Guides
Liquor licensing for event promoters
Selling alcohol at raves without a liquor license is the single biggest legal exposure for event promoters. Every workaround has...
Tag
venues
Scene
The smoking ban changed the music
There is a theory — developed from observing dancefloor behavior across two countries — that smoking bans on dancefloors directly...
Scene
Why photographers should never be on the dancefloor
A photographer with a flash on the dancefloor is a violation of the space. Not a minor inconvenience — a...
Guides
Bar operations at raves
Bar revenue is the number that determines whether a venue invites you back. Not ticket sales, not Instagram impressions, not...
Guides
Door staff management
Door staff is the first and last impression of your event. A bad door experience — slow lines, rude bouncers,...
Guides
How to negotiate with venues when you have nothing
Every venue negotiation I’ve done started from a position of having nothing. No track record at the venue. No guaranteed...
BTS
The venue ladder: from SoHo lofts to Brooklyn Monarch
Every venue SLIST has operated in represented a different tier of the operation. The progression was not random. Each move...
Guides
Dancefloor dynamics: gender ratio
Nobody in the underground scene wants to talk about gender ratio on the dancefloor. It sounds like nightclub marketing from...
Guides
How to evaluate a venue for underground events
A venue can make or destroy an event before the first DJ plugs in. After running shows at warehouses, hotel...
Shitposts
Why we ran out of beer at our best event
Our best event ever. 290+ guests scanned. Bar rang $4,162 on a $4,000 minimum. The dancefloor was packed from midnight...
Guides
How to negotiate a venue deal
Every venue deal I’ve signed started from a position of weakness. No track record, no guarantee, no leverage. The venues...
BTS
The Monarch deal: how 50/50 changed everything
Every venue deal before Brooklyn Monarch followed the same pattern. Either you rent the room and take all the risk....
Updates
From 60 people to 837: the growth timeline
This is the institutional record. Every number verified, every milestone documented. Not because growth stories need to be told —...
Updates
When hotels start calling you
For the first year and a half of SLIST, every venue relationship started the same way: I found them. Cold...
Updates
How we went from underground to legal (and why)
Someone asked me in August: “So just no more DIY raves then?” Yeah. One word. No qualifiers. No “maybe when...
Values
I got arrested for throwing a rave. Here’s what I learned about policing.
Editor’s note (added 2026): The events described here took place in summer 2025. The narcotics charge was dismissed. SLIST operates...
Events
Event 37: arrested, charged, and back stronger
On July 12, 2025, two hours into our 37th event, NYPD and FDNY came through the door. They shut everything...
Events
The Silo Thursday that changed everything
A couple weeks before this event, Silo Brooklyn randomly invited us to organize a Thursday night. We weren’t sure why....
Values
Going against the grain
In December 2023, SLIST threw an industrial techno event in SoHo. The conventional wisdom said this was a ridiculous idea....