The second occasion I had the opportunity to try DOB was at a large, outdoor rave. After my first experience I wasn't sure I wanted to try it again. However, several of my friends had tried it at raves and had spoken favorably of it used in that context. Since this was a rather long rave, I decided to go ahead and try it out. Several other people I was with were also trying it, some for the first time.
We arrived shortly after 9:00 p.m. The location was several miles into the mountains. There wasn't much around except a farm and the rave. There were already tons of people there when we arrived and I knew more would be arriving as the night wore on. Immediately after arrival I took my dose, which was around 2.5 milligrams dissolved in water. There was a faint but definite rubbery taste I remembered from my first trip with this substance.
We set up camp and wandered off to check out the party. I decided to go look for someone from work that had planned to attend with his girlfriend. They had attended another rave the week before, but hadn't had a great time. I promised them if they came to this party I would make sure they enjoyed it.
I walked to the main stage, which was under a circus tent. There were hundreds of people underneath it dancing. I made several circuits but didn't see the guy I was looking for. After a short time I gave up, deciding it was basically hopeless. There were too many people and all of them were moving around too much to have much chance of finding the one I was looking for.
We wandered back to camp to chill out and await the onset of the drugs. Before long (less than an hour) I felt the first twinges, a sort of amphetamine like stimulation or agitation. I inquired if any of my companions were feeling anything and they all agreed they were. I decided to make another circuit to see if I saw my coworker anywhere. Again I had no luck. While I was down in the tent I danced a little, but the music that was playing wasn't really my thing, so I decided to return to camp.
By the time I returned to camp it had been moved to join with another camp. By this time (T+1.5 hours) the drug effects were more apparent. I felt an all over stimulation and sense of energy flow. One of my companions, who had taken a slightly lower dose of the same material felt quite a bit of stomach discomfort, but I didn't have any negative body effects, except for a slight twitchiness.
I broke out some nitrous cartridges and passed balloons around. The very first visuals of the evening became apparent as I floated through the flanging nitrous trance. After everyone had a balloon we sat around talking and waiting for the DOB to really take hold. Someone next to me mentioned meth and I started going off about how nasty it was. This led us into a conversation on the merits of various psychoactives, which eventually led us on to other subjects. Before long I apologized for overreacting to his comment about meth and offered him a balloon. He had never tried nitrous before, but agreed to give it a shot. He inhaled the balloon and held it for a terrifically long time. The very first thing he said was "Wow". He didn't say much else for a while.
We spent another half hour talking about various things, mostly rave related, but also computers, his family, what we each did for a living, etc. I quite enjoyed talking to him. All the time we were chatting the DOB effects were increasing. The stars had become suffused with colors and began to sort of throb in the sky. I was getting quite high and feeling wonderful. Again I noticed a strong empathogenic feeling to the experience, similar to, but also very different from MDMA.
After talking some more I decided to give away some more balloons. I spent a good ten minutes looking for my nitrous cracker, becoming a bit agitated when I failed to find it. Finally someone produced a flashlight and I was able to produce it from my bag. I gave away another couple of balloons and had one myself after everyone else who wanted one had one.
By the time the nitrous wore off the DOB was going in earnest and we decided it was time to do some dancing. As we walked down to join the throng of ravers I noticed I was still a little wobbly and off balance from the nitrous. I was eager to dance, but I got a severe stitch in my side only minutes after starting. I tried to dance through the pain, but it proved far too distracting. I don't know if I cramped because of the altitude, the temperature (it was damn cold), one or more of the drugs I had taken (nitrous and DOB) or something else entirely. I stopped several times in hope that it would go away, but I soon decided it wasn't likely to happen and went to sit down and wait it out.
As I mentioned it was damn cold and when I got back to camp someone was building a fire. We sat around it and talked while trying to keep warm. I began giving one of the girls I had come up with a back rub. It felt great to touch another person and I got really into what I was doing. It was supremely sensual, almost erotic. I moved my hands all over her back, pressing, rubbing and scratching. She seemed to enjoy it a good deal. I even rubbed my head on her back, which felt really cool. A couple of times I wrapped my arms around her and sat, hugging her for a few minutes. I just felt supremely good and very close to her.
The guy I had been talking to and had given nitrous earlier (we'll call him C) asked if I wanted a back rub. I readily assented and he began rubbing my back, which felt wonderful. Normally, if a guy was rubbing my back I might feel a bit uncomfortable, but it seemed totally natural and completely nonsexual in that context. It reminded me a bit of primate grooming rituals, which we seem to have abandoned. I often think that people in our society aren't "touchy" enough with one another, and I have been reluctant to touch others or be touched in the past. This is something I am working on and have had vast improvement with lately, largely due to my rave experiences. It isn't at all unusual at a rave to hug or trade backrubs with someone you don't know. I find this highly positive and have been gradually loosening up and becoming more comfortable with it.
I gave a couple more backrubs to some of my friends, including my ex-wife. I was thinking of how glad I was that we had become such great friends after our divorce and how glad I was to be able to share this experience with her. When I finished rubbing her back she moved around and returned the favor. By then I was well into the peak of my trip. Her hands on my back felt exquisite. I sat with eyes closed and watched colored patterns writhe behind my eyelids in an orgy of synesthesia. Each touch of her hands on my back brought on cascades of color and movement. It was great!
After that I was sitting, head down and trying to keep warm. I heard a voice inquiring if anyone had seen a guy named - (my name) and looked up. My friend from work (N) was standing there with his girlfriend. I jumped up and gave him a hug, asking if he was having a good time. He said he was and thanked me a couple of times for inviting him.
We walked over to where my things were stashed and I gave him a balloon. He had never tried nitrous before and was quite amazed at the effect. After he came down I asked him if he wanted to return to the main tent and dance some more. Both he and his girlfriend thought this was a good idea. I gathered up some more of my friends and we headed down to dance.
This time I was able to dance a few songs before getting a cramp. I also became aware I really needed to use the bathroom. I excused myself and moved out to the portapotties stationed nearby. If you have never had the pleasure of using a portapotty while tripping, let me enlighten you. It is not a pleasant experience. Sitting in the dark smelling foul smells and watching squiggly colored patterns is not my idea of a good time. Needless to say, I finished my business as quickly as possible and got out of there.
When I returned to the floor N was gone. I looked around for him but didn't see him anywhere. I did see another of my friends up front and moved up to join him. Again, I cramped up almost immediately. I was pretty discouraged at the prospects for dancing at this point and decided to return to camp and talk for a while.
Our fire attracted lots of cold people and there was no shortage of people to talk to. I found myself engaged in conversation with several people on diverse topics. A common question at raves is "What are you on?" and when I told people they were very curious to know more about it. I told them what I knew, including the fact that it was incredibly rare and not likely to become more common in the immediate future. I also talked about using entheogens safely, and in a spiritual context. I was surprised (but not too surprised) at how little most people knew about the drugs they were using. I got a lot of questions about the old urban myths (strychnine in LSD, ecstasy putting holes in your brain, etc) which I was happy to debunk. I shared what knowledge I had about MDMA's possible neurotoxicity, and tips on how to minimize the risk. It seemed that everyone I talked to was eager to learn about the substances they were putting into their bodies. I have considered several times compiling fact sheets for distribution at these parties and my experience here has encouraged me to do so.
I continued to talk to various people, some of whom I knew and some of whom I had never seen before that night until after the sun came up. I was still tripping and I found the sunset awe inspiringly beautiful. The whole night seemed magical and precious. I continued to give away balloons to people (I probably gave away $25 worth of nitrous cartridges that night) and just generally groove on the vibe. I went down and danced for a bit around 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. By 11:30 we decided we had sucked all the fun out of the rave and headed home.
All in all it was one of my best rave experiences. DOB reminded me in many ways of my candyflip (LSD+MDMA) of a few weeks prior. It had a lot of the same heart opening qualities, pushy energy and beautiful visuals. It did leave me a little scattered and spacey however, especially the second two hours after I took it, before I peaked. I noticed that I had a lot more desire to talk than I did on my previous trip, leading me to speculate that the marijuana I ingested on that occasion may have had more of an effect than I thought. Overall I had a much better experience this time than last. Overall it was slightly less intense than the last trip, but only slightly. I was able to sleep by 7:00 p.m., 22 hours after I took it, an improvement from the thirty + hours before I slept the previous time out. I still don't have a lot of desire to take DOB, but if I ever run across it in a similar circumstance, I would at least consider taking it again.
A final word about raves. The more of these I go to, the more I appreciate them. I have found in myself a deep love of dancing. It is a sort of moving meditation that is an expression of the joy of being. Almost everyone is very friendly and open. The love and energy I feel at these events is a spiritual high in itself, and the entheogens I ingest help me tune myself into and absorb these energies. The rave experience has helped remind me that love and acceptance is the basis of spirituality and made those things a very real presence in my life. Each party I go to deepens this feeling and I intend to continue to go and explore these elements as long as they are present.