i'm bored of 'raves' as they get less like 'dances' as the music becomes more functional and less emotional.
even if that makes me an ignorant anti-raver.
Got to say that the picture of free raves as it's being painted on this thread is not one I recognise from reality, but still...
It is true that the music at free raves is not as satisfying as what you might hear at a club dedicated to that style of music - I'd say that's fair comment, and I love free raves. I wouldn't listen to acid tekno at home on my sofa.
But only because raves aren't a showcase for the music, they're about the whole experience. Music is just one component of it. It's wierd for people who are bang into music to see it being used functionally in this way, it took me a bit of getting used to, but it's instructional. It's made me a far better producer.
IMO the really creative period of dubstep came when it wasn't even a club phenomenon. In 2003-2005 it was pretty much confined to the radio, apart from FWD which was tiny - so producers had total freedom to move it away from the physical side and just concentrate on the moods and atmospheres, and expressing something psychological.
Some of those rinse sets from the mid 00s are astonishing. But once it goes back into the clubs that has to change. The same thing happened with artcore/D&B.
It's also interesting to see the reaction of people who feel kinship with the scene, when that scene starts moving on someplace else. I wenth through this with techno in the 90s. You just have to let it go. No one owns a scene or a sound or a name. Nomos is right, eventually you just have to plough your own path and enjoy those memories.