What's the scene like out there?

[Whatsupschlomo]

Heya all,
I'm looking to move somewhere in the Pacific Northwest (likely Portland), once I graduate from from college in Minneapolis, MN this spring. I have been raving here since high school, and the party scene, while decent for the midwest, is definitely lacking in some respects. Can you good folks let me know what I can expect in terms of music, vibe, people, size of parties, etc, when I head out there? For a bit of perspective, Minneapolis is host to proper raves once every two months or so, with the largest ones numbering about 1000 people with a handful of international headliners. There is a pretty healthy club scene here, too, but I prefer not to get all dressed up in a collar shirt and hear epic trance at a meat market club downtown. The dominant styles at underground parties here are dnb, techno, and house, with a fair amount of hardcore and a growing psy scene. Also, people here are jaded as fuck. True positive vibin' ravers are rare out here, with the party demographic being largely composed of jaded thirty-something hipsters who would prefer to lean against the wall with their arms crossed and mock those "uncool" enough to actually dance. As you can tell, I'm ready for a change : )
I have some friends who live in Tacoma, and they have said great things about the scene in the NW. I have heard that the Kinetic/Magnetic parties are great, and that you folks are generally host to a good massive of several thousand or more every month or so.
I guess I'd like to know: what are the dominant genres at parties out west? What size parties can I expect? What are the general fashions/subcultural attitudes that prevail at parties? I would especially love some comparison opinions from any of you that have been to parties in the midwest, especially in the Twin Cities.
Thanks (and probably see you soon :] )
Leon

[Lost-in-Trance]

Originally posted by Whatsupschlomo
Heya all,
I'm looking to move somewhere in the Pacific Northwest (likely Portland), once I graduate from from college in Minneapolis, MN this spring. I have been raving here since high school, and the party scene, while decent for the midwest, is definitely lacking in some respects. Can you good folks let me know what I can expect in terms of music, vibe, people, size of parties, etc, when I head out there? For a bit of perspective, Minneapolis is host to proper raves once every two months or so, with the largest ones numbering about 1000 people with a handful of international headliners. There is a pretty healthy club scene here, too, but I prefer not to get all dressed up in a collar shirt and hear epic trance at a meat market club downtown. The dominant styles at underground parties here are dnb, techno, and house, with a fair amount of hardcore and a growing psy scene. Also, people here are jaded as fuck. True positive vibin' ravers are rare out here, with the party demographic being largely composed of jaded thirty-something hipsters who would prefer to lean against the wall with their arms crossed and mock those "uncool" enough to actually dance. As you can tell, I'm ready for a change : )
I have some friends who live in Tacoma, and they have said great things about the scene in the NW. I have heard that the Kinetic/Magnetic parties are great, and that you folks are generally host to a good massive of several thousand or more every month or so.
I guess I'd like to know: what are the dominant genres at parties out west? What size parties can I expect? What are the general fashions/subcultural attitudes that prevail at parties? I would especially love some comparison opinions from any of you that have been to parties in the midwest, especially in the Twin Cities.
Thanks (and probably see you soon :] )
Leon

Well there's drum n bass at nearly every party if at least only in one of the side rooms. Usually the main stage is trance, unless its a hardcore/hhc party... There are tons of talented djs, and while I don't really have anything to compare it to, I'd say the people are generally pretty nice. Don't get me wrong, there are some jaded fucks, but in general the vibe is pretty good.

Oh and if you're into the whole pedophile thing, there are prostitots aplenty up hurr. (If you're unfamiliar with the term, check the prostitots thread here: http://nwtekno.org/vb/showthread.php?threadid=114454)

When you move up here make sure to post here and you should be able to make at least a couple friends who can help guide you around. Everyone knows how it is moving to a new place and trying to assimilate, and people here are usually pretty helpful...

[dawnstealer01]

hey Leon!! Welcome to nwtekno my friend..... :) if i remember right, there were a fair amount of prostitots back in mn as well. we sure were spoiled back home, eh?

ah the midwest...

[Whatsupschlomo]

What's up, David! Oh yeah, we know all about prostitots : )
Are you gonna be back in Tacoma by the time I'm in the neighborhood?

[dawnstealer01]

yep! Im staying out here at least through august, at which point I have to make a decision about where I want to base the whole life thing for a while. Ill have a pretty decent studio set up by then too. we should make some muzak. :) you're gonna love it out here.

[darkcorner]

Dude, not to be a buzz kill, but if the rave scene is important to youre life, then stay in the midwest or go east. Specially if you have been going since highschool. I have too, and moved up here from Chicago, and to tell you the truth, there are a few good parties, but the majority are a complete joke. Horrible music, and little kids on E. If you hold quality cutting edge electronic music close to your heart, as well as an actual scene with people who care about it, than stay in the midwest. Ive been here three years, and whenever I visit Chicago, my favorite thing to do is go to a rave because I miss the "real" underground so badly. Also from my observations, people from east tend to become bitter after a few years out here. The passive agressiveness of people can get to you if you didnt grow up used to it.

[bsweet]

Hrrrm....I too am originally from the east coast, but I really think the west coast is the best coast. I've been here ten years and have yet to become "bitter". I have made some life-long friendships here. Yeah, maybe the all-age scene is in the shitter here, but there are some excellent crews here who do care, with quality music, and quality people. The underground does exist.

[Nordic Soul]

> What's the scene like out there?

Can't speak for Portland, but Seattle is poppin'. Super diverse club scene and a vital underground dance scene as well.

Here are some links to check out:
Start here--->www.seaofhands.com (local electronic music blog with a quality list of venue, artist, promoter and label links)

www.dbfestival.com (electronic music festival and promotional company)
www.unitingsouls.com (House)
www.broken-disco.com (Monthly dance night, that has been going off)
www.fourthcity.net (IDM / Hip Hop / Live Electronica label and promoter)
www.simplyshameless.com (Techno / Electro)
www.suntzusound.com (Broken Beat / House)
www.imputor.com (IDM / Experimental Label)
www.infiniteconnections.com (Trance / Breaks)
www.nseq.blogspot.com (Experimental / Electro Acoustic)
http://orac.vu (Techno / Minimal Label)
www.dragonseyerecordings.com (Ambient / Experimental Label and promoter)
www.massmvmnt.com (Hip Hop / IDM Label)
www.myspace.com/krakt (Techno)
www.kupei.com (Tech House / Minimal Label)

Seattle is easily one of the most productive electronic music communities in North America, if not the most.....and that's coming from people I work with living in Europe where electronic music culture is much more commonplace.

[Whatsupschlomo]

Originally posted by dawnstealer01
yep! Im staying out here at least through august, at which point I have to make a decision about where I want to base the whole life thing for a while. Ill have a pretty decent studio set up by then too. we should make some muzak. :) you're gonna love it out here.

Got any pics? I'd like to see you beat my Oxygen8 and 6-year-old copy of Reason 2.0 :D Yes, tinkering around with your soon-to-be-awesome gear is definitely in order.

Based on the rest of the feedback so far, I'm pretty excited. Sounds like there is something worthwhile going on pretty much every weekend. Well, that and Portland is an awesome city regardless, having a strong regional electronic scene is just the icing on the cake.

[ladycubana]

Originally posted by Whatsupschlomo
Got any pics? I'd like to see you beat my Oxygen8 and 6-year-old copy of Reason 2.0 :D Yes, tinkering around with your soon-to-be-awesome gear is definitely in order.

Based on the rest of the feedback so far, I'm pretty excited. Sounds like there is something worthwhile going on pretty much every weekend. Well, that and Portland is an awesome city regardless, having a strong regional electronic scene is just the icing on the cake.

Portland has plenty of stuff to do. I have the bags under my eyes to prove it. Majority of quality music events take place in bars/clubs. Next weekend we have Green Velvet at our newest venue, On Air. Next month Derrick Carter, also at On Air. Jason Hodges in December at Ararat. DJ Sneak in Feb. Plus, the afterhours spot on Saturdays, Ararat, is constantly crackin with a crazy list of house talent being booked.

Trust and believe, there's enough for you to get your fix.

[wingnut]

Portland is awesome and getting better. There are lots of jaded people here too, but basically don't get bitter until you've dug deep enough to see the WHOLE scene. Our psytrance scene is underground and full of loving hippie vibes. The drum and bass scene is over the top and raging. Portland has almost no trance or happy hardcore, but you can always go to Seattle to get your fix - plenty of that there! We even have some old school kandi kids and people who actually know styles like liquid and pop-n-lock. Hit me up when you get here and I'll give you a grand tour hehe

[Homatek]

I vote Portland.
We do have a lot going on. Ya you can choose to hit up the parties w/ all the cracked out little kids, but there are also just as many cool parties going on here otherwise. Especially in the summer time!!!!!!!
Lots of club and bar nights bringing in really good talent. Not to mention we have a lot of skilled local Dj's/Producers. Honestly Seattle is cool, but I just like the vibe of Portland better. Seattle has the big events if thats the kind of thing you are looking for. To me those big events are just events though...not really parties.
Portland is just a good place to reside anyways. And don't forget..Seattle is so close that you can visit anytime.

[Lost-in-Trance]

Originally posted by ladycubana
Portland has plenty of stuff to do. I have the bags under my eyes to prove it. Majority of quality music events take place in bars/clubs. Next weekend we have Green Velvet at our newest venue, On Air. Next month Derrick Carter, also at On Air. Jason Hodges in December at Ararat. DJ Sneak in Feb. Plus, the afterhours spot on Saturdays, Ararat, is constantly crackin with a crazy list of house talent being booked.

Trust and believe, there's enough for you to get your fix.

Not to mention Adam F and Krafty Kuts on New Years Eve... I might even make it down for that one, provided seattle can't top that lineup

[getstupid]

There is always something to do in the NW.

Except find a job, especially in Portland.

[B_tech]

Originally posted by Whatsupschlomo
Heya all,
I'm looking to move somewhere in the Pacific Northwest (likely Portland), once I graduate from from college in Minneapolis, MN this spring.

A lot less techno than you're used to and heavy on the breakbeats, but a very chill scene. (i'm speaking of Seattle, BTW)

[B_tech]

Originally posted by Lost-in-Trance
Not to mention Adam F and Krafty Kuts on New Years Eve... I might even make it down for that one, provided seattle can't top that lineup
IMO... they did: "SCIENCE FRICTION" frmo Decibel & Shamless. That's where I'll be.

[Whatsupschlomo]

I appreciate the warm responses, I think I'm gonna like it out there :) I look forward to it!

[J Renegade]

Originally posted by darkcorner
Dude, not to be a buzz kill, but if the rave scene is important to youre life, then stay in the midwest or go east. Specially if you have been going since highschool. I have too, and moved up here from Chicago, and to tell you the truth, there are a few good parties, but the majority are a complete joke. Horrible music, and little kids on E. If you hold quality cutting edge electronic music close to your heart, as well as an actual scene with people who care about it, than stay in the midwest. Ive been here three years, and whenever I visit Chicago, my favorite thing to do is go to a rave because I miss the "real" underground so badly. Also from my observations, people from east tend to become bitter after a few years out here. The passive agressiveness of people can get to you if you didnt grow up used to it. Thats funny my step dad lives in Chicago and says in all clubs. PDX has an amazing house, DNB, and PSY scene. If you like bars, outdoors or all ages you'll be happy trust me. Alot of people are moving here.

[Whatsupschlomo]

That's good to hear. I crave psy like I crave food and water. I figured Portland would have a booming psy scene since it's known as such a hippie mecca :D
I love outdoors, never been to a true all ages as they don't really happen out here, and I could give and take bars. Depends on the bar, really. As long as it's not a trendy clubber meatmarket I'll probably find it enjoyable.

Originally posted by J Renegade
Thats funny my step dad lives in Chicago and says in all clubs. PDX has an amazing house, DNB, and PSY scene. If you like bars, outdoors or all ages you'll be happy trust me. Alot of people are moving here.