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Bus One Seven
Spiritualize: What everyone is raving about
By Roderick Armageddon

One word: Spiritualize. I definitely do not consider myself a "religious" person, yet I like to think of myself as someone with a sense of spirituality — with this in mind, I couldn’t help but want to dive into a very exotic-looking multi-fold advertisement leading with the word "Spiritualize." From the look and feel of the ad, it was definitely a higher event. Upon glancing on the innards of the beast, I found a vast array of colors and sights, intertwined with high-res photos of some of the greatest names and faces in the world of DJ’s, mixed with the best of Portland’s DJ scene — all of this combined with very pure messages:

"Spiritualize will truly raise the bar for all electronic music festivals. World-class musicians, artists and producers are working together to prepare a rendering of musical, visual, and theatrical flair to manifest our dream of the techno opera. This is truly a new millennium of traditions. Our efforts are turned towards producing the best events imaginable, and we want to kick off our New Year with a memorable time. Come and be surrounded by good spirits, as the charity efforts made possible by our guests always inspire a real sense of accomplishment and goodwill to celebration. Be ready to dance like the wind, and surrender to the call of electronic funk and fun."

With words so innocent, powerful and positive, coupled with a promise to open up sound to the "echoes of the new renaissance," I was hooked. I produce theatre and I’m a techno junkie… when someone says techno opera, I’ll happily plop down the $25 per ticket to see it. My expectations were high, yet my experience was like nothing I ever expected.

I’ll keep it short and succinct — Dr. Laura might label the event as nothing more than a well-organized rave. Nothing more… nothing less. Forget Dr. Laura, most of Portland would probably label it the same. After admitting that one fact, I gave in to the event and decided to see if I could salvage the most from my $25. With that as my guiding light, I walked into the venue. There’s really only one way to describe the feeling and experience I had - my mind was opened up to a whole new world of music, youth, entertainment, and just plain spirituality. Once I was able to look past the fact that this event fell into a news-happy category laced with tales of ecstasy, irresponsibility and troubled youth, I saw a whole new level of "goodness," a new level of purity flowing with the trampling of plastic and fur-covered feet; interlaced with elaborate backpacks, accessories and completely campy fashion. All of this, in a huge room where the median age was probably 17. Yes, I was finally the old guy — and the old guy was learning the new religion of the new generation.

So many things have changed in art — so many walls have been busted down and replaced by oddly-concocted bridges of strange shapes and sounds… all designed to bring art to the point of a new medium — a mixed medium. Combining resources, audiences, artists and experience… all for the one goal of taking the audience to the next level of entertainment. The organization that put on Spiritualize, millionwishes (www.millionwishes.org), had the same intention. True, they were limited by the fact that they cater mostly to a very young crowd that really just wants to groove to some very, very phat beats. I don’t fault them for this… some might say they oversold the event in an effort to broaden its appeal — perhaps… then again, maybe they just wanted to communicate their true intentions through the medium that they know best. They haven’t quite reached their goal, but they’re well on their way. I commend them for their efforts! Not only because I really enjoyed the funky visuals and extremely addictive beats, but mostly due to the environment they choose to operate in.

Again, the news tells us about the evil associated with raves and their after-parties, yet they fail to focus on the rave as an outlet for the audience — an outlet that serves them well. The crowd at Spiritualize was well frisked before entering, yet a good number of drugs (including a rich cloud of marijuana that made it into my cerebral cortex) managed to find their way into the venue. No fault to the organizers, they truly had a tight lock on security, and no fault to the audience. They were doing what they wanted to be doing, yet they were doing it with the one thing you rarely find at any 21+ dance club: a smile. There was no unnecessary pelvic grinding with perfect strangers (not that I necessarily object); there was no tough-guy wallflower looking for a cheap piece of ass and a good fight; there were no Corona-loaded frat boys trying to take over the dance floor; and most of all, there were no familiar tunes. The event was designed to be new to everyone — new sights, new sounds, and new experiences. Everyone seemed to have a smile and no one shoved his or her way trying to posture to the next level. It was dramatically different from anything I’ve ever experienced. No apparent chance of violence… just pure fun and good times for all. I was truly impressed. With so little, the organizers delivered to me what I had no idea I would receive, and for that I am thankful. I felt a kind of spirituality that I have never experienced before… it energized a group of ideas I’ve had for months — it brought me out of my cocoon of ignorance for this new art form. It made me a better person — all for $25 and the willingness to have an open mind.

To that, I think it’s best to reevaluate everything you see — look at it from someone else’s perspective and maybe just once go out on a limb and try something you haven’t — you just might be surprised. There are numerous events such as this happening every month, by a variety of organizations that most of us probably never knew existed in Portland — or anywhere for that matter. Well folks, I have news for you — they do exist. And they’re thriving. So is their audience. Troubled youth or not — these kids are not the ones bringing guns to school and picking fights in the hall… these kids are the ones who probably stole $10 from their mom to get the ticket to the show. That’s their crime. They’re different… they’re odd, funky, fun, homosexual, straight, fat, skinny, tall, weird, quiet, in groups, alone… you get my point. They’re you and I. Open your mind and open a new door… as Bryan Adams says (I can’t believe I’m quoting Bryan Adams): "Never say never — try anything twice." Spiritualize my friends… spiritualize.