Around two weeks ago, Monster Massive, an annual Halloween mega-rave produced by Go Ventures, announced this year's event was happening at Oak Canyon Ranch in Silverado. Top DJ acts such as Armin van Buuren, Erick Morillo and Moby were slated to perform.
Although tickets had been on sale since July, the 13-year-old rave was not taking place at its usual location, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, because a USC-Stanford football game was already booked for Oct. 29 . Go Ventures tried to book the Port of Los Angeles, the Anaheim Convention Center, the Home Depot Center in Carson and the Lake Elsinore Motocross Park, but nothing was announced until Monster Massive named Oak Canyon Ranch as the new venue.
The only catch? Oak Canyon Ranch's management company, James Events, denied having anything to do with Monster Massive, saying repeatedly that Go Ventures did not have a contract with it for the event. To add fuel to the flame, an anonymous source tipped off the Weekly, saying the event never had an official contract with any venue for its 2011 incarnation, even misrepresenting facts to van Buuren when they flew him over the Port of LA in a helicopter instead of doing a venue walk-through.
Yet ticket sales were brisk, with fans and performers alike believing the event would go on as planned. Even two weeks ago, Go Ventures president and CEO Reza Gerami was telling the Weekly, “Rely on us. I have no statement other than what we've always said: Monster Massive will happen, the artists are confirmed, the venue is confirmed.”
But early on Oct. 14, van Buuren, dubbed “the no.1 DJ in the world,” announced on his website that his appearance at Monster Massive was canceled. Morillo and DJ Nero followed suit. Even ticketing site Flavorus was announcing the cancellation. There was no official word from Monster Massive until 4 p.m. that day; the event was canceled “due to unforeseen circumstances,” it said, and Go Ventures “would not put on an event that did not meet these high standards” of “Quality Music, Stellar Production and Lifetime Memories.” Apparently, not having a venue for a 70,000-person rave two weeks before the event qualifies as an “unforeseen circumstance.” Who knew? From Oct. 7, 9 and 14 posts on Heard Mentality by Taylor Hamby and Lilledeshan Bose.
This column appeared in print as “A Massive Catastrophe.”
