A GLIMPSE INTO THE `RAVE' RAGE

Some Say the Draw Is the Promise of Acceptance, Others Say It's Drugs

They began as all-night dance parties hidden in abandoned warehouses,
drawing dozens with the promise of an underground thrill. But savvy
promoters and easy access to cheap drugs, especially ``ecstasy,'' are
luring huge crowds to heavily hyped parties across the country and
pushing ``raves'' into mainstream youth culture.

From Miami to Chicago to the Bay Area, raves are all the rage.

Underground parties that once drew crowds of 20 have mushroomed into
massive all-night events that draw tens of thousands. But raves are
also creating problems for cities across the country -- and some
officials are taking drastic action.

After a recent party in San Jose that drew 20,000 ended in eight
arrests and more than a dozen reported drug overdoses, Santa Clara
County officials booted this Saturday's rave, prompting promoters to
change the venue to the Fresno fairgrounds.

``Cyberfest,'' -- billed as the largest rave west of the Mississippi
- -- is expected to draw 80,000 revelers, mainly teens and young adults.
More than 6,000 tickets to the event have been sold in San Jose alone.

For some partygoers, the draw is the promise of complete acceptance.

``They have something for everyone, so everyone has a good time.
They're incredibly popular with everyone, not just teens, not just old
folks. Everyone is going,'' said Michael Ortega, a 43-year-old
contractor from San Jose, who said he raves at least twice a month.

Ravers and promoters have come up with a buzz word for the rave
culture -- PLUR, an acronym for peace, love, unity and respect.

``It's all about just loving one another,'' said Andrew Ng, a college
student from San Francisco, who spent hours dancing at last
weekend's San Francisco rave called ``Trance Force.'' ``People here
really care about each other, treat each other with dignity and
respect. It's the only place you're going to find such beauty and
perfection. And the music ain't bad either.''

But the widespread popularity of raves, driven by a wave of publicity
that drenched the rave culture, has morphed PLUR into profit.

``The scene has been taken over by people who don't understand what
it's all about. They come because they want the drugs,'' said Julie
Jaciuk, a 21-year-old from Fremont who was at last month's rave at the
Santa Clara County fairgrounds. ``When they grow up and realize that
it's about the music, the people, things will be better. Raves have
become this big, trendy thing. It shouldn't be that way.''

Part of that trend includes the popularity and availability of
ecstasy, or `E.'

``A rave without E is like a car without wheels. It just doesn't go
anywhere,'' said Jess Dunton, 22, as she sat on the floor during last
weekend's San Francisco rave.

Christopher Kwok, who will be a junior at San Francisco State
University this fall and a rave regular said ecstasy is simply part of
the rave scene. ``People who take it consider it an added bonus to the
music and stuff,'' Kwok said. ``I don't need it, the music is enough
for me.''

The prevalence of ecstasy at the dance parties is obvious to law
enforcement officials.

``Our people there estimate that between 40 and 60 percent of the
people there were high,'' Sgt. John Hirokawa of the Santa Clara County
Sheriff's Department said of last month's rave in San Jose.

Ecstasy is a synthetic amphetamine derivative that produces feelings
of euphoria and typically sells for $20 to $30 a pill, San Jose police
said. The illegal substance also can cause depression, severe anxiety,
paranoia and in some cases, death.

``How are you going to arrest 4,000 people in three or four hours? Our
people can't act on because they are outnumbered 20 to 20,000. We can
only make sure things stay in control,'' he said. Of the eight arrests
during last month's event, two were for selling drugs, the others for
minor assault and being under the influence.

In the aftermath, the Santa Clara County counsel decided the risks
were too great and told the promoter of several Santa Clara County
fairgrounds parties that all future events were canceled.

Veteran ravers who attended underground parties years ago said today's
raves have changed dramatically for the worse, drifting far from their
original purpose.

``The raves I go to draw really friendly people who treat each other
with respect -- and that's what it's about: the music and everyone
being together for the music,'' said Jennifer Innes, who has been
going to raves for three years. ``People know that although drugs are
a part of the scene, no one has to take them. It's being turned into a
scene about drugs rather than music.''

For more than a decade, the rave scene consisted of clusters of
small all-night parties where people danced to electronic or
``techno'' music. Locations were kept secret until the night of the
event; partygoers picked up clues that typically led to abandoned warehouses.

But as word of the underground parties spread, and raves received
publicity focusing largely on the prevalence of drugs and underage
teens, the parties grew so large that they moved to legal public
venues -- and promoters started cashing in on the trend.

The rave culture has spawned a huge new market for the rituals,
fashions and music.

The fashion takes snippets from other fads -- like grunge and punk and
hip-hop -- and created a subculture where just about anything goes.

Glow-in-the-dark plastic sticks hang from people's mouths and adorn
almost everyone's arms and neck. Pacifiers, which some say help
ecstasy users who grind their teeth, a side effect of the drug, are
also big. Bottles of Vicks VapoRub, typically attached to necklaces or
smeared in disposable dust masks are also a rave staple. The vapors
help open the nasal cavity, ravers say, accentuating the sense of
smell, which ecstasy is said to heighten. Vendors set up booths at
raves and sell the glow-in-the-dark jewelry for $5 and accessories
such as pacifiers and Vicks VapoRub for up to $10.

The dance-based culture has inspired a rave dress code. Cargo pants
four or five sizes too big, with wide flared bottoms allow ravers to
vigorously dance to electronica -- a mix of contemporary music and
computer-generated sounds -- hours at a time. Small tank tops and Tees
in psychedelic colors with imprints of East Asian gods splashed on the
front are popular with the girls. As for hair, anything fluorescent
works.

``They wear the raver jewelry -- glow-in-the-dark and fluorescent
beads, Teletubby backpacks -- really weird, cute stuff. Some have
orange hair. They want people to know that I'm a raver, it's in your
face,'' said Andrew Belov, 21, one of the promoters of the San
Francisco rave.

Popularity of the rave scene has turned small-time deejays into hot,
new commodities. Moby, who started out as a deejay mixing music at
raves in Europe, won two Grammy nominations for his latest compact
disc, ``Play.'' William Orbit, also a rave deejay, won a Grammy for
his work on Madonna's album ``Ray of Light.'' And Paul Van Dyk,
perhaps the most prominent deejay still working at raves, has worked
with New Order and Tori Amos.

Several films on raves and the rave culture have also emerged,
including ``Groove,'' which looks at the Bay Area rave circuit.

As raves become mainstream money-makers, promoters are cashing in.
Tickets that once sold for $10 to $12 now go for as much as $50.
Tickets for the upcoming ``Cyberfest'' in Fresno sell for $30 to $50.

Officials at Coolworld.com, the event's promoters, say their parties
are dance entertainment music festivals, not raves. But that concept
is lost on the ravers who consider Coolworld parties the ultimate rave.

And while the event is not being billed as rave, Marco Traversa,
Coolworld's vice president of marketing and operations, said they
welcome everybody.

``There are many positive aspects to the rave community,'' Traversa
said. ``So many of these events bring people together. It's the new
rock 'n' roll.''

They expect a sold-out event.

At last week's San Francisco rave, about 2,000 people flooded the
Maritime Hall.

David Chen operates www.ravepic.com. He takes pictures of dancers,
revelers, deejays and the decorations, then puts them all on his
popular Web site.

``I've been going to raves for about four years,'' said Chen, a
20-year-old from Milpitas, as he snapped dozens of pictures at the
rave. ``I like taking pictures of people interacting. All of my
friends go to raves, so I take pictures here to hang out with them and
have fun.''

Nearby, hundreds of teenagers maneuvered glow-sticks in the dark to
form intricate light shows that captivated crowds of ravers, some who
said they were on ecstasy.

``I think people on `E' really just get a kick out of the light cause
they're so sensitive to it when they're high,'' said Mari Tranh, who
said she had not taken drugs, as she spent 30 minutes waving red and
blue glow sticks in front of her friends.

Just how long raves will endure is anyone's guess, but some hard-core
ravers like Belov see history in the making.

``Things will change and evolve -- but raves will learn how to coexist
with the rest of the world.''

Contact Eric R. Drudis at edrudis@sjmercury.com (408) 920-5444 or
HongDao Nguyen hdnguyen@sjmercury.com or (408) 920-5444.