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-- iDance Festival officially over - [spin from why TO is so diff. from Europe & MTL]

iDance Festival officially over - [spin from why TO is so diff. from Europe & MTL]

Some of you often wonder why the TO scene is so different than MTL and Europe. Why we can't have large electronic music festivals and why the Guvernment is the only place were a major party can take place and why it always has to be so crowded and no one seems to do anything about it.

Wells the answer is that at one point in time, the TO scene was actually headed in a direction that could possibly have fostered the foundation of an evolving Electronic music scene at a much larger scale.

The parties at the Better Living Center on the CNE grounds and the iDance festival were a perfect example. Both featured events with crowds numbering over 15,000 at times and were no doubt the largest scale electronic music parties in TO ever once featuing such DJ's as Sasha, Darren Emerson, Richie Hawtin, Matt Hardwick, Paul Oakenfold, and etc. The largest event at the Guv Complex say. Labour of Love would draw approximately only about 1/3 of the number of people that were once attending these events into a smaller more densely packed area.

So then some might be wondering, okay so what happened? Why don't we have these parties anymore and why is there no iDance event for 2003 like there was for 2000 and 2001?

To find out more click here:
http://www.tribemagazine.com/board/...ce&pagenumber=1

quote:

with the first iDance, we were fighting something very concrete and easy to see. there was a municpal by-law that prohibited raves on city-owned properties and we wanted to abolish the by-law (not only because of the by-law itself, but because it potentially opened the floodgates to other, harsher legislation). iDance 2000 was a success as it resulted in the by-law being overturned by an overwhelming majority vote of 50-3. many toronto news reporters called it one of the biggest city council "flip-flops" of all time. with the second iDance, it was harder to see what we were fighting unless you really took the time to watch our media interviews and to read our statements leading up to the event. in the year leading up to iDance 2001, the 'powers that be' (i.e. the police and certain city officials) decided that, since they could not legally stop these events from happening (i.e. because they tried and failed), they would stop the events by other means. they tried pricing promoters out of business by requiring absolutely ridiculous numbers of pay-duty police officers. they put improper pressure on venue owners, at times threatening to revoke liquor licences, causing some owners to cancel events (eg. the docks, the liquid adrenaline at the water park, etc.). they showed up at WEMF 2001 with an injunction based entirely on "profile-type" evidence in an attempt to stop the event from happening. they even waited until the very last minute to get the injunction, claiming exigent circumstances, so that the promoters would be unable to properly dispute the injunction. ultimately, they failed to stop WEMF 2001, but certainty not for lack of trying. these are all examples of things that the authorities were doing to stop events. the actions were unconstitutional and a violation of civil rights. they did it because they thought no one would ever notice or care. THAT is what iDance 2001 was fighting. by drawing the attention of the media, the public and certain *good* politicians to the civil rights violations being committed, we hoped to change policy. if the police knew that their actions would end up in large numbers of harsh newspaper articles, maybe they would think long and hard before doing something improper. did we succeed? it's hard to say because, like i said, there is no concrete way to measure the success like there was in 2000. but you know what? the police never tried to get an injunction like that again. and i have not heard of a single incident of the police threatening to revoke any venue owner's liquor licence since then. so you decide. -Klubmasta Will (iDance co-organizer)

I believe that one of the only ways that the scene in TO will progress to a higher level and attain the glory that it once had in numbers can only come through the aid of corporate sponsorship mainly through liquor advertising since Goldclub's contract is ending in Oct. and newer federal legislation is forcing tobacco advertising from the scene. The only problem here is that many of these liquor companies might only jump on board if the prospects seem somewhat profitable. (Many have already started wetting their feet like Heineken Music and Smirnoff Experience). The largest liquored sponsored event in TO was I believe Smirnoff Experience @ the Liberty Grande on the CNE grounds.

Whether or not any of this will come to fruition only time will tell ..

fuck that's really sad that IDance is no more, I remeber going to the 2nd one and seing Dave Clark and Dave the Drummer for the first time, it was fucking insane!!!

i think it could happen...
or im hoping :/

save yourself the trouble and move to europe.

politics in Toronto is way too closed minded for massive sized raves to ever happen in this city again...

I never went to one nor have I ever heard about them until recently. After reading through the articles and peoples viewpoints, I found it really interesting that the 'underground' warehouse scene is somewhat coorelated to the current state of the economy. I guess everything is kind of this way when you think about it but I would have never related these two together.

Great viewpoints for sure. Definitely worth reading, especially if you're bored at work

What's the big deal about "massive's" anyway??

I remember trying to get into 3 different events @ the Better Living Centre back in 2000, and all I saw was poor orginzation, and tons of kids lined up aroud the building a whole 3 hours after gates opened.

Each time I bought advance tickets, and each time the promoters would just jam everyone into the same line like cattle in a paddock, not to mention the venue is hardly that big to begin with.. probably around the same space as the entire Guv/Drink/Koolhaus/Skybar etc complex. Every massive I ended up selling my tickets to kids inline and going to Industry to actually hear the music from INSIDE the venue..

Bottom line is the events might have been decent, but giant events are hardly that great, and not to mention the addition of large number of kids 14yrs old and up hardly make it someplace I want to be. (nothin like seeing the kids convulse on whatever they were doing, then read about it the next day.. go positive press!!)

To each their own, but 15,000 + parties hardly are the answer to getting the Toronto scene on track.. if it even is offtrack in the firstplace..

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Originally posted by crazedcanuck To each their own, but 15,000 + parties hardly are the answer to getting the Toronto scene on track.. if it even is offtrack in the firstplace..

you may have a point. but its a different feeling. there something so energizing about big crowds. about being a part of something big. going to intimate parties is great but i still love a big bash everyonce in a while.

quote:

Originally posted by crazedcanuck What's the big deal about "massive's" anyway?? I remember trying to get into 3 different events @ the Better Living Centre back in 2000, and all I saw was poor orginzation, and tons of kids lined up aroud the building a whole 3 hours after gates opened. Each time I bought advance tickets, and each time the promoters would just jam everyone into the same line like cattle in a paddock, not to mention the venue is hardly that big to begin with.. probably around the same space as the entire Guv/Drink/Koolhaus/Skybar etc complex. Every massive I ended up selling my tickets to kids inline and going to Industry to actually hear the music from INSIDE the venue.. Bottom line is the events might have been decent, but giant events are hardly that great, and not to mention the addition of large number of kids 14yrs old and up hardly make it someplace I want to be. (nothin like seeing the kids convulse on whatever they were doing, then read about it the next day.. go positive press!!) To each their own, but 15,000 + parties hardly are the answer to getting the Toronto scene on track.. if it even is offtrack in the firstplace..

the BLC holds more ppl than the Guv complex ..

quote:

Originally posted by crazedcanuck What's the big deal about "massive's" anyway?? To each their own, but 15,000 + parties hardly are the answer to getting the Toronto scene on track.. if it even is offtrack in the firstplace..

I disagree.... massives ARE great in that help to bring out more people who'll eventually start checking out smaller things. If everything is just in small clubs, people get bored with that easily and end up moving on - theres no growth there.

quote:

Originally posted by bucky I disagree.... massives ARE great in that help to bring out more people who'll eventually start checking out smaller things. If everything is just in small clubs, people get bored with that easily and end up moving on - theres no growth there.

The only "new blood" exposed to that level of talent @ events like that tend to be on the younger side, so the addition of sketchy kids hardly leads to a blow-up and growth of a healthy scene. Those 19 and up who end up there as a first time would have eventually been dragged out by the same passionate friends to another event, not just a "massive".

Our scene isn't like other entertainment events that appeal to a large diverse market, thus pick up large number of stragglers who decide to expand deeper into the local scene after a large multinational event. Certainly they are there, but are usually brought by a friend already passionate about the scene, so the event is hardly that much of a cataclyst for trickle down growth.

BRING THOSE MASSIVE PARTIES BACK!

Those were the dayz ... I love runing away from my friends back then. (Always report back to homebase though LOL)

It was like a total different world in there! Nothing can compaire to that ... so many different type of ppl made the parties so much fun!

I know for a fact that UK scene has a better vibe then Holland. A few of my friends went to Holland and they said "it's worse then the GUV on a SAT night"

Who knows ... I'll have to see for myself. I might have to knock out some Amsterdam dudes if it's really like that. A massive "POW" to the HEAD! TOTA STYLE BITCH!

we should have our own SARS-stock @ Downsview park

quote:

Originally posted by crazedcanuck The only "new blood" exposed to that level of talent @ events like that tend to be on the younger side, so the addition of sketchy kids hardly leads to a blow-up and growth of a healthy scene. Those 19 and up who end up there as a first time would have eventually been dragged out by the same passionate friends to another event, not just a "massive".

That's a generalization. I can tell you that a lot of the oldskoolers who used to hit these parties back in the day are still part of the scene today and many make up the "friendlier" elements of the crowd you might see at the Guv (imho).

The reason why these events don't go on anymore is due to the excessive costs in holding them. Most parties were not 19+ so there weren't any liquor sales. Promoters were dependent solely on ticket sales to gerenate revenue. In fact it's quite ironic that one of the brains behind running the Lifeforce parties is now calling the shots for the Goldclub events. These legendary parties formed the grassroots of the scene today. Without them we might not be having these mega club events at the Guv or perhaps would have had to wait a few more years before they became popular in TO.

If promotors that have massives would put am age limit (say 18 and up) then that would get rid of all the candy, vics, tellatuby back packs, and all that bull shit. but then they prob wouldnt make enough money nothing i hated more about massives than walking around steping on cracked out candy kids laying on the floor. but the sound and lighting at a massive is what i loved most about them.

^^^ That's another BAD generalization about the younger people who goto parties. Sure theres a bunch of 'younger' kids who you'll see chilling on the floor, but that's exactly what they were doing - chilling. All the OD's from those events were just about ALL from the older 19+ crowd who thought they were rockstars yet fell to the ground and were took out on stretchers.

quote:

Originally posted by bucky ^^^ That's another BAD generalization about the younger people who goto parties. Sure theres a bunch of 'younger' kids who you'll see chilling on the floor, but that's exactly what they were doing - chilling. All the OD's from those events were just about ALL from the older 19+ crowd who thought they were rockstars yet fell to the ground and were took out on stretchers.

Very much agreed... the kids I was refering to were more the GAP wearing kids with no exposure to the scene or music, and just went with friends cause they had to try this "rave" thing and do a pill.

I personally love a lotta the Candy kids, since I used to party among them (just was never a full uniform one heh) They are repeadtedly some of the people that make things like WEMF go great for me. (the Ascension parties @ Industry are a large part of my fondest trance memories)

If we could throw outdoor massives @ a venue like Molson's Park (R.I.P), Downsview (yeah right), or elsewhere in the GTA and make it an annual like most of Europe throws, then we'd be talking. I just am not personally fond of the 2000 era massives that were (for a variety of reasons, many which were attacked by Idance, others that are normal, sketchy partying issues) the Cyrous parties in particuloar always seemed terribly organized and set up. Not to mention 10,000+ people indoors...

As for the old skool massives, that were TRUE ass kicking parties, most of my friends who were in TO then said they were packed, but not rammed, and some of the best events thrown locally in the past 5-10 years (pre 2000), so if we could duplicate that vibe, then I'd be bandwagon jumping forsure. But those of us who yearn for Industry know that yearning feeling, and with the amount of people involved on all the diferent aspects of the scene these days, an indoor massive would be pretty hectic.. and since promoters would need to rely on gate, it would be rammed guvernemnt style.

I guess I'm yearning for a kick-ass blowup as much as the rest of ya, but between lacking venues, government BS, and the other annoyances large events bring to your night, I don't know if TO has it in them to pull it off.... our own current festival, WEMF, can't even exist harrassment free, and it's a giant event that draws people from all over, with excellent financial tourism impact.

^^ well put

quote:

Originally posted by dEsidEL That's a generalization. I can tell you that a lot of the oldskoolers who used to hit these parties back in the day are still part of the scene today and many make up the "friendlier" elements of the crowd you might see at the Guv (imho). The reason why these events don't go on anymore is due to the excessive costs in holding them. Most parties were not 19+ so there weren't any liquor sales. Promoters were dependent solely on ticket sales to gerenate revenue. In fact it's quite ironic that one of the brains behind running the Lifeforce parties is now calling the shots for the Goldclub events. These legendary parties formed the grassroots of the scene today. Without them we might not be having these mega club events at the Guv or perhaps would have had to wait a few more years before they became popular in TO.

agreed. When all this started to go down I figured its time to head back underground... while this has happened too a degree, the authorities have really wizened up to the, and i quote "rave scene" which has lead largely to the replacement of rave's with club nights. I know in Kitchener here the cops are even watching message boards, or have informants that do. My friend tried to throw a free event in an undisclosed location until the day of and when he went to set up, there was a cruiser already there... first thing the cop said was "bet you didnt expect to see me here"

its tough these dayz..

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