ETD Popsicle 2008: This whole rave thing is pretty cool!

The rave was to begin at 6 p.m., so we left the east bay around 5:30. Upon arriving at the Cow Palace, the lower parking lot was already nearly full, and the entrance line extended past our parking spot. By my rough estimation, thousands were already waiting, and what a sight to see!

The entire line was dressed in the most outlandish costumes I can imagine! It was as if someone had said, "Pick out the most mismatched set of clothes you can find, in the brightest colors, then add the weirdest jewelry ever." They call that jewelry "candy," and it includes elastic bead bracelets, necklaces with things liked stuffed bears hanging from them, and all sorts of hats and masks. The idea, I'm told, is to increase the vibrancy of the rave's sensory experience, adding of course to the loud music and entrancing beats. But we were in for a surprise once we got inside!

After sliding through the "VIP" back door, (as press we got to skip the huge line and go directly in), we were immediately bombarded by the most intense audiovisual experience I've ever felt! We hadn't even made it to the main stage, and already it was all crazy. Each of the smaller stages was decorated with a series of screens, on which were projected a constantly changing series of psychedelic designs, switching off with live video of the performing DJ. Each stage also had an assortment of lasers and colored lights, which danced around to add to the effect.

The Cow Palace was set up for five stages: the main stage, inside the arena, which was billed to play trance music all night, and four smaller stages in the Palace's north and south buildings. The smaller stages were billed to play "house," "breaks," "hardcore," and "drum and bass" music. I suppose that a connoisseur could distinguish between the different styles. They all sounded great, and were really easy to dance to, but I couldn't hear any variation. Nonetheless, I did particularly enjoy the hardcore room, in which a crazy-sounding guy was - no joke - singing along with some particularly noisy and upbeat music. It was super-fun to dance to, and my friends and I stayed there for a while, listening to that MC. Of all the music I heard at the event, hardcore was by far the most captivating, and the easiest to just stay still and dance and absorb.

The intimacy of the smaller stages was certainly nice, but it couldn't compare to the thrill of the main arena. Especially later in the night, after 9:00 or 10:00 pm, the floor started to fill up, and nothing compares to the exhilaration of many thousands of people dancing to the loudest music in the world. Even after the visual setups of the other stages, I was stunned and delighted by those in the main room - above, around, and behind the stage. Not only were several projection screens suspended around the stage, among towers of swiveling lights, but a series of projectors were actually projecting images and designs on the entire section of seats behind the stage. It was incredible to see, and even cooler to walk through later in the evening! But the fun didn't stop there.

Scattered throughout the dance floor were various trapezes and ropes suspended from the rafters. Later, during the headline performances, acrobats would come out and do their thing above the audience, which added an extra zing to the thrill of live music. The whole experience was meticulously planned to give the greatest possible ultra-sensory experience, but the rest of the night didn't go exactly as planned.

At 12:57 a.m., about an hour into Tiesto's headline performance, the entire Cow Palace complex went completely dark for more than a minute. Eventually, the emergency exit lighting came on, but the response was both surprising and impressive. Instead of panicking, or screaming or sprinting for the exits, everyone just kinda chilled where they were standing or sitting, totally relaxed. At first, they were likely waiting for the lights to go back down and the music to resume, but then the people in charge got on the loudspeaker and told people that the neighborhood was experiencing a power outage, and they all should leave the arena. Nobody really moved, and they remained super-laid back until the police came in to forcibly evacuate the attendees, but even then it took a long time to get 20,000 people out of an arena. (And dude, you should have seen the traffic jam...) If you want, you can read Skillz' official statement on the early ending, and watch a video of it too. All in all, it wasn't the worst thing, especially after seven amazing hours of fab music, but it was still rather sad that the event didn't get a proper ending.

I found a couple other disappointments over the course of the night, primarily related to money. The cost of food was astronomical, along the lines of $6 for a hot dog and more for a hamburger. Although this is standard for the Cow Palace, I expected more during a concert-like event. I suppose they have to make their money somehow. Even though the tickets cost $80 at the door, and the capacity on Ticketmaster was "20,000+," which comes out to about $1.5 million (I'll ask them for the exact numbers), all that equipment is insanely expensive. I know that the speakers and stage setups alone would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the light systems couldn't have been cheap. Plus, each stage had several operators on duty at any given time. End result: I wonder if Skillz DJs broke even from the event. I'll ask them, and see if I can find out some numbers.

However, in the end, I get the impression that it's not about making money. Whereas a lot of concerts and large-scale events are created to make money for a set of investors, I truly believe - and I was convinced by the event's creators, and performers, and attendees - that this rave movement is something that they all love, and that they're committed to sharing with each other. I met some people there who had been to countless raves, and who had watched the ETD Popsicle event grow over 11 years to the 20,000+ capacity event it is today. That could only be because of the truth I saw in the movement, and the persistent love of the rave culture. If the whole thing continues to exponentially grow, I won't be surprised in the least, because I'll be right there dragging in everyone I know.