Imagine an environment where equality is found on the dance floor. Emotions are in a constant state of ecstasy. Nourishment takes form in love. The addiction of choice is technology. The religion of choice is music. And society is Utopian, though it’s clear it will never be. The music will never stop. The heartbeat will never fade. The party will never end. – A Raver’s Manifesto (Levy 2004)
The all-night dance party, commonly known as a rave, thrives through this doctrine of life. Raves have introduced a contemporary perspective on music, social equality, and drug use for those brave enough to explore a new culture of live music. Fostered in the beats of techno and electronica genres of music, raves are typified by dark, crowded spaces, a perfect environment for heavy drug activity, combined with large, energetic crowds. The rave culture is facilitated by the intersection of the social sphere of interconnectedness, a common liking towards music, and the drug ecstasy. The “commodification” of rave culture is demonstrated in the normalization of attitudes towards ecstasy and the overall modernization of concerts as platforms for drug abuse. As a music enthusiast myself, I was curious to this phenomena beneath the facade of the perceived “sketchy” scene of raves and how closely it related to the reality of actuallyattending them.
In hopes to ultimately find a rhyme to the reason of attending raves, I decided to research the rave phenomena, targeting college student’s personal accounts and experience at raves. While the vast culture of raves resides globally, the ubiquitous presence of raves in Los Angeles provides
opportunities and options for raves that college students can choose from. USC, located next to notorious venues such as “The Shrine” and “Los Angeles Coliseum” which host raves throughout the year, presents a convenient pool of attendees from which to draw my research from. What I wanted to explore in my research is the missing link: what makes drugs synonymous with the perceptions of raves? Diving into the culture and environment of raves and those who attend, whether under the influence of drugs or not, I want to find out how drugs and their availability affect the overall participation and human social interaction at raves. Culminating in six phone interviews and my personal attendance at a rave, I was able to gain significant insight to the unknown portal of rave culture.
While the obvious connection between drugs and raves resonated throughout each interview, the specific findings in each individual’s responses led me to a new understanding of the rave phenomena. To begin, all seven participants have experimented with drugs, the most prominent being marijuana. This offered a general premise that all were open-minded to the use of drugs in a social setting. Furthermore, all but one participant enjoyed listening to techno music outside of the rave environment. This data supported my overall understanding of motives behind attending raves.
My overall findings included mixed responses under one central theme; music. While five of the six have gone to raves under the influence of ecstasy, not one person portrayed a negative view to individuals (like myself) who chose to forgo taking drugs while at a rave. One participant Jay justified that, “You really can’t get to those ‘higher channels’ of thinking without taking drugs…it’s a completely different experience,” including heightened social interaction and emotional euphoria he experienced while on ecstasy. While the unknown ‘channels of thinking’ remain a mystery to me, I found the overall enjoyment of a rave does not have to coincide with drugs. The pure desire to connect to music and be submersed in an environment that accepts every aspect of life does not have to be fueled by drugs. While the effects of ecstasy may heighten one’s sensitivity and emotions, the central factor is the music. If people are there for celebrating an artist and appreciating their contribution to the music world, drugs become secondary.
What I did not expect to discover in my research was an unforeseen sense of camaraderie between ravers. Crowds of thousands cultivate a feeling of togetherness and unity that creates a celebrated, collective society. Believing in “The Massive” is the existing philosophy of ravers in which music professes an intimate crowd as the single element that binds people together. The feeling of this “togetherness,” while unanimously found by each participant to be mainly drug-induced, may however, contain elements that run deeper than ecstasy. Being a participant of the whole does not separate those on drugs and those who are not, but rather encompasses the crowd as one. “The Massive,” as the intimacy and openness symbolized through a crowd’s social interaction of dancing and communication may be intensified on ecstasy, but can be felt by everyone.
Jay told me a compelling story about one of his most moving experiences at a rave. While he was in the bathroom at a rave called Monster Massive, he looked over and asked a man next to him, “Having a good time?” The man stared at him, pointed to his ear, and shook his head in confusion; Jay realized that the man next to him was deaf. Jay tried using body language by beating on his chest, and the man smiled and gave him a “thumbs up”. The man walked away, and Jay noticed other men wearing identical necklaces with “Vibes” written on them following the man into the crowd. Representing the power that resonates through musical beats, “vibes” symbolizes a feeling that can’t be heard but felt through the energy of the crowd.
Jay’s story solidifies what I found through my personal experiences and interviews to be the most important characteristic of a rave: a place where every individual is equally respected, appreciated, and counted for. There is no separation between crowd members when describing raves because there are no social labels existing at raves. Exemplified in the widely used acronym “PLUR” standing for “Peace Love Unity Respect”, ravers celebrate the different intersecting lives that unify together at one event. The outward acceptance of an individual’s race, gender, choices, abilities, and preferences is the most powerful beat behind a rave’s music. Utilizing music as the translator of social communication builds a sense of belonging and intimacy that cannot be found anywhere else.
For some, the drug culture makes the rave experience. But it’s clear the dominating aspect needed at a rave is an open mind, an open awareness to the surrounding environment, and an appreciation for the music. While those who have never attended raves typically associate them with drugs, once individuals experience a rave, they realize music can be celebrated without drugs and with the desire to become part of a social culture that never fades.
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