A New Year to Rave About

Last New Year’s Eve, Los Angeles was widely ridiculed for its anemic Y2K celebration, which was highlighted by Mayor Richard Riordan lighting the Hollywood sign while Jay Leno looked on.

If 2001 is the real start of the millennium, as many claim, then tens of thousands of local dance-music fans are going to party like it’s, er, 1999.

This New Year’s Eve, two mega-celebrations will take place simultaneously. Two blocks of Hollywood Boulevard will be sealed off to accommodate a few thousand revelers for Giant 2001: A Hollywood Odyssey, a benefit staged by Giant nightclub owner Dave Dean to raise money for local charities.

But that’s small change compared with Together as One, the rave writ large taking place at the Memorial Coliseum and the adjacent Sports Arena. More than 50,000 techno apostles are expected to cram into those two venues, dancing to a large roster of prominent DJs, including Armand Van Helden, DJ Kam and Junior Sanchez.

“There’s a dynamic that comes into play with a large crowd that doesn’t exist in a club setting,” says DJ WishFM, one of the evening’s performers. “It’s like having a big, roaring ball of energy on a tether.”

Together as One is by far the most ambitious rave event to be mounted in L.A., and according to its co-promoter, the event will attract dance fans from all over the country. “The rave community is very loving and fun, and everyone wants to be at the party because the talent isn’t always available,” says DJ Reza, president of the firm GoVentures. “Certain DJs only come around once a year, which makes this show something that people are going to want to be a part of.”

Together as One’s promoters, GoVentures (which has promoted the Monster Massive Halloween celebrations at various locations for the last five years) and Insomniac, have been planning the event since last New Year’s Eve, when they staged a more modest version of Together as One at the Sports Arena only. They are anticipating every contingency and assuring the city that, yes, thousands of kids can indeed gather in one place with little incident.

“Various city officials had concerns about whether the city had enough resources, so we sorted all of that out ahead of time,” says Reza, who helped raise more than $1 million to cover Together as One’s budget. A significant percentage of that money was used to hire 140 police officers and more than 400 security personnel. “It’s a lot better to have kids in a supervised environment with proper staff there,” Reza says.

Security Concerns: a Tricky Balancing Act

Because of its size, Together as One is attempting to pull off a tricky balancing act: stoking to the pleasure principle, which is the essential fossil fuel of any good rave, while maintaining a fair degree of city-sanctioned propriety in the process.

“There’s a big difference between an illegal and unsafe event and what we’re doing,” Reza says. “Five years ago, drugs were rampant, but I think we’ve all seen the problems drugs can create. They’re not a necessity at a rave anymore. There are a lot more smart kids at these events than there are stupid ones.”

Together as One’s music roster is staggering, a red-carpet roll call of some of dance music’s leading artists being pumped through what Reza claims will be one of the greatest sound systems ever put together. All techno subgenres are represented, from the skittery drum-and-bass of Armand Van Helden to BT’s house music bombast and Kool Keith’s dada-esque hip-hop. Various stages within the Sports Arena will focus on specific themes, including hard core, hip-hop, jungle and local artists.

“We’re not into pushing any one act,” says Reza. “It’s more about pushing the vibe of the music. There are so many different genres, and you want everyone to come together.” Still, Reza admits that certain artists, such as BT and Van Helden, are big draws, and are paid fees commensurate with A-list pop stars--as high as $45,000 for a 75-minute set.

Reza also promises an elaborate fireworks display, a mind-blowing laser light show, and even the lighting of the Coliseum torch when the clock strikes 12 by an as-yet-unannounced special guest.

“We feel that last year, everyone had their millennium celebrations stolen from them,” Reza says about the 2000 New Year’s Eve fizzle. “People were gypped ‘cause of Y2K, so we thought a proper celebration was needed.”

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* Together as One, Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Sports Arena, 3911 S. Figueroa St., 6 p.m. $30 in advance, $40 at door. (323) 960-5155.

* Giant 2001: A Hollywood Odyssey, Sunday on Hollywood Boulevard at Ivar Avenue, L.A. 8 p.m. $60 and $120. Benefit. (323) 464-7373.