Guy will put his Rave against any from the past

Publication Date: March 4, 1996
Publication title: SEE Magazine
Author: Slew Slate

You can call it a sanitized sell-out version of the normally underground Rave movement, but Guy Almog says he’s creating something people want. And he says he puts together a better rave than anyone in Edmonton, underground or otherwise.

Almog stages his next dance-fest, entitled “Crunch,” this Sunday, April 7 at the American Bar, 10148-105 St. It’s the second rave he’s organized for the bar [after "Retrosonic Vibes," December 26, 1995], after earlier stints working on rave-related events at the Atomic Cafe, JRJ’s (now Cowboys), the Bronx (now the Rev), and Flashback.

These shows have been a step or two away frmo the origins of the rave scene, mainly because they’ve been staged in the organized, controlled setting of a licensed establishment. This time, Almog is going a step further. He’s attracted sponsors Quality Records, Power 29, SEE Magazine and the AIDS Network of Edmonton Society. And he gets criticism from members of the underground commnity for selling out.

Almog knows the criticism is there. But he looks at true raves in Europe, particularly in his native Belgium, and sees massive weekend-long festivals made very successful thanks to big money from the large, cutting-edge record labels and exorbitant admission prices. He thinks the best way to offer that success this side of the ocean is by working with bars. “If you’re in it for the music and you want to see a good light show I don’t think anyone else in town can offer what I’m doing,” he said last week.

A sound system and lighting trusses are already in place so he can, in the case of the upcoming American Bar event, rent a quarter-million dollar system of “intelligent lighting.” There’s an established liquor inventory, so he can offer a full range of drinks and not have to purchase everything from scratch. In keeping with recent rave develoments, Crunch will also feature a “smart bar” stocked with energy-replenishing. sports drinks.

Almog is critical of the local underground scene for not being able to offer all that and for charging a higher cover charge, while not always living up to the advance billing.

People get Ideas

“When somebody promises you Traci Lords and she doesn’t show up (a reference to a highly-publicized warehouse party last year that was supposed to feature the well-known American performer) or the DJ’s don’t show up because [organizers] can’t come up with the budget to pay them, or you pick up a flyer and it doesn’t even say where [the rave is being held], because they don’t know until the last minute, that gives people an idea about raves.

“The problem is that when I put something on, I can be hurt by that. People might not believe my lineup of DJs because the last time they went to a rave, the DJ didn’t show up.” Crunch’s lineup includes Vancouver’s Lace (an Edmontonian who used to spin at Barry T’s), Los Angeles’ Vitamin E and locals Davey James (the Rev’s resident DJ, who also does Thursday’s at the American Bar and Friday’s at the Dance Factory), and XTC (who will be playing Almog’s private collection of mainly cutting-edge European stuff.

Almog qualifies his criticism, however, saying he wants the local underground scene to continue because that’s where new ideas are most frequently born. “I’ll go to these raves and I’ll take a look at what works, what’s hot. I’ll make it accessible to more than the limited few who can afford the $20 cover.”

Almog sees himself serving a different type of crowd. “I cater to a crowd that would like to go to an event and not have to worry about things you have to worry about in a warehouse. I’ve got an organized coat check. I’ve got trained secrity personnel. I’ve got a fully-stocked bar with professional service. I’ve got a kitchen so I can serve food, [?] and enough bathrooms,” he said.

This time around, he’s even got a co-ordinated troupe of go-go dancers strutting their stuff in cages and on top of speakers at the edge of the dance floor. They’re just regular Edmonton club-goers, but Almog has been in the clubs scouting these energetic souls who climb on the speakers, bringing the best together to coordinate their moves under the eye of a professional cheerleading coach.

Almog is hoping these attractions will leave the American Bar packed after last call Sunday so he can justfy forking over more cash to the DJs and the dancing can continue until dawn and beyond, in true rave fashion.