Myself -Surfguy and updawg (I think) went to a Rush show at the Summit in the 80s and it looked like a smoke machine had been turned on before the show. That being said -there really hasn't been any change -- I still notice drug dealers roaming the crowd (depending on the show of course) and people smoking out. I imagine things are different around the country -- i'm in Austin so the police aren't really looking to waste a lot of resources patrolling concerts and festivals.
I don't know I don't go to too many concerts/raves nowadays because I don't like new music that much. But I just always hear how wild concerts/festivals in the 70s-80s were with people having orgies (though maybe that was in the 60s) or women getting half naked in the front row and the obvious drug use. I just don't hear about any of that in the news or anything lol
Pretty much did the same thing people do today minus the internet or cell phones. We made ramps and jumped our bikes off them, went to the creek to catch crawdads, hung out at game rooms or skating rinks on the weekends. In the afternoon, pretty much every kid I knew rode bikes. At 5:30 PM or so, the whole street was filled with kids on bikes or big wheels or something like that. It was a good time.
Then, drugs were more an outward "counter-culture" symbol. Both in your face for rebellious image, and still referenced slyly in art. Lots of 60s and 70s artists can thank drug experimentation for a reason they even had careers. (I think the whole world just stopped caring about accountablity in the 80s and said f-it) Now drugs are more mainstream and the norm, tokers and stoners so plentiful thats it almost becomes unnoticeable again. There's probably just as much drug use now in venued as in the Cheech & Chong days, just more subtle. (I actually did security last night in a place, one of the customers asked ME the guard if I HAD weed. No one cares that much. And heck no I wasnt gonna try to bust him)
