By
Sheila Bapat
Life hasn't been fun for Darren Blatt lately.
For the past four months, the 21-year-old UA senior and rave promoter for Euphoric Empire - a Los Angeles-based company that promotes music festivals - has been planning for Arizona's biggest rave. Called Transcend, the event has been planned to take place at Pima County Fairgrounds Saturday, Aug. 26.
Up until Aug. 14, the rave was set in stone. Then Blatt got a call from a reporter who informed him of the commission's plan to cancel the rave.
Transcend began to fall.
"I'm pissed," Blatt barked his thoughts about the commission's decisions. "We've been planning this for four months. And the city (sic) never even informed us (of its concerns)."
At a meeting yesterday, the Pima County Fair Commission pulled out of a contract it signed four months ago due to concerns about security and drug use. The event has been rescheduled for a new venue that will be announced tomorrow.
While the commission's concerns are legitimate, breaking their contract with Euphoric Empire with such short notice was unfair.
If the commission is going to crack down on raves, it had better crack down on every other event where drugs may be a problem.
And if it does this, the only artists that can now play at Pima County Fairgrounds will be Yanni and John Tesh.
Although, watching Tesh after a hit of E might actually make the show entertaining.
According to Blatt, the commission has taken several measures to get out of their contract with Euphoric Empire.
"Their concerns are legit. But their actions are not," Blatt said. "They had an executive board meeting to find a way to say we're in breach of contract. They just shut us down."
But even more than a fear of substance abuse and lack of security, the commission's actions are a clear cut result of a generation gap.
Four months ago, the commission was apparently not even aware of the connotation of the term "rave."
"The commission was not aware of what happens at raves (when they signed the contract)," said the commission's attorney, Pat Lopez. "They're of a different generation. There are all sorts of events at the fairgrounds, dog shows and horse shows. The commission thought it was just another event."
True, a rave isn't quite as tame as a dog show. But before signing any contracts, the commission should know exactly what kind of show they are agreeing to. If the commission is so gravely concerned about the dangers of the concerts that might be held at the fairgrounds, its members should have been more careful when signing the contract with Euphoric Empire.
"None of the people on the commission have ever even been to a rave," Blatt said. "They think ravers are a certain breed of bad kids, and that's discriminatory."
True, some ravers feel the only way they can have fun at a rave is by using Ecstasy, Special K and spending the night grinding their teeth. They give most other ravers a bad rap since many people who attend raves do not feel the need to use the drugs in order to have fun.
It is a good call for the commission to try to clean up its shows. Added security at all concerts and being pickier about what shows are allowed to play at the county fairgrounds are good ways to keep city-sponsored events safe.
But they certainly should not have forced Blatt into rescheduling the entire event at the last minute.
Aside from working eighty hours a week for Euphoric Empire, Blatt is double majoring in psychology and communications and doing research for both departments. He plans to go to graduate school and eventually work as a children's counselor.
"Would anyone on that commission think I'm such an educated person? Probably not," Blatt said. "They might think I'm just a raver kid. But I don't know what a raver is. You can say it's someone who wears fuzzy pants and rainbow jewelry. But I just think it's people who go to these music festivals to have a good time."
Even if the commission keeps its shows clean, the rave culture won't stop. And Transcend certainly won't either - the TBA venue is likely to bring in thousands. And Blatt has to reroute world famous techno deejays and thousands of fans to the new top-secret venue.
"This is probably a promoter's worst nightmare," Blatt said. "But the show will go on."
