anabolic frolic

Symphony concert hall hosts all-night dance party to reach younger set

AMY CARMICHAEL
Canadian Press


Monday, February 04, 2002

TORONTO (CP) - Turntables, mixers and stacks of vinyl records are set to be loaded on to one of Toronto's classiest stages, a place normally reserved for Mahler and Mozart and other high-brow fare.

The Renaissance party slated for Feb. 8 at Roy Thomson Hall is a rave for grown-ups - defined here as people in their 20s and 30s - and it's part of a trend sweeping the dance music scene. Such events are billed as a tony night for house music junkies who are done dancing in sweaty warehouses lined with Port-o-Lets.

Simply put, the crowd that popularized dance music has matured.

"In the last year or two promoters have caught on and started throwing huge dance parties like the old warehouse raves, but for adults," said Ryan Kruger, organizer of Renaissance, the first event of its kind in Toronto.

A party staged at London's Millennium Dome was one such event, Kruger says, and "the same kind of thing has been happening in massive soccer stadiums across Europe."

In Canada, the shift has translated into electronic music parties at big clubs like the Guvernment on Toronto's waterfront, drawing some 5,000 people, sponsored by big names like Smirnoff and Benson and Hedges.

"With Renaissance, we're taking that to the next level and bringing back one of the coolest elements of the old-school raves: the really unique location."

The idea to throw a grown-up rave at Roy Thomson Hall, the regular locale for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, was also hatched in another unlikely place: the mind of Sandy Castonguay, the hall's program director.

After moving to Toronto from New York last summer, Castonguay immersed himself in the city's various music scenes, trying to find out what people were listening to. He was struck by the popularity of electronic music and the number of Toronto DJs who draw huge crowds. Castonguay smelled a big market and an opportunity.

"It's a chance to reach people in their 20s who don't usually come to our classical concerts," he said of Renaissance. Tickets for the event cost $40.

DJs will be slamming down tracks in Roy Thomson Hall's choir loft until 5 a.m., as partiers lounge in the comfy concert seats and beglittered crowds jump in the plushly carpeted lobby, seeing and being seen.

The headliner, DJ Sneak, says promoters and DJs have to evolve with audiences and cater to their changing tastes with more sophisticated events and venues.

"The older, more mature crowd that has been supporting house music over the past 10 years needs the right environment because they have been there and done that," Sneak said. "They want to look good, dress good. What would be the point of going to all that trouble to go to a dark, smoky club or warehouse?"

The sound of the hall is a big draw, a state-of-the-art quality that Castonguay is sure club kids have never experienced. And the classy locale is major treat for fans who, for years, have put up with inhumane conditions to see their favourite DJs.

"You meet a lot of professionals out now, and they don't want to dance in some sweaty basement with a bunch of 16-year-olds whacked out on crystal," said Greta Walker, owner of Eastern Bloc Records, who is selling the tickets for the event.

Castonguay hopes Renaissance will strip electronic music of its baggage. Stories of young kids going to hear the music at all-night parties and overdosing on designer drugs or being plied with GHB, the so-called date-rape drug, have been splashed across the media in Europe and North America for years.

"We want to take the focus off of that, and showcase the music itself," Castonguay said.

Kruger, a veteran of the Toronto rave scene, has been throwing jams since the first wave of popularity in electronic music crashed down. He knows his stuff, but admits he isn't used to promoting such classy digs with the backing of big-name sponsors like Nokia, which is helping to stage Renaissance.

Her said he's kept his company alive over the years by listening to what people want as the scene changes.

"Our idea of a good night out is a lot different than when we were 17 or 18 years old," Kruger said. "As we've matured, our tastes have changed, and people have grown up with our parties."

Kruger said he doesn't know where electronic music is headed in terms of mainstream popularity, but said he will continue throwing parties for fans as they grow up.

"It's not underground anymore, but it's not your top-40 standard either."

He said he doesn't think the genre will die like disco, because its roots are deeper, going back some 15 years.

"People tend to stick with the music they grow up with and a lot of us grew up with electronic music. I certainly don't see myself or any of my friends hitting 40 and suddenly switching to rock and roll."

© Copyright 2002 The Canadian Press

Everybodies_Daddy

Ick.

One of the things that makes a rave a RAVE is the lack of posturing and bullshit. The "looking good"... you're trying to tell me that when people get all wired up in their outfits that they don't look good?

Rave for old people?

I wouldn't go to that party if they paid me.

Ick.

MCED

__________________
Dirty Little Secrets

Hot + Dirty