Digital Circus was last night, and seeing as I will be posting about that later, when the pictures for it some out, I figure that I should update you guys' raver vocabulary, seeing as my last vlog on the subject kind of only scratched the surface.
SO. Here is every god damn thing you need to know about raves and rave slang in order to understand my posts.
Shows
A show is a rave. It could also be called a rager, party, or festival. Shows come in three sizes:
-Small (smallish venue, generally one or two stages, 50-200 people)
-Mid-sized (moderately sized venue, generally at least two stages, 200-1000 people)
-Massive (large venue, minimum of two stages, but generally has more like four or six, 1000-100,000 people)
Drugs
To be frank, drugs are a big part of rave culture. It's important to know what you could be taking at shows and also to know what the slang terms for rave drugs are.
Ecstasy
Ecstasy is basically the most common drug that you'll find at raves. It comes in little pills, which are classified by color and logo (i.e. pink doves, yellow hondas, red wolverines) and is generally sketchy in all forms. Unless you know the dealer, don't buy or take ecstasy at raves. You don't know what you could be putting in your body, and I have had pills that have contained PCP, heroin, 2ci, and all manner of other things that one would not generally intentionally put into their body.
If you do decide to be brave and buy ecstasy at a rave, make sure you know your shit! Pink, orange, blue, and yellow pills are going to be higher quality. White, brown, and red pills are generally pretty fine, although they are definitely riskier. Do NOT under any circumstances ever consume green or purple pills. These tend to be cheaply made and are packed with piperzines, which are synthetic forms of ecstasy that can fuck up your system.
Slang terms for ecstasy include: Pills, Ills, Illies, Rolls, Rollies, Disco Biscuits, Cookies, E, X, and Candy, just to name a few.
Molly
Molly is an extremely refined form of methamphetamine called MDMA. Molly is not "pure" ecstasy, molly is the basis for ecstasy. MDMA and ecstasy are not the same thing at all, so don't let anyone fool you. Molly is a white or off-white powder. It is sold in points, with one point being about 0.1 g.
It is generally sold in powder form, though it can be pressed into pure molly pills.
Admittedly, for raves, molly is my drug of choice. It has predictable affects and does not impare motor skills or common sense if used correctly. However, if you choose to buy molly for a rave, be very careful! Dealers will sometimes cut their stash with anything from baking soda to Comet Cleaner just so that they can make more money per gram. Also, if anyone tries to sell you colored molly, do NOT be the stupid fuck who buys it. Molly is white and should only and always be white; if you buy colored molly, you're not only wasting money, but you're probably setting yourself up for a nice visit to the ER.
Slang terms for molly are generally unheard of... If people are going to try to sell you molly, the will say molly.
LSD
LSD is a hallucinogenic drug that begins in a crystallized form, but can melted down into a liquid. Liquid LSD can then be painted on papers called blotters or tabs, put into microdots, placed in sugar cubes, drinks, the pads of band-aids, or pretty much anything.
At raves, if you choose to buy LSD, you can tell the quality based on the price. $10-15 per tab is about the minimum that you should want to pay. Any less, and you're getting low-grade, probably poisonous shit. If someone offers you a ten-strip of acid, you do NOT take it; it is wayyyy too much for any one person to consume. I have only ever seen one guy eat a whole ten-strip before, and he suffered a psychotic break mid-rave and had to be brought out on a stretcher.
Slang terms for LSD include, but are not limited to: Acid, Sid, Lucy, Dose.
Mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms are another, lesser-known rave drug. They are semi-natural, sold in increments of an ounces, just like weed, and are really, really hallucinogenic.
For a rave, I wouldn't advise buying or consuming mushrooms, simply because even the weakest doses can cause extreme hallucinations. A rave is already a sensory overload, add in synesthesia (where your senses get confused, so you start tasting colors and feeling or smelling sounds) and you're going to have a very enlightened time, but at the risk of becoming overwhelmed and of losing your friends, keys, and wallet due to not being able to comprehend reality.
Slang terms for mushrooms are fairly self-explanitory. The most common terms are: Shrooms, Magic Mushrooms, Booms, Boomers, and Fungus.
Experimental Drugs
These are what are more commonly known as 'designer drugs'. They are essentially weird combinations of new chemicals which can yield the affects of regular drugs, but at a heightened level.
At a rave, taking anything experimental is not a good idea! You don't know what's in it, what it's going to do to you, or if you're even paying a fair amount for it.
Experimental drugs include Doc, Foxy, DMT, 2ci, and basically anything that someone talks about that isn't one of the afore-mentioned drugs.
Ok! Well now that I've freaked you all out about drugs, which honestly are not bad unless you make them bad via misuse or abuse, I think it's time to move on to the rave culture terms that I toss around often.
Rave Culture
Kandi: Beaded bracelets, necklaces, or whatever that people make to show off and trade at raves. Bracelets are either in tradable 'singles', which are made with a single strand of string and generally have a word or phrase written on it, or in large 'cuffs', which are bigger, made with tons of beads, and are the sign of a true raver.
The Scene: Referring to raves in general. Despite infiltration by the mainstream, raving is still a fairly underground thing. You have to know people who know people in order to know when and where a show is going to take place. It's our little community :)
PLUR: PLUR is the bread and butter of rave culture. It is like an omnipotent, all-known code of conduct. The letters stand for Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. Sometimes, people add an extra R for Responsibility, but being able to handle oneself in an at least semi-dignified manner is kind of a prerequisite thing on the scene.
Rolling v. Tripping v. Flipping: These are ways that people describe not only what drugs they have taken, but how fucked up they are. One rolls on ecstasy or molly, one trips on hallucinogens, and one flips by combining any of the above. Flipping is not for the faint of heart, as it is generally a combination of ecstasy and something else. The most common flips that people do are hippy-flipping, which is ecstasy+shrooms, and candy-flipping, which is generally some assortment of ecstasy, molly, and acid. When describing one's self while flipping, one does not actually say "I'm flipping so hard right now!" One should instead refer to the drug which they combined with ecstasy, saying "I'm tripping so hard right now!" Also, we silly ravers have a habit of using body parts to describe just how hard we are going, combining the terms balls, tits, and face most commonly with our chosen definitive term. I.e. "I am rolling tits!" or "I am tripping absolute face right now!"
Kandi Kid: These are ravers who are very into the whole 'sugar scene' thing, which is basically allowing one's inner child to come out for raves. They wear fuck tons of kandi, but instead of going for a slutty/neon thing with their outfits, kandi kids will wear phat pants/UFO pants, which are these super baggy yet really breathable pants, adorable t-shirts with cartoon characters on them, and plushie back-packs of the same variety.
Gogo: Gogos are the hired T&A, cough, dancers at most shows. They don't take of their clothes or take tips, so they're technically a step above strippers and Hooter's girls. they can generally be characterized by their distinctive platform boots (of which I happen to own a pair) and layered yet slutty outfits. Gogos are kind of a running joke in the scene because they tend to have large egos and little personalities.
Light show: When someone is rolling or tripping, their pupils dilate, which causes lights to become much more intense to the person. At raves, people will use light-up gloves, orbits, poi, or even glow sticks to dance with, generally attracting a small audience of really fucked-up, fascinated ravers. This is a light show. A personal light show is generally given to a seated raver (in case the lights get to be too much, you can't fall off the floor) who may be being given a back massage or something by another raver. It's all engineered to capitalize on the heightened sensations caused by rave drugs while also bringing people together.
Rave Mom/Dad: This is a thing that only really legit ravers will understand. A Rave Mom or Dad is an older raver who takes a newer, younger raver under their wing. A Rave Parent offers guidance, kandi, and sometimes even trustworthy drugs to their Rave Child. We're all a big, happy family of drugged-out, sluttily-dressed young people. It's adorable, really.
Bro: A bro is one who is obviously new to the scene, ignorant of the culture, and just at the show to do drugs and look at all of the scantily-clad women. This is the fucker in the Ed Hardy t-shirt who is trying to fist-pump to hardstyle while simultaneously grinding on a girl who is obviously gay and balancing a beer in the non-fist-pumping hand. Seriously, beer? At a rave? This ain't no douche-filled club from the Jersey Shore, bro.
Rave Name: A rave name is a nickname bequeathed to you by either a dear friend or a Rave Parent. Rave names can be used when introducing one's self to new people who either sketchy as hell, or too far gone to remember your real name anyway. It's generally cute, simple, and descriptive of you in some way. My rave name is Mousey, due to the fact that I am tiny and cute.
Bunk: Term meaning shitty, useless, or basically any other negative connotation you can think of. It's used to describe bad drugs.
So there you have it, kids. You can now go to any rave and not look like a complete idiot! Or, you can just read my posts and understand what the fuck I am talking about.
Hope this helps a bit. Possible kandi video blog thing coming soon :)
Julia
I found this post quite enlightening :)
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