed, albeit on smaller scales, and the number of sanctioned events seemed to be on the rise. The few constants in the scene include amplified electronic dance music, a vibrant social network built on the ethos of the acronym PLUR, "Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect", percussive music and freeform dancing often accompanied by the use of "club drugs" such as ecstasy, methamphetamine, speed and ketamine, also known as "special K." However, increased cocaine usage, preponderance of adulterated ecstasy tablets and organized criminal activity has been detrimental to UK-based rave culture, although free parties are now on the rise again.
According to some long-time observers, rave music and its subculture began to stagnate by the end of the 1990s. The period of grassroots innovation and explosive growth and evolution was over; the flurry of passionate activity and the sense of international community were fading.
By the early 2000s, the terms "rave" and "raver" had fallen out of favor among many people in the electronic dance music community, particularly in Europe. Many Europeans returned to identifying themselves as "clubbers" rather than ravers. It became unfashionable among many electronic dance music aficionados to describe a party as a "rave," perhaps because the term had become overused and corrupted. Some communities preferred the term "festival," while others simply referred to "parties." True raves, such as "Mayday," continued to occur for a time in Central Europe, with less constrictive laws allowing raves to continue in some countries long after the death of rave in the United Kingdom. Moreover, traditional rave paraphernalia, such as facemasks, pacifiers, and glowsticks ceased to be popular. Underground sound systems started organising large free parties and called them teknivals.

Raves and ravers continued to be targeted by government authorities. For example, following a July 2005 violent raid by police on CzechTek, an annual teknival, the Czech Republic's Prime Minister said the festival's attendees were "no dancing children but dangerous people" and that many were "obsessed people with anarchist proclivities and international links," who "provoke massive violent demonstrations, fueled by alcohol and drugs, against the peaceful society." [4]
The Rave scene has recently been harking back to the old days of warehouse parties, with a surge in "old school" club nights, particularly in the Jungle music scene, with DJs and producers who had dropped out of the business playing sets of music from the founding days of their genre, and producing new records in that style. Clubs are increasingly going back to the grimy days of warehouses in terms of styling, rather than the interior designed venues of the late 90s. The music itself has seen a surge in popularity with students who were very young or not even born as yet when Rave first became popular. Some College radio stations play Rave music as well.
In the northeastern United States, during the mid-2000s, the popularity of Goa (or psy-trance) increased tremendously. This is due to the fact that acceptance was never questioned in the sub-rave culture of Goa, and that this culture represents their selves as a community not a scene. With the warehouse party scene, the trend is also restarting; cities such as San Francisco have seen a resurgence of warehouse parties since 2003, due in part to Burning Man theme camp fundraiser parties. This contrary belief in the early 2000's was that 2002 would mark the end of the rave (known as party scene at the time), and the scene was over. Raves still continue in hot spots around the U.S. even today, although they might be called "parties" to avoid the negative spin. Examples of this hot spot phenomenon are New Orleans, LA, and the west coast of the United States. The mid-late 2000's is being marked as the renaissance of the underground electronic culture.
In the UK, a whole new form of electronic music known as New Rave has developed, with dayglo and glowsticks becoming fashionable amongst the youth once more. However, the new electro-pop movement - which actually derives its name from New Wave combined with Rave - has been subject to serious criticism for being overhyped by the media.
[edit] US Rave culture
The upsurge in popularity of rave culture in the United States at a certain period in time often lends it characteristics common to a 'movement' or subculture. While it is speculated that raves have existed in the United States as long as in any other country, the sudden explosion of mainstream popularity in the late nineties led to more common approaches to defining rave culture as a youth movement. The popularity of Rave music within the mainstream started in early to mid 1990's with such artists as Rozalla, Praga Khan, and The Shamen among others. Because the movement and music both embrace and incorporate so many different elements, a common thread can be hard to find.
Some of the central tenets of the culture are said to be:
- Acceptance - to avoid judging or condemning other people's style of clothes, hair, makeup, costume, sexual orientation, musical preference, race, age, gender, class or income. This contrasts many other subcultures that build exclusivity versus other groups. On the other hand, many clubs in the United Kingdom and the United States refuse individuals from entering their premises based on what they are wearing.
- Openness - to avoid convincing anyone of the rightness or wrongness associated with most human activity outside the rave and instead seeking harmony.
- Positivity - to subscribe to the notion that if something makes someone happy without hurting someone else (loosely akin to Mill's Harm Principle), then that something is okay. Accordingly, fights or scuffles at a rave are rare.
While a consistent presence at many raves, this usually lacks a name. One given to these themes and a semi-philosophical tenet of rave culture is the acronym "PLUR", for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect focusing on the elements important to the culture. This terminology is found particularly irritating by a large number of clubgoers, many of whom have hope it will fade away and be replaced by better marketing terminology for positive thinking. As of yet, none has emerged. This particular 'philosophy' was also central to the early rave scene in the UK.
American ravers, following their early UK & European counterparts, have been compared to both the hippies of the 1960s and the new wavers of the 1980s, due to their interest in non-violence and music.
Technology is, by definition, central to electronic music, and technological innovation has influenced rave subculture in many ways. For example, since loud music made it difficult to converse at raves, virtual communities are extremely important in rave subculture. Also, access to various affordable computer technologies empowered amateurs to compose or manipulate electronic music.
In contrast to many other "youth cultures," older people are often active members of the U.S. scene and are well represented at events. Certain facets of dance music culture in the UK, Europe and globally are also welcoming to the older generation (especially the free party / squat party / gay scenes), however rave and club culture remains on the whole very much a youth-driven movement in terms of its core fanbase.
Although rave parties are commonly associated with illegal activities (e.g. drug use), it should be noted that raves themselves are legal gatherings. Although drug use tends to be pervasive at many raves, drug use isn't, strictly speaking, a necessary part of the rave experience. It is a misconception some still believe.
There is a common conception among some parts of the country, especially the North East, that raves were a 1990s fad, with the common quip "People still go to raves?" Additionally, there is the view that raves only happen in the midwest because there is nothing else to do. The popularity of Rave music and the culture of it continues to grow, especially in the Northeast and in places like Florida.
[edit] Dance
Popular dance styles include breakdancing, capoeira, popping and locking, glowsticking, liquid dancing and Poi
[edit] Glowsticking
Some ravers participate in one of two light-oriented dances, called glowsticking and glowstringing. These dances, however, are independent of the raving community, and often the stereotyped association may be resented. Glowsticks (or "light sticks") purportedly soothe the unfavorable side effects of ecstasy, such as muscle tension. Therefore at some rave places they are presented as "safety materials." The sale of glowsticks during rave parties has been presented as evidence of illegal drug use.[5] Glowsticks have been considered drug paraphernalia because they are used in giving someone on ecstasy a "lightshow." The recipient of the lightshow can sit, stand, or lie on the ground facing the show giver who moves the glow sticks away and towards the face of the recipient in various stylized movements. This lightshow is sometimes accompanied by a massage, a vibrator and/or by blowing mentholated vapours into the nose, mouth, and eyes of the recipient. This is intended to increase the effects of ecstasy.
Other types of lightshows include LED lights, flashlights and blinking strobe lights. LEDs come in various colors with different settings. For example, a slow light will produce a line of dots, while a strong light will produce an even line. There are many techniques used to make the lights "flow" with the music in order to "trip" the person who is receiving. The most basic lightshow move is the figure-eight followed by the circle. There are also combination methods where the lightshower holds a glowstick in each hand as well as LED lights.
Regardless, glowsticks and LEDs can be used at raves for interesting dance effects, because most raves (except some open air raves, e.g. technoparades) are held in dark or nearly dark rooms. Because rave parties are popular with people who wish to show off their dancing, glowsticks can be an ancillary material for creative freestyle dance.
[edit] Drug use
In the U.S., the mainstream media and law enforcement agencies have branded the subculture as a purely drug-centric culture similar to the hippies of the 1960s. As a result, ravers have been effectively run out of business in many areas (Media Awareness Project). Although they continue in major coastal cities like New York and LA, a few specific areas like greater Phoenix, and notably the Winter Music Conference in Florida, most other areas have been relegated to word-of-mouth-only underground parties and nightclub events. In some parts of Europe, raves are common and mainstream, although they are now more often known as "festivals," highlighting multiple acts over a several-day period, and often including non-dance music acts.
Groups that have addressed drug use at raves include the Electronic Music Defense and Education Fund (EMDEF), The Toronto Raver Info Project, and DanceSafe, all of which advocate harm reduction approaches. Paradoxically, drug safety literature (such as those distributed by DanceSafe) is used as evidence of condoned drug use (EMDEF press release). Other groups, such as Drug Free America Foundation, Inc., characterize raves as being rife with gang activity, rape, robbery, and drug-related deaths. [1]
In 2005, Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, advocated drug testing on highways as a countermeasure against drug use at raves [2].
[edit] Canadian Rave culture
Rave culture in Canada is very similar to that of the US. Recently, however, raves have become increasingly mainstream, especially in Montreal and in the province of Quebec, with large commercial raves attracting major international DJs and much media attention.
Raves in Canada are concentrated in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Certain raves, such as the Montreal Black and Blue even attract government funding from all levels of government; municipal, provincial and federal, as they are deemed to be cultural events. The Bal en Blanc is another event in Montreal that attracts a wide variety of attendees from a wide demographic spectrum. These events have often been hailed as the biggest parties in the world, attracting more than 16,000 at a time. They are often held in government-run facilities such as the Montreal Olympic Stadium and the Montreal Convention Centre. Drug use remains profuse in these events, yet given the enormous economic impact on the city, the police authorities exercise some leniency and only arrest those who are caught in possession of large quantities of drugs, usually in an attempt to sell them inside the venue at very high prices.
In Toronto and Vancouver, raves remain more underground and only events catering to the gay community attract more mainstream attention. Parties such as Prism in Toronto or Rapture in Vancouver are circuit events that could be classified as raves, but are, however, primarily gay.
All three cities have a burgeoning underground rave culture with smaller, less commercial events held in 'underground' venues, attracting the usual crowds associated with the rave subculture, such as 'new wavers,' 'hippies,' etc.
[edit] Sydney Rave culture
The event that is generally regarded as the earliest formation of the dance party scene in Sydney is the Sleaze Ball, which occurs as part of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras [Brookman, 1998:27]. This early incarnation of rave culture can be seen as an example of a subordinated group negotiating its position in terms of the hegemony of dominant society as Hebdige described it. Their subordination and continual clashes with the police contributed to a powerful, pent-up frustration which round its releases in this event [Ott & Herman, 2003: 250]. The rhetoric of acceptance and unity followed through into the inner city warehouse based rave culture. These environments were accepting of “polymorphous sexuality†[Brookman, 1998:28], celebrated difference and moved the emphasis away from dance as a form of pick-up to an individual form of creative expression.
Older ravers often regard 1992 as the year that Sydney rave scene exploded. It was considered underground by its adherents. But by the end of 1993 UK promoters Fantazia began staging large events there for 4000+ people. An editor of 3D World magazine wrote in 1998
- One of the fun parts of the early parties...was that they were doing something underground...their friends didn’t know about it, their parents were clueless and hey the governing bodies didn’t know what was going on.
The group was thus integrated through a feeling that each member was involved in something new and relatively secret. The philosophy of PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity & Respect) which originated in the Acid House movement in Britain spread through the scene in Sydney and played an important role in producing an environment of tolerance and acceptance at raves. Brookman describes the “heterogeneous rhythm [of techno music] uniting dancers regardless of their race, class, age, gender or sexuality†[1998:25]. Divisions within the scene first rose around and after Christmas 1993, when a fatal car accident involving ravers returning from Happy Valley 2 received substantial media attention [Brookman, 1993:30]. This was the first time the media introduced the word rave into dominant society. From a post-structural perspective, this represented the first stage of incorporation. This had a dual impact on the scene: on one hand it grew due to increased exposure, on the other it shrunk down to around 1000 of the ‘original’ ravers who continued to attend parties. This is evidence of the diffusion process occurring. DJ Jim Jams noted that in 1994 there appeared a clearer distinction between “the core of the rave scene†and people who “didn’t really know anything about it†[per comm., 2003]. This distinction became even more pronounced following the highly publicised death of Anna Wood in 1995.
- When Anna died and the media made such a story of it, the rave scene was changed unbelievably within a few months. What the general public didn’t realise is [that] it was probably the biggest advertisement the rave scene had ever had. Before Anna’s death maybe 20% of all the youth in Sydney knew what a rave was. After her death, about 80% knew. [DJ Daniel Midian]
A distinction emerged between these two groups in terms of musical taste (‘old skool’ vs ‘new skool’), attitudes towards PLUR and expression of group identification (through clothes and other accessories).
The newer ravers, therefore become the ‘core’ of the scene. This cycle has repeated itself a number of times, but can be generalised (somewhat arbitrarily) into 3 waves[citation needed] since the inception of raving in Sydney to the current day. For ease of discussion, these 3 waves can be labelled ‘Old Skool Ravers’, ‘New Skool Ravers’ and ‘Candy Ravers’ respectively. These 3 waves can be differentiated from each other in terms of their values, style and consumption. Their patterns of consumption are of most importance to this discussion and so have been briefly outlined here. ‘Old Skool Ravers’ placed little emphasis on appearance - the standard uniform was “shorts, singlets and sneakers†a number of older ravers agreed and there was little evidence of commodification. The ‘New Skool Ravers’ brought with them a code of authenticity and credibility, in terms of style, attitude and musical tastes. A number of ravers that clearly identified themselves as part of this second wave, indicated that they would spend up to $100 on clothes for raves. Common brands cited[citation needed] were Rushn, NRG, Mooks, Diesel, Lee, and Levi. These were also the first ravers to begin wearing, in substantial numbers t-shirts displaying sabotaged logos. Therefore, for this group at least, certain brands and labels carry a message of group identification.
Candy ravers usually dress up in wild clothes consisting of bright colours, fluffy leg warmers for the girls and ‘phat’ (excessively flared) pants for the guys; they litter themselves with candy bracelets and necklace, are notorious for having a dummy hanging round their neck to suck on when their jaw starts clenching (a side-effect from Ecstasy) and carry around stuffed toys and other kiddy paraphernalia. They are also the major users of glow sticks and are regarded as having started the Chupa Chup lollipop phenomenon. Chupa Chups, offer a salient means of identification for this group. Some 71%[citation needed] of ravers indicated that they sometimes or always purchase chupa chups for raves. These two items represent what Hebdige refers to as the magical appropriation of “humble objects†[in Brookman, 1998:51] that express resistance in a form of code, and act to reinforce the ‘subordinate’ status of the group. There is however a practical aspect to the use of Chupa Chups at raves which is to prevent the grinding of the teeth (a side effect of ecstasy use).
[edit] Venues
Driven by a need to be away from residential areas due to noise pollution complaints of residents, the Australian rave scene held their events in industrial areas.
For the Sydney rave scene the industrial areas of the Western suburbs were quite common in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Following the 2000 Sydney Olympics the Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush proved a popular venue as it had ample large warehouse space available and the advantage of no close by residential areas. The "superdome" at Olympic Park has hosted a number of events due to the large capacity. Events at these venues often have ample room for amusement rides, open air "chill out" areas and food stalls. Several amusement parks have hosted dance party events (Wonderland Sydney and Luna Park Sydney).
In Victoria, the dockland areas of Melbourne hosted numerous raves in the 90s. Bushland areas out side of Melbourne provided doof venues, notably Mt Disappointment for Earthcore and Kryal Castle just outside of ballarat.
The Newcastle Rave scene made use of unused warehouses in the Newcastle CBD and at licenced entertainment venues throughout the late 90s and early 2000s. Events such as "Vital beats" and underage dance parties were held in these venues.
[edit] Dance
Australian Hardcore rave parties the dance style is rather energetic with scissor like leg movement dancing. Glowsticking is quite common, as is a variation involving handheld LEDs. Another style which originated in Melbourne is the Melbourne Shuffle.
[edit] Associated Cultures
The Australian rave scene has a cousin in the Doof party scene. Although the rave scene attracts a younger, city-based crowd the Doof party events are a more "hippy" or alternative crowd. Warehouse parties in Sydney also shared the common theme of electronic music, although of a more house music style than the hardcore or trance found at Australian raves.
[edit] Response to drug criticism
Regardless on where the raves scene is at, those who participate in rave parties will constantly be subject to criticism on MDMA use. However many people in the raves scene counter such criticism and point toward the acceptability of alcohol in other dance clubs, which produces around 100,000 deaths per year. [3] [4]. MDMA on the other hand produces fewer than 100 deaths per year, and fewer than 10 of these deaths have MDMA alone in the body. This means that alcohol produces around 10,000% more deaths than MDMA in the US alone. This has led many to believe that the demonization and illegality of MDMA are more political in nature.
[edit] See also
- Free party for the modern, illegal version of raves
- Rave music for music and music styles at raves
- Acid house party - forerunner of raves typically staged in US and UK warehouses around 1987-89
- RAVE Act, an American law targeting raves
- Rave against the occupation - political raves in Israel
- Melbourne Shuffle a rave dance style culture that has evolved in Melbourne, Australia over the past 15 years
- Doof
- Zippies
- Rave Board Game - 1991 board game based on the UK Rave scene
- Category:Electronic music festivals
- Technoshamanism - a technique employed by some ravers, often utilizing electronic music and psychoactive drugs
- Nu Rave - The all new up and coming scene.
[edit] References
- ^ Ironically, the term was even used in "Million Volt Light and Sound Rave," the name of an electronic music performance event held on 28 January 1967 at London's Chalk Farm roundhouse. The event featured Unit Delta Plus and a sound collage by Paul McCartney, but no dancing. Reference: Unit Delta Plus. delia-derbyshire.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
- ^ a b Timeline and numbers Reynolds, Simon (1998). Energy Flash. Picador. ISBN 0-330-35056-0.
- ^ Public Order: Collective Trespass or Nuisance on Land - Powers in relation to raves. Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Her Majesty's Stationery Office (1994). Retrieved on 2006-01-17.
- ^ "Czech PM defends rave crackdown", BBC, 2005-08-02.
- ^ Fight For Your Right to Wave Glow Sticks: ACLU Wins Victory in New Orleans Rave Case. Drug War Facts (2001-08-31). Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
- Additional references
- Matthew Collin. Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy and Acid House. London: 1997 : Serpent's Tail -- How rave dances began in Manchester, England in the Summer of 1988 (the "Summer of Love") and the aftermath. ISBN 1-85242-604-7
- Simon Reynolds. Generation Ecstasy: Into the world of techno and rave culture. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1998. ISBN 0-316-74111-6
- Brian L. Ott and Bill D. Herman. Excerpt from
Mixed Messages: Resistance and Reappropriation in Rave Culture. 2003. [5]
[edit] Films
Including some elements or descriptions of Rave culture.
- Technobabble (1996) - 1996 documentary, Technobabble follows Factory Visuals and DJ Chang from an enormous rave in Atlanta to the best house party of the year in Orlando. During their travels we are introduced to many unique characters that are getting ready to attend one crazy party.
- Party Monster (1998) - 1998 documentary on Michael Alig, a Club Kid party organizer whose life was sent spiraling down when he bragged on television about killing his drug dealer and roommate
- Better Living Through Circuitry (1999) - a 1999 documentary about Electronic music and Dance culture.
- Human Traffic (1999) - a fictional UK story focusing mostly on drug and club culture, but containing some elements related to Raves.
- Groove (2000) - Fictional drama about an outlaw rave in San Francisco, California and containing many standard elements of raves including multiple DJs over the course of a night, candy kids, a promoter Chris Robertson and a headliner DJ John Digweed.
- A Midsummer Night's Rave (2002) - A Rave movie in the jungle.
- 24 Hour Party People (2002) - a semi-biographical comedy/history of the rise of rave / DJ events in the UK through the eyes of one record label, Factory Records, to which Joy Division was signed; Joy Division later became rave music staple New Order.
- Stark Raving Mad (2002) - Fictional straight-to-DVD film about a heist pulled during a rave.
- Party Monster (2003) - Fictionalized story of Michael Alig.
- It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004) - a 2004 fictional biopic independent film about Frankie Wilde (Paul Kaye), a DJ who goes completely deaf. The title is Cockney rhyming slang for "it's all gone wrong". Sometimes called rave's version of This Is Spinal Tap.
- One Perfect Day (2004) - Australian fictional movie that focuses on the more sleazy side of the rave/club scene, specifically drugs and exploitation, but also about finding an escape and voice through music
- RISE: The Story Of Rave Outlaw Disco Donnie (2004) a documentary about the State Palace Theatre in New Orleans, LA, and Disco Donnie, the first person indicted under the U.S. government’s revived "Crack House Law".
- Melbourne Shuffler (2005) - Documentary about Melbourne's rave culture and dance style known as the Melbourne Shuffle
- Welcome to Wonderland (2006) - Documentary about Australia's outdoor bush rave culture.
- Go - 1999 film directed by Doug Liman, with three intertwining plots that happen to involve one drug deal.
- Rave an Inside Look -(2005)A Film by No Name Productions, Executive Producer, Candice Sperling. See how a Rave is creeated, who goes to a Rave, what occurs. A true behind the scenes look into the life of Ravers, Promoters and the business of it all. Live interviews, music and more. documentary about Electronic music and Dance culture. I true work of art. http://www.liverave.com
[edit] External links
- Rave FAQ from 1995.
- Rave history in the UK
- Regional community links at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)Fims Rave an Inside Look - see how a Rave is creeated, who goes, what occurs. A true behind the scenes look into the life of Ravers, Promoters and the business of it all. Live interviews, music and more. I true work of art. http://www.liverave.com
USS:Rave