Inside a Hong Kong Rave Party!

Glow sticks? Check. Lollipops? Check. Saturday night, D.J. Dan and D.J. Falcon – who is associated with Daft Punk, swooped into Hong Kong for what most people referred to as a ‘rave party’.

I’m o.k. with defining it as a rave as long as it meets the following criteria: it’s a large event held outside of a club; the event is centered around uptempo dance music provided by a d.j.; and lastly, it’s held at a location not originally built for the purpose of holding a party.

On the night of the rave I received a text message from my friend notifying me that the venue had changed from the Exhibition Center in Wanchai to Western Market in Sheung Wan. Western Market is actually one of the very few large old buildings left in Hong Kong. Occasionally used for fashion events such as the infamous Agent Provocateur show, it’s got a huge three-story beamed ceiling, brick walls (a real rarity in H.K.,) and wrought-iron balconies that surround three-quarters of the top floor.

When I arrived at around 2 am, the music was a little on the low side – no doubt because the police had just paid a visit. Despite the lack of volume, the crowd was hyped and the party was in full swing. I’d say there were nearly 700 people in attendance and the combination of music, lights, and crowd energy in the old space was perfect.

Bisected by an old escalator, the main dance-floor forms a ‘U’ shape. The d.j. was perched up one story above, playing from the balcony. Older fixtures, such as the lamp posts sprinkled about, added to the historical ambience of the venue.

Hong Kong had a huge, flourishing rave scene in the late 90’s. It was deftly captured by a magazine called Absolute that chronicled the scene in photos and words.

A crackdown by the government, perhaps brought on by a few violent incidents (related to gang activity,) lead to the scene’s demise. The D.J. Dan / D.J. Falcon party was a sort of flashback event as evidenced by the older crowd and the audience’s response to certain classics such as Born Slippery by Underworld. D.J. Dan and Falcon both played interesting sets that included updates on classic rave anthems, in addition to new music.

Since I was hanging out on one of the balconies for most of the night I was able to take photos and shoot video of the crowd going crazy below.