Almost 20 years ago to the day I found myself heading to a... dare I say it? Rave. Yes, I’m a child of the ’90s, so when I was 16 I joined a car full of girls—mostly older than me, one of whom was named Stacy and wore vinyl pants (which she reportedly couldn’t wear underwear with)—to attend my first rave. And, ohh myyyy godddd, was that a fun night! The memories will stay with me always. I went to a few more raves after that, but alas, considered myself a “punk” (lol) and decided electronic music was lame.

But I’ll never forget that first rave. We had no idea what to wear, but knew it would be hot and sweaty inside the roller-rink-turned-after-hours-dance-party venue. The aforementioned older girls slathered my besties and I in glitter from head to toe, and I put on a thrifted pair of glittery, high-waisted, mint-green bell-bottoms. We froze our asses off in line—wearing a tank, halter, and tube tops respectively—because we knew we’d lose our coats if we brought them in.

I'm not a 16-year-old girl anymore, last Friday I walked into an undisclosed venue and had no idea what to expect, except that it was a bird-themed drag party. (Okay, so I kinda knew what to expect: feather boas abound!) What I didn’t know was how blown away I’d be by this performance: a lip-synched interview in which performance artist YUKO channeled actress Tippi Hedren. She was Alfred Hitchcock’s muse and under contract while filming such movies as The Birds and Marnie. She was also tortured for seven days while shooting one scene (the one where she’s attacked by live birds). After they called “cut,” she reportedly collapsed and doctors sent her to bed for days. Anyway, this chilling lip-synched performance by YUKO (@yamaucci on Instagram) made my night. Hell, this memory will stay with me just as vividly as that first rave 20 years ago—it was that good! When talking to the woman who throws these parties, I can tell that’s exactly what she wanted. She wants to create memories of old Portland—nights you won’t soon forget. And, in my opinion, she’s nailing it! 

xoxo, PP