Gerson Guevarra

Professor Presler
Music 129 M/W 11:30 am
March 22, 2014
Free Choice Concert Review: Life in Color 3/15/2014
Rave music, also known as electronic music, came to popularity around the late 1980s
and early 1990s. Around that time, the first genres of music in the world to be played at raves
were termed house and techno. A rave is a large party or festival featuring performances by DJs
(disc jockeys) and occasionally live performers playing electronic dance music (EDM). The
music played at these events is usually accompanied by laser light shows, projected images,
smoke machines, and visual effects. The term rave first originated in Britain in the late 1950s,
which referred to the "wild bohemian parties" of that time. In 1958, Buddy Holly recorded a hit
song "Rave On", which cited the madness and craziness of a feeling and the desire for it to never
end. Individuals who were sociable party animals were described as "ravers". Raves made its
way to America in the early 1990s, where it climaxed in 1993 with "Rave America". This
festival drew in 17,000 people to California which was held at the Knott's Berry Farm
amusement park. Today, the most famous rave event in the United States is "Electric Daisy
Carnival" (EDC), where it draws in crowds up to 300,000+. On March 15
th
, 2014, I attended my
very first rave. Going to one of these events had been on my bucket list for the longest time. The
specific rave that I went to was called Life in Color, which was held at Cal Expo in
Sacramento, CA. The unique aspect featured at this rave, aside from the clich accompaniments,
was that it was a paint party, which Life in Color claimed to be the worlds largest. Here, paint
is shot from the stage by cannons onto the crowd while the audience disperses their own bottles
of these colorful fluids onto each other. With many different highlights and mischievous
exploitations, the experience I had was definitely something to remember.
Life in Color began in 2006 on college campuses in Florida. It was founded by
Sebastian Solano, Paul Campbell, Lukasz Tracz, and Patryk Tracz. This event is a production
and promotions company that stages more than 200 concerts annually in the United States and
internationally. From a small college event to a world-renowned live concert, "Life in Color"
transports fanatics into the ultimate and mind blowing experience. The rave features the world's
biggest DJs, soaring aerial acts, stilt walkers, contortionists, and fire shows; all of this eventually
leads into the famous "paint blast" where paint is sprayed from the stage onto the crowd after a
lengthy countdown. "Life in Color" sells over 500,000 tickets annually, and event audiences
range from 5,000 to 25,000 people. SFX Entertainment acquired "Life in Color" in 2012 making
it part of the biggest movement in dance music to date.
At first, the thought of witnessing an artist perform on a massive stage barricaded with
paint cannons that spurt neon paint more than thirty feet into the crowd sounded like an awesome
and unique experience which I had yet to witness at a live event. However, there were some cons
that I came to find out after attending Life in Color. After arriving to the event about an hour
when it had already started, my group of friends and I were immediately impressed by the size
and exhibition of the venue. There were colorful lights all over the place, people already covered
in paint (with the purchase of individual paint bottles at the venue), alcohol vendors of all sorts
(for those of age), and a variety of food stands. The intensity of the music being played was one
like being at a rock concert where the music was felt within the body. Though, one unforgettable
element of that night was the pungent odor that lingered throughout the vicinity. The smell was
noticeable from the very first step through the door, which was not a pleasant one; this was
probably caused by the profuse amount of sweating that had already occurred. Although there
was the unpleasant smell, I quickly habituated to it through the slight intoxicated state that I was
in.
The headlining DJ that performed at Life in Color was Steve Aoki, which was another
item on my bucket list; the two so happened to occur at the same time which ended up to be
perfect. Steve Aoki, born Steven Hiroyuki, is an American electro house musician. He is also a
Grammy nominated record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records. He is notably known
for throwing cakes at fans, crowd surfing stunts, spraying champagne bottles, and riding rafts on
the dance floor. He has remixed many popular 21st century artists and bands, which include
Drake, Kanye West, Eminem, Lil Wayne, All American Rejects, The Killers, Snoop Dogg, and
even older artists such as The Jackson 5 and Lenny Kravitz. The other opening DJs that
performed at the event were Shellboy, Alexx Adam, and Autoerotique.
Hearing this genre of electronic dance music live in this heart-pumping environment was
something that I have never encountered before. The positive vibe that the audience produced
along one another made it hard to not enjoy the time being. Once we found a spot within the
crowd, we immediately started jumping up and down, in rhythm with the music. Throughout the
night, a steady beat was played, give or take an extra beat between songs. Every piece performed
seemed to be in common time, or 4/4 where each measure had four beats. All of the songs played
that night gave off a feeling of bliss and euphoria; not one song was depressing. Some songs that
the DJs would play would have lyrics written by them, but most were remixed songs put into
different elements. Some exclusive features the DJs would do to these remixed pieces would be
to change the original tempo of the lyrical song, making it fit to the beat that they produced
themselves. Another element they would add was a mixture of different harmonic instruments
that would sound pleasant with the sampled lyrics they captured. Some famously used digital
instruments include synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, sequencers, reverbs, delays,
harmonizers, and choruses. The timbre of the overall concert was really satisfying to my ears,
unlike some other genres of music that I have listened to. Electronic dance music, or rave
music, is completely distant to the material we have studied in class. Some standard elements,
such as the time signatures of each piece, relate, but the style and timbre of this genre is
comprehensively off the chart from what we have covered.
Raves, in general, have an astounding inspiration in dance culture. Without movement,
raves would merely be an electronic music show with numerous lights and effects. Some
commonly used dance steps that occur at these events are Jumpstyle, Tecktonik, Liquid and
Digits, Melbourne Shuffle, and Industrial Dance. Personally, I did not know any of these
movements due to, again, my first time being at a rave, but jumping along with the music seemed
to do the trick.
One unfortunate thing that occurs at these popular raves is the use of drugs. The most
popular one that individuals take is Ecstasy, or Molly as some may refer to it. This drug comes
in a pill form and acts as a stimulant; an increased amount of dopamine is also released causing a
feel good effect. Although I did not use the drug, seeing other people on it definitely was
displeasing.
In conclusion, the entire concept of raves is amazing. Uniting together to listen and let
loose to the specific genre held at these events depicts a time where individuals can appreciate
the music they have been dedicating a part of their lives to. My overall experience going to my
first rave was a success. Even though the odoriferous smell and the excessive use of drugs
occurred, the unanticipated build ups and syncopated beats that Steve Aoki performed made it all
the better. To complete the climax of the night would have to be the extreme amount of paint
scattered around the whole arena. With more joy than dread, I will absolutely partake in another
rave event in the near future!




















Works Cited
"Acid House Music - The Timeline." ACID HOUSE / Rave Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 22
Mar. 2014.
"The History of Rave Culture - TheSite.org." The History of Rave Culture - TheSite.org.
N.p., 04 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Reynolds, Simon. "How Rave Music Conquered America." The Guardian. Guardian
News and Media, 03 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Borrego, Nancy. "Rave Culture." Rave Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.