Rave organizer sues Los Angeles over show cancellation

The organizer of a June rave that ended with a death is suing the city of Los Angeles for canceling an upcoming show.

Insomniac Inc. had scheduled an October concert at the Los Angeles Convention Center, featuring Tiesto, a popular electronic dance music DJ. A company official said the contract was terminated earlier this month.

Company founder Pasquale Rotella compared the city’s restrictions to “Footloose,” a 1980s film based around a town that bans dancing.

“This is a concert, and it should be treated in the same manner as any other concert held in Los Angeles,” he said in a statement.

The organizer’s premier annual event, the Electric Daisy Carnival at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, ended in tragedy last June when a 15-year-old girl died from a suspected drug overdose. The minimum age for the event was 16.

Widespread use of Ecstasy was reported at the two-day dance party. The artist scheduled to perform in the canceled October event is within the same genre of electronic dance music.

-- Robert Faturechi

Photo: Thousands of revelers packed the Electric Daisy Carnival in June. The party was marred by drug usage and gate crashers. Credit: Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times