1 00:00:00,433 --> 00:00:04,573 ♪ 2 00:00:04,609 --> 00:00:07,012 -We need to stop the raves. 3 00:00:07,046 --> 00:00:09,083 It's not a safe place for your kids. 4 00:00:09,117 --> 00:00:12,022 -In the '90s, what many young people crave is 5 00:00:12,055 --> 00:00:15,128 an all-night music and drug-fueled rave. 6 00:00:15,162 --> 00:00:18,702 -Everything about it was a middle finger to authority. 7 00:00:18,736 --> 00:00:20,640 -Until all these good vibes... 8 00:00:20,672 --> 00:00:22,175 [ Girls yelling ] 9 00:00:22,210 --> 00:00:25,115 -Raves, celebrated hedonism and pleasure. 10 00:00:25,149 --> 00:00:28,187 -...provoke authorities to harsh the partygoers buzz. 11 00:00:28,222 --> 00:00:31,128 -I think that made politicians uncomfortable. 12 00:00:31,161 --> 00:00:33,164 It made parents uncomfortable. 13 00:00:33,198 --> 00:00:34,567 -Bulldoze it down. 14 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:36,237 -The government cracks down. 15 00:00:36,271 --> 00:00:38,609 -They made ecstasy out to look like it was crack. 16 00:00:38,643 --> 00:00:41,048 -The biggest fear is that one of these parties 17 00:00:41,081 --> 00:00:42,417 will turn tragic. 18 00:00:42,450 --> 00:00:43,753 -Promoters are scared to death 19 00:00:43,786 --> 00:00:45,723 for fear of getting raided. 20 00:00:45,756 --> 00:00:48,695 -Criminals prey on fun-seeking ravers. 21 00:00:48,729 --> 00:00:51,802 -These guys came to kill me. Straight up Mafia style. 22 00:00:51,835 --> 00:00:54,473 -And the bright, naive promise of the rave movement... 23 00:00:54,506 --> 00:00:57,146 -People just letting their freak flag fly. 24 00:00:57,179 --> 00:00:59,283 -...gets twisted into something darker 25 00:00:59,317 --> 00:01:02,122 and more sinister. -It was exactly the opposite 26 00:01:02,155 --> 00:01:04,795 of peace, love, unity and respect. 27 00:01:04,828 --> 00:01:10,272 ♪ 28 00:01:10,305 --> 00:01:15,549 ♪ 29 00:01:15,582 --> 00:01:20,793 ♪ 30 00:01:20,826 --> 00:01:26,271 ♪ 31 00:01:26,304 --> 00:01:28,810 -Young adults and teens, many of them underage, 32 00:01:28,843 --> 00:01:32,483 find their way into this secret world. 33 00:01:32,516 --> 00:01:35,823 Take a look at what makes kids crave the rave. 34 00:01:35,856 --> 00:01:38,662 -In the ,'90s. America is getting turned on 35 00:01:38,695 --> 00:01:43,204 to a new kind of midnight to pass sunup party. 36 00:01:43,237 --> 00:01:46,578 -Sometimes outdoors, sometimes in warehouses. 37 00:01:46,611 --> 00:01:48,248 Typically illegal. 38 00:01:48,281 --> 00:01:50,819 -It's about the lights. It's about the atmosphere. 39 00:01:50,853 --> 00:01:53,525 -Raves deliver the opportunity for sex... 40 00:01:53,558 --> 00:01:55,462 -It was a pretty hedonistic environment. 41 00:01:55,495 --> 00:01:57,200 -...mood-enhancing drugs. 42 00:01:57,233 --> 00:01:58,635 -Without ecstasy, this would have 43 00:01:58,670 --> 00:02:00,739 never happened the way it did. Impossible. 44 00:02:00,772 --> 00:02:03,644 -...and an innovative musical soundtrack. 45 00:02:03,679 --> 00:02:05,316 [ Rave music plays ] 46 00:02:05,349 --> 00:02:08,487 -The dance music is just a catalyst for all these things. 47 00:02:08,521 --> 00:02:11,127 -It becomes an ideal setting for young people 48 00:02:11,161 --> 00:02:13,564 seeking an alternative to mainstream conformity. 49 00:02:13,598 --> 00:02:17,873 -The early raves were like the Noah's Ark of every kid 50 00:02:17,907 --> 00:02:20,346 that didn't really fit in in high school. 51 00:02:20,378 --> 00:02:22,751 -Everybody thinks that we just do drugs here. 52 00:02:22,783 --> 00:02:27,126 It's not for the drugs, really, it's for, you know, together. 53 00:02:27,158 --> 00:02:30,900 -I do think that raves felt a bit transgressive. 54 00:02:30,933 --> 00:02:35,276 -They were a reaction to what was going on 55 00:02:35,308 --> 00:02:37,612 in the broader culture. 56 00:02:37,646 --> 00:02:39,383 -So tell me, is this a lifestyle 57 00:02:39,417 --> 00:02:41,153 or just a moment in time? 58 00:02:41,187 --> 00:02:44,927 -It's a lifestyle and a moment in time. 59 00:02:44,961 --> 00:02:47,332 -But this lifestyles moment in time 60 00:02:47,366 --> 00:02:50,939 can be traced back to an innovation in the early 1980s. 61 00:02:50,973 --> 00:02:54,514 -Introducing the world's most advanced rhythm machine. 62 00:02:54,546 --> 00:02:57,252 The Roland TR-800. 63 00:02:57,286 --> 00:02:59,858 -Roland's user-friendly electronic drum machine 64 00:02:59,891 --> 00:03:02,729 helps launch a revolution in contemporary music. 65 00:03:02,763 --> 00:03:05,201 -So-called house music was first made 66 00:03:05,235 --> 00:03:06,670 in the creators houses, 67 00:03:06,705 --> 00:03:08,776 but it was also performed at clubs called 68 00:03:08,808 --> 00:03:10,412 The Warehouse and Powerhouse. 69 00:03:10,445 --> 00:03:12,248 -Wannabe music producers now have a cheap 70 00:03:12,282 --> 00:03:14,620 and easy way to produce electronic music, 71 00:03:14,653 --> 00:03:16,724 and it quickly takes over makeshift dance venues 72 00:03:16,758 --> 00:03:18,427 in cities like Chicago. 73 00:03:18,461 --> 00:03:19,931 -They started playing house music 74 00:03:19,965 --> 00:03:21,800 at this Michigan Avenue hotel and health club 75 00:03:21,836 --> 00:03:24,439 last summer and they've been packing them in ever since. 76 00:03:24,473 --> 00:03:27,747 -Around the same time, techno music begins in Detroit. 77 00:03:27,781 --> 00:03:29,516 I'm Michaelangelo Matos, 78 00:03:29,550 --> 00:03:31,820 I'm the author of "The Underground Is Massive: 79 00:03:31,855 --> 00:03:34,293 How Electronic Dance Music Conquered America." 80 00:03:34,326 --> 00:03:36,497 ♪ 81 00:03:36,531 --> 00:03:40,605 On the one hand, you've got song-based house music 82 00:03:40,639 --> 00:03:44,514 with women singing powerfully over it. 83 00:03:44,546 --> 00:03:45,883 ♪ 84 00:03:45,917 --> 00:03:47,854 And then on the other, there's this sort of 85 00:03:47,888 --> 00:03:51,227 synth heavy, non-vocal, 86 00:03:51,260 --> 00:03:53,966 sample-heavy techno music. 87 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:55,735 ♪ 88 00:03:55,769 --> 00:03:57,573 -But the creation of house and techno 89 00:03:57,605 --> 00:04:00,245 is only half of rave's origin story. 90 00:04:00,278 --> 00:04:04,419 The other is how a mood-lifting pharmaceutical known as MDMA 91 00:04:04,454 --> 00:04:06,891 finds its way into US nightclubs. 92 00:04:06,925 --> 00:04:09,931 -If you want to start back at 1914, um, 93 00:04:09,965 --> 00:04:13,504 that's when MDMA was patented. 94 00:04:13,538 --> 00:04:15,876 I'm Julie Holland, I'm a psychiatrist, 95 00:04:15,908 --> 00:04:17,980 and in the '90s I was a medical student, 96 00:04:18,014 --> 00:04:22,322 and then I was a resident at Mount Sinai Hospital. 97 00:04:22,355 --> 00:04:25,228 Also, I was going to raves. 98 00:04:25,262 --> 00:04:29,302 Alexander Shulgin is a chemist who in the '70s 99 00:04:29,336 --> 00:04:32,709 was really interested in various psychedelics. 100 00:04:32,742 --> 00:04:34,613 He had been testing on himself, 101 00:04:34,646 --> 00:04:37,653 and he felt like MDMA would be really useful 102 00:04:37,685 --> 00:04:39,624 for processing trauma. 103 00:04:39,656 --> 00:04:41,995 -It turned out to be particularly good 104 00:04:42,028 --> 00:04:44,333 for couples therapy. 105 00:04:44,367 --> 00:04:46,971 It creates this enormous sense of empathy, 106 00:04:47,005 --> 00:04:50,711 like, you're worst enemies and now you're best friends. 107 00:04:50,745 --> 00:04:52,750 ♪ 108 00:04:52,783 --> 00:04:56,925 My name is Frank Owen, and in the 1990s 109 00:04:56,959 --> 00:04:59,930 I became an investigative reporter 110 00:04:59,964 --> 00:05:04,673 probing the dark underbelly of club culture. 111 00:05:04,706 --> 00:05:07,012 It was like a year's worth of therapy in a pill. 112 00:05:07,045 --> 00:05:10,987 And so that leads to an idea that if everybody takes it, 113 00:05:11,019 --> 00:05:13,858 then everybody will be on the same wavelength. 114 00:05:13,891 --> 00:05:15,696 Everybody will love each other. 115 00:05:15,728 --> 00:05:17,901 -And who doesn't want to love each other? 116 00:05:17,934 --> 00:05:20,439 MDMA's promise to spread good feelings, 117 00:05:20,471 --> 00:05:22,509 helps drive recreational demand, 118 00:05:22,543 --> 00:05:25,415 and production of the drug ramps up to meet it. 119 00:05:25,449 --> 00:05:28,355 MDMA also gets a street rebrand. 120 00:05:28,387 --> 00:05:31,461 The drug is now referred to as ecstasy. 121 00:05:31,494 --> 00:05:33,564 -People were dancing all night and taking this drug, 122 00:05:33,598 --> 00:05:35,035 they were buying it with credit cards. 123 00:05:35,067 --> 00:05:37,973 they were even being charged like sales tax. 124 00:05:38,007 --> 00:05:40,312 And so more and more people were taking this drug, 125 00:05:40,345 --> 00:05:42,315 which was not yet illegal. 126 00:05:42,348 --> 00:05:44,086 -Good evening. -But in the early '80s, 127 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:46,057 some grown ups want to stop the fun. 128 00:05:46,089 --> 00:05:48,560 -Drugs are menacing our society. 129 00:05:48,595 --> 00:05:49,964 They're threatening our values 130 00:05:49,997 --> 00:05:51,733 and undercutting our institutions. 131 00:05:51,767 --> 00:05:55,877 -And when it comes to drugs and alcohol, just say no. 132 00:05:55,910 --> 00:05:57,713 -Good morning. -The DEA responds with 133 00:05:57,745 --> 00:05:59,550 emergency scheduling hearings 134 00:05:59,583 --> 00:06:02,588 to determine the legal fate of the popular new party drug. 135 00:06:02,622 --> 00:06:06,831 -MDMA, or by the street name ecstasy. 136 00:06:06,865 --> 00:06:09,803 Under emergency controls and Schedule One. 137 00:06:09,836 --> 00:06:12,642 -The DEA's own administrative law judge 138 00:06:12,675 --> 00:06:14,413 thought it should be in Schedule Three. 139 00:06:14,447 --> 00:06:16,718 That would mean that research could be done, 140 00:06:16,750 --> 00:06:18,822 but people couldn't use it recreationally. 141 00:06:18,855 --> 00:06:21,394 And the DEA basically said, you know, 142 00:06:21,427 --> 00:06:22,862 "Thank you for your advice, 143 00:06:22,896 --> 00:06:25,000 but we're just going to keep it in Schedule One." 144 00:06:25,035 --> 00:06:27,973 -Schedule One means MDMA is now classified, 145 00:06:28,007 --> 00:06:32,850 like LSD and heroin, as a drug with high potential for abuse. 146 00:06:32,882 --> 00:06:35,055 -The only thing that making it illegal 147 00:06:35,088 --> 00:06:37,692 did was stymie clinical research. 148 00:06:37,725 --> 00:06:40,665 They didn't really stop any recreational use. 149 00:06:40,699 --> 00:06:42,668 -Especially with the crowd in the '80s 150 00:06:42,702 --> 00:06:44,774 most attracted to house music. 151 00:06:44,807 --> 00:06:48,548 -House music becomes very popular with older black 152 00:06:48,581 --> 00:06:51,620 or Hispanic crowds and gay crowds. 153 00:06:51,653 --> 00:06:53,490 House music becomes very entrenched 154 00:06:53,524 --> 00:06:55,461 in the gay dance scene. 155 00:06:55,495 --> 00:06:57,632 ♪ 156 00:06:57,665 --> 00:07:00,973 -In 1986 at New York's famous Paradise Garage, 157 00:07:01,007 --> 00:07:03,511 Frank Owen gets his first taste of combining 158 00:07:03,545 --> 00:07:07,119 house music and ecstasy. 159 00:07:07,151 --> 00:07:10,591 -It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. 160 00:07:10,625 --> 00:07:12,696 ♪ 161 00:07:12,728 --> 00:07:15,435 It was the combination of music, drugs, 162 00:07:15,468 --> 00:07:18,440 the sense of acceptance, the sense of community. 163 00:07:18,475 --> 00:07:21,379 I'm this white limey with long hair, 164 00:07:21,413 --> 00:07:23,617 and they were like, "As long as you're here to dance, 165 00:07:23,651 --> 00:07:25,454 you're welcome," you know? 166 00:07:25,488 --> 00:07:28,060 And that was what I fell in love with. 167 00:07:28,093 --> 00:07:29,562 ♪ 168 00:07:29,596 --> 00:07:31,434 -But this precursor for rave culture 169 00:07:31,466 --> 00:07:33,538 remains underground in the US, 170 00:07:33,571 --> 00:07:36,142 in part because of 1980s homophobia 171 00:07:36,177 --> 00:07:38,680 fueled by the Aids crisis. 172 00:07:38,714 --> 00:07:42,923 -The longest time, ecstasy continues to be a gay drug. 173 00:07:42,956 --> 00:07:44,927 Straight boys didn't take ecstasy 174 00:07:44,959 --> 00:07:47,932 'cause they thought it would turn you gay, basically. 175 00:07:47,966 --> 00:07:50,538 That was the rumor, right? 176 00:07:50,572 --> 00:07:52,675 -But house music-loving Europeans 177 00:07:52,709 --> 00:07:54,747 don't share these stereotypes. 178 00:07:54,779 --> 00:07:58,687 -That music begins to get popular in Europe 179 00:07:58,721 --> 00:08:00,158 in the mid to late '80s. 180 00:08:00,190 --> 00:08:01,928 ♪ 181 00:08:01,961 --> 00:08:07,471 In 1987, a number of British DJs go to the island of Ibiza 182 00:08:07,505 --> 00:08:11,180 and they encounter a DJ named Alfredo 183 00:08:11,213 --> 00:08:16,021 who is playing in an open-air, all-night club called Amnesia. 184 00:08:16,057 --> 00:08:20,165 And these DJs take MDMA. 185 00:08:20,197 --> 00:08:23,136 ♪ 186 00:08:23,170 --> 00:08:26,509 And they dance all night to this music. 187 00:08:26,543 --> 00:08:28,615 The MDMA opens them up 188 00:08:28,648 --> 00:08:34,024 and becomes a sort of bonding agent with the music. 189 00:08:34,057 --> 00:08:37,466 -When these DJs return home, they start throwing parties, 190 00:08:37,499 --> 00:08:41,941 openly advertising the music and ecstasy to attract crowds. 191 00:08:41,975 --> 00:08:44,546 -You don't need to take ecstasy to understand the music, 192 00:08:44,580 --> 00:08:47,051 but if you did a good pill of MDMA, 193 00:08:47,085 --> 00:08:49,857 and in those days it was medical-grade, 194 00:08:49,889 --> 00:08:52,964 and then with this music, it just locks you in. 195 00:08:52,995 --> 00:08:55,601 All right, what's up? My name is DJ Frankie Bones 196 00:08:55,634 --> 00:08:57,105 from Brooklyn, New York City. 197 00:08:57,139 --> 00:08:59,976 Original rave pioneer of rave culture in America. 198 00:09:00,009 --> 00:09:02,615 And here we are. We're going to discuss a few things. 199 00:09:02,649 --> 00:09:06,524 ♪ 200 00:09:06,557 --> 00:09:07,993 You get locked into the groove 201 00:09:08,027 --> 00:09:11,902 and, just, people would just dance all night long. 202 00:09:11,933 --> 00:09:14,038 Almost like it was manufactured in a sense 203 00:09:14,072 --> 00:09:16,509 to start this huge thing called rave. 204 00:09:16,543 --> 00:09:19,817 -In Britain, suffering from a severe economic downturn, 205 00:09:19,850 --> 00:09:22,589 young people gravitate to this new kind of party 206 00:09:22,621 --> 00:09:25,961 that can be enjoyed with only a decent pair of dancing shoes 207 00:09:25,995 --> 00:09:28,801 and their purchase of some low-cost MDMA. 208 00:09:28,835 --> 00:09:31,206 -It becomes pop culture within a year. 209 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,580 All of a sudden, everybody wants to dance all night 210 00:09:34,613 --> 00:09:41,159 to this crazy minimalist music while rolling on MDMA. 211 00:09:41,192 --> 00:09:43,697 -And it transformed youth culture 212 00:09:43,730 --> 00:09:46,703 practically overnight in Britain. 213 00:09:46,736 --> 00:09:48,274 -What starts in established nightclubs 214 00:09:48,307 --> 00:09:50,244 quickly spreads to almost any place 215 00:09:50,278 --> 00:09:52,215 that can power a massive sound system 216 00:09:52,248 --> 00:09:54,820 and accommodate a large group of people. 217 00:09:54,852 --> 00:09:58,125 -Sometimes outdoors, sometimes in warehouses. 218 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:01,933 -It was very anti-authoritarian. 219 00:10:01,966 --> 00:10:04,273 It was happening in illegal spaces. 220 00:10:04,306 --> 00:10:06,176 It was mysterious. 221 00:10:06,210 --> 00:10:07,946 Even the music was breaking the rules 222 00:10:07,980 --> 00:10:10,851 of what music was supposed to sound like. 223 00:10:10,884 --> 00:10:14,692 -These renegade parties evolve a new name -- raves. 224 00:10:14,725 --> 00:10:17,331 And the social movement becomes so widespread 225 00:10:17,365 --> 00:10:20,003 that by 1988 and '89, 226 00:10:20,037 --> 00:10:22,609 the MDMA-fueled phenomenon is dubbed 227 00:10:22,642 --> 00:10:25,279 the second Summer of Love. 228 00:10:25,315 --> 00:10:28,086 -And that's the culture that really takes off in Britain. 229 00:10:28,119 --> 00:10:31,326 Instead of going out to the pub on a Friday night, 230 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,998 you go to a rave. 231 00:10:34,030 --> 00:10:38,707 -And they become huge. 20,000 people going to these things. 232 00:10:38,740 --> 00:10:41,011 -And it was amazing time, like, if you look at videos 233 00:10:41,044 --> 00:10:43,048 of the UK in '89, 234 00:10:43,082 --> 00:10:45,788 people are having the time of their lives, you know? 235 00:10:45,822 --> 00:10:52,335 ♪ 236 00:10:52,369 --> 00:10:54,940 -And soon, DJs and producers in the US 237 00:10:54,972 --> 00:10:56,976 making house music are getting calls 238 00:10:57,010 --> 00:10:59,982 from their counterparts across the pond. 239 00:11:00,017 --> 00:11:01,720 -Me and Tommy Musto -- 240 00:11:01,754 --> 00:11:03,188 we we were a group called Musto and Bones 241 00:11:03,224 --> 00:11:04,993 for a little while, and, um, 242 00:11:05,027 --> 00:11:07,231 probably around May or June of 1989, 243 00:11:07,264 --> 00:11:11,039 we get a phone call from an agency in London asking if, 244 00:11:11,072 --> 00:11:12,808 uh, Tommy and me want to come over there 245 00:11:12,841 --> 00:11:14,413 to DJ these things called raves. 246 00:11:14,446 --> 00:11:16,950 And, you know, "We want to bring you over to play in August. 247 00:11:16,984 --> 00:11:18,153 Would you guys want to come over?" 248 00:11:18,186 --> 00:11:20,091 So we were like... 249 00:11:20,123 --> 00:11:22,328 "Hell yeah." 250 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:23,931 And it was like the first time 251 00:11:23,965 --> 00:11:25,835 two American guys were playing 252 00:11:25,868 --> 00:11:27,272 at one of these events, right? 253 00:11:27,304 --> 00:11:29,676 And, um, we became really big, 254 00:11:29,710 --> 00:11:32,682 really fast in the UK. 255 00:11:32,716 --> 00:11:34,385 So I basically was going to London 256 00:11:34,418 --> 00:11:37,424 once a month for the rest of that year. 257 00:11:37,458 --> 00:11:39,296 -But it's his trip in September 258 00:11:39,328 --> 00:11:40,865 that is most memorable. 259 00:11:40,898 --> 00:11:43,035 -You have 20,000 people in cars 260 00:11:43,068 --> 00:11:46,274 trying to get to this aircraft hangar in Ipswich, right? 261 00:11:46,309 --> 00:11:49,215 The cops were trying to stop this event from happening. 262 00:11:49,249 --> 00:11:50,817 The police had it all blocked off, 263 00:11:50,851 --> 00:11:53,222 but over a period of five hours, 264 00:11:53,256 --> 00:11:55,794 we had to turn the car around on country roads. 265 00:11:55,827 --> 00:11:57,966 You'd be like on a one lane, you know, country road 266 00:11:57,999 --> 00:12:00,070 and somebody would be out of their cars telling you, 267 00:12:00,102 --> 00:12:01,740 "You got to turn around and go back this way." 268 00:12:01,774 --> 00:12:05,046 It was like a wild goose chase to get to this place. 269 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:06,817 -It's during this rave road trip 270 00:12:06,850 --> 00:12:09,254 that Frankie first tries ecstasy. 271 00:12:09,288 --> 00:12:11,024 -We're on some country road with dead traffic. 272 00:12:11,058 --> 00:12:13,028 Nobody's moving, and, you know, 273 00:12:13,062 --> 00:12:14,765 this is like in the early days of ecstasy, 274 00:12:14,799 --> 00:12:17,370 I-I heard about ecstasy. I didn't know what it was. 275 00:12:17,404 --> 00:12:19,140 I had not tried it yet. 276 00:12:19,174 --> 00:12:21,913 Did, like, my first pill. 277 00:12:21,947 --> 00:12:23,817 -And then, playing from neighboring cars, 278 00:12:23,850 --> 00:12:25,419 Frankie experiences what it's like 279 00:12:25,455 --> 00:12:28,226 to hear house music while on MDMA. 280 00:12:28,259 --> 00:12:30,398 But not just any house music. 281 00:12:30,431 --> 00:12:33,101 -I had my one song coming out of one car 282 00:12:33,135 --> 00:12:36,042 and another song coming out of another car, 283 00:12:36,075 --> 00:12:38,379 and, like, to have this kind of experience 284 00:12:38,413 --> 00:12:40,350 where you're in a foreign country, 285 00:12:40,384 --> 00:12:42,053 just somewhere you know, 286 00:12:42,087 --> 00:12:43,756 that you never thought you would be, 287 00:12:43,791 --> 00:12:45,495 and your music's coming out of two different cars 288 00:12:45,527 --> 00:12:47,764 at the same time, I mean, I kind of melted down 289 00:12:47,798 --> 00:12:50,169 in the back of this car. 290 00:12:50,203 --> 00:12:52,475 [ Laughter, overlapping voices] 291 00:12:52,509 --> 00:12:54,446 ♪ 292 00:12:54,479 --> 00:12:57,951 -Frankie finally arrives at the rave near daybreak. 293 00:12:57,985 --> 00:13:00,390 -It was one of the most awesome experiences of my life 294 00:13:00,423 --> 00:13:02,794 because when you're in a, like, an aircraft hanging 295 00:13:02,828 --> 00:13:04,765 with 17,000 people, 296 00:13:04,798 --> 00:13:07,739 it was all love, and it was black and white, 297 00:13:07,772 --> 00:13:09,207 and everything under the sun, 298 00:13:09,241 --> 00:13:11,379 and it was all about the music and... 299 00:13:11,413 --> 00:13:13,984 wow, it was just amazing. 300 00:13:14,018 --> 00:13:17,825 -And he's inspired to bring that experience back to the States. 301 00:13:17,859 --> 00:13:19,763 -Nobody in America knew what rave was, 302 00:13:19,796 --> 00:13:22,368 and rave became like my, uh -- 303 00:13:22,402 --> 00:13:24,471 my calling, really. 304 00:13:24,505 --> 00:13:27,477 -And as the '90s begin, he's not alone. 305 00:13:27,511 --> 00:13:29,816 Rave will become a hot new product, 306 00:13:29,849 --> 00:13:32,522 but the utopian ideals of the movement 307 00:13:32,554 --> 00:13:35,528 will prove to have a short shelf life. 308 00:13:35,561 --> 00:13:38,232 -I thought that ecstasy and dance music 309 00:13:38,265 --> 00:13:40,270 would change the world, you know? 310 00:13:40,302 --> 00:13:44,144 But what it ended up as was exactly the opposite of peace, 311 00:13:44,177 --> 00:13:46,616 love, unity, and respect. 312 00:13:47,918 --> 00:13:51,525 -Here are a few of 1990s Pop chart toppers. 313 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:53,964 -As the '90s begin, teens in the US 314 00:13:53,998 --> 00:13:56,101 are craving something new. 315 00:13:56,134 --> 00:14:00,277 -Pop culture by the late '80s is just turgid. 316 00:14:00,309 --> 00:14:01,947 You turn on the radio and it's just, like, 317 00:14:01,980 --> 00:14:05,153 Paula Abdul and power ballads. 318 00:14:05,186 --> 00:14:07,325 Alternative rock hadn't really blown up, 319 00:14:07,356 --> 00:14:09,863 hip-hop was only beginning to blow up, 320 00:14:09,895 --> 00:14:12,835 and dance music was, like, the other thing 321 00:14:12,869 --> 00:14:16,809 that was really active and interesting at that point. 322 00:14:16,842 --> 00:14:19,514 -So when young urban Americans learned their counterparts 323 00:14:19,548 --> 00:14:21,919 in the UK are commandeering buildings 324 00:14:21,952 --> 00:14:24,958 to throw unauthorized music and drug-powered parties, 325 00:14:24,993 --> 00:14:27,264 they're like, "Sign us up." 326 00:14:27,298 --> 00:14:29,836 ♪ 327 00:14:29,869 --> 00:14:32,073 -In terms of warehouse raves, 328 00:14:32,106 --> 00:14:34,846 in terms of breaking into a building, 329 00:14:34,879 --> 00:14:37,149 that really starts to happen in '89 330 00:14:37,183 --> 00:14:39,589 and it starts to happen kind of simultaneously 331 00:14:39,621 --> 00:14:42,126 on the East and West coast. 332 00:14:42,159 --> 00:14:46,067 LA is, from the beginning, the biggest scene. 333 00:14:46,101 --> 00:14:47,572 -LA had two things, 334 00:14:47,605 --> 00:14:50,076 and a bunch of British ex-pats 335 00:14:50,110 --> 00:14:53,216 who were traveling back and forward to London, 336 00:14:53,249 --> 00:14:56,923 and they had a bunch of warehouses. 337 00:14:56,956 --> 00:14:59,427 -And the growing LA scene soon booked someone 338 00:14:59,461 --> 00:15:02,000 they think is a big name talent from Britain. 339 00:15:02,033 --> 00:15:06,976 -I wound up getting a booking in Los Angeles June 1, 1990, 340 00:15:07,009 --> 00:15:08,044 and when I get off the plane and they hear 341 00:15:08,078 --> 00:15:09,214 I have a New York accent, 342 00:15:09,248 --> 00:15:10,482 they were like, "Who are you?" 343 00:15:10,518 --> 00:15:12,019 They thought they were duped. 344 00:15:12,052 --> 00:15:13,890 I'm like, "I'm Frankie Bones," it's like, 345 00:15:13,923 --> 00:15:15,394 "Wait a minute, aren't you from the UK?" 346 00:15:15,427 --> 00:15:16,595 If they knew I was from Brooklyn, 347 00:15:16,629 --> 00:15:18,533 I would have never got the gig. 348 00:15:18,567 --> 00:15:21,873 -Frankie soon learns he's made a deal with young devils 349 00:15:21,907 --> 00:15:23,543 in the City of Angels. -They taught me 350 00:15:23,576 --> 00:15:25,078 how to break into warehouses 351 00:15:25,113 --> 00:15:26,515 where you cut the locks off the gate, 352 00:15:26,549 --> 00:15:28,119 you put your own lock on the gate 353 00:15:28,152 --> 00:15:29,556 on a Saturday or Sunday, 354 00:15:29,589 --> 00:15:31,426 and you come back Thursday or Friday. 355 00:15:31,457 --> 00:15:33,095 If your lock's still on the gate, 356 00:15:33,129 --> 00:15:34,532 you know you can throw a party there 357 00:15:34,566 --> 00:15:36,970 'cause nobody's going to come check up on you. 358 00:15:37,003 --> 00:15:38,941 -But back in New York, to attract a crowd 359 00:15:38,974 --> 00:15:40,677 to what he'll call storm rave, 360 00:15:40,711 --> 00:15:42,981 he needs a source for ecstasy. 361 00:15:43,014 --> 00:15:45,486 So Frankie reaches out to folks he met in England. 362 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:47,456 -I met a few people in the UK 363 00:15:47,491 --> 00:15:51,432 that were very interested in bringing ecstasy to New York. 364 00:15:51,466 --> 00:15:53,971 I'm not a drug dealer in any size, shape, or form, 365 00:15:54,004 --> 00:15:57,509 but I was like, "Well, if -- if I could meet with your people, 366 00:15:57,544 --> 00:15:59,248 I'll put them on with my people." 367 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:00,951 I didn't even know who my people were at that point. 368 00:16:00,985 --> 00:16:04,258 But, um, I wound up getting like 2,000 pills 369 00:16:04,292 --> 00:16:07,297 to start the scene in New York City. 370 00:16:07,330 --> 00:16:09,368 -And he was basically the person 371 00:16:09,402 --> 00:16:13,576 who introduced ecstasy to straight kids. 372 00:16:13,609 --> 00:16:18,019 ♪ 373 00:16:18,052 --> 00:16:20,322 -When I got that first delivery of ecstasy, 374 00:16:20,355 --> 00:16:22,928 like we started giving pills to people, 375 00:16:22,961 --> 00:16:24,966 the word just spread really quickly. 376 00:16:24,999 --> 00:16:28,371 It just kept doubling in size until we did 5,000 people. 377 00:16:28,405 --> 00:16:30,577 ♪ 378 00:16:30,610 --> 00:16:32,715 These parties would go to noon the next day, 379 00:16:32,748 --> 00:16:35,687 whereas the club traditionally closed at 4 a.m. 380 00:16:35,721 --> 00:16:37,958 We're out there watching the sunrise, you know, 381 00:16:37,991 --> 00:16:40,296 looking at the city across the water 382 00:16:40,330 --> 00:16:43,503 and just playing this music. 383 00:16:43,535 --> 00:16:45,573 Anybody that came to one of these parties 384 00:16:45,607 --> 00:16:49,514 knew something special was going on in 1990 and '91. 385 00:16:49,548 --> 00:16:51,518 -In December of 1991, 386 00:16:51,552 --> 00:16:54,691 Details publishes a major feature by Legs McNeil 387 00:16:54,725 --> 00:16:59,234 about the making of a party in LA at a water park. 388 00:16:59,267 --> 00:17:03,976 And all over the US, people read this and that's their blueprint. 389 00:17:04,010 --> 00:17:06,048 -By 1993, there was a rave 390 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:08,051 in every city across America, you know? 391 00:17:08,085 --> 00:17:11,325 And so the whole country by '93 was raving. 392 00:17:11,357 --> 00:17:15,400 -Especially underage teens who have no other place to party. 393 00:17:15,432 --> 00:17:18,740 -Rave becomes a thing for kids who can't get into clubs. 394 00:17:18,773 --> 00:17:23,348 It's not for adults, it's a DIY kid thing. 395 00:17:23,382 --> 00:17:28,092 -So I started going to raves in LA when I was 13. 396 00:17:28,125 --> 00:17:29,394 ♪ 397 00:17:29,428 --> 00:17:32,366 I'm Vivian Host, I also go by DJ Star Eyes. 398 00:17:32,401 --> 00:17:35,173 I'm a DJ, producer, party promoter, 399 00:17:35,205 --> 00:17:37,577 music journalist, podcast host, 400 00:17:37,609 --> 00:17:40,517 and in the '90s, I was raving my balls off. 401 00:17:41,819 --> 00:17:44,090 Of course you're going to use that one. I'm going to hate it. 402 00:17:44,124 --> 00:17:45,693 [ Laughs ] 403 00:17:45,727 --> 00:17:48,531 ♪ 404 00:17:48,567 --> 00:17:50,303 Back in the early '90s, 405 00:17:50,336 --> 00:17:52,607 it was a lot more complicated 406 00:17:52,641 --> 00:17:54,578 to go to a rave than it is now. 407 00:17:54,612 --> 00:17:57,617 I used to go to this coffeehouse with my friend, 408 00:17:57,650 --> 00:17:59,821 who was also 13, and there was a guy 409 00:17:59,855 --> 00:18:02,093 that worked there that was 19, 410 00:18:02,126 --> 00:18:05,433 and he took us to a rave in an unmarked white van. 411 00:18:05,465 --> 00:18:07,605 It's like every parent's nightmare. 412 00:18:07,636 --> 00:18:10,276 ♪ 413 00:18:10,308 --> 00:18:12,279 I think I was kind of freaked out 414 00:18:12,314 --> 00:18:14,084 'cause everybody was older than me, 415 00:18:14,116 --> 00:18:16,489 I was definitely being offered nitrous balloons 416 00:18:16,521 --> 00:18:20,163 and all kinds of drugs, 417 00:18:20,195 --> 00:18:23,234 and I think it was a lot darker than what I was expecting, 418 00:18:23,269 --> 00:18:26,040 but I kind of wanted more 419 00:18:26,074 --> 00:18:28,077 so I kept going. 420 00:18:28,112 --> 00:18:30,449 -Because for young ravers like Vivian, 421 00:18:30,482 --> 00:18:34,191 these parties provide more than just house music and ecstasy. 422 00:18:34,223 --> 00:18:36,327 They're a place to feel accepted. 423 00:18:36,361 --> 00:18:39,801 -I never felt like I fit in with any 424 00:18:39,835 --> 00:18:42,307 of the mainstream dominant culture. 425 00:18:42,339 --> 00:18:47,182 I didn't have the right Guess genes and all of these things. 426 00:18:47,217 --> 00:18:49,287 I wasn't a popular kid. I didn't play sports. 427 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:52,559 I didn't give a shit about any of that stuff, you know? 428 00:18:52,594 --> 00:18:57,303 And rave was a place where I could, um, 429 00:18:57,336 --> 00:18:59,340 you know, be myself. 430 00:18:59,374 --> 00:19:02,615 I think acceptance of people 431 00:19:02,647 --> 00:19:04,785 just letting their freak flag fly 432 00:19:04,818 --> 00:19:06,320 and people that are different than you 433 00:19:06,355 --> 00:19:11,097 is like a real core tenet of rave culture. 434 00:19:11,131 --> 00:19:13,602 ♪ 435 00:19:13,636 --> 00:19:15,338 -There was an ethos about how you were going to 436 00:19:15,373 --> 00:19:16,675 behave in a rave. 437 00:19:16,708 --> 00:19:18,112 You know, there was going to be a certain amount 438 00:19:18,144 --> 00:19:20,616 of empathy and respect for each other. 439 00:19:20,650 --> 00:19:22,488 -And that comes from the drug 440 00:19:22,519 --> 00:19:25,692 that's most associated with rave, which is ecstasy. 441 00:19:25,727 --> 00:19:28,097 ♪ 442 00:19:28,132 --> 00:19:30,269 -As the scene grows, these rave ideals 443 00:19:30,303 --> 00:19:33,241 evolve into a formal declaration. 444 00:19:33,275 --> 00:19:35,145 -A little bit later on, you started to get 445 00:19:35,179 --> 00:19:36,848 the rave values codified 446 00:19:36,883 --> 00:19:39,354 into this term called PLUR. 447 00:19:39,386 --> 00:19:41,157 -P-L-U-R. 448 00:19:41,191 --> 00:19:42,861 -Peace. -Peace. -Peace. -Peace. 449 00:19:42,894 --> 00:19:44,431 -Love. -Love. -Love. 450 00:19:44,463 --> 00:19:46,536 -Unity. -Unity. -Unity. 451 00:19:46,567 --> 00:19:48,172 -Respect. -Respect. 452 00:19:48,204 --> 00:19:50,844 -Respect. 453 00:19:50,876 --> 00:19:54,250 -It's just this idea that the rave community is one community. 454 00:19:54,284 --> 00:19:56,421 You know, those are the rules. That's the ethos. 455 00:19:56,454 --> 00:19:59,528 -And that was the sort of guiding light 456 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:01,565 for a lot of the early '90s parties. 457 00:20:01,597 --> 00:20:04,436 It still kind of is the idea. 458 00:20:04,471 --> 00:20:07,778 -But not every raver practices what they preach. 459 00:20:07,810 --> 00:20:11,451 -This idea of PLUR that everybody's so nice at the rave, 460 00:20:11,484 --> 00:20:14,423 like, it wasn't really like that. 461 00:20:14,457 --> 00:20:15,893 [ Laughs ] 462 00:20:15,926 --> 00:20:18,432 There was beautiful times on ecstasy, 463 00:20:18,464 --> 00:20:23,409 but yeah, like, there was a lot of, um, 464 00:20:23,442 --> 00:20:26,248 "creeperie" in the early '90s, 465 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,920 a lot of people taking advantage of other people, 466 00:20:28,952 --> 00:20:32,393 a lot of promoters not paying people. 467 00:20:32,426 --> 00:20:34,565 -In New York City, it's a new generation 468 00:20:34,596 --> 00:20:36,768 of the long established underworld 469 00:20:36,803 --> 00:20:38,638 that will target the rave scene. 470 00:20:38,673 --> 00:20:40,509 -The avenue of the rave scene in New York 471 00:20:40,542 --> 00:20:42,847 was that it grew among, 472 00:20:42,881 --> 00:20:46,320 like, these Italian American street toughs. 473 00:20:46,354 --> 00:20:49,994 -Rave's reliance on the drug ecstasy draws sharks. 474 00:20:50,028 --> 00:20:52,601 -So we start to see the infiltration 475 00:20:52,633 --> 00:20:55,739 of the criminal element into the rave scene, 476 00:20:55,773 --> 00:20:58,811 or into the ecstasy scene, pretty early on 477 00:20:58,846 --> 00:21:00,749 because they understood that, 478 00:21:00,784 --> 00:21:02,752 "We can make a lot of money out of it." 479 00:21:02,788 --> 00:21:06,996 -Especially a club promoter known as Lord Michael Caruso. 480 00:21:07,028 --> 00:21:08,965 -Michael Caruso, you know, he was our buddy, 481 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,903 my, uh, close friend in the beginning. 482 00:21:10,936 --> 00:21:13,375 What happened was, one, Michael wanted control 483 00:21:13,407 --> 00:21:14,778 of the ecstasy thing in New York. 484 00:21:14,811 --> 00:21:16,448 He wanted to be that guy, 485 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:18,352 and we put him up with all people. 486 00:21:18,384 --> 00:21:20,321 They would come into New York City with pills. 487 00:21:20,355 --> 00:21:22,559 They had to bring 10,000 at a time. 488 00:21:22,593 --> 00:21:24,396 I didn't want to be, like, having 489 00:21:24,430 --> 00:21:26,801 my people even hanging with that many. 490 00:21:26,835 --> 00:21:29,773 So we let Lord Michael in on our side. 491 00:21:29,807 --> 00:21:31,678 ♪ 492 00:21:31,711 --> 00:21:35,019 -Lord Michael begins promoting a techno club night in Manhattan 493 00:21:35,051 --> 00:21:37,589 he calls Future Shock. 494 00:21:37,624 --> 00:21:41,565 -This Future Shock thing, it got really big, really quick. 495 00:21:41,597 --> 00:21:44,738 -Future Shock draws a crowd that's attracted by the drugs 496 00:21:44,770 --> 00:21:47,509 but is less interested in upholding PLUR. 497 00:21:47,542 --> 00:21:49,346 -It was more like a soccer riot 498 00:21:49,380 --> 00:21:50,784 that the rave, you know? 499 00:21:50,816 --> 00:21:52,621 -You have all these Italian, you know, 500 00:21:52,653 --> 00:21:54,324 the weightlifting guys, you know, 501 00:21:54,356 --> 00:21:56,060 steroids and like, "Ahh!" 502 00:21:56,094 --> 00:21:58,798 All aggressive. -All hugging each other 503 00:21:58,833 --> 00:22:02,440 and saying, "I love you, man, I love you." 504 00:22:02,472 --> 00:22:04,544 ♪ 505 00:22:04,576 --> 00:22:07,583 -Future Shock also introduces Lord Michael to some guys 506 00:22:07,616 --> 00:22:09,721 who share his ambitions. 507 00:22:09,753 --> 00:22:11,959 -These gangsters start turning up. 508 00:22:11,992 --> 00:22:14,396 He forms an alliance with them, 509 00:22:14,430 --> 00:22:17,770 and they start robbing all the ecstasy dealers. 510 00:22:17,803 --> 00:22:21,611 So they basically take over the ecstasy trade with violence, 511 00:22:21,644 --> 00:22:25,819 gangsterism, kidnappings, home invasions. 512 00:22:25,853 --> 00:22:28,491 I mean, they literally terrorized 513 00:22:28,525 --> 00:22:30,561 the...out of people. 514 00:22:30,596 --> 00:22:34,836 Yet at the same time, they pawned great shows. 515 00:22:34,872 --> 00:22:37,442 He knew how to throw a great rave, 516 00:22:37,476 --> 00:22:39,547 but he was also at the same time, 517 00:22:39,579 --> 00:22:43,087 you know, basically the Al Capone of raves, you know? 518 00:22:43,121 --> 00:22:45,792 -He basically wanted to be king of New York. 519 00:22:45,826 --> 00:22:49,934 -And the wannabe King sees Frankie Bones as a threat. 520 00:22:49,968 --> 00:22:53,040 -I came home from a storm rave one night. 521 00:22:53,075 --> 00:22:56,749 Four guys, each one took a swing at my head. 522 00:22:56,780 --> 00:23:00,055 These guys came to kill me. 523 00:23:02,026 --> 00:23:04,463 -In May of 1992, the free, week long 524 00:23:04,497 --> 00:23:06,701 Castlemorton Common Festival and Rave 525 00:23:06,736 --> 00:23:11,009 draws up to 40,000 partygoers in the UK. 526 00:23:11,044 --> 00:23:15,618 -And that was really like a wake up call, I guess, 527 00:23:15,652 --> 00:23:19,626 for the British government and the British police. 528 00:23:19,660 --> 00:23:21,530 -You know, when your kids are going out 529 00:23:21,564 --> 00:23:24,036 every weekend to these raves and doing drugs, 530 00:23:24,069 --> 00:23:25,973 it alarmed the government. 531 00:23:26,007 --> 00:23:27,809 -The government responds by passing 532 00:23:27,844 --> 00:23:29,882 the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, 533 00:23:29,913 --> 00:23:33,488 effectively outlawing raves across the country. 534 00:23:33,521 --> 00:23:39,400 -If there was more than 20 people dancing in a location, 535 00:23:39,432 --> 00:23:42,105 the police could come shut it down. 536 00:23:42,138 --> 00:23:45,612 It was insane, and you had actually, like, 537 00:23:45,646 --> 00:23:48,617 pretty big protests in the streets 538 00:23:48,652 --> 00:23:51,423 against the Criminal Justice Bill. 539 00:23:51,457 --> 00:23:53,595 -And all it did was basically push the culture 540 00:23:53,627 --> 00:23:55,933 into the nightclubs. -And the scene explodes 541 00:23:55,965 --> 00:23:59,039 on a more mainstream level. 542 00:23:59,073 --> 00:24:02,645 In 1992, in the States, raves are still super underground. 543 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:04,450 ♪ 544 00:24:04,482 --> 00:24:07,388 -And in Lord Michael Caruso's corner of the underground, 545 00:24:07,423 --> 00:24:11,064 this wannabe ecstasy-kingpin is running the gangster playbook. 546 00:24:11,096 --> 00:24:13,803 -If somebody did put on a rave 547 00:24:13,835 --> 00:24:16,441 that coincided with one of his nights, 548 00:24:16,473 --> 00:24:19,547 he would send his goons to beat the promoters up. 549 00:24:19,579 --> 00:24:22,886 There's a famous story about Frankie Bones, right? 550 00:24:22,921 --> 00:24:24,923 -I came home from a storm rave one night, 551 00:24:24,958 --> 00:24:27,930 um, had groceries in my hand in a brown bag. 552 00:24:27,963 --> 00:24:31,002 Four dudes come up right in front of my house 553 00:24:31,037 --> 00:24:36,046 and I see a guy with a gun, and I see a guy with a baseball bat. 554 00:24:36,079 --> 00:24:39,554 And I get whacked. It was straight up mafia style. 555 00:24:40,521 --> 00:24:41,924 [ Groans ] 556 00:24:43,228 --> 00:24:46,768 Four guys. Each one took a swing at my head. 557 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:48,838 A bat, a bat, a pistol whip, and a pistol whip. 558 00:24:48,872 --> 00:24:51,243 And they were gone. 559 00:24:51,277 --> 00:24:55,585 My ear was hanging off backwards, it was a mess. 560 00:24:55,618 --> 00:24:57,056 When the police did the report, they were like, 561 00:24:57,087 --> 00:24:58,724 "They only hit you in the head, and then they left. 562 00:24:58,758 --> 00:25:00,796 They wanted to kill you." And I'm just like, 563 00:25:00,829 --> 00:25:02,532 wow, this is, like -- 564 00:25:02,566 --> 00:25:06,441 I'm trying to promote a peaceful thing and this is what happens. 565 00:25:06,473 --> 00:25:08,912 -But Frankie won't quit. -We had a party that weekend. 566 00:25:08,945 --> 00:25:12,519 I had four holes in my head, like 290 stitches I had. 567 00:25:12,553 --> 00:25:13,923 And I'm still DJing that weekend. 568 00:25:13,954 --> 00:25:17,028 I still have scars on my head from it, so. 569 00:25:17,061 --> 00:25:19,200 -Worse, he still wrestles with the belief 570 00:25:19,232 --> 00:25:22,138 that he was betrayed by someone he once called a friend. 571 00:25:22,172 --> 00:25:23,907 -These guys came to kill me 572 00:25:23,942 --> 00:25:25,980 and they were contracted from Lord Michael, 573 00:25:26,012 --> 00:25:27,482 who to this day will tell me, "No, 574 00:25:27,516 --> 00:25:29,184 that's not how it went down, Bones." 575 00:25:29,220 --> 00:25:31,089 -When Lord Michael's tough guy empire 576 00:25:31,123 --> 00:25:33,126 collapses in the late '90s, 577 00:25:33,161 --> 00:25:36,233 most people forget all about him, but not Frankie. 578 00:25:36,267 --> 00:25:38,637 -And you know, I don't talk to him, but, like 579 00:25:38,671 --> 00:25:40,275 you know, I think I got on the phone with him once, 580 00:25:40,307 --> 00:25:42,145 and I said, "You know, the only reason 581 00:25:42,178 --> 00:25:44,016 I'm speaking to you right now is because 582 00:25:44,048 --> 00:25:47,088 I know what you did, and you tried to have me killed, 583 00:25:47,122 --> 00:25:50,761 and I'm still here talking to you, so I'm cool." 584 00:25:50,796 --> 00:25:54,303 ♪ 585 00:25:54,336 --> 00:25:56,673 -Prince George's County Police are trying to put an end 586 00:25:56,707 --> 00:25:59,547 to a dangerous craze before someone gets hurt. 587 00:25:59,579 --> 00:26:01,215 -By 1992 and '93, 588 00:26:01,250 --> 00:26:03,788 local authorities are finally waking up to some 589 00:26:03,821 --> 00:26:06,760 of the dangers posed by large, clandestine raves. 590 00:26:06,794 --> 00:26:08,965 -The biggest fear is that one of these parties 591 00:26:08,999 --> 00:26:12,873 will turn tragic, not unlike the Happy Land Social Club fire 592 00:26:12,905 --> 00:26:15,545 in New York, in which 87 people 593 00:26:15,578 --> 00:26:19,720 jammed into a small dance hall were killed in a raging inferno. 594 00:26:19,752 --> 00:26:21,624 -Introduces us to this very secret world. 595 00:26:21,656 --> 00:26:23,161 -The rising popularity of raves 596 00:26:23,193 --> 00:26:24,963 prompts local news stories, 597 00:26:24,998 --> 00:26:27,536 which prompts local authorities to take an interest. 598 00:26:27,568 --> 00:26:30,141 -And for the first time, Prince George's County shut down 599 00:26:30,174 --> 00:26:32,045 a so-called rave party. 600 00:26:32,077 --> 00:26:33,681 -But authorities don't really know 601 00:26:33,714 --> 00:26:35,585 what's going on at these events. 602 00:26:35,618 --> 00:26:37,955 -...he's found drugs at raves. -That ignorance becomes clear 603 00:26:37,990 --> 00:26:39,660 when police in Wisconsin 604 00:26:39,692 --> 00:26:42,332 finally decide to act. -...with the floor you'll find. 605 00:26:42,365 --> 00:26:44,737 -There's a party that takes place in Milwaukee 606 00:26:44,769 --> 00:26:46,106 that happens on Halloween. 607 00:26:46,140 --> 00:26:48,778 It's called "Grave." 608 00:26:48,811 --> 00:26:53,354 About a thousand kids go, and by all accounts, 609 00:26:53,387 --> 00:26:57,195 there is lots of MDMA on the premises. 610 00:26:57,229 --> 00:26:58,897 Drugs galore. 611 00:26:58,932 --> 00:27:05,778 ♪ 612 00:27:05,811 --> 00:27:10,020 The Milwaukee police decide to bust them for underage drinking. 613 00:27:10,054 --> 00:27:13,560 ♪ 614 00:27:13,595 --> 00:27:15,131 Guns out. 615 00:27:15,163 --> 00:27:19,173 Everybody on the floor, they zip-cuffed 900 kids. 616 00:27:19,205 --> 00:27:22,246 -The offense aiding and abetting the consumption of alcohol 617 00:27:22,278 --> 00:27:24,250 in an unlicensed public setting. 618 00:27:24,282 --> 00:27:27,689 -And they arrested 900 kids for drinking, 619 00:27:27,722 --> 00:27:31,864 which none of them were doing, and they all beat the rap. 620 00:27:31,896 --> 00:27:35,605 What the MPD didn't do was find any 621 00:27:35,638 --> 00:27:38,210 of the enormous number of drugs on the premises, 622 00:27:38,243 --> 00:27:41,616 because police just had no idea what they were doing. 623 00:27:41,651 --> 00:27:45,089 They didn't know what MDMA was. 624 00:27:45,125 --> 00:27:47,762 When the promoters went back to clean up the warehouse, 625 00:27:47,796 --> 00:27:51,269 they found $10,000 worth of drugs stuffed 626 00:27:51,304 --> 00:27:53,875 into the cracks of the walls. 627 00:27:53,907 --> 00:27:55,679 ♪ 628 00:27:55,711 --> 00:27:58,050 -The authorities obsession with stopping the consumption 629 00:27:58,083 --> 00:28:00,923 of alcohol blinds them to a public health problem 630 00:28:00,955 --> 00:28:03,125 in early raves that they could help solve 631 00:28:03,161 --> 00:28:04,963 with some simple education. 632 00:28:04,997 --> 00:28:06,834 -The people who are going to take ecstasy 633 00:28:06,866 --> 00:28:08,337 and go to raves and dance all night, 634 00:28:08,371 --> 00:28:10,607 they don't want alcohol for the most part, 635 00:28:10,642 --> 00:28:13,614 so they're really only drinking water. 636 00:28:13,647 --> 00:28:16,118 And the bars would sell water because how else 637 00:28:16,153 --> 00:28:17,689 were they going to make their money? 638 00:28:17,722 --> 00:28:19,226 Not everybody had the money for water, 639 00:28:19,259 --> 00:28:21,329 so they'd be dancing for hours and hours 640 00:28:21,364 --> 00:28:24,269 and getting overheated and not drinking any water. 641 00:28:24,303 --> 00:28:26,840 And they would often need medical attention 642 00:28:26,874 --> 00:28:28,411 because they were having heatstroke. 643 00:28:28,443 --> 00:28:32,786 -Plus ecstasy Schedule One status makes scientific research 644 00:28:32,818 --> 00:28:35,825 into its harmful effects all but impossible. 645 00:28:35,858 --> 00:28:37,796 -If you don't know what's happening, 646 00:28:37,828 --> 00:28:40,134 you can't give any good advice. 647 00:28:40,166 --> 00:28:42,806 You know, you can't give harm reduction information 648 00:28:42,838 --> 00:28:44,742 if you don't know what the harms are. 649 00:28:44,777 --> 00:28:47,382 -Instead, unfounded speculation about the dangers 650 00:28:47,415 --> 00:28:50,454 of ecstasy dominates mainstream discussions about the drug. 651 00:28:50,488 --> 00:28:52,992 -Do you plan on having children, and if so, 652 00:28:53,026 --> 00:28:54,462 do you think they're going to come out normal? 653 00:28:54,496 --> 00:28:56,132 -Okay, this is the thing... -I was on a show called 654 00:28:56,166 --> 00:28:59,873 "Jane Pratt" on Lifetime Television in 1993, 655 00:28:59,906 --> 00:29:04,182 with some other ravers and DJs and producers. 656 00:29:04,215 --> 00:29:07,188 I was out of medical school, I was a full-fledged MD. 657 00:29:07,221 --> 00:29:08,691 -Does not drain your spinal fluid, 658 00:29:08,723 --> 00:29:10,428 it does not cause Parkinson's. 659 00:29:10,461 --> 00:29:12,865 And to the best of our knowledge, it does not cause 660 00:29:12,898 --> 00:29:14,336 mutated babies. -Wait, wait a minute. 661 00:29:14,367 --> 00:29:16,173 -As an experienced raver, 662 00:29:16,207 --> 00:29:18,411 Dr. Holland becomes an outspoken advocate 663 00:29:18,443 --> 00:29:22,219 for improved harm reduction and drug education about MDMA. 664 00:29:22,250 --> 00:29:23,855 -What do you think it's therapeutic 665 00:29:23,887 --> 00:29:25,391 Possibilities are. -You name it. 666 00:29:25,424 --> 00:29:27,060 Pain control, hypnosis, 667 00:29:27,095 --> 00:29:29,065 creative visualization, couple therapy. 668 00:29:29,098 --> 00:29:31,202 -That was pretty early for MDMA. 669 00:29:31,236 --> 00:29:33,941 I mean, a lot of people had never heard of raves. 670 00:29:33,976 --> 00:29:35,811 They hadn't heard of ecstasy. -Depression. 671 00:29:35,845 --> 00:29:37,382 We don't know. We haven't tried. 672 00:29:37,414 --> 00:29:39,318 I'd like to see. [ Siren wailing ] 673 00:29:39,352 --> 00:29:42,157 -And the lack of more detailed ecstasy research 674 00:29:42,192 --> 00:29:43,894 is literally killing people. 675 00:29:43,928 --> 00:29:45,397 -It was a mess. It was really a mess. 676 00:29:45,431 --> 00:29:47,034 And people were dying. 677 00:29:47,067 --> 00:29:49,070 Because turns out it's not just 678 00:29:49,105 --> 00:29:52,444 that overheating is a problem with MDMA, with -- with ecstasy. 679 00:29:52,479 --> 00:29:55,384 It was also that overhydrating was a problem. 680 00:29:55,417 --> 00:29:57,153 -When teens start dying at raves, 681 00:29:57,189 --> 00:29:59,960 taking too much ecstasy is often blamed 682 00:29:59,992 --> 00:30:03,098 when the real cause of death is taking too much water. 683 00:30:03,133 --> 00:30:06,240 -MDMA causes some water retention, 684 00:30:06,271 --> 00:30:08,108 like if you haven't taken MDMA, 685 00:30:08,143 --> 00:30:09,512 you can drink a gallon of water 686 00:30:09,546 --> 00:30:12,419 and pee a gallon of water, basically. 687 00:30:12,451 --> 00:30:14,189 If you have taken MDMA, 688 00:30:14,222 --> 00:30:16,192 you won't be peeing out a gallon of water, 689 00:30:16,226 --> 00:30:20,000 and you will essentially sort of drown your brain or your lungs 690 00:30:20,032 --> 00:30:23,205 where you've got too much fluid, not enough salt. 691 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,478 And that creates a situation where you get seizures 692 00:30:25,510 --> 00:30:27,214 and you can die. 693 00:30:27,248 --> 00:30:29,419 -Tonight on "Frontline"... -But in the early '90s, 694 00:30:29,452 --> 00:30:31,522 the drug is always the problem. 695 00:30:31,557 --> 00:30:33,493 -We're losing the war on drugs. 696 00:30:33,527 --> 00:30:35,464 More people are consuming drugs, 697 00:30:35,498 --> 00:30:37,868 more violent crime associated with it, 698 00:30:37,902 --> 00:30:40,273 more drugs coming across our border. 699 00:30:40,307 --> 00:30:43,614 -Ravers are left to find their own DIY solutions. 700 00:30:43,647 --> 00:30:45,917 -We all kind of had to figure this out for ourselves 701 00:30:45,951 --> 00:30:49,291 and eventually the message got out. 702 00:30:49,326 --> 00:30:52,531 "Keep cool, take breaks, don't overheat." 703 00:30:52,565 --> 00:30:54,468 But also don't overhydrate. 704 00:30:54,502 --> 00:30:56,205 Just drink fluids to replace 705 00:30:56,239 --> 00:30:58,877 what you're losing from sweating. 706 00:30:58,911 --> 00:31:02,116 I mean, it really had to come from the streets. 707 00:31:02,151 --> 00:31:03,887 ♪ 708 00:31:03,921 --> 00:31:05,490 -But as the '90s go on, 709 00:31:05,525 --> 00:31:07,126 what's coming from the streets 710 00:31:07,161 --> 00:31:09,097 will threaten the entire rave scene. 711 00:31:09,132 --> 00:31:12,237 -What happened in '94 to '95 was all the good 712 00:31:12,270 --> 00:31:14,942 MDMA started being cut with, like, bad drugs. 713 00:31:14,976 --> 00:31:18,250 -And it's hard to pursue peace, love, unity, and respect 714 00:31:18,282 --> 00:31:21,221 while you're dying from an unintended drug overdose. 715 00:31:21,256 --> 00:31:24,496 -I was walking up this very dark staircase, 716 00:31:24,528 --> 00:31:27,301 and then on either side there's just like 717 00:31:27,334 --> 00:31:29,940 7 or 8 ketamine dealers, 718 00:31:29,972 --> 00:31:31,442 and I was just like, "Wow, 719 00:31:31,477 --> 00:31:34,048 this is -- there are more drug dealers than, like, 720 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,519 people in this party, like, what's going on?" 721 00:31:40,126 --> 00:31:41,596 -Tens of thousands of people 722 00:31:41,630 --> 00:31:42,999 are camped out in upstate New York 723 00:31:43,031 --> 00:31:45,002 tonight for three days of music. 724 00:31:45,036 --> 00:31:49,010 If the scene sounds familiar, so does the name Woodstock. 725 00:31:49,044 --> 00:31:51,481 -The return of Woodstock in 1994 726 00:31:51,517 --> 00:31:53,420 brings a side stage devoted 727 00:31:53,453 --> 00:31:57,027 to electronic music called Rave Stock. 728 00:31:57,059 --> 00:31:59,030 -I played this party 729 00:31:59,064 --> 00:32:02,372 and it's, like, an amazing event to be a part of. 730 00:32:02,403 --> 00:32:04,375 ♪ 731 00:32:04,407 --> 00:32:07,114 This is where they were introducing rave to the masses, 732 00:32:07,147 --> 00:32:09,618 pretty much. -And it works. 733 00:32:09,653 --> 00:32:11,390 ♪ 734 00:32:11,423 --> 00:32:13,026 -When we were doing Storm Rave, 735 00:32:13,058 --> 00:32:16,164 the biggest party I did was 5,000 people in 1992. 736 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:22,044 Then by like '94, '95 there was 10,000 people parties. 737 00:32:22,076 --> 00:32:25,115 -Music industry executives suddenly see rave music 738 00:32:25,150 --> 00:32:27,387 as their next big thing. 739 00:32:27,422 --> 00:32:29,391 -Alt rock is losing steam. 740 00:32:29,425 --> 00:32:31,194 Kurt Cobain has killed himself, 741 00:32:31,229 --> 00:32:33,266 Pearl Jam is shunning the spotlight, 742 00:32:33,299 --> 00:32:35,304 Soundgarden is about to break up. 743 00:32:35,336 --> 00:32:38,410 The music business is ready to push what they 744 00:32:38,442 --> 00:32:40,981 are now calling electronica. 745 00:32:41,015 --> 00:32:43,286 -Electronic music producers quickly become 746 00:32:43,318 --> 00:32:44,455 industry superstars, 747 00:32:44,489 --> 00:32:46,057 in part because their music has 748 00:32:46,092 --> 00:32:48,429 other profitable commercial applications. 749 00:32:48,463 --> 00:32:51,569 -It's the perfect music to sell crap to, right? 750 00:32:51,603 --> 00:32:53,673 Because essentially it's soundtrack music. 751 00:32:53,707 --> 00:32:56,011 You know what I mean? So fashion shows, 752 00:32:56,045 --> 00:32:58,016 advertising Hollywood movies, 753 00:32:58,048 --> 00:33:00,288 that's the way it becomes mainstream. 754 00:33:00,319 --> 00:33:02,959 -But nothing kills a cool underground scene 755 00:33:02,991 --> 00:33:05,063 like being accused of selling out 756 00:33:05,096 --> 00:33:07,935 and God forbid, becoming popular. 757 00:33:07,969 --> 00:33:09,673 -But when the San Diego Convention Center hosts 758 00:33:09,705 --> 00:33:13,179 the underground party scene, rave is mainstream. 759 00:33:13,211 --> 00:33:16,352 -The capitalism part of it was always there. 760 00:33:16,385 --> 00:33:22,397 But bit by bit it starts to become more about the money 761 00:33:22,432 --> 00:33:24,167 and the big business. 762 00:33:24,201 --> 00:33:25,637 -It happened to hippie, it happened to punk. 763 00:33:25,671 --> 00:33:28,009 I mean, it's like -- it gets co-opted, right? 764 00:33:28,041 --> 00:33:30,480 It's not that it's a good or bad thing. 765 00:33:30,512 --> 00:33:32,484 It's just a natural process of 766 00:33:32,518 --> 00:33:36,325 how an underground culture becomes part of the mainstream. 767 00:33:36,358 --> 00:33:38,564 -Even the drug dealers, you know what I mean? 768 00:33:38,596 --> 00:33:41,469 They start off, like, just selling drugs to their friends 769 00:33:41,501 --> 00:33:44,308 or whatever, and then they don't care what kind of drugs 770 00:33:44,340 --> 00:33:46,144 they're selling because they're just trying to, 771 00:33:46,178 --> 00:33:48,584 like, make a quick buck. -And the fastest way 772 00:33:48,616 --> 00:33:50,721 to make more money is to charge the same 773 00:33:50,755 --> 00:33:52,724 for a lower quality product. 774 00:33:52,759 --> 00:33:57,099 -As more people heard about ecstasy and raves, 775 00:33:57,134 --> 00:33:59,438 more people were interested in trying the drug. 776 00:33:59,471 --> 00:34:04,381 And unfortunately, what happens when demand outstrip supply 777 00:34:04,415 --> 00:34:07,019 is that you start getting counterfeit products 778 00:34:07,054 --> 00:34:09,224 and the more popular the drug became, 779 00:34:09,257 --> 00:34:11,762 the more you just didn't know what you were buying. 780 00:34:11,797 --> 00:34:13,666 ♪ 781 00:34:13,699 --> 00:34:15,235 -Starting in the mid '90s, 782 00:34:15,269 --> 00:34:17,273 pills being sold as ecstasy 783 00:34:17,306 --> 00:34:22,083 can no longer be trusted to contain much, if any, MDMA. 784 00:34:22,117 --> 00:34:26,626 -Other things infiltrate, a lot of MDMA got cut with speed, 785 00:34:26,659 --> 00:34:29,063 and that's kind of a real party killer, too. 786 00:34:29,097 --> 00:34:31,735 Like, people are just speeding out of their skulls 787 00:34:31,769 --> 00:34:34,340 and it becomes much more aggro and macho 788 00:34:34,373 --> 00:34:37,447 and not as -- not as loving and not as fun. 789 00:34:37,481 --> 00:34:40,487 ♪ 790 00:34:40,521 --> 00:34:43,827 A lot more sneering, a lot less hugs. 791 00:34:43,860 --> 00:34:47,067 -The lack of reliable ecstasy also leads many ravers 792 00:34:47,099 --> 00:34:50,373 to experiment with other ways of getting high. 793 00:34:50,405 --> 00:34:52,409 -Drugs are baked into this thing, 794 00:34:52,443 --> 00:34:55,550 and what happens over time is that it stops just being about, 795 00:34:55,583 --> 00:34:57,688 you know, MDMA as a bonding agent 796 00:34:57,722 --> 00:34:59,858 and just starts to be kind of a free-for-all. 797 00:34:59,893 --> 00:35:03,032 -So you start seeing people like, say, doing ecstasy, 798 00:35:03,065 --> 00:35:06,438 but also combining them with cocaine or crystal meth 799 00:35:06,472 --> 00:35:11,047 or GHB or Special K or even heroin. 800 00:35:11,081 --> 00:35:14,489 ♪ 801 00:35:14,521 --> 00:35:19,130 People start experimenting with all sorts of chemicals, 802 00:35:19,164 --> 00:35:22,771 and it creates these very unpredictable cross reactions, 803 00:35:22,804 --> 00:35:26,244 which completely changes the mood of the scene. 804 00:35:26,277 --> 00:35:28,248 ♪ 805 00:35:28,282 --> 00:35:30,820 -One of the darkest parts of rave was, like, 806 00:35:30,853 --> 00:35:36,632 how many people have OD'd or died or, like, 807 00:35:36,664 --> 00:35:39,338 had really bad drug experiences. 808 00:35:39,371 --> 00:35:41,275 -I hit a point, I was stepping over the bodies 809 00:35:41,307 --> 00:35:43,679 of 16 year olds freaking high on K. 810 00:35:43,713 --> 00:35:46,150 You know what I mean? People were dying. 811 00:35:46,184 --> 00:35:49,358 You know, that's not good. It wasn't good. 812 00:35:49,391 --> 00:35:51,161 [ Heart beating rapidly ] 813 00:35:51,195 --> 00:35:54,134 -I can't lie, it's, like, a huge part of the culture 814 00:35:54,166 --> 00:35:57,239 and something that we've all experienced for ourselves 815 00:35:57,275 --> 00:35:59,277 or, like, seeing other people go through, 816 00:35:59,311 --> 00:36:00,880 you know? 817 00:36:00,914 --> 00:36:03,619 [ Heart beating rapidly ] 818 00:36:03,652 --> 00:36:06,692 -By the late '90s, bad drugs and bad behavior 819 00:36:06,726 --> 00:36:10,365 are causing the rave scene to buckle under its own weight. 820 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:14,340 -15 people were hospitalized after overdosing on the drug, G. 821 00:36:14,375 --> 00:36:17,579 And G poses an additional risk for young women. 822 00:36:17,614 --> 00:36:21,155 Men slip them this lethal elixir as the newest date rape drug, 823 00:36:21,188 --> 00:36:23,427 -Like, there's only so many years of this 824 00:36:23,458 --> 00:36:25,128 that you can, like, endure. 825 00:36:25,163 --> 00:36:31,543 By around '99, 2000, that's when it was just, like... 826 00:36:31,574 --> 00:36:35,382 I don't know, like, way more parties sucked 827 00:36:35,416 --> 00:36:38,155 and were sketchy, then were good. 828 00:36:38,188 --> 00:36:39,858 -To see this world for ourselves, 829 00:36:39,891 --> 00:36:43,331 "20/20" attended some raves with a hidden camera. 830 00:36:43,365 --> 00:36:45,436 -Media concern about the dangers of drug use 831 00:36:45,471 --> 00:36:47,474 at raves gains momentum. 832 00:36:47,507 --> 00:36:49,746 -We didn't even get near the door before we were approached 833 00:36:49,778 --> 00:36:51,949 to buy drugs. -Want some X? 834 00:36:51,983 --> 00:36:53,820 Acid, Special K? -Then comes 835 00:36:53,853 --> 00:36:57,293 the disastrous return of Woodstock in 1999. 836 00:36:57,327 --> 00:36:58,728 ♪ 837 00:36:58,764 --> 00:37:01,536 Though Woodstock is a mainstream rock concert, 838 00:37:01,568 --> 00:37:05,777 rave music is now embedded into the event. 839 00:37:05,811 --> 00:37:08,481 But unlike the peaceful version five years earlier, 840 00:37:08,516 --> 00:37:12,525 this 30th anniversary festival descends into chaos. 841 00:37:12,557 --> 00:37:14,862 ♪ 842 00:37:14,896 --> 00:37:17,266 It's plagued by inadequate facilities, 843 00:37:17,300 --> 00:37:19,371 a lack of security leads to riots, 844 00:37:19,403 --> 00:37:23,947 multiple reported sexual assaults and four deaths. 845 00:37:23,980 --> 00:37:26,652 For those already eyeing raves with suspicion, 846 00:37:26,686 --> 00:37:29,458 it's association with the Woodstock disaster 847 00:37:29,492 --> 00:37:32,297 confirms their worst fears. 848 00:37:32,329 --> 00:37:34,201 -We're fortunate this morning to have with us 849 00:37:34,233 --> 00:37:36,940 one of our allies in the law enforcement aspect 850 00:37:36,972 --> 00:37:38,809 of the club drugs. 851 00:37:38,844 --> 00:37:41,280 -Raves and so-called club drugs 852 00:37:41,315 --> 00:37:43,652 draw the attention of the DEA. 853 00:37:43,686 --> 00:37:48,329 -Law enforcement are convinced that the only reason 854 00:37:48,362 --> 00:37:49,865 people go to raves is for drugs, 855 00:37:49,898 --> 00:37:52,436 and that the only reason people put on raves 856 00:37:52,469 --> 00:37:53,907 is to sell drugs. 857 00:37:53,940 --> 00:37:56,813 -Ecstasy is dangerous, and dangerous people 858 00:37:56,846 --> 00:38:00,853 are trying to convince our children to use it. 859 00:38:00,887 --> 00:38:02,556 -Ecstasy, the peace and love drug 860 00:38:02,590 --> 00:38:04,393 that helped launch the rave movement, 861 00:38:04,427 --> 00:38:06,364 is specifically singled out, 862 00:38:06,398 --> 00:38:08,501 despite possibly being the least dangerous drug 863 00:38:08,536 --> 00:38:10,773 being consumed at the event. -More than 50 people 864 00:38:10,806 --> 00:38:13,746 could face criminal charges today after a weekend rave. 865 00:38:13,778 --> 00:38:17,320 -Starting in 2000, federal authorities cracked down hard 866 00:38:17,353 --> 00:38:19,557 on the already declining rave scene. 867 00:38:19,590 --> 00:38:22,597 -Like, someone sends out a memo to all the police 868 00:38:22,630 --> 00:38:25,469 and is like, "America's youth is being destroyed. 869 00:38:25,503 --> 00:38:28,474 We have to crack down on these things." 870 00:38:28,510 --> 00:38:33,251 This becomes a focus of. like, the whole US police force. 871 00:38:33,284 --> 00:38:34,956 -Raves also draw the attention 872 00:38:34,989 --> 00:38:38,362 of a future president determined to turn on the lights 873 00:38:38,394 --> 00:38:40,733 and the party and send the kids home. 874 00:38:40,766 --> 00:38:42,704 -Arrest the promoter, 875 00:38:42,737 --> 00:38:46,478 find a rationale unrelated to drugs. 876 00:38:46,510 --> 00:38:48,617 -The rave that was kind of like the final nail 877 00:38:48,648 --> 00:38:52,056 in the coffin of a scene that was already dying, basically. 878 00:38:56,766 --> 00:38:58,869 -The media has played a role in glamorizing 879 00:38:58,902 --> 00:39:02,076 this very dangerous drug. -In 2001, 880 00:39:02,110 --> 00:39:04,914 the US Senate convenes a 10 years late hearing 881 00:39:04,949 --> 00:39:08,757 into what they see as the scourge of ecstasy and raves. 882 00:39:08,789 --> 00:39:11,494 -If I were governor of my state or mayor of my town, 883 00:39:11,527 --> 00:39:14,969 I would be passing new ordinances relating to 884 00:39:15,001 --> 00:39:18,509 stiff criminal penalties for anyone who held a rave. 885 00:39:18,541 --> 00:39:23,284 -Joe Biden decided that he was like the anti-rave crusader 886 00:39:23,318 --> 00:39:25,856 and trotted out this law from the 1980s. 887 00:39:25,889 --> 00:39:28,295 -I'm the guy who authored the crack house legislation. 888 00:39:28,329 --> 00:39:30,365 -The crack house law was, 889 00:39:30,398 --> 00:39:33,706 if you own the property on which the drugs are being sold 890 00:39:33,739 --> 00:39:36,043 or manufactured, you are responsible 891 00:39:36,077 --> 00:39:39,885 for the criminal activity that goes on in your building. 892 00:39:39,918 --> 00:39:44,994 -Bulldoze down their business, bulldoze it down, literally. 893 00:39:45,028 --> 00:39:46,664 -To extend the crack house laws 894 00:39:46,699 --> 00:39:48,902 to include temporary events like raves, 895 00:39:48,936 --> 00:39:51,909 Biden co-sponsors a bill called the RAVE Act. 896 00:39:51,942 --> 00:39:53,512 -Rave stood for 897 00:39:53,545 --> 00:39:56,418 Reducing Americans Vulnerability to Ecstasy. 898 00:39:56,452 --> 00:40:00,059 It underlines the idea that if you are 899 00:40:00,092 --> 00:40:02,496 in any way connected with this culture, 900 00:40:02,530 --> 00:40:04,099 you are risking arrest. 901 00:40:04,134 --> 00:40:07,507 And it worked. Nobody ever took it again. 902 00:40:07,539 --> 00:40:08,976 Thanks, Joe Biden. 903 00:40:09,010 --> 00:40:10,445 ♪ 904 00:40:10,478 --> 00:40:13,920 -Biden does finally get a bill passed. 905 00:40:13,952 --> 00:40:16,525 -By that point, it's almost irrelevant anyway, 906 00:40:16,557 --> 00:40:18,795 because all the American rave promoters are scared 907 00:40:18,829 --> 00:40:22,135 to death of putting on a party for fear of getting raided. 908 00:40:22,170 --> 00:40:24,875 -For some, this intense resistance to raves 909 00:40:24,909 --> 00:40:28,849 by those in authority comes as no surprise. 910 00:40:28,882 --> 00:40:31,487 -We're a puritanical country. 911 00:40:31,521 --> 00:40:33,724 We have a lot of maybe shame or guilt 912 00:40:33,760 --> 00:40:36,164 around pleasure or hedonism, you know, 913 00:40:36,197 --> 00:40:38,735 you're supposed to work. 914 00:40:38,769 --> 00:40:43,211 But the raves really celebrated hedonism and pleasure. 915 00:40:43,244 --> 00:40:46,483 That made politicians uncomfortable, 916 00:40:46,518 --> 00:40:48,621 it made parents uncomfortable. 917 00:40:48,655 --> 00:40:50,726 -But as the 2000s continue, 918 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:54,501 discomfort towards raves starts to soften. 919 00:40:54,534 --> 00:40:56,938 -And it wasn't until, like, the EDM music 920 00:40:56,972 --> 00:41:00,144 came out 2006, 2007 921 00:41:00,179 --> 00:41:02,550 where things started picking up again. 922 00:41:02,583 --> 00:41:06,523 ♪ 923 00:41:06,557 --> 00:41:08,561 -Rave music comes back into fashion, 924 00:41:08,594 --> 00:41:12,168 now rebranded as EDM -- electronic dance music. 925 00:41:12,202 --> 00:41:14,873 -Suddenly electronic music is huge. 926 00:41:14,909 --> 00:41:17,480 All these festivals spring up. 927 00:41:17,512 --> 00:41:18,983 They just changed the terms and suddenly 928 00:41:19,016 --> 00:41:22,791 it's not a rave anymore, so nobody tries to bust it. 929 00:41:22,822 --> 00:41:24,527 And it becomes big business, 930 00:41:24,561 --> 00:41:27,532 a much bigger business than it ever was in the '90s. 931 00:41:27,565 --> 00:41:29,202 ♪ 932 00:41:29,237 --> 00:41:32,510 -As for the drug that helped first launch rave culture, 933 00:41:32,543 --> 00:41:35,181 after 36 years as a Schedule One drug, 934 00:41:35,215 --> 00:41:37,085 improved scientific knowledge 935 00:41:37,119 --> 00:41:40,726 allows MDMA to return to its therapeutic roots. 936 00:41:40,759 --> 00:41:44,934 In 2021, the FDA approves a trial to assess MDMAs 937 00:41:44,969 --> 00:41:47,606 promising potential in treating PTSD. 938 00:41:47,639 --> 00:41:49,945 -But it's only when it's combined with therapy. 939 00:41:49,978 --> 00:41:53,719 It's the therapy that is the primary act of treatment. 940 00:41:53,751 --> 00:41:57,293 And the MDMA, the medicine makes the therapy more effective. 941 00:41:57,326 --> 00:41:58,896 -When they go through the protocol, 942 00:41:58,929 --> 00:42:02,268 as many as two thirds or more of people 943 00:42:02,302 --> 00:42:04,039 are getting rid of their symptoms 944 00:42:04,072 --> 00:42:05,809 and don't need to take medication 945 00:42:05,842 --> 00:42:08,079 for post-traumatic stress disorder anymore. 946 00:42:08,114 --> 00:42:11,989 So this is very, very rare in psychiatry. 947 00:42:12,023 --> 00:42:14,092 People don't usually get cured. 948 00:42:14,126 --> 00:42:17,500 -The impressive trial results are submitted to the FDA 949 00:42:17,532 --> 00:42:20,940 for final drug approval in December 2023. 950 00:42:20,974 --> 00:42:22,943 -We finally have the data 951 00:42:22,978 --> 00:42:26,684 that FDA requires to approve MDMA is safe and effective 952 00:42:26,717 --> 00:42:28,822 when it's used in the context of psychotherapy, 953 00:42:28,856 --> 00:42:31,594 and that's really exciting. 954 00:42:31,628 --> 00:42:34,099 -And 35 years after the first UK raves, 955 00:42:34,132 --> 00:42:38,141 the global movement shows no signs of stopping. 956 00:42:38,175 --> 00:42:41,847 -It's so funny to see how many of the older music journalists 957 00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:43,684 that I know who are still just like, 958 00:42:43,717 --> 00:42:47,760 "When is this going to go away?" It's never going to go away. 959 00:42:47,793 --> 00:42:49,764 -I would argue that you still sort of 960 00:42:49,797 --> 00:42:53,940 can feel the messages of peace, love, unity, and respect 961 00:42:53,972 --> 00:42:59,851 at things like Coachella and Burning Man and Bonnaroo, 962 00:42:59,885 --> 00:43:02,722 but I just don't think of them as raves anymore. 963 00:43:02,755 --> 00:43:04,726 -It's actually my definition of purgatory, 964 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:07,632 being stuck in the mud for three days 965 00:43:07,666 --> 00:43:10,036 with a bunch of frat boys and sorority sisters 966 00:43:10,072 --> 00:43:11,608 high on bad ecstasy. 967 00:43:11,641 --> 00:43:12,976 [ Laughing ] I can't actually think 968 00:43:13,010 --> 00:43:15,817 of a worse experience. 969 00:43:15,849 --> 00:43:17,585 I really -- 970 00:43:17,619 --> 00:43:21,293 It really would drive me to murder if I had to do that. 971 00:43:21,327 --> 00:43:25,735 -Critics aside, the desire for raves is stronger than ever. 972 00:43:25,768 --> 00:43:28,976 -Post-pandemic -- the raves are crazy. 973 00:43:29,009 --> 00:43:30,646 -This thing is still growing. 974 00:43:30,679 --> 00:43:32,248 I still think more people are getting involved 975 00:43:32,282 --> 00:43:34,686 in it to this very day. -And the scene now is 976 00:43:34,719 --> 00:43:37,927 much more racially diverse, 977 00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:41,166 more queer, more different styles of music. 978 00:43:41,201 --> 00:43:43,338 -On a pop level, electronic music 979 00:43:43,371 --> 00:43:44,907 is bigger than it's ever been. 980 00:43:44,942 --> 00:43:46,710 We've got to keep doing this. 981 00:43:46,744 --> 00:43:49,115 And you know, it's, like, the world's not going to stop, 982 00:43:49,150 --> 00:43:50,920 but a lot of strife out there. 983 00:43:50,952 --> 00:43:52,989 Let's just dance. 984 00:43:53,023 --> 00:43:59,001 ♪ 985 00:43:59,036 --> 00:44:04,947 ♪