Raver
How do they dress?
Now adays clothing from brands like UFO, ghast, caffine, beWild, kikwear, and illig seem to be popular. Often people make their own pants out of bright or child-like materials. These pants are often extremely baggy and seem to be refered to as "phat pants". People often have face masks, pacifiers,glowing jewelry and glow sticks. You'll see a lot of t-shirts with cartoon characters on them. They often wear a ridiculous amount of bracelets made out of colorful beads that they call "kandi". Its all quite cute. Different types of ravers dress differently. For more info on different types of ravers scroll down to that section.What is a rave?
& the history of Raves
In the late 1980s, the term Rave began to be used to describe the subculture that grew out of the acid house movement that began in Chicago and New York and flourished in the United States and United Kingdom club scene. Mainstream raves, sometimes described by the acronym 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 an effort to maintain distance and secrecy from the mainstream club scene (or perhaps for lack of affordable, receptive venues), warehouses, rental halls, and outside locations most often served as raves' venues. In an effort to control and curtail rave parties, some police and governmental bodies effectively outlawed raves in some areas. 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. 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. Some of the more well-known rave promotion companies have included Brotherhood of Boom, Insomniac, Mushgroove, Freebass Society, and Pure. The companies promote their events by creating and distributing fliers and online bulletins. 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. 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[1]. 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 instead of the 4,000 that came to earlier warehouse parties) to come, dance and take ecstasy. The noise and disturbance of thousands of people appearing unannounced at rural locations caused outrage in the national media. Politicians spoke out against raves and increased the fine for holding an illegal party to £20,000 and 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 to describe these 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, 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.In several books about the evolution of the rave scene, Genesis P-Orridge of Psychic TV is often credited as being one of the earliest pioneers of the rave scene. Psychic TV released several early acid house albums, most notably Jack the Tab. The Rave subculture died down dramatically in the late 90s.
blah,blah,80s,blah. But What are raves like now?
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 as a basis for drug use, and an ambivalent attitude toward "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. Raves and ravers continued to be vilified by government authorities. For example, following a July 2005 violent raid by police on CzechTek, an annual techno music festival, 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." As with any trend that runs on for more than a decade, 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 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 College and even High School 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. 2006 is being marked as the renaissance of the underground electronic culture.
Are raves about more than just doing drugs and partying?
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.
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.
Raves became all about Togetherness. The acronym "PLUR" Became very popular in Rave culture. It stood for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect which were elements important to the culture. This is 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. 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.
Tell me moooooore
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. With the rise of shootings and fights from Rock and especially Rap music nightclubs, people feel the need for an safer alternative nightlife experience.
How do people dance at raves?
Well, people dance differently. Some ravers participate in a light-oriented dance called glowsticking, and a similar dance called glowstringing, lightshowing or poi (that is, fire-spinning, but with glowsticks instead of fiery rope and lamps). These dances, however, are independent of the raving community, and often the stereotyped association may be resented. Glowsticks (or "light sticks") in the dark stimulate the pupils, and it is claimed that they relieve the unfavorable side effects of ecstasy, such as muscle tension. Therefore at some rave places they are presented as "safety materials." In some cases, the sale of glowsticks during rave parties has been presented as evidence of illegal drug use. 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 lay 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. 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.
Glowsticking is simply defined as the art of dancing with glowsticks or other glowstick-like instruments that share the same kind of qualities: durable, consistency in light, safe to toss around, and often made up of a soft and pliant plastic.
Glowstringing is defined by a few factors: the use of glowsticks on a string, the swinging motion, and an equally large growing category of moves and concepts that are common to glowstringing, including but not limited to: wrapping and elaborate string manipulations common with yo-yoing and martial arts (as well as other disciplines). Glowstringing, much similar to freehand glowsticking, typically borrows from other disciplines, with some moves originating from poi. This genre has even on occasion borrowed freehand concepts, such as the aspect of mimicking traces (and vice-versa).
Liquid dancing (or liquiding) is a form of gestural, interpretive dance that sometimes involves pantomime. The term invokes the word liquid to describe the fluid-like motion of the dancer's body and appendages. It is primarily the dancer's arms and hands which are the focus, though more advanced dancers work in a full range of body movements. Liquid dancing has many moves in common with popping, born out of 80s b-boy and funk style dance movements.
For more info on glowsticking including how-tos check out http://www.glowsticking.com/. if you'd like to see some videos of my friends and i raving check out my youtube ;) http://youtube.com/profile?user=Menocidekunt
Types of Ravers
The following are loosely defined stereotypes generated by the U.S. rave community. They are generalized, inconclusive, and are not necessarily complete or current.* Club Kids - the self proclaimed "original" ravers and nightlife circuit attenders, predominantly a major urban center (New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, etc.) culture type. Most club kids came from the early gay and house music scenes, many are transgender or crossdress. The most famous examples of "club kids" would likely be Michael Alig, the convicted murderer and subject of the 2003 movie Party Monster, or RuPaul, arguably the world's most famous drag queen.
* Candy raver, Candykid or Kandikid - often wears brightly colored and child-like fashions such as day-glo wide-leg pants (aka phat pants), black light-reactive or glow-in-the-dark bracelets/necklaces, fur pets and t-shirts featuring cartoon characters. Candy ravers or candykids wear homemade bracelets and necklaces made of plastic, glass, or felt beads or candy. They are often found exchanging or giving out small gifts. These small gifts will usually be hugs, toys, glowsticks, CDs, necklaces, bracelets, and/or candy.
* Junglist - refers to a sub-culture of the rave scene defined by drum and bass and jungle music. Many Junglists detest mainstream rave music and prefer darker and deeper vibes. Many junglists differentiate themselves from 'ravers' owing to the public/mass media connotations of the word. Many junglists dress in a more militant or urban fashion: many wear either hip hop influenced clothing or camouflage / military influenced clothing. Junglists are generally seen as more jaded, angry, and aggressive than other ravers but that’s not always the case. This term died out in the UK circa 1996, and its continued use amongst certain Americans generates a degree of amusement amongst the British contingent. In addition, UK fans of drum and bass / jungle are only to happy to term events 'raves' and describe themselves as, if not 'ravers', then most certainly 'going raving', 'going to a rave'. Camouflage is definitely a fashion 'no-no' in UK drum and bass clubs / raves, as is any military clothing.
* Dark raver or Graver - the raving equivalent of a goth. Gravers tend to wear darker clothing and makeup and frequent events called dark raves. Like Junglists they tend to enjoy darker music and atmosphere. There is some overlap between the dark rave scene and the industrial and EBM scene. "Traditional" goths occasionally hold distaste for gravers, as they prefer dark electronic music, or "electrosludge" as detractors have termed it, over the more traditional gothic rock. Some go as far to say that bands popular with gravers are causing decay in the goth subculture by flooding scenes with more easily produced music.
* Cyber Raver - Sometimes considered a hacker, but in the rave scene they are somewhat of a mix of a candy kid and a graver. They will often wear the baggy pants with straps and accessories common to the graver, but they choose the tight or loose fitting colorful shirts of the candy kids. Unlike most gravers they do not think themselves too good to dance, but in contrast they indulge in the feeling of the music and dance to their heart's content. They generally wear some "candy" and/or bead-based jewelry, but not an abundance noteworthy of the candy kids. They tend to choose colors more somber than the candy kids, but brighter and more lively than the gravers do. Some carry a stuffed toy and other peripherals that would mark the candy kids, but also wear the spikes and straps common of gravers. Some cyber kids, like candy kids, give hugs/candy/toys/etc. to people for no apparent reason. UV-reactant hair extensions, often made of plastic, rubber and/or yarn, are very common to both female and male cybers.
* E-tard A primarily pejorative or derogatory term used to refer to ravers under the obvious or apparent influence of illegal drugs, most commonly ecstasy, but may also apply to people affected by acid, 5-Meo-DIPT and/or GHB. The term is actually a play on the word "retard," where the "E" (short name for ecstasy in many regions) replaces the "re." E-tards usually dress in the style of Candy Kids and can often be seen sucking a pacifier to calm the teeth-grinding side effect of ecstasy use. They may also prefer to settle far away from the music in calmer and more soothing areas known as "roll piles" (also known as "cuddle puddles," or "chill rooms") while under the effect of the drugs.
* Goaheads or psytrancers, a subculture that grew out of raves that is centered around parties which primarily play Goa trance (outdoor parties are usually preferred among Goaheads). These kind of ravers are generally more "hippy"-like in dress and philosophy, and sometimes prefer to distance themselves from the "rave" scene, avoiding the term "rave" when referencing their parties and culture, even though there is some crossover in philosophy, music, and origins of the subculture. The psytrance scene tends to be especially cosmopolitan, with many major multi-day festivals being located in foreign countries with no local psy-trance scene (e.g. India, specifically Goa, the namesake of the genre, even though very few locals have an interest in the music which bears the name of their province) and even when there is a local interest in the scene there tends to be a disproportionately international crowd. This scene is larger than other rave sub-scenes in some countries such as Israel, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Scandinavian countries, although there are smaller scenes in many other countries.
info from wikipedia, urban dictionary & my head.
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