Rave
A rave is a slightly dated music event that was popular between the years 1991-1999. It was usually a one-time event, located in an unused space, whereby electronic music was played and/or performed. Raves generally ran between 10pm-4am, prompting some to view the events as part of a deviant youth culture.
Raves are often romanticized as illegal and/or 'underground'. Though the truth is they were simply unlicensed, lacking the necessary city permits that allowed the event to legally make a profit. The unlicensed nature of these events, made them vulnerable to sudden closures by the police and/or vice.
An early solution to this problem was to ask for a donation rather than charge tickets. This had marginal success, and tended to be chaotic and unreliable for the production team who needed a regular revenue source to book talented performers.
In the late 1990's a series of crack-downs against raves forced many productions to cease operations, and/or move out of Portland in lieu of more accepting counties. In an effort to fill the void, local music clubs quickly stepped in to provide a licensed commercial space for this genre of music. From then on, raves or rave-like events became possible.
Some might say that raves supported or held in a club is in opposition to the original concept of a rave, that being a 'free' 'open' environment outside of the confines of the commercial music industry. The truth is that electronic music and dance music are legitimate, viable genres of music, and deserves a wide range of support from the music industry. On the street, it translated to night clubs having weekly rave night, which grew in popularity as the one-time rave events disappeared.
Thankfully there has been a resurgence in the format within the past few years.