Although I am an 80’s baby from the South Shore of Montreal, somehow I’ve managed to stay out of the rave scene until last week when I was assigned to cover quirky fashion and party extravagance at LA’s Electric Daisy Carnival for JT’s blog. Open-toe sandals, heavy backpack, tiny American Apparel dress (✔), and expensive camera; I must admit that I came unprepared… not expecting to find myself shoulder wrestling with some 185,000 raging attendees over two days or that I’d wish some PR chick would have handed me a neon pink wig when I picked up my press pass.
There were memorable highlights: I stumbled into Steve Aoki right as I walked into the artist entrance of the coliseum; caught Basement Jaxx for one of their rare DJ sets in the U.S.; toes got puked on by some hyped-up girl; saw the most innovative fire installations ever and soaked up that wild, youthful dance energy while saving my brain cells (…at least most of them). Ultimately, I snapped some kickass pics and collected random wisdom for all of you daisy virgins to enjoy.
No matter how old or young you are, here are my 7 rules for a fun, lucky rave:
Rule # 1: Stay Away From The Coliseum’s Floor
How fascinating is it to watch this mob scene rock to Black Eyed Peas Will.i.am’s performance from a somewhat comfortable seat? Unless electronic music is the most important thing in your life, there really is no need to venture into the main field.
Rule # 2: Wear Comfortable, Worn-In Shoes
Wear a pair of old Converse kicks you don’t care about because your feet are about to get dirty. If you’d rather not wear flats with a short-ass dress (#totallyunderstandable), then make sure you pick platform heels. If you do have faux fur boots hanging in your closet from your last trip in Harajuku, it’s now or never. 🙂
Powerpuff Girls
Rule # 3:Â Stick With Your Friends
In a sea of people dressed in technicolor, it’s really hard to keep track of your group of friends. Walk into the venue together and don’t part ways unless you set a meeting point. Communication is key to staying connected, so bring a remote charger for your phone. EDC is not the type of event I’d recommend going to with strangers, unless of course they’ve got an extra VIP bracelet for you. Prepare for a lot of human heat and don’t roll in with poopers.
Kids Bonding By The Ferris Wheel
Rule # 4: Monitor Your Sleep
You are going leave the EDC fields exhausted, so make sure you’re rested and in your best shape shape when you get to the event. Sleep a few extra hours every night in the week leading up to the festival. Take a disco nap right before you head out, or learn how to fall asleep to loud house music.
Just Chillin’
Rule # 5: Sport A Beaded Bracelet That Spells Out Your Name (Or Twitter Handle)
One constant style leitmotiv amongst the crowd: Plastic neon beaded bracelets and necklaces, called Kandi (cause they all look like candy.) Beads have been around since the early days of 80s rave culture… most kids make them at home and often give them away as gifts to remember past raves and honor new friends. (A lot of the bracelets have names on it. We are told in case the kids get soooooo out of it from dancing and drugs that they can’t feel their face, or remember their name. We hope that’s a joke.)
Rule # 5: Stay Hydrated
Drink from Alien bottles. Nuff said.
Rule # 7: Be Open-Minded
Either you do your thing and consciously avoid interaction with the rest of the humans around you OR you run with it and participate. Think about it: where else are you going to body paint outdoors under black lights?
Boys Body Painting
Photos by yours truly & Lauren Jane Berger @WildDaisyLove
We used to give out the Blue Razzberry Blow Pops. When the Black Razzberry Blow Pop came out we switched to those. They dyed your tongue and you had gum to chew after the pop was gone. Then we gave away Life saver mints for kids on E, so they would rush, i.e.. feel the drug kick in again. Not to mention they helped with dry cig breath… most kids smoked Newports ‘cos they were menthol then switched when Parlament made menthols…
Funny… I never saw them spelled Kandi, as far as I knew it was the reg old spelling but then again…this generation of ‘new’ party goers is younger. Candy ravers were the kids that wore bright clothes, usually carried a stuffed toy & if it lit up, even better, usually had glow sticks and dressed younger, with more cartoon tees, glitter, bright dyed hair, backpacks and stuck together.
A few more tips… bring a packet of tissues, sometimes toilet paper runs out at huge events.
Hand sanitizer… sometimes something or someone touches you & its instant ‘ick’. Also it feels cold, so its fun too. A kid put a sandwich baggie of ice on my neck once, I didn’t know what it was but after I turned to figure it out & saw it was some bag he was rubbing on other people, I beelined for the bathroom to wash off the sweat from god knows how many, lol. That is an instant ick. I just kept thinking…scabies!! lol!
Pre packed make up remover towelettes. It can get so hot and sweaty you just want to feel clean once you leave.
Sample sized body powder to refresh with.
Antacids and a powerbar.
A reusable water bottle is good, if they allow them in, that way you know which ‘one’ is yours.
Once I was tired and super hungry at a party outside Philly & I remembered I had a powerbar in my bag… I totally felt revived after eating it. Never worked before but I never ate them at raves. Usually I ate one as a meal replacement bar before those came onto the scene.
Sometimes fresh socks and a change of shirt are nice too but those can sit in the car for after.