Pubdate: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Section: Entertainment Copyright: 1999, The Toronto Star Contact: http://www.thestar.com/ Author: Ben Rayner TORIES RAGE AGAINST THE RAVE Ontario's enlightened Conservative government has never given me a shortage of reasons to despise it. Now that our elected Fun Police have turned their policies of bullying the powerless towards raves and even, by the sounds of things, towards after-hours clubbing - pastimes I and tens of thousands of other young Ontarians favour over the more traditional Tory diet of golf tournaments and expensive fundraising dinners - I've added a new one to the list. Maddeningly, the fallout from Consumer Affairs Minister Bob Runciman's recent proposed police/government crackdown on raves is upon us long before any actual action has been taken. After spending a decade more or less completely oblivious to Toronto's bustling scene, the news - always hungry for something to arouse middle-class paranoia - is suddenly awash in talk of a city-wide "ecstasy epidemic" and lurid tales of deviant goings-on at parties. Politicians like city Councillor Tom Jakobek, who's now trying to shut down Lifeforce's New Year's Eve party at Exhibition Place, are milking the hysteria for dirt-cheap political points. And the events themselves, still reeling from a summer that witnessed three allegedly rave-related fatalities (drugs, not the parties, killed those unfortunate kids; do you shut down the Toronto Symphony Orchestra because three people ingest a fatal mix of booze and heart medication in the lobby?), are coming under intense scrutiny that borders on persecution. Witness last weekend's aborted Kompress bash in Windsor, the catalyst for my latest surge of anti-Tory rage. The release party for internationally revered Windsor DJ/producer Richie Hawtin's new Decks, EFX And 909 mix disc, Kompress - featuring a six-hour DJ set from Hawtin, the best and most innovative 'jock this country has ever produced - had been the object of anticipation for weeks. Hawtin's globe-trotting schedule rarely brings him home, and the events thrown by his record label, Minus, have an almost unparalleled reputation for artistry. This was gonna be a good one, and like 500 or so other ticket buyers, a posse of friends and I were pumped for the road trip. Windsor had a different sort of homecoming in mind for its local boy-made-good, though. Late on the Friday before Kompress was to take place in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city, I got a call from Minus' Clark Warner telling me the party was off. The professionally minded Minus has always enjoyed a reasonably friendly relationship with the authorities, who usually settle for a quiet police presence at Windsor parties. But the city - - either frightened or emboldened by a week's worth of Runciman's rave bashing - this time sent an army of police officers, building inspectors and fire officials to the site "just looking for every permit in the world possible," says Warner. Already a day into decorating the space, the Minus crew had to abandon its plans. A frustrated Hawtin ("I'm kind of sick of talking about it right now," he says of the scuttled party) has already left town to tour again. The Kompress debacle is pretty consistent with Runciman's stated plan to tie promoters and property owners up in so much legal red tape that it'll be impossible to get parties off the ground. This is galling, since his proposed "anti-rave" strategy summit with police and various levels of government doesn't appear even remotely concerned with consulting the young entrepreneurs who actually throw the parties and who stand to be put out of business and/or criminalized by any crackdown. Aside from that, though, the affair illustrates the cultural cost of the government's present witchhunt. Hawtin, who was just commissioned by the French government to write two pieces of music to mark the millennium, enjoys a rabid global following. His career grew up alongside the Windsor/Detroit area's rave and club scene, and his experience isn't unique - scores of other Ontario DJs, producers and promoters owe their present gigs to the province's thirst for dance music and culture. I don't expect the Ontario Tories to show much respect for culture, least of all one of Canada's least acknowledged cultural ambassadors. If they understand anything, though, it's business. So, do the math: You cripple our scene, you're gonna put a lot of people out of work or send 'em packing elsewhere. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D