So, a couple of days and many hours of thoughts later, I am ready to share my views of the evening. Leading up to this party I was certain that its reception would be with discomfort at best, and at worst absolute rejection. As it turns out, the result was somewhere in between.
There was a bit of a problem with ravers not being sure what was being handed to them. This event, while very raveish to coin a term, was not an ACTUAL rave. It took elements of rave, industrial, IDM, and other cultures and mashed them all together with live acts to become the show it was. Ravers in Phoenix are VERY resistant to change, and if you’re not giving them the same party with the same DJs playing the same tracks in the same sort of venue week after week, they’ll turn their backs on you quickly. I like to, with the events I throw, or my partners and I throw, try to introduce the ravers to new concepts or new music that can eventually become part of their weekly intake. The decision to do this for the entire duration of an event without any of “the usual suspects” to fall back on, in retrospect, may have been a poor one. It was my honest hope that the party kids out here would be willing to expand their minds a little bit and try something new. A few people have agreed with me when I said, “I am disappointed in our ravers.” Please take into account, this is ONLY in regard to the INTEREST in the event. The older and more seasoned EDM crowd showed GREAT interest in the idea and its execution. The actual attendance needs to be addressed with 2 factors in mind.
The party’s attendance had two things working against it. Either one of them by itself, most likely could have been mitigated to minor annoyance instead of deal breaker. The first, mentioned above, was the completely unusual lineup and approach to the show. The second issue is one that I took pretty great offense to and has been referenced on multiple forums (to which this response will be cross posted) is the inexcusable behavior in the part of event security. After watching the first couple of venues that we had settled on going through some changes, we chose to do the show at the Venue of Scottsdale. That venue, and the security that comes with it, were clearly not prepped for something that while it was not a “rave” was very “raveish.” Im pretty positive that if some of the ravers had not been “acting” like they were on drugs (or the major things that sparked problems - underage girls having sex in the bathroom, and security catching people in the bathrooms with heroin and coke), whether they were or not, the problem wouldn’t have began, but that being said, there’s no reason for it to have escalated the way it did. The line that’s gone around about “security didnt bother me because I wasn’t doing anything wrong” pretty much holds water, but there were MANY cases whereby people were thrown out WITHOUT good cause. The most prominent example of this was when Dave from NotBreathing had to approach me about his wife being kicked out for suspicion of being on drugs as he pointed out that “they are parents, and she has a job that random drug test so she COULDN’T be on drugs.” Unfortunately, despite the outrageous behavior, we couldn’t do anything about the security situation because if we were to ask them to stop, the show was getting shut down, and that would be unfair to the performers and people still inside. My sincerest apologies go out to everybody who had issues with security and it has become obvious that venue of scottsdale is most likely not the correct venue for this type of event.
On a more positive note, the music and entertainment for the night rocked. The weird lighting issues kept some of the interactive video from working out perfectly, but it was still nifty when it was in action. The lost boys didnt manage to show, so that portion was unfortunately left by the wayside, but everybody did seem to enjoy the arcade machines that were brought out. The music… that’s what the event was really about and that’s where it had it’s time to shine.
Acidica - These guys are NOT your normal rave fodder. An industrial band tearing it up was probably not what most people expect at a rave, but they brought it and brought it hard. Some of the vocals did seem a little less cohesive at times, but the tunes were completely solid.
Widget Phreak - wow… that’s pretty much all I can say. He pretty much was our saving grace amongst the kandie crowd who came out and didnt get their fix. The covers of better off alone and zombie nation were incredible. I can’t get enough of seeing this guy live and can’t quite grasp why other promoters dont have him out.
Not Breathing - Everybody has had mixed feelings about their performance. I enjoyed what they played, but it was a little to ambient. The energy level declined a little while they were on, which I guess could be expected. The music Dave sent me from their rehearsal had a more energetic breakbeatish sound to it, but it was just him rehearsing without the rest of the band, and also he was telling me that the house sound guy was all over him about some of the basslines, which could have been what kept the kids from dancing the way they could have been. They were great to listen to, but didnt have a super strong stage presence, which is understandable when they’re doing as much as they are for a performance.
Macrodot - Kyle was the performance the brought the energy back to where it needed to be. It was probably one of the more high energy sets I’ve seen him play and I can’t begin to thank him enough for that. It really revived the room. I bounced around for a while and kinda jammed out enjoying myself. I really really look forward to having him out again.
Atomic Babies - I first saw these guys back in 1995 or so at the Nile Theater then again in Dayton Ohio. They were my first pick for a headliner for an all live party and they surely did NOT disappoint. From the second I finished my introduction they were rocking it and the party goers caught on right away. From start to finish their set was on point and all kinds of memories came streaming back. The sound was so mighty that when I went to take a pee during their set I could feel the vibrations in my boy pieces 
Substation - What a way to close out the night. His music had me groovin despite knowing already the kind of hit we’d taken financially on the night. He brings all the gear to the table and just gets rockin. I didnt find a single spot in his set I could take exception to. This fella is a PLEASURE to work with and I totally recommend booking him if you have a spot for a live trance PA on your lineup.
The night, despite the financial failure, was in my opinion, a success. I had some fun, got to see a few of my favorite acts, and for the crowd that WAS there, provided an evening of amazing music and what I hope was a little bit of horizon expanding. They weren’t the only people who learned something however. I now know the kinds of shows that will and will not succeed in that venue as well as the kind of security they provide. My apologies again to anybody who wasnt able to experience the full evening of awesomeness, trust me… it WILL be made up for in my next event whether with my partner Mitch or solo.
The pictures are posted at: http://www.clixbagoftricks.com/v/raves/nofuckingrecords
we’re so hardcore we flyered the airport while we waited for our headliners
