It was better back in the day, man. The catch-cry of many a cynical punter over the years, you can be sure that rose-coloured schooners suggest that you (and you alone) partied through a truly Golden Age.
Human Traffic artfully sent this up with two tired and emotional dudes swapping war stories from the glory days. Then again, who hasn’t reminisced about that “perfect party”? The one where you saw your favourite DJ, danced to your favourite song, found some pick-me-ups somewhere along the line and were still going strong at sunrise?
Dance music festivals have changed a lot over the years. A typical rave-goer from the mid ‘90s would be taken aback at how different such outings have become. For a start, the venues have changed: what was once typically held in disused docks or leisure centres:
Hardware 5, 1994 - Larent Garnier
...has now moved to inner-city parklands and dedicated concert venues:
Two Tribes, 2006 -
Armin Van Burren
Similarly, what was once typified by wasteland is now prefaced by the gleaming entertainment centre. Fashions have moved on too, with the de rigueur construction wear and phat pants all but disappeared from the fashions on the field. The music…well the music’s changed as well, but that’s a whole other topic.
But most importantly of all, the timeslot has changed. From night to day. Where before parties would run until the sun came up (and well into the next day), they now occur in the more sensible and traditional 11am-11pm time slot. Much of this was to do with the rave’s growing visibility and the government’s need for regulation (volume being just one aspect). Still, this was a fundamental change, because it meant different types of clientele began coming: parents felt better about sending out their sons and daughters to a party during the day.
One of the consequences of dance music’s explosion in the late ‘90s was its commercialisation. The likes of Mixmag helped make the DJ into a celebrity and moved the performances into more traditional clubs. As the all-night rave turned into the day festival, corporate sponsors started getting involved and the lineup moved slightly towards the pop spectrum. Raves always had an underground feel to proceedings and were generally minority events. Now, the likes of Field Day or Summadayze are stock-standard rites-of-passage for an 18 year old and advertised on Nova. Even more urban-tinged parties such as the Good Vibrations festival have attracted bigger and bigger headliners, such as Jamiroquai, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West:
Good Vibrations, 2006 - Downsyde
Some promoters have bucked against this trend, once again putting on truly underground parties and actively seeking warehouse spaces; only allowing entry to those in the know (a la the classic “ring this number for directions” invite). Others put on “old school” parties that bring out the veteran DJs and spin the classic anthems of yesteryear. Personally I see both ideas as fairly pointless exercises. It's nothing but nostalgia, stifling creativity by their very backward-looking nature. Remember that episode of
Men Behaving Badly where the two male protagonists, afraid of losing their fading youth, drunkenly search out an outdoor rave and promptly make fools of themselves? Yep.
While some may pine for the Halcyon Days of old or the Every Picture Tells A Story parties:
Every Picture Tells A Story - 92-94
...it’s fair to say that contemporary events are on the whole safer events. The odd malcontent aside:
Summadayze, 2008 - angry dancer
Some may truly believe the older format to be better, and in some ways it may have been. But the “rave” as an idea has passed. It’s time to move on. As the old cliché goes, constant change is here to stay.
JimmyJames