The music was blaring in the smoke-infested club as thousands of outlandishl- dressed teenagers in their baggy pants, fairy wings, and beaded bracelets danced away without a care in the world. The vibe in the room was unbreakable. The energy was unstoppable. Fueled by a midnight meal of either alcohol or Ecstasy, they would last all night, attempting to out dance the music. The atmosphere was that of tranquility and peace; everyone was at home, and more were welcome. Each new friend seemed like your old best friend from first grade, someone you hadnít seen in a while, but would be more than happy to catch up with. Lining the walls, side by side, they gave back rubs, put on light shows by way of glowsticks, and watched the crowd respond to the music with their rhythmic movements. The smell of bummed cigarettes and Vicks vapor rub filled the air and tingled at every nose just like a hot apple pie would, fresh out of the oven. Indeed it was no night out at the club, and these were indefinably not clubbers. It was a rave. These young souls were ravers, either trying to find themselves or lose themselves somewhere in the dark. They entered the venue strangers to one another, but caught up in a mist of euphoric bliss, they became friends--friends united under a single roof, to forget their troubles that lay beyond the doors, and come together to have a good time and celebrate each other. It was Hullabaloo.
In the world of a raver, Hullabaloo is seen as the ultimate happy hardcore rave. Happy hardcore is a type of techno music known for itís incredibly fast beats, and is more often that not accompanied by words and an MC. It is the paramount in uplifting techno music. Hullabaloo is actually the name of the production company started by happy hardcore DJ, Anabolic Frolic, five years ago. Often, instead of referring to a rave thrown by Hullabaloo by its particular name, raverís will just call the rave Hullabaloo. Hullabaloo throws an assortment of raves every year, and although the name of the rave may change, the power and energy that encompasses it remains the same. One raver put it best when she said, ěThe environment here is so much fun, everyone is so nice. They always walk around telling you how beautiful you are, and how much they love you. Itís the essence of everything a rave should be seen as.î
On February 3rd, Hullabalooís latest rave, Rhythm of Life, held at the Docks Entertainment Complex in Toronto, Ontario, began as no exception to the light-hearted vibe that Hullabaloo has become famous for. The doors opened at 10 PM, and by 11, all three rooms that make up the complex were full. People were walking around giving away free hugs and kisses, saying, ěhappy hullabaloo,î to everyone they came in contact with. The smiling, bopping ravers were under the assumption that nothing would break their good time. At Hullabaloo raves, in general, everyone is exceptionally nice to one another, and fights are few and far in between. In line on the way in, a rather large security guard stood at the door, stating, ěIím not really needed here, the crowdís mostly younger. Besides, kids like these donít start the kind of fights that Iím needed at. Itís my night to relax and let the little guys take care of any shoving that may occur tonight.î
He was wrong.
ěI canít believe somebody got fucking stabbed at fucking Hullabaloo.î Was heard throughout the dance floor that night.
In a well-lit area of the club, a fight broke out between 20 year old Niagara College student, Salim Jabaji of Hamilton, Ontario and another raver. The result was a fatal stab wound to Jabajiís chest, that left him to live out some of his last moments on the floor of the nightclub, gasping for life, while horrified on lookers drew back with terror.
UB Junior Daniela Lo Presti recaptured the moment when she said, ěThere was a circumference of four feet of blood surrounding him, and eight feet away, people are dancing and giving back rubs and shit like that. They had no idea of what was going on behind them.î
The stabbing occurred in the back room of the complex. As the ambulance and police arrived, security tried their best to usher everyone into the larger room, and away from the scene. This was not an exceptionally easy thing to do, because many of the party-goers didnít even know what had happened, or that there was anything wrong. As the room was closed off, Jabaji was taken to the hospital. He was still alive when he arrived, only to die an early death later on in the night.
The rave continued.
The room in which the stabbing occurred remained closed. But while the blood was being mopped up by security, the scene at the rave was anything but clean, anything but fun.
ěIím glad they searched everyone so well,î stated freshmen Mike Carbone just minutes after the incident. Security had supposedly searched everyone who came in. They went through purses, pockets, and back packs; confiscating items such as pens and stickers. How then was it possible for a knife to get through security? Where did they go wrong?
It was impossible for many people to have a fun time at this point. What had been intended to be a festive night, was ruined in an instant. Many ravers, who had seen the body, now stood amidst the crowd like zombies; their minds wandering back and forth to the image of what had happened. While half the crowd danced, the other half were motionless. For those under the influence of something other than the music, the ordeal was even harder to bare. There were girls in the bathroom with their heads hung over toilet seats, vomiting. One girl sat in a corner, holding her knees to her chest, and with tears streaming down her face, she rocked back and forth for hours. Hullabaloo became a mad house of emotion that continued to progress despite being the scene of a homicide. No one was quite sure if it was capitalism keeping them inside, or if there was an actual purpose for continuing the rave despite such an unexpected act of violence.
ěIt was as if they were trying to ignore what happened,î said Carbone. ěMC E-By-Gum just kept telling everyone that he felt such a good vibe from everyone, and that he loved us all. It was such bullshit. You could tell that everyone was starting to bug out. I donít even know why we stayed. At one point after the stabbing, a police officer grabbed the microphone from MC E-By-Gum and told everyone that "they couldnít leave until they spoke to the police.î One would have expected the MC to make a comment about it, but he didnít. He just went back to doing his job.
The Toronto police told reporters that they were actually trying to keep everyone in the club to avoid a mob scene, or the numerous number of potential car accidents that could have occurred from the numerous ravers that were obviously under the influence of a variety of drugs. They were also attempting to take advantage of the possibility that there would be number of witnesses that could lead them to the killer, who escaped into the crowd after the deadly assault.
ěThe coat check is closing,î announced MC E-By-Gum. It was around 2 am--an early ending for a rave . The police began taking measures to slowly get the crowd to leave, in a manner that it would be possible for them to question every single one of the two to three thousand ravers present. As each person left the venue, they were asked for their name, address, and if they had seen anything. According to Detective Mike Davis, the crowd was ěa far cry from the usual uncooperative crowds police meet at many events.î Davis also reported that the police are currently in the process of going through a number of coats that were left behind after the coat check closed. They are hoping that one of the coats will belong to the killer.
ěThe night was so fucking strange,î said Carbone. ěAfter Anabolic Frolicís set, some guy got up on stage and proposed to his girlfriend. What a way to get engagedÖ right after a stabbingÖ I donít understand that.î One thing that everyone who attended the February 3rd Hullabaloo could agree on, is that it was not a rave, at least not by the definition of what a rave should be. Raves are suppose to be all night dance parties that abide by the rules of PLUR: peace, love, unity, and respect. PLUR was indefinitely absent from Hullabaloo. ěPeople are going to judge raves by what they read about in the paper," Carbone added. "Theyíre going to read about this and think that raves are horrible. But theyíre not, itís just that the only thing that will ever get published about them is the bad stuff.î
ěItís hard to imagine that an incident could occur between two people for just one instant, and change thousands of peopleís live forever,î Lo Presti said about the situation. ěItís ironic that an event that was being held to celebrate life, ultimately ended in a death.î
