Past, Present and Future...

Once upon a time...there existed in the reasonably fair city of Toronto, a thriving rave scene, much like what is still going on in Europe, Asia and South America today.  Every weekend, anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 teens and young adults would come from all over southern Ontario and the surrounding U.S. states, to get crazy until sunrise at any one of up to a half-dozen mid-sized to large scale events.  Techno was a lynchpin genre of electronic music in Toronto during this time, with companies like Speed Records and Phryl and clubs like Industry showcasing the likes of Claude Young, Jeff Mills, Dave Clarke, DJ Skull, Steve Stoll, Traxx, Ben Sims, DJ Rush, Damon Wild and many others on a frequent basis.  Add to that a solid roster of local support and Toronto was definitely known as a go-to city for Techno events.

As is natural when anything becomes too popular, people began to take advantage.  Shady promoters, venue owners, drug dealers and the like began to garner unwanted attention.  And the media, as they tend to do with any large youth movement, began to sensationalise every aspect of the rave scene, from the age range of attendees, to the drug consumption to the music, clothes and accessories.  Worrisome parents were soon bellowing at their politicians to do something about this new menace to peace and order, and knee-jerk and very short-sighted bylaws were soon being put firmly into place.  By 2001, the city had all but quashed the warehouse scene, and promters were faced with no other choice but to move back to the nightclubs and 19+ (the drinking age in Ontario) events.

These days, the sound that came out of Detroit is all but absent from this city.  European and Asian Techno d.j.s rarely make the trip to North America - there's little incentive, when a thriving festival and nightclub scene across their continents is more than enough to fill tour schedules.

(to be continued...)