Your not you're dammit

I was helping security at a "rave" a few cons back. This one drunk/high guy and his buddies happened to be sitting next to where I was standing. Every other song, the drunk guy would get up and dance in front of me like he was giving me a show and ask if I was enjoying the music. It was hilarious and helped make the time a little better.

Went to a couple raves at anime cons then just stopped all together because it became increasingly pointless.

First couple years going to ACen the Rave was so small that you could walk in and out whenever you wanted and without having to deal with lines. Music was good, there weren't any chintzy vendors overcharging for glowsticks and gasmasks and stupid rave shit. It was literally just a giant open room with some lights and a guy blasting techno over a fairly large sound system. Good stuff. Mellow, really.

Next couple years saw a spike in attendance, so it got to the point where you'd be waiting in line for hours for the chance to get in as soon as someone else left because of fire codes. Then they started getting 'bands' to play these raves. I have a distinct memory of one band which consisted of some voice actor or something and his friends. They played really generic shitty techno music and then sang over it. It was unbearable.

From there, it just got too big. I didn't want to line up 3 hours in advance to just shuffle around for a couple hours in a room that's a few degrees shy of being a sauna. I still don't. ACen raves are so fucktardedly huge that there are people in line til 3am when they shut down, still waiting to get in.

Plus there's that aforementioned problem of faggots and whores who trudge into those things in 50 pounds of obnoxious rave gear, get drugged off their asses and pass out from dehydration 10 minutes into the damn things.

>>5180401
THIS.

There's more to ACen than the rave, but people still insist in waiting hours to get into a cramped ballroom to listen to shitty techno music (and this is coming from an electronica/dance music fan) and breathe in a sauna of confunk. Personally, I love going to late-night events while that goes on (18+ events are usually fun and the gameroom isn't as crowded), and besides, there are djs wandering around with carry-on turnables, and the music is just fine outside of the ballroom.

Con raves are terrible, the guys are still awkward nerds.

>>5180401
If that's what ACen's rave is looking like in 2012 then I am not sad about missing out. I've never been to ACen (this will be my first) and I was excited to go and check out the rave since it's so big and all (even though im not too big of a rave person), but if you're saying people are lining up hours before it starts only to "possibly" get in the rave, I will gladly skip it.

Like I said I'm not too big of a rave person and honestly I'd rather be at the con just taking pictures, going to late night events & chilling wih others. I just hope it's worth it for my friends ( they've never been to ACen either and they're beyond excited about the rave) because I am not willing to sit out 3-4 hours out of my con weekend to wait for a mediocre "rave"

>>5180520
Oh, I hope that you'll have a lot of fun on your first time! Sadly, I won't be going this time because of the weird timing (it's too close to final exams...I liked going to Acen as a way to end a long semester). The late night events can be just as fun as the day time events (even though they're not the dances/concerts, do arrive early and have your ID with you).

I don't know about you, but if you want to enjoy Acen its fullest (as possible), I suggest highlighting events you want to go to ahead of time and studying the con map on their website. I heard that staff moved the panels into where the gaming events took place so it'll be much easier than having to walk from hotel to hotel. In between the panels/events you want to go to, be sure to have a down time (there's going to be a LOT of walking involved) - get fueled up, check out photoshoots, dealer's/artist alley.

I also recommend bringing a wad of cash on hand (one to put away in your hotel's safe and the other on you) for the dealer's room. It always seems like the ATMs go out of order every other hour and God knows what you'll end up wanting not from your wishlist; I also recommend checking the dealers' websites ahead of time to keep yourself from overspending (or being under budget), but sometimes that is nearly inevitable.

>>5180520
I don't really know how to feel about ACen any more, but the rave is definitely not an even to highlight if it's something you'd just want to check out. People line up hours in advance, during other large events like the Masq, and that line will be there all night, curling all the way down the street and often back again.

It's a clusterfuck inside and out.

On the plus side, having that many people all waiting in line makes the various other areas more mellow and hang-outable.

I went to Anime USA last week and I got to meet/see DJ Sisen, which was pretty rad.
I always have a good time at con raves. But then again, I'm not picky. So long as there are no awkward mixes/ annoying sounds in the songs and I can dance, I'm happy.

My experience with going to raves pretty much involves me going with a few girl friends to watch over them, and us getting hit on by sweaty, creepy socially awkward guys. Pffft fuck that.

I haven't gone to a rave in over a year and a half or two years, though, and I don't plan on going to any more. They're not my forte. It's usually just a clusterfuck of self-proclaimed "nerdy" people in skimpy clothing rubbing up against each other.

LMFAO
so andy szawsum does most stl con raves, and i pretty much live at his house so i listen to his music all the damn time, so hearing it at a con isnt really all that special. i mean yeah, he's a real dj, pretty successful actually. He's playing one of the largest new year raves in st louis, vip room and all. So the music is rave appropriate, but the people just crack my shit up.
I mean i go to real raves and most people there are all sorts of spun out,whereas con raves most people are depressingly sober, and incredibly awkward. Like it feels like the whole room is filled with this awkward tension.

like idk. real life rave =/= con rave at aaaaaalllllll.

On the topic of ACen raves, I've gotten into line about an hour after the thing starts (with the line wrapped around the building of course) and managed to get in to it within half an hour. Another time I had to wait over an hour outside because the IRT member blocking the door didn't get notice from someone inside to let us in so people were cutting the line inside. I enjoy the rave so I go every year, but it's really not serious enough for me to line up so early for it. I just hop in line when I can and end up not waiting too long.

>>5180598
acen goer since 98 here.
It's ruining the fucking con it's outta control, and it brings in little shits who don't even care about anime.
in my day we could go to a rave anywhere we wanted, not just at a fucking anime con.
If the con has it under control that's one thing but acen clearly does not