Rave Music Fan Girl

Los Angeles had Raves as early as 1988. The early rave scene thrived in Los Angeles due to the fact that the city had such a large, multi-cultural population, a dry/temperate climate, and vast amounts of space which made locations plentiful. Warehouses were often broken into or hired (often through deceptive means to unsuspecting owners), a sound system and lighting was set up on the day of the event, and people would phone the info lines on the backs of flyers on the evening of the party to find out the location. This would often involve first going to a map point, which would be a predetermined location where people would get tickets and directions to the actual event, or directions to another map point. The map points would often be used to create excitement and anticipation for the rave, but also to elude police and large numbers of people loitering outside of the venue. Raves would often range from smaller, more intimate low-budget events, to large, full scale productions with multiple international DJ's and acts, expensive lasers and visual effects, and props often in theme with the event. Some of the better known early events were Alice's House, Under The Paw Paw Patch, Love. Sex. Dance, Grape Ape, Gilligan's, Truth, and Double Hit Mickey.
By the early 1990s, the Los Angeles rave scene had grown to near epic proportions, which major events occurring nearly every weekend. Parties were being thrown in every type of location promoters could get their hands on, from empty warehouses and lofts, to swap meets and strip malls, as well as open air locations such as ranches, the mountains, and the Mojave Desert. Events were getting bigger, becoming far more expensive to produce, and taking place well known locations like Wild Rivers (Water Park), Knott's Berry Farm, the Spruce Goose dome in Long Beach, and the Shrine Auditorium. As larger raves gained in popularity, so did the scrutiny of law enforcement and news media, with news reports often featuring segments about the dangers of raves, warning parents "Do you know where your children are?" and depicting raves as drug-fueled parties where Ecstasy use was almost mandatory. By the mid 1990s, the scene had become too big to stop, and this was either the pinnacle, or the end depending on whom you spoke to. A tradition to keep the scene underground grew, with a back to basics concept of the illegal warehouse rave again gained in popularity, although location "busts" where police shut the party down, and sometimes confiscated equipment or made arrests were becoming more and more commonplace. Despite all of this, Los Angeles remained a predominant fixture of the scene, with events regularly running all night long in well known locations such as La Casa, the Hollywood Masonic Temple, Plaza Del Sol in Boyle Heights, the Alexandria Hotel, The Gotham Hall, 333 S Boylston, the Hollywood Soundstage on Santa Monica Blvd., the Masterdome, the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, the Grand Olympic Auditorium, the Arts Colonly in Pomona, and various warehouses on the outskirts of Downtown Los Angeles, particularly around Santa Fe Ave., and Alameda St. A new generation of ravers were also experiencing the rise in popularity of the "desert rave," with large parties heading outside of the city, where there was less of a chance of getting busted. Some notable desert parties of the time included the "Dune," "New Moon," and "Moontribe" parties, the later of which still throws more intimate, outdoor events to this day. One of the largest outdoor events in Southern California was met with tragedy when in 1999, 5 teenagers died when their car went off a cliff while leaving the Juju Beats rave at the Snowcrest ski resort. This along with several other highly publicized fatalities occurring at outdoor raves during years prior, led many location owners to stop allowing parties to take place on their land, and the ones that still did occur were often met with stricter requirements, such as 2a.m. closing times, and requiring law enforcement to be present.
Although San Francisco was considered to be the epicenter of the West Coast rave scene for numerous years, this has begun to change during the past decade. Today, Los Angeles has convincingly overtaken San Francisco and arguably boasts the most thriving rave scene in the country, with numerous massives and music festivals such as Electric Daisy Carnival, Together As One, Monster Massive, and Nocturnal Wonderland all being annually held within the city and its surrounding areas. Events such as these consistently attract the world's top DJs and tens of thousands of ravers and electronic dance music enthusiasts.
In 2010 Insomniac's Electric Daisy Carnival boasted a two day attendance of 185,000 at Los Angeles' memorial Coliseum, making it the largest Rave in North America and well beating other concerts such as Coachella. Reports state that about 100 people were hospitalized during the event, and near over 200 required medical attention. While the event was advertised for ages 16+, lax security allowed some minors to attend. One minor who was able to attend was Sasha Rodriguez, 15, was believed to have died from an ecstasy overdose but it was soon announced she died of hyponatremia, an electrolyte disturbance in the body, by consuming too much water too fast. Her death, along with the death of 2 others at a rave a month earlier in northern California, caused city officials to place a temporary ban on Raves at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum due to increasing media attention. Thereafter, Los Angeles police began cracking down on future rave events that do not have an 18+ age requirement, such as shutting down early Uprise and forcing the cancellation of Abtraskt Desert 2. Although, Insomniac has chose to move the annual event to Las Vegas for 2011, with a 5 year lease at the motor speedway. A much larger venue that will hold many more people safely. The event has moved to 3 days long as well. The party will also will end at sunrise, which hasn't happened in many years.