Does $money$ make the (raver) world go round?

[XxBeccaRollrxX]

Do you really need money to party like we do?
Think about it. How much money do you think you spend on partying?
Look at all the expences:
- Drugs - hell, who knows how much dough goes into that one!
- The entrance fees on parties/clubs
- All those little raver toys
- Transportation/gas (ok I'm stretching it, but you get the idea)
With some entrance fees as high as 50 bucks, and e ranging from 10-40 dollars a pill (and maybe even more or less depending on where you're from) we're shelling out huge amounts of cash just to be where we are (and where are we?).
Should the scene really be like this?
Ok. Now I know it's unrealistic to have free parties with dealers just throwing pills from the cielings and fog machines pumping out herb, but I feel like the whole scene has gotten a little superficial.
Eh, I don't know. I guess it's just something to ponder. What do you think?
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"the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude" --> Ralph Waldo Emerson
***Much LOVE***
~*BeccA*~

 

[Butterfly]

We live in a capitalist society. Money makes everything go round. Raving is no exception. Parties/Pills are expensive, but it's all about supply and demand. I would love to see the price of raving and drugs fall but as long as most of us are willing to continue paying the current prices (which I guarentee we are no matter how much it hurts) then prices will stay where they are.
Ideally if you believe in PLUR, then raving should be accessible to all, but it's not and will never be because of the cost. This is the reality of our society. Everything has a price, (even happiness I suppose, drug induced as it may be).
I don't think escallating costs make the rave scene any more superficial. It simply exposes the fact that raving, as counterculture as it makes the pretense of being, is really a very acurate, although perhaps perverted, mirror of our society. While e may have the power to break down barriers between individuals it cannot overcome social stratification. I guess when it comes down to it, PLUR is just another example of middle class privelage.
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"Reality is just a crutch for people who can't handle drugs."
-- Lily Tomlin

 

[XxBeccaRollrxX]

wow. I just gotta say: very nicely put. articulate. And I agree with you to a certain extent. It's realistic, yes. But does that make it right? Raves were founded as an anti-societical structutre - breaking barriers. I'm only asking - have we?
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"the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude" --> Ralph Waldo Emerson
***Much LOVE***
~*BeccA*~

 

[Tora]

$50 entrance fee? Where exactly are you partying? Around here it's never more than $25, and even that is uncommon. In fact, one local promoter throws really good parties in the $10 range.

 

[Belisarius]

"True dat", Butterfly.

 

[soulwatcher]

We have to pay to be transported away from the mundane existence that is daily life, to be entertained and enthralled with experiences that are not the norm, and in the society we live in that diversion and entertainment costs money. The real debate is whether raving and taking E is any more of an expensive entertaining diversion away from life(or in the case of E discovering a deeper understanding of life) then any other form like alcohol or other drugs. Relative costs of a night out are going to be about the same no matter what your intoxicant...think about this..
Intoxicant: anywhere from 20-60$ depending on amount and choice, alcohol being even more expensive often
Covers: varies based on where one goes, but at a minimum 20$
Misc: transportation, cigarrettes, candy, buying someone a drink, H2O, etc. etc. at least 30$
So is @100$ a reasonable amount to pay to be transported away from the daily grind for a night or a weekend? Only you can answer that for yourself, but for me the money is secondary to the memories and joy that I get from going out and forgetting about that pile of bills, that exam on tuesday, work sucking, relationships sucking, etc.....But is taking E any more expensive overall? I dont think so...

and it certainly is a lot more enjoyable
peace
soulwatcher

 

[Butterfly]

On a more positive note than my last post, in Toronto every now and then they have free raves (usually just a bunch of local DJs) which is a pretty cool idea. It's too bad they don't have more of them, but someone still has to pay for the venue so I guess it isn't really worthwhile to do that sort of thing very much.
I don't think it's right that raving costs as much as it does, but I also don't think it's right that we live in a society where someone is rich only because another is poor. Raving isn't the problem, it's only the reflection of another problem. While I agree with you that raving was (and still is to a great extent) an anti-societal thing about breaking down barriers, I don't think it ever included economic barriers. The high cost of raving might suck, but I don't think it really changes what raving is supposed to be.