|
Although last-minute mishaps almost prevented Dancenhance
from premiering its debut Fayetteville rave "Green!" Saturday,
it all came together and proved a successful event.
The
party was originally planned to take place at the Washington
County Fairgrounds, but a last-minute discovery that the building
was not up to fire code nearly jeopardized the event. Luckily
the party was able to relocate to the Springdale Rodeo of the
Ozarks building, just in the nick of time.
Last time I was at a rave at that venue, the smell of cow
crap left me vowing to never return, but I stepped out of
the car and was relived to smell regular old factory-polluted
Springdale air, minus the cow sh!t.
I also noticed there were more than twice the number of cars
in the parking lot as last time there was a rave at this venue.
So I was off to a good start.
The party itself was quite a spectacle. I wasn't sure what
to expect since, to my knowledge, there haven't been any promotion
company newcomers in the Fayetteville area for years. But
with DJs Chaos, Scotty B, Ill Rock and The Enemy all headlining
(and all from Little Rock's Cybertribe crew), there was sure
to be plenty of the Little Rock entourage.
There were far more people at the party than I expected, but
I couldn't help but notice the devastating lack of the Fayetteville
kids. At first I found this strange, but I remembered past
complaints that the Fayetteville scene's crew has a reputation
for only being truly loyal to Arkansaniak parties. But I think
that only played a small factor, and the fact that the party
was $15 probably had more of an effect on the local turnout.
At first I felt displaced not knowing so many of the 200 or
so kids that showed up, but realized two things: Large numbers
of people once again willing to travel to Fayetteville for
a rave is a good sign, as is the success of not only this
party, but Arkansaniak's last party "Grooveriders."
Additionally, I couldn't help but realize (from the number
of people that shared with me that this was their first rave)
that there is a definite new generation of party kids on the
rise in the area, especially on campus. Their presence is
also a good thing, but having gone to raves for almost six
years now, I feel like a senior citizen among most of them.
The only negative feeling I had about the party was that it
just didn't have the feel of a Fayetteville party; it felt
like a Little Rock party.
There is a distinct vibe at a party that comes from those
attending. One need only observe the amount of glowsticks,
plastic jewelry and candy ravers to conclude that most of
these kids were from Little Rock, Russellville, Ft. Smith,
Clarksville or Conway, where scenes are continually blossoming.
But those kids are usually strong supporters of the local
Little Rock DJs, and their willingness to travel out of town
to see their hometown DJs is a good sign of loyalty.
The music through the peak of the night was primarily drum
'n' bass, but the crowds stayed hyped. I usually like more
variety in the lineup, but Ill Rock and The Enemy played a
kick-ass tag-team set and my expectations of a strong, high-energy
set from Chaos were fulfilled.
All-and-all, I'd say the party was a good showing for Dancenhance
and sure to be a good start for the up-and-coming company.
I have to give props to them for being able to pull the party
off despite adversity.
For anyone who would like to complain about the venue, here's
food for thought: Not only did those security cops come with
the building, but they even clean up all the puke, trash and
nastiness that is inevitably the result of a rave. I can only
dream we could get that kind of accommodation in Fayetteville.
|
