Music and Atmosphere
The Drug and Poison Information Center (DPIC), located at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, provides timely information about drugs and related issues.
The music played at a rave is electronically produced, often computer-generated, and has a fast-paced sound, vibrating at 140-200 beats/minute. For special effects, the promoter of a rave may also set up any or all of the following equipment: psychedelic, laser, strobe, and/or spotlights, video projections on large screens, smoke, fog, fire, or sparks.
The set-up can range from simple to very complex, using computer aided graphics that change according to the music to enhance the experience. The temperature in the venue is deliberately raised to an ambient 85 degrees to increase sweating, rehydration beverage sales, and drug effects. The disc jockeys that play the music are like mini-gods in the rave subculture, and the following they receive is the key to a large turnout.
The ages of the partygoers range from teens to adults in their mid-thirties. In a lawful club, the average age is older than that seen in an unlawful club, where a paid admission fee is all that is necessary to permit entrance to the venue.
Operation hours of a rave are between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m. At the actual site there is generally a main dance area, a cool down ("Zen" or "Chill") room, an outside area and a "VIP" area.
