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Music

We Tried to Go Paint-Free at Life In Color

Rave dads and bulk Costco t-shirts were the unsung heroes of North America's largest paint party.
All photos by Daniel Quinones

I was a dorky 17 year-old in first year University when I attended an event called DayGlo in Toronto. I yelled, danced, and walked away drenched in neon paint chattering to my friends about how much I loved raving. Fast-forward five years and I found myself at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver attending Life in Color, the evolved paint party that I had once attended. For those that are unfamiliar with this party, Life in Color is an all-ages event where people throw on white rave gear, rage out to big room bangers and throw neon paint all over each other. I was curious to see if it was still the rowdy party I remembered, and whether or not it was even possible to stay clean (paint-wise) at an event like this. You can already guess the answer to that.

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As I entered the coliseum and scoped out the crowd, I could see that the vast majority were eager teens that were totally pumped for what was likely their first rave ever. Their deliberately ripped white t-shirts were complimented perfectly by an abundance of glowsticks attached to their extremities. Spread throughout the crowd were older rave bros and babes in similar garb. On my way to the bathrooms I was accosted by excited teens looking to douse me with multicolored paint. I would throw my arms up in an X and give my best bitch glare as teens ran towards me with paint bottles poised. I looked down at my tan skinnies and black oxfords and knew from the bottom of my heart that they would not be leaving unscathed.

I did my best to dodge the rambunctious crowd on my way backstage to talk with Ian Ruzal-Bron, the International Director of Life in Color. Ian joined the company when he saw a need to bring the Life in Color brand even further, to more exotic locations. By the end of this year, LIC will have reached 35 countries globally and hundreds of thousands of international fans. Ian told me that they are always expanding and evolving by catering to individual markets in different locations. "We never want to go to a place and bring something the fans aren't going to respond to," he says. "The fans are our lifeblood. We work hand in hand with the DJs [to make] the music, the performance, and the energy match and compliment each other."

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The Vancouver show opened with local DJ Ryker Gamble, followed by Dutch duo Vicetone. The Chainsmokers and R3hab played the latter half of the evening. The sets were complimented with performances from the LIC staff which included aerial acrobatics, choreographed illusions and tricks, and brightly dressed entertainers aiming to pump up the crowd. Vicetone in particular stood out from the other artists. While they still maintained the big room DJ style that LIC usually promotes, Vicetone in particular stood out from the other artists by adding slower tempos and more melodic tracks to connect with the crowd.

I asked Ian what it is about getting covered in paint and dancing that makes people go so wild. He looks at me and smiles, "It's a chance for people to let loose without being judged. Everyone's in white, everyone's covered in paint, no one is worrying about their hair or their makeup. People can unleash themselves."

The crowd definitely unleashed themselves. Sheldon Blake, one of the performers and the main 'pump-up' man for the crowd, said that performing in Vancouver was "awesome, because everyone sings and dances their heart out." Looking out into the colorful crowd from the sidelines, I saw exactly what he was talking about on the face of every painted person. Crowd watching also revealed the unsung hero of Life in Color: the rave dad. Silent and stoic, they watched as their spawn screamed for more paint and confetti to be hurled in their faces. The expressions of most parents in the crowd looked like this wasn't what they had in mind when they got intimate years ago.

Once you've submerged the freshman population in washable paint, you wonder how an event like this plans to evolve. "Next year we're definitely going to try to amp up the production to another level, make it a more encompassing feel when you walk in," explains Ian. "More décor, more performances throughout the crowd, different paint interactions. We're also going to change the way that we paint the crowd."

A party like Life in Color has a different vibe than events that solely focus on the music. Instead of the partygoers focusing on a particular artist, they're focused on the collective energy in the room and allow themselves to let loose. As my time there ended, I prepared myself for a race through the sea of paint-drenched bodies and flailing limbs to the exit. For me, the name of the game was to escape the neon clutches of the rave bros/babes and return to my car just as I came. This… didn't exactly pan out. As I walked towards the exit, paint seemed to whiz through the air like bullets and I realized I had lost the battle. I made it out with green knees, a pink ear, and a blue handprint on my back from what I can only assume was a neon Smurf. Comparatively, I did well. Most places I turned there where unrecognizable faces covered in bright goo, smiling blindly as they fist-bumped in the direction of the stage.

Raine Lester is now paint-free and on Twitter: @RainoLester