SAVE THE RAVE

Throw a party, go to jail. At least that's what the federal
government would like to see happen in New Orleans, where a club
promoter and two managers could face 20 years to life in prison on
charges of "operating a continuing criminal enterprise." Some of
their patrons, it seems, imbibe drugs while in their venue.

It's hard to imagine many music clubs, sporting bars and public
parties that don't attract some revelers who do Ecstasy or drink to
excess -- especially in a rollicking town like New Orleans. But the
authorities in this case are less interested in logic than in
results. According to the Electronic Music Defense and Education Fund
- -- http://www.emdef.org/ -- an organization working to raise money
for the accused club managers' legal battle, the New Orleans arrests
signal an escalation in a police campaign against late-night dance
clubs.

Dance events and raves have been the targets of police crackdowns
before in cities like San Francisco and Philadelphia -- remember the
threatened closures of 1015 Folsom and the Endup? -- but this marks
the first time promoters and management have been brought up on
federal charges for patrons' private drug use.

Why should we care? Because if the feds succeed in prosecuting the
New Orleans Three, the fallout will be felt nationwide -- and not
just by rave and dance club habitues.

"If the government is successful in shutting down raves, what's to
stop them from applying this tactic to other music genres, such as
hip-hop, heavy metal and jazz, where drug use is known to exist?"
asks Graham Boyd, director of the American Civil Liberty Union's Drug
Policy Litigation Project, in a recent news release.

"Holding club owners and promoters of raves criminally liable for
what some people may do at these events is no different from
arresting the stadium owners and promoters of a Rolling Stones
concert or a rap show because some concertgoers may be smoking or
selling marijuana."

Just as hip-hop and industrial clubs have been smeared as breeding
grounds for teen violence, raves are being declared hotbeds of
illicit drug use. As a result, late-night clubs like 1015 Folsom have
been forced to subject patrons to draconian search techniques just to
stay open. If the New Orleans defendants lose their case, it will set
a precedent that will almost certainly make life even more difficult
for the Bay Area's struggling club scene.

"People don't want to be treated like criminals when they go out to
dance --it's that simple," says Leslie Ayres, spokeswoman for the San
Francisco Late Night Coalition -- http://www.sflnc.com/ -- an
advocacy group. "We cannot allow our culture to be scapegoated for
problems that exist throughout society. They want to shut down this
whole subculture."

And that would be a tragedy. Dance culture, live music and nightlife
are the urban pulse of San Francisco. Stop that beat and we've got a
dead city. Therefore, a suggestion for those who love to dance and
want to see San Francisco remain a vibrant electronic Mecca: Visit
the SFLNC and EMDEF Web sites and learn how to fight for your right
to party.