Chicago's Youth: The Eccentric Party Scene

In Journalism, we were asked to write a story about something happening locally. I wrote an article about rave culture in Chicago and how it has evolved overtime. I decided to write this because I have a lot of friends that go to these events and dj at raves. I also am really into how rave culture began. I love the style a lot of ravers had in the 90s and I noticed that overtime the culture has shifted. Raving basically began in Chicago and I wanted to write this to show people that it isn’t dead in the place where it was born. I also wanted to inform people about Chicago’s youth and how they connect with people in different communities. Learning about Chicago’s gay club scene in the 80s really inspired me to write this and talk about the change in the culture. I interviewed a lot of people who attended raves both young and old. I not only got a lot of different perspectives about raves, but I got a chance to ask some questions about a culture I’ve never really immersed myself in. Although, I’ve always been into the rave scene, I’ve never actually attended many raves. I was just close to people who did. Writing this really opened up my eyes about Chicago youth and how the culture here is different than any other city in the world.

Chicago’s Underground Rave Scene

Story by Ayana Sterling 

Sam Dornstein A.K.A "Sam23" , mixing at a rave.

On May 17th, 2000, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance against raves. The law was made so that people could only throw a rave in a legitimate venue or space with a licence and safety standards. Although it became harder to throw and promote parties without police shutting it down, it didn’t stop these Chicago ravers. Timothy Stafford, an early raver in Chicago, IL states, “While the raves were illegal, the promoters must have had something worked out with local cops because a squad car was usually posted out front making sure things never got out of hand. These were big, multi-floor, big name DJ raves.”

Chicago’s iconic rave scene took flight as a black gay club scene in the 80s. It was a scene that mostly gay latino and black men attended to listen and jam to the D.I.Y dance tracks played at clubs. House Chicago is the first ever house music that was produced during the late 1980s in Chicago, IL. House music in Chicago started with Frankie Knuckles, Jesse Saunders, and the iconic Roland TB-300 Synthesizer. Frankie Knuckles is known as the man who created house music, while Saunders created the disco sampling 1984 mix “On and On”. Knuckles often experimented with a variety of sounds from European electronic music to disco. He would mix the sounds together, adding his own unique flare and technique to the track. This inspired several Chicago Djs who spun at a popular rave spot called, “The Warehouse”, located on 206 Jefferson St. and established in 1977. Many of the gay men who came to The Warehouse felt excluded from other religious communities. The Warehouse was compared to a very religious and spiritual experience where they found a community of their own, were accepted, and free to express their individuality. When police were starting to become a threat for these Chicago venues, the two Djs Mike Pickering and Graham Park brought house music to the UK, sparking the Acid House revolution, which was typically a warehouse or venue of some sort that was created by the Chicago scene. The subgenre “Acid House” also included psychedelic drugs, laid back and flashy clothing, and booming house music.

Many underground raves are held in spaces like warehouses, someone’s home, or vacant and abandoned buildings. The atmosphere all depends on where the rave is held. Some raves are held at venues posted across the city in Bridgeport, Pilson, Little Village, and more South Side neighborhoods. Others can be more lowkey and gone to just for the music or socializing. “It depends on where it is and who’s playing. Some of the more traditional techno djs bring in a more intense crowd, It's a harder crowd, not in a bad way. People tend to go to those events more for the djs than they do for the socializing.” Eliza, an SAIC student living in Wicker Park, Chicago attends several raves around the city. “Some of the ones where there’s more of a mixture of music styles, where there's like some mixing and they’re sort of just like in the thing playing their own tracks, sometimes it’s like hip-hop as well. Those ones are more social.” Some of the more popular venues in Chicago are Bohemian Growth, a rave spot “set up like a house,'' says Eliza. Other spots are Archer Ballroom, IRL, located in Pilson, Brat Trap, and Utopia. IRL can hold over 200 people while Utopia can hold 500 people. Raves can vary from 10 people to 2,000, depending on where they’re held and who promotes them.

One of the biggest issues that the police have with raving is the amount of drugs and drug-dealing done at raves in the city. A lot of popular drugs in the scene include Molly, Ecstasy, Cocaine, Xanax, and Ketamine. Stafford says, “The kids doing hallucinogens were hugging speakers, and getting lost in the light shows. The kids doing heroin would nod off in the corners. Cocaine was big and crystal meth was just coming around in a big way.” Even the music itself has been compared to a psychedelic experience. A High School raver in Chicago says, “House party kinda raves be the dopest. You can just kinda do whatever and nobody says s***”. The rave scene has definitely influenced the youth to do drugs at these events because it’s fun and accepted amongst the community. On the other hand, behaving like you’re “too messed up” can be looked down upon in any hard party scene. But people who are often not accepted in traditional party scenes are more accepted in the rave scene, due to its inclusion to people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ people. The scene represents peace, love, unity, and respect amongst all people no matter where they come from.

Although raving is sometimes frowned upon and misunderstood, it’s a culture that the youth felt free and accepted in. It has changed the way we view society’s standards for fashion, sexuality, music, and self expression. Many art students across Chicago attend raves looking to socialize with other creators and people in their community, listen and dance to music, play dj gigs, and express their individuality. One of the most important things Eliza discussed was that the culture as a whole makes you feel welcomed and encourages you to be yourself and show people what you’re made of. Age in the scene isn’t as accepted as it used to be. Many people attending these raves are between the ages of 18-28. “Old heads” will also show out to these events for the music and atmosphere. Eliza finishes off on a good note with the interview stating, “...People nowadays I think there’s a lot more of an emphasis on really doing your own thing. What I experienced in other scenes is there’s like one uniform thing that everyone’s really striving for. And in this particular scene, at least the people that I know, there's a lot more pressure to really do your own thing.”