The Rave scene in the 90’s will never be replicated. It was a magical utopia of music, lights and drugs. The music was much different from the music I was used to. The sound of pulsating techno music and beats that you could move to felt liberating. Everyone that went to these parties was friendly and preached about “PLUR”, peace, love, unity and respect. It was an underground culture that accepted everyone and allowed you to be as different as you wanted to be. Fiona and I started going to this small club in Fort Lauderdale called Club Soda. This place is became my playground and is where my designer drug experiences started. Fiona and I decided to take acid there one night. It was our first time. We bought what we’re called gel tabs in the girls bathroom. When the drug started to take effect I remember us looking at the things around us and just laughing. Everything became that much more intense, the strobe lights, the music and even people. We had so much fun I remember us having laughing fits. Even when we left for the night we decided to get taco bell. As we went through the drive through we couldn’t even order we were laughing so hard.
It wasn’t long after this that I tried Ecstasy. I was scared at first but once it hit me it was like I was seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses. I never felt so much love and optimism in my life. I could connect with anyone and anyone could connect with me, as if we were one. I made friends every night on and off the dance floor. I never felt unity like this before or after. I wrote a paper in high school about it that would better describe my experiences.
The flashing lights shooting from the ceilings of the club mesmerized my eyes. My ears were pounding with the sound of the drum-n-bass from the speakers. My chest was throbbing with adrenaline that was never so intense before. I saw people dancing so soulfully on the dance floor. They were hugging and talking to each other, like they had so much love for one another. Kids were packed next to the speakers trying to sit up against them and feel the thumping bass pulsate through their bodies. I wanted to feel that same pulsating feeling the way they did.
My friend Fiona, who came with me, looked at me, and I knew we were feeling the same thing. Instantaneously we made our way to the dance floor and let our minds and souls be set free. Everyone dancing seemed so uninhibited, like they were part of the music pumping into the air. I started to move my body, and I felt as if the music had taken over me and I was a slave to it. I never felt so alive, boundless and careless of what was going on in the world around me. I knew from this moment on that this was my happiness.
Still to this day I feel the same feelings that I possessed that night. What I did experience was my first rave, the first night of a new way of life. I know when people hear the word “rave” they think of a bunch of high school kids packed into a crowded warehouse on drugs with pacifiers in their mouths. It’s a lot more than that to me. The rave scene is a culture in its own. The people that it consists of are just like people of any other culture, unique and different. We all have our own beliefs, religions, morals and values. The only thing we share is the dream to bring together everyone to unite for a better world with the sound of music.
I know everyone has his or her own opinion about the rave culture, and most of it’s bad. The scene gets its bad name mostly from the drugs that are very lavishly sold and used at raves. Yes, drugs are a part of the culture, but not everyone is there for that reason. Most people who believe in the scene feel the same way I do, but of course there are going to be people out there that come to these raves and make us look bad.
Drugs are really the only negative aspect of the subculture. It’s not even that they are negative; I feel that it is the mentality of the people that use them. Some people take the drugs there to feel as if they are one with themselves and everyone else there. Others just take them there because it the only place where they can go to feel free to take them, where they won’t get caught and nobody really minds either, since it’s accepted. I guess there shouldn’t be any right or wrong reason to take drugs but the reason for taking them for personal growth is more a part of the real culture, than taking them for self-mutilation.
Another part of the scene is the people. When I went to my first rave, I made so many new friends in a matter of five hours. Usually people that you meet at raves are the nicest people that you have ever met in your life. I think the reason for this is because, that is the only place they can go to, to get away from all the troubles in their lives and just feel like themselves.
Another reason I believe this to be true is because it is the only place that everyone can be accepted with no questions asked. Inclusion is central to the rave scene. Unlike stereotypical high school cliques that group kids of similar grade point averages and socioeconomic status, this group includes all kids affluent and poor. You usually can’t find that stability at a Marilyn Manson concert.
That brings me to one of the most important parts of the rave subculture, the music. The music in general is called ‘techno” but has as many different sounds as any other music on the billboards today. The variations of the music are based on how fast, slow, instrumental, how it is ‘mixed”, and if there is anyone singing in it. The names of the different types are jungle ambient, trance, acid rock and house. Instead of everyone crowding a stage of rock stars at a concert, everyone spreads out around a stage with a “DJ” ‘on turntables. At a rave, the DJ isn’t a superstar, he just like everyone else. The value of the music is essential. If there were no music, what would bring us together?
Where the value for this music came from the people. The people of this culture, like any other culture, wanted to bring everyone together with a different rhythm and beat. Music starts where words end. People can better express themselves with music. The people of this culture decided that they would better express themselves with this music. They felt that it was an expression in some way.
Because of all this, I think I got so swept away with the ambiance of peace and acceptance. Before I started going to raves, I did feel accepted, to a certain degree, but I never saw one place that had so many different kinds of people. It’s like a bunch of different cultures melted and sculpted into one big one. I’ve met people who were from Latin, Italian, Canadian, European, catholic, Jewish, Wicca, and other descents I’ve never even heard of.
The value of escape from the real world is essential in the rave underworld. At one point in time someone must have gotten tired of feeling like they weren’t accepted and not living up to the standard of being “cool”. From there a bunch of people realized that they felt the same way and decided to do something about it. They wanted to escape from the ignorance and discrimination of society. They created an environment that included everyone and brought people together with the same idea. That same idea is, P.L.U.R, Peace, love, unity and respect. In this atmosphere, there will be a sense of peace and understanding for those that didn’t feel understood. There would be a place that everyone could go where they felt loved. There would be a place that everyone was united and one with each other. There was a place that everyone deserved the same respect as everyone else.
Soon after that I’m sure raves began to catch on and develop into a bigger part of society and become a part of it. Not only in America do we feel this way, but all over the world as well. In every city in the world you can find ravers, with the same attitudes and desires. They have the desire to feel a part of something. Why and when this unique desire came about is unsure, but it’s here, and we have to fulfill it. My experience with this concept is simple. I wanted to go somewhere that made me feel a part of the atmosphere, somewhere I could escape my mom and my school work. I wanted to go somewhere I could just be me and not have to worry about anything.
To sum up everything l have said, I can only find that on a flyer that someone gave to me at a rave once. It explains how I feel about the culture and what I feel that I have gotten out of it. It must sound kind of silly, but there is a lot of meaning and purpose in the rave subculture, and this is a summary of the meaningfulness.
“We have locked into the energy of our universe. We have found the power and the vibe. We dance on this vibe and our dance spreads unity, happiness, and peace. Now that we behold the ultimate understanding, we need to strive to spread the energy until it encompasses our universe. Strive for utopia, open the closed minds, and spread the love. If we are united, we can utilize the energy to reach our goals, welcome new people, give them the vibe, spread the energy to them, for it is not ours alone. Reach out to your world, share your understanding and together we will dance into a new realm of happiness.”
Misguided Mommy 