Have any of you been to a rave?

A scene I daydream - where a group of kids enter an outside rave at night, set on an island park like this.◊ Since I have only been to one of those (when I was young), I'm wondering what to typically expect at such an event? The two inspirations I have are this (atmosphere) and this (music).

I imagine there will be masses of people, either standing up and letting the beat hit them, or sitting down on picnic mats, or freaking out at the sidelines. At the front are the performers - either bands playing their live tours or D Js performing their craft.

Perhaps there will be lots of drinks sold, Coca-Cola and beer. Maybe the occasional marijuana, LSD, and ecstasy to heighten the mood. It will be a very frenetic, chaotic moment.

The most important thing especially, are the hypnotic lights that play out and the music. What sort of light tricks do they have at raves? What kind of music? I want a feeling like.. everyone is on a rocket ship, and they're blasting off hard into the cosmos. Intergalactic communication with possible aliens. Transcendence.

Weed you wouldn't really want to do at a rave, and LSD sound like a really bad night. X is where it's at, sometimes speed.

Also, don't plan any dialogue, because you can't fucking hear anything over the shitty DJ playing his personal remix of a song Kayne West put out five years ago.

I know. Everyone is unleashing their inner freak at that time, as an the opportune moment to do so.

And I won't be having badly remixes of once-hip music playing - I feel like something with a little oomph. Would you have a song or two to recommend for the rave?

Well, I've never been to a rave for real, but I'd have to imagine that if I were to, lasers and strobe lights would be everywhere and a semi-obscure deadmau5 song would boom out of the speakers. Some crap you'd find in an ad for Skins would probably make it in there too. Loads of stuff going on all at once, like a full-on sensory attack.

But I've never been to a rave, so don't take my perception entirely without getting some verification.

Also: Look into some of Daft Punk's Alive 2007 output, too. Heck, just Daft Punk period are good to freak out to.

Sorry if this wasn't what you were going for.

edited 15th Jun '11 11:41:17 PM by Tre

^^ I don't listen to that kind of music. I just have friends that do (please kill me).

I read that "oomph" as "oompah" and thought you wanted a rave with Bavarian folk music. Awesome.

Bavarian folk music? Would you have some examples?

@Tre: At the moment I only have my little headphones and my laptop speakers to listen. I am sure even the most mundane of songs will sound overwhelming if you play them on say, Dr Dre's beats or the movie theatre's speakers - with all the bass thumping like thunder. I think Daft Punk sounds good, I'm looking for something more offbeat, off the mainstream. This is why I also have included bands on live tours at the event, for more variety.

edited 16th Jun '11 8:29:19 AM by QQQQQ

Youtube doesn't have many good Oompah videos, but here's some poor quality clips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuO86SmAmLg&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB3Sreb_2lU&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuO86SmAmLg&feature=related

A simple "rave music" search on You Tube gave me this. I won't ever go in one personnally.

Dubstep has been really popular for the last decade or so. Drugs, especially ecstasy, acid, mushrooms, ketamine and miscellaneous speedy things are liable to be a lot more than just occasional, though depending on the venue people may or may not exactly be announcing the fact out loud.

Well, you go to a rave with the purpose of dancing, getting drunk, and doing lots of X.

@Matthew: I would have the Bavarian bands start their gig at the beginning, like a warm-up. Much like the previews before the feature film. Their calm before the storm. Also target practice for beer cans and tomatoes.

@Quoth: The few seconds I listen sound like screeches and thumps. I need something more melodious. Possibly intimidating.

If you want something melodious, I do not think a rave is the right place. But I could be dead wrong.

(Does anyone else want to go to an oompah-music rave now? )

But yeah, what I've heard of rave music can't really be described as "melodious."

edited 16th Jun '11 2:41:56 PM by Yej

Ja, and this is why we have artistic licenses for our fiction.

What about something like this?

(Though that particular track might be too laidback, I suspect.)

Is the aim realism, or dramatic effect? Ninja'd with the answer.

edited 16th Jun '11 2:44:20 PM by BobbyG

Then my advice is take a song you do find melodious, type that song title in, and then type "dubstep" next to it.

@AHR: I do no like the dubstep, nor typing any song name with dubstep mix next to it. (I suspect dubstep will swiftly fall out of fashion.) Sorries.

@Bobby: That piece might work in a subdued nightclub - I like the slight Gothic feel to it. It doesn't seem to carry the high energy I'm looking for though, which is partly for dramatic effect.

Here are some songs I like for the event, having this 'gusto' to them. If you know songs with this feeling - even songs you like in particular, I will much appreciate it.

edited 16th Jun '11 3:01:21 PM by QQQQQ

Dubstep's big in the party scene now.

I suppose I will try transcending my current tastes. Are there some good dubstep songs out currently? The few I've heard sound to me like clumsily handled beats.

edited 16th Jun '11 3:10:42 PM by QQQQQ

Yeah, I don't really like dubstep either, or most rave music. I heard a cover of Axel F by spacecorn I really liked, but that was about it.

No. There are no good dubstep songs. None.

However... Look up Grime music, particularly a rapper name Ghetts (originally named Ghetto, but I guess he realized that made him impossible to Google search "Umm, Rapper + Ghetto = 8 Billion Hits").

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC-aZK7sju4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdVXXxp2VHQ

That's some good shit.

I took a listen to all of these songs at a friend's house, with Bose speakers - premium-quality sound for the non-audiophile. My opinion has become radically changed. Harry Potter Dub-step and Quoth's "rave music" now seem sensible, even though the beat and screech respectively still doesn't ring well with me.

("Good tunes," my friend says. And he says hi to you all. )

With the deep bass, the music isn't heard by your ears. It's felt all over through your body. I am missing out on a lot with these wimpy in-ear headphones.

Good shit indeed. Will have Ghetto perform in my story, one way or another.

edited 16th Jun '11 6:57:44 PM by QQQQQ

One of my favorite songs right now is "Raise Your Weapon" (again by that deadmau5 guy) because of all of the dissonance involved.

I'm not sure it'd be rave-worthy in its entirety but the dubstep part would.

Yeah, sorry for all the deadmau5. He's my favorite DJ dance music artist, so I'm kinda prone to gush about him.

Oh, and the only grime I listen to is Dizzee Rascal but I really like him.

edited 16th Jun '11 9:39:21 PM by Tre