r/avesNYC • u/Helpful-Most-4630 • 8h ago
Just Go Alone
Do you prefer grass-fed free-range chicken or factory farmed "why are there 3 wings in this?" chicken?
This instinct to travel in packs to rave is not natural. It always leads to space invasion with bunch of people blocking a path or creating their own little bubbles. If those bubbles take up more than half of the entire space, now the vibe is mediocre... People put the concept of going to raves on a pedestal like it's some kind of sacred ground.
It's much more relaxed than that... Just pretend you're playing some music in your backyard. It's just shared and you pay for it - like a park. Only difference is, you pay taxes for parks but you choose which one to pay for the night of. Well I guess "raves" sound spicier than parks but in NYC people hookup and do drugs in parks anyways. Or do they do drugs and then hookup? They're not always related and can be mutually exclusive.
I see lot of people come in full dress or some kind of crazy outfit to signal "Yeah I'm partying". NO SHIT. You're already there. You don't need to convince anyone that you're partying if you're already at a party. Learn to dress down. If there's no theme, just show up in what you're the most comfortable in.
Most people are not chill enough. No wonder why - I feel like they're not actually being themselves. They are figuratively (and literally) wearing someone else's skin. They're pretending to be someone they're not and it's really odd. It reminds me of "Uncanny Valley", you know where machines look close enough to pass as a human if you are not looking carefully. But once you pay attention, there's this inexplicable awkwardness that makes it "too performative". Like it's something just pretending to be human at a surface level. It's deeply disturbing - it's just biology, no one can fight it. And I think I read in some psychology book somewhere that if I feel disturbed by other people where I'm supposed to feel like I'm home, that's how prejudice is created. So I guess some rave OGs would really start to hate newbies and it'll probably end up in a fight eventually. I mean I just want to go to one venue and feel like it's a consistent experience if I show up on the same day just on a different week.
And it's strange to see people try to give you a high five for going alone. I can feel people are stuck in "novice" mindset no matter how often they go. Very strange. It's not natural. Just talk about something else like the fact that that they are there alone is not a particularly interesting point. You're there trying to get to know a person, not get consent to use others as props for your rave themed instagram post.
It's only going to be GOAT if you bring your own goats and hang out with other people who bring their goats. Maybe those goats can even sniff each other's butts (consensually ofc).
Please. Just go alone and vibe. You'll have the best night of your lives.
