Raves are EDM parties. EDM "concerts" included. There's different connotations to rave for sure, but it doesn't make it not a rave.
Anyone been to a rave?
I'm supposed to start going when I get back from Arizona.
What should I expect?
I'll probably be sober or SLIGHTLY high.
I've been to a festival. It depends on where you are and what the scene is like. If there's no rave culture where you are it's probably going to be a bunch of dubstep/house fans that don't know any names besides Skrillex, Porter Robinson, and Zedd. If there's a thick rave culture where you are, there'll be girls in fluffies and people wearing obnoxious amounts of Kandi, some of which with light-up binkies and gloves with lights in them. Expect there to be drug culture. The rave scene has developed around it, it's unavoidable. To quote one of my favorite songs, "you can take the drugs without the rave, but you can never take the rave without the drugs." This doesn't mean people will be pedelling them to you, but they will certainly be easily available.
Protip: stay sober the entire time. You don't need drugs or alcohol to enjoy good music.
I'm going to say the opposite, I recommend taking ecstasy. The entire culture is based around it. Sure, you don't need it to enjoy the music, but it's literally not arguable that the music is more enjoyable on it.
Source: Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture By Simon Reynolds
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