The dark night dawns with the rising of the moon and the setting of the sun. The hazy city slowly begins to shake itself awake as the windows and streetlights gradually pour their illumination into the dark surrounding air. The fragile twinkle of the stars above is no comparison to the artificial flickering of the city in its full, diamond studded attire. And as the glorious moon rises to her full hieght to observe her glorious kingdom, we escape from our lonley crevasses, which protect us from the blazing sun's poisonous rays, to join as one and chase our queen's moonbeams to whatever adventures lay ahead...

Clutching the sweaty money eagerly in my hand, I move forward in the line inwhich i've found myself. It is an incredibly warm summer evening, and though it's almost eleven o'clock at night, Los Angeles surrounds me with many forms of life. Traffic roars past me into the neon labyrinth of the city, and many pedestrians can be seen picking their way through the complex web of sidewalks and sidestreets. As I move closer to the door of the ancient brick building I am about to enter, a sudden blast of bass fills the air, makes the building shudder, and prickles my entire being into an electric excitement. The bass is given life, and the hardsounds of music drift out towards us from the interior of the building, teasing us like the aromatic scent of a bakery. The rave has begun! I look around at the other excited people which form the line I am currently apart of. Never will one see such a dverse group of unique individuals as one will see at a rave. Kandekids, junglists, house headz, the rich and the poor, fill the sidewalk. The unification of the masses under one roof...amazing! How often do peaple gather together in peace to celebrate somthing they love?

I approach the bouncer and hand him my money. A quick look around tells me that a lack of female security guards will keep me from getting searched. "God, I love being a girl," I think to myself as I slip past the watchful bouncer's and into the rave. Hot, stagnant air stained with the smell of sweat and various types of smoke, hits my body like a wall. circular chairs and tables, occupied by well-worn looking souls guarding water and thier incapacitated friends, appear out of the mist being spewed forht by fog machines. I make my way towards the back of this first room, which i soon discover isn't really a room at all (due to the fact that it's lacking speakers and a DJ) but an "entryway". A bar is located on the back wall of the entryway, directly facing the front door through which I had come. Large mirrors panel the walls and rather low ceiling, reflecting distorted images of all they bore witness to.

To my left is an extremely large doorway, through which many people come and go. beyond this is a relatively small room, equipped with many large speakers and a dancefloor highlighted by lasers and strobe lights. The DJ and his tables were placed at the head of the room, commanding us to dance with his smooth jungle beat. A fan placed within an open window is the omly form of fresh air in this room, and people flock to it like flies.

To my right is another doorway, which is currently emmitting a powerful house beat. I am hypnotized by the music, and drawn into this room. It is bigger than the jungle room, and much more crowded, as well. Placed against the front wall of this room is huge wall of speakers about 5 feet in lenght and 8 feet high. The wall opposite the doorway has a small stage, next to which on the floor is the second DJ and his tables. The back of the room is lined with venders selling glo-sticks, beaded necklaces, water, and sno-cones. Promoters can be seen weaving their
way through the bouncing crowd, doing their best to pass out flyers to those who will accept them without stepping on all the E-tards stuck to the floor.

I make my way back to the entryway in search of the people I came with. I find them sitting at one of the low circular tables, fanning eachother with flyers and discussing what appears to be a "serious" matter. They spot me, and their faces light up. One of them, Shannan, gets up from the table, and strools over to me. "Nada," she shouts over the beat,"Will you help me find some pills?"

"Well", I reply, feeling a bit of my evil side kicking in,"only if you help me find some L."

"Okay, that sounds fair," she says.

So we make our second round of the party and within 10 minutes we both find what we are looking for. After wishing her happy birthday, I kiss her forehead and let her loose into the crowd. The bittersweet taste of liquid still staining my senses, I meander back into the house room, where I feel most at home. The beat is bumbin and so is the crowd. I walk over to the DJ to see for myself who the genius is responsible for this mindsweeping music. I do not recognize him, but I do recognize the chick standing next to him with a VIP pass strung around her neck. She sees me, and smiles as I walk over towards her. "Hey, Natalie," I say into her ear,"who's mixing right now?"

part 2 coming soon !!