When public officials debated the safety of raves last winter, advocates among them often compared them to rock concerts and events at the Hollywood Bowl.

We had to work to hold down our laughter. After all, the Electric Daisy Carnival in June saw more than 200 medical emergencies, 60, mostly drug-related arrests, and the subsequent death of a 15-year-old who had overdosed on ecstasy.

But hey, after the weekend's Playboy Jazz Festival at the Bowl, maybe the pro-rave contingent was right:

The Los Angeles Fire Department reported a whopping three overdoses.

And the 33rd annual festival was rocking out with Bill Cosby, the Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra and, of course, the Los Angeles Unified School District All-City High School Big Band.

LAFD spokesman Matt Spence reported that one patient was critical and two were “moderate” following the Saturday night O.D.'s. (His report was released at 7:09 p.m., so these folks were obviously still raging from the night before).

We can hardly blame the gray haired jazz lovers for getting ecstatic here. We heard they sold out of glow sticks and walking sticks.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]

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