I got roped into attending my first rave last week. I put the Excision "concert" in my Google calendar when I first bought the ticket, put it out of my mind, and was rudely reminded by my mother who snooped on my calendar and asked over the phone, "What's Excision? That sounds scary!"
Right before, I was seriously so nervous because I was pretty sure my legs would give out. (Bhangra does that to you — as in it destroys your lower limbs.) When I heard we'd be standing for three-plus hours, nestled deep in the thicket of a sweaty throng of people, possibly being buffeted around all the while, I felt my very sore calves shake a little.
I also wasn’t sure if I was quite the level of ratchet needed to go to a place like the EDM-ridden Stereo Live.
And I mean, sure enough, going to Stereo Live made me feel like the most ratchet I’ve ever been.
Halfway through Excision's set, I thought to myself, "I’m so glad I’m sober," which, I think is a weird thought to have. Most people go further than just “drunk” when they go to functions like this (y’know…). But the thing was, I seriously believed I would get trampled at some points. There were mosh pits — actual mosh pits. Yes, the kind where, at the revered drop, people literally go out of their way to ricochet off one another, and I’m talking big guys. If you lose your footing and end up on the ground (so dirty and sticky, by the way), it’s game over.
I think it’d be OK if that were the only issue. The thing with mosh pits is, you just have to be aware of the upcoming drop, secure yourself within your circle of friends (do not be on the outside, for more than one reason that I'll explain later), and move away as fast as possible should a stray sweaty individual come careening toward you. As long as you’re vigilant (and on your friends’ behalf too because chances are they’re not sober), you’ll be fine in that regard.
But unfortunately, that’s not all. As is the norm, when it comes to being female in a crowded place with less-than-coherent strangers, you have to do your share of glares and edging away/melting away out of sight of said lascivious male. And it’s not just that they might want to grind on you or something — sometimes they smell weird, and they’re not wearing a shirt, and they are so sweaty. I was barely sweating (because I had no idea how to dance to that soul-shaking bass), but this one random guy grazed me, I touched the front of my shirt, and my hand came away damp. He literally left a wet spot on my shirt. Nice.
Not just that, but going to the bathroom, a basic right of humanity, is so ridiculously difficult during a rave. You have to fight your way through throngs of people throbbing to the beat (horrible, I know), and then fight your way back.
I know I make it sound awful, but in retrospect I'm glad I went. Now I know, maybe this isn't exactly my scene. And besides, Excision was pretty cool. The surrounding people might not have been my cup of tea, but the performer was prime — and those visuals, man, he pulled out all the stops. There was a freaking T-Rex on stage at one point. That was cool.
I'm not really a rave person. When I told people I was going to Stereo Live, they were like "Wait. What?!" So... major indicator right there. I would still say, though, even if you don't think you're that type of party person, but you've always felt a twinge of curiosity about that nightlife, go for it. It's unlikely you'll actively regret it afterward; you'll just come away knowing if you're ratchet or nah.