Glowsticks Category
I attended my first rave in April of 1996, and some of the most intense learning experiences of my early- and mid-20s took place in front of speaker stacks. Raving is directly responsible for my writing career, my relationship with my loving partner, and the deterioration of my short term memory. Thank you, American Rave Culture!
Groovers
17
Jul
2005
In: Glowsticks
Yesterday I drove down to Portland to attend the Dubtribe show with Dori. Dubtribe are pretty damn oldschool, and Dori and I are pretty damn oldschool, and as the space started to fill up, it became clear that pretty much everyone there was oldschool. Dori leaned over and commented that there were lots of groovers in the house, and my brain snapped to attention.
Groovers! I’d totally forgotten about the distinction. You see, back in the day there were ravers, clubbers, and groovers (also known as “housers”). Realistically, there were a million other nuanced cliques, but let’s not get distracted.
The distinctions could be broken down superficially, if necessary: Groovers were dressed to sweat (comfortable shoes, more cotton); Ravers were dressed to play (bright colors, lots of toys and accessories); Clubbers were dressed to impress (heels, sleek coordinated outfits). The distinctions are ridiculous in hindsight, but there was a time when my friends and I used to say, “We’re not ravers — we’re groovers!” HA! Oh I laugh at those days when the semantics were so important. It’s not a rave, it’s a party! it’s a Gathering! Yeah, yeah, buddy. Save it for the judge.
Regardless, for one night it was nice to be back amongst the (aging) groovers. I danced until I couldn’t dance any more, then I danced some more even harder. Then I almost threw up from dancing too hard, so clearly at that point the dancing finished for the evening. It’s not as easy to kickstep all night when you’re flying on only a Rock Star, but with a little determination I got in a good 4 hours.
Intention
1
Jul
2005
In: Glowsticks
I’d just like to get the word out there that one of these days I’d like to get some of Lotus Magazine’s old content archived online. It’s a daunting task, but I’ve got a lot of the Word docs from when I was editing (1998 - 2000) and it would be nice to have some of the features online. Some of them are still relevant.
JotS Placeholder #2
6
Jun
2005
In: Glowsticks
So I swear I’m going to write a nice big thing about how great this last weekend’s hippie rave was, and how important these events are to me, and how great it was to have my cousin there, etc. But for now all I have to offer you is this 15 second, 4mb video that I took at the lakeside stage on Saturday. It gives you a glimpse into a my little slice of heaven. It will have to tide you over until I can get some time to clickety clack my thoughts out. (That is, for those of you who care about hippie raves.)
Journey of the Shaman
5
Jun
2005
In: Glowsticks
Biggest regret from Journey of the Shaman? That I didn’t take get a picture of me with my cousin, who I officially inducted into the hippie raver community by stealing him off to a “gathering” immediately after he finished his SATs.
More later.
FIRST, THE FACTS:
1. This movie is not about Pete Tong.
2. This movie is not a true story. It is a work of fiction.
3. Pete Tong is not deaf.
NOW, ON TO THE REVIEW:
Holy muthafuckin shit. I’ve never seen a movie with audio like this. I’m a big DVD watcher, and usually I only go see movies in theaters that have a lot of spectacle and must be seen on the big screen. But It’s All Gone Pete Tong is a movie that you must see with full surround sound, ideally in a theater with the volume turned up to the metaphorical 11.
The film is a mockumentary about a fictional Ibiza DJ named Frankie Wilde, who goes totally deaf in his late-30s. In the course of a year, he loses his hearing, his record deal, and his wife. The film follows this decline, and then Frankie’s redemption and eventual disappearance.
The movie tries show what it was like for Frankie to go deaf, and the audio editing and engineering is absolutely phenomenal. The audio makes heavy use of right and left channels, changes in volume, etc, to help hearing audiences gain insight into what Frankie goes through. When Frankie mixes records, we hear what he hears through his headphones. When Frankie starts to get tinnitus, you hear the irritating ringing. There are whole stretches of the movie that are silent except for the sound of Frankie’s breathing.
Although a bit campy and amateurish in parts, the flick is a pretty effective emotional roller coaster. There were pounding euphoric club scenes, genuinely fucked up depictions of heavy drug use (watch for the coke badger), and some gentle emotional moments that surprised me in their sincerity. The film’s closing visions are optimistic and sweet.
As someone who’s known deaf members of the rave/club scene, I can say that It’s All Gone Pete Tong is a fair representation of how deaf dancers enjoy pounding dance music. The filmmakers clearly did their research with the deaf community, and the distribution company is making a Closed Captioned version for deaf audiences as well.
The film opens in NY, LA, and SF this weekend, and then in a few more cities in May. Highly recommended, especially for anyone (hearing or deaf) who’s spent time in front of a speaker stack literally feeling the music.
More info:
Official movie website
Steve Gravestock’s review
PS: Although the film claims to be based on a true story, it’s actually fiction being couched as fact, ala Blair Witch. The marketing technique feels a little manipulative, but whatever.
Groovers
17 Jul 2005 In: GlowsticksYesterday I drove down to Portland to attend the Dubtribe show with Dori. Dubtribe are pretty damn oldschool, and Dori and I are pretty damn oldschool, and as the space started to fill up, it became clear that pretty much everyone there was oldschool. Dori leaned over and commented that there were lots of groovers in the house, and my brain snapped to attention.
Groovers! I’d totally forgotten about the distinction. You see, back in the day there were ravers, clubbers, and groovers (also known as “housers”). Realistically, there were a million other nuanced cliques, but let’s not get distracted.
The distinctions could be broken down superficially, if necessary: Groovers were dressed to sweat (comfortable shoes, more cotton); Ravers were dressed to play (bright colors, lots of toys and accessories); Clubbers were dressed to impress (heels, sleek coordinated outfits). The distinctions are ridiculous in hindsight, but there was a time when my friends and I used to say, “We’re not ravers — we’re groovers!” HA! Oh I laugh at those days when the semantics were so important. It’s not a rave, it’s a party! it’s a Gathering! Yeah, yeah, buddy. Save it for the judge.
Regardless, for one night it was nice to be back amongst the (aging) groovers. I danced until I couldn’t dance any more, then I danced some more even harder. Then I almost threw up from dancing too hard, so clearly at that point the dancing finished for the evening. It’s not as easy to kickstep all night when you’re flying on only a Rock Star, but with a little determination I got in a good 4 hours.
Intention
1 Jul 2005 In: GlowsticksI’d just like to get the word out there that one of these days I’d like to get some of Lotus Magazine’s old content archived online. It’s a daunting task, but I’ve got a lot of the Word docs from when I was editing (1998 - 2000) and it would be nice to have some of the features online. Some of them are still relevant.
JotS Placeholder #2
6 Jun 2005 In: GlowsticksSo I swear I’m going to write a nice big thing about how great this last weekend’s hippie rave was, and how important these events are to me, and how great it was to have my cousin there, etc. But for now all I have to offer you is this 15 second, 4mb video that I took at the lakeside stage on Saturday. It gives you a glimpse into a my little slice of heaven. It will have to tide you over until I can get some time to clickety clack my thoughts out. (That is, for those of you who care about hippie raves.)
Journey of the Shaman
5 Jun 2005 In: GlowsticksBiggest regret from Journey of the Shaman? That I didn’t take get a picture of me with my cousin, who I officially inducted into the hippie raver community by stealing him off to a “gathering” immediately after he finished his SATs.
More later.
FIRST, THE FACTS:
1. This movie is not about Pete Tong.
2. This movie is not a true story. It is a work of fiction.
3. Pete Tong is not deaf.
NOW, ON TO THE REVIEW:
Holy muthafuckin shit. I’ve never seen a movie with audio like this. I’m a big DVD watcher, and usually I only go see movies in theaters that have a lot of spectacle and must be seen on the big screen. But It’s All Gone Pete Tong is a movie that you must see with full surround sound, ideally in a theater with the volume turned up to the metaphorical 11.
The film is a mockumentary about a fictional Ibiza DJ named Frankie Wilde, who goes totally deaf in his late-30s. In the course of a year, he loses his hearing, his record deal, and his wife. The film follows this decline, and then Frankie’s redemption and eventual disappearance.
The movie tries show what it was like for Frankie to go deaf, and the audio editing and engineering is absolutely phenomenal. The audio makes heavy use of right and left channels, changes in volume, etc, to help hearing audiences gain insight into what Frankie goes through. When Frankie mixes records, we hear what he hears through his headphones. When Frankie starts to get tinnitus, you hear the irritating ringing. There are whole stretches of the movie that are silent except for the sound of Frankie’s breathing.
Although a bit campy and amateurish in parts, the flick is a pretty effective emotional roller coaster. There were pounding euphoric club scenes, genuinely fucked up depictions of heavy drug use (watch for the coke badger), and some gentle emotional moments that surprised me in their sincerity. The film’s closing visions are optimistic and sweet.
As someone who’s known deaf members of the rave/club scene, I can say that It’s All Gone Pete Tong is a fair representation of how deaf dancers enjoy pounding dance music. The filmmakers clearly did their research with the deaf community, and the distribution company is making a Closed Captioned version for deaf audiences as well.
The film opens in NY, LA, and SF this weekend, and then in a few more cities in May. Highly recommended, especially for anyone (hearing or deaf) who’s spent time in front of a speaker stack literally feeling the music.
More info:
Official movie website
Steve Gravestock’s review
PS: Although the film claims to be based on a true story, it’s actually fiction being couched as fact, ala Blair Witch. The marketing technique feels a little manipulative, but whatever.
Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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