 |
 |
|
Burning Man is so often described in such profoundly abstract, spiritually-affirming and hyper-idealistic terms, which makes it hard for anyone who has not personally experienced a week in Black Rock City to comprehend the scope of what transpires there. A good place to start is the basics – the essence of Burning Man is complete freedom, with a focus on community – meaning, you are free to do whatever you choose, as long as you don’t ever lose sight of your fellow man, woman, neighbor, or community member in the process. We encourage you to read this entire review from Start to Finish. We’ve included our standard highlight quick links, however, to completely experience this story - it must be read in it’s entirety. FULL REVIEW Stewart Walker Live at Broadcast Sessions, Saturday 10/2/2004 |
 Playa art send to a friend |
“I always had a feeling that Burning Man would be just right for me. I've always subscribed to this idealized notion that assuming the best in everyone, in giving as much as you receive, in accepting people in all their beautiful forms, in celebrating life and freedom and art, in loving your neighbor as yourself, is the true nature of our spirits. So to go to a place where all these things are the standard, is like heaven on earth to me.” “I like to say that Black Rock City is a place where drugs are so completely unnecessary; a place where the mind is always entertained; a true intellectual, creative and social paradise. Does such a place exist, mass scale, in reality? Perhaps not – thus, having ‘seen the light,’ *snicker* do we citizens of BRC not have an individual, as well as a collective responsibility, to foster the inner beauty we know exists in so many?” “…I feel the contemplation, the inspiration, and the hope circling through the souls of Burning Man - aware that the power this place holds is the power to create a new world. A visionary I recently spoke to outlined this century we are living, as the century of change...and all living creatures on the planet at this time are a part of that change...we are here for a reason. So, everyday since Burning Man I have spent time envisioning our nation healing itself, what that looks like, and how we can reach that point. If we all put that vision into motion those ripples can change the universe - heal the universe. Our intentions manifest change...Remember you all hold the power…” “The moments of the Burning Man week are unmistakably not moments...Burning Man doesn't last only a week, once a year....the time spent out on the playa is exceptional....where else do the hearts and dreams of incomprehensibly creative souls come to nurture the marrow of life and become one another's hope for anything in this world? Ten days in the desert isn't 240 hours....it is the one time in your life where a moment lasts forever! That is Burning Man to me, that is what was ignited this year on the desert floor, and that is what still burns in my soul today.” “Burning Man might be called the ‘be-all-end-all’ if referenced to society - mankind puts forth its best effort; the most passionate of the good-hearted, the most beautiful of the fine. One could go on for hours trying to relate the profundity of the experience; where does one start a tale that has no end?” |
|
Burning Man is so often described in such profoundly abstract, spiritually-affirming and hyper-idealistic terms, which makes it hard for anyone who has not personally experienced a week in Black Rock City to comprehend the scope of what transpires there. A good place to start is the basics – the essence of Burning Man is complete freedom, with a focus on community – meaning, you are free to do whatever you choose, as long as you don’t ever lose sight of your fellow man, woman, neighbor, or community member in the process. And in order to cultivate an environment that grants total freedom of expression to its people, there are some basic “commandments” given in the survival guide to help people understand the direction and purpose of Burning Man. Some of the basics are: No cars, no commercial vending or sales of any kind, leave no trace of trash or garbage, no dogs, and no firearms.
These guidelines are fundamental to the unique beauty of the festival – first, having no cars truly allows for a feeling of escape from the over-evolved outside world. The only mechanized vehicles you see all week are the Rangers, and the Mutant Vehicles, which are specially registered and licensed “art cars” that are creatively designed and provide walkers with rides across the playa. Undecorated vehicles crawling on the sidestreets of BRC seem so alien, and the drivers are constantly reminded by passersby to drive slowly to not kick up playa dust, and to anchor their vehicle quickly at their camp for the week. The art cars on the other hand, usually have such an abundance of manic lights strobing off them to completely drown out any hint of headlight – with music blaring via live bands and DJs, and accessories like stripper poles, couches, recliners and dancefloors standard, a ride on an art car is a must for every burner, whether you’re looking for a ride to the other side of the Esplanade or just looking to take a ride in a double-decker bus full of crazy circus freaks letting their souls run rampant in the desert. But the true transportation in BRC is the bicycle – “Bikes are not merely a convenience. They are a part of our culture. Our city is designed for pedestrians and bikes. When you ride your bike, you are a part of the environment, and everything is more accessible: the people, the art, and the immediate experiences of Black Rock City.” |
"I come to this wondrous city. Live here. Help build it. Give back to it. Enjoy it. This is my civic pride."
Ornsbee - Officially Unofficially Mayor of Burning Man send to a friend |
Going for a night ride, under the illumination of a waning-yet-bright moon, I took one last ride to say goodnight to my fine city. That's right. I said it. MY city. After another year of excruciating anticipation, I come to this wondrous city. Live here. Help build it. Give back to it. Enjoy it. This is my civic pride. This is my reaffirmation of the inherent goodness of man. My clunker of a bike rattles as the rims hit the tires in just the right off-kilter rhythm to eerily accompany my lazy passing through the quiet streets. And it is quiet (well, quiet for Burning Man, at least!) Many denizens are back home in their camps or villages - sleeping, lovemaking, or maybe sharing fantastic experiences with occasionally escalating voices and sleepy eyes forced open with excitement. But many others are still out enjoying the rapturous delights that Black Rock City still has to offer the searching-for-sunrise crowd. No matter how quiet it gets at Burning Man, the distant echoes of music and random cries of jubilation are an ever-present reminder of what Black Rock City does for its inhabitants. Turning down the Esplanade I hit the crisp open air of the playa, which sweeps across the grand boulevard with its last breathe from the distant mountains. It kisses and tickles my nose with the fragrance of burning sage...the remains of an almost consumed night welcomes my return. Now if only I knew where to head... |
"...the sun of our week-long universe shining brighter than the one in the sky...radiating outwards, camps (of people I had heard of, and had not heard of) pouring out enough love for people walking by to be drawn in by it."
|
Black Rock City operates under a gift economy, which is one of the most beautiful and idealistic aspects of the festival. No money is exchanged at Burning Man. No commercial vending or sponsorship of any kind is allowed. You and your camp are required to bring enough food, water, shelter, fire and fuel to survive in the desert alone for a week, and you are encouraged to bring extra supplies, gifts, meals, costumes, party favors and amenities to give away or trade with the community. You are free to walk into anyone’s camp you choose, provided you make yourself welcome by the hosts. There is no greater feeling than to walk into an interesting or seemingly welcome camp, to come bearing gifts and to be received warmly by a stranger and made to feel at home immediately. Nor is there a greater feeling than to surprise your own camp with a giant serving of fresh fruit, meat, cheese, wine, mojitos, pancakes or candy – all of which taste like gold for the palate in the middle of a harsh desert afternoon. The citizens of Black Rock are provoked to look out for the fellow man, to give before they expect to receive, to welcome all with open arms. It is idealism at it’s finest, and it’s a testament to the spirit of Burning Man – in the harshest and most unforgiving of environments, the spirit of man soars as we band together to survive, to thrive, to enjoy the many delicacies of this planet, and if each of us brings a little and shares a lot, we can all enjoy the fruits of our labor equally and thoroughly. In Black Rock City, the water quenches just a little deeper, the fruit tastes that much sweeter, food smells that much more divine, when it’s given with love from a friend or especially a stranger, and more importantly, with no expectation of anything in return. If this kind of idealism and community seems a bit hard to comprehend, just try and imagine the look on someone’s face who has been living off jerky and nuts for a week in the desert, when you give them a fresh piece of fruit or meat – multiply that by two, ten or twenty, and you can understand why people are inclined to share with their neighbors, brothers, and Black Rock City community. The days in Black Rock City can be spent wandering from camp to camp openly and receiving gifts and treatments beyond imagination – imagine walking through the desert and coming across a camp that welcomes you by serving you chocolate and wine? Or how about a covered dome that is full of soft green grass, with moisture dripping from the canopy? How about lying down naked, while ten people eat sushi and other condiments off your body! Craving intimacy? You could visit a camp anywhere from the Snuggledome which features “an open heart and mind for true intimacy such as eye gazing, sensual touch, kissing, and trading massage without the pressure of sexual come-ons” to the Tantric Encounter which “explores tantra that incorporates all aspects of our being; body, mind, heart and spirit.” You could receive a vinegar foot wash at the Heavenly Feet Camp and a shampoo and massage at the Astral Headwash; there was Guided Meditation at HeeBeeGeeBee Camp, Sunset Meditation at Camp Euphoria, Sunrise Meditation at the Man. There was Anusara Yoga at Hanuman-ville, Tazii Yoga in Sanctuary, Interactive Yoga at Hookahdome, and Satvic Yoga at Bop Camp; there was belly-dancing class and burlesque class at the Asylum; paper-making with scraps and MOOP (Matter Out Of Place – any kind of paper scraps, wood chips, cigarette butts - remember you leave absolutely no trace!) at Black Rock Paper (the camp that makes the Black Rock Gazette newspaper, in the desert, every day of Burning Man); geometrics class with Bob Burnside at the Cafe. There were Playa First Aid classes at the BRC Volunteer Fire Department and Playa Self-Defense at the Black Rock Cemetery; Cardio Strip class at the Lost Penguin and Dancing the Hokey Pokey at Hokey Pokey Planet. So much time and thought and effort given by each camp, with the sole purpose of providing leisure and pleasure to members of the community freely. What about The Lion King bouncing realm, 1500 pounds of smiling tuna cooked day and night by the Tuna Camp, the functioning free international phone across the street, the 30 foot teeter totter, ubercarney detroit steel, a 3-story zip line while covered in dusty fur, and the sun of our week-long universe shining brighter than the one in the sky...radiating outwards, camps (of people I had heard of, and had not heard of) pouring out enough love for people walking by to be drawn in by it. Not knowing nearly any of you and being welcomed in without question - I have to say we at Black Rock City know some beautiful people. |
"Hi Pa, I'm really drunk how are you?"
One of the several phone in the middle of the desert send to a friend |
As you all may recall a phone booth appeared across the street from our camp, which
allowed a free call to anyone in the world. In the Black Rock Desert - no phone service, cell service or even electricity to be found for 30 miles in any direction, a single random pay phone was placed anonymously at different locations throughout the city each day. I thought this idea was shocking and noticed that it worked, because before I stepped up to it an Israeli woman had just called home. I called one of the few numbers I knew by heart, my parents. The phone call went through, and I said "Hi Pa, I'm really drunk how are you? I can't believe a phone I can call anywhere in the world on appeared right outside my camp, I had to call you and say I love you and wish you and mom a great evening." The call itself was short and a fuzzy connection on both ends. Where the story takes a strange turn is, since I lost all concept of date and time once when I arrived in Black Rock, I didn't realize the significance of the day that the phone appeared and I felt inclined to call my folks. Speaking to my dad later and recounting the phone call from the desert, he pointed out that the phone call meant a lot to him and my mom because all three of their boys called them on their Anniversary. At Burning Man, we call those “Black Rock Miracles.”
|
"...reinforced the potential of the human spirit and the uniqueness of Burning Man and the people who call Black Rock City home for a week"
|
To understand the meaning of Burning Man, you also have to comprehend the significance of the weather and location – Black Rock City is a 250 square-mile temporary community built in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, and becomes the fifth largest city in Nevada for one weekend – this year’s BRC population was over 35,000. To quote the Survival Guide given to most burners before the trip: “Black Rock Country is truly one of the most fascinating landscapes in North America. Nestled between the western edge of the Basin and Range Province, the Black Rock forms a unique assemblage of volcanic lava flows, ash, ancient shallow marine sea floor, exotic batholithic terrain and sedimentary packages. Within the Black Rock, the most striking and prominent feature is a silt alkaline Salt Pan, commonly referred to as a playa. The Black Rock Playa, elevation 3848 ft, is the second-largest flat region in the Northern Hemisphere. The playa has a bulge at the middle that is widely reported to be the visible curvature of the Earth. The playa is remnants of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan, which at its greatest expanse 13,000 years ago, covered 8665 square miles of northwestern Nevada.” This dusty, vast flat of desert at almost 4000 feet has daytime temperatures far above the triple digits, and nighttime lows nearing freezing. Blinding whiteouts strike without any warning, and this year the storms even formed a broad front as they swept out across the playa, as enormous dust tornadoes lurched and swung through town. Goggles and a dust mask are a must, and if you do have them, biking headfirst into a raging white out can be like an other-worldly experience. Near dawn and dusk, the white dust feathers the flat expanse of the city as the heat begins to rise off the Earth’s floor; with wooden streetlamps leading up to the monolithic wooden temple, and with only bikes and people on foot as far as the eye can see, Black Rock City resembles an ancient desert town – a modern day Babylon. The Black Rock Desert is 11 hours from San Diego, 40 hours from Chicago – and the desert at 4000 feet, such a remote and unwelcoming place – now I understand why Phish has most of their big shows up in the far northeast – it’s a means of provoking an inherent sense of commitment from each person – outside of a token amount of inbound Reno dwellers, those who make the long trek to Black Rock have an implied dedication to the cause. It’s also clear now why the admission price is (and should remain) $250 – aside from the mind-boggling amount of paperwork that has to be filed to plan, organize, and obtain permits for such a grandiose festival, it’s a way of again provoking a commitment out of the community. For two days, a $250 might be pricey – but for a week of camping in the desert, the cost seems much more reasonable. This is a great way of encouraging people to come for the entire week – to come be a part of the community, to bear witness and contribute to its formation, to meet your neighbors and partake in the entire experience, from formation to tear-down. Coming for a couple days only encourages people to use and take from Black Rock City, without giving. The power in Burning Man is the undercurrent of civic pride that it provokes – you want to be a part of this city, this family, you want to help sustain it and improve it, you want to interact and contribute. In Black Rock City, it’s amazing to witness the needlessness of hovering, freedom-encroaching law enforcement in our lives, if we merely monitored our own behavior for the sake of our community and operated with a fundamental level of thoughtlessness towards our surroundings and brethren. Now, mind you there were Rangers prevalent throughout BRC, but they seemed to be there to only reinforce or offer assistance to community members who were already on the case of a non-art car kicking up dust from excessive speed, or a person in need of some sort of medical or other assistance. One of the most gratifying and heartening things I did was riding my bike up and down streets, and literally having to concentrate to find a piece of trash anywhere – or, to stop in your tracks randomly, look in your immediate area and not be able to find even a cigarette butt! The emphasis on leaving no trace, on respecting the playa and our privilege to use such beautiful, mystical land, and to see such a high percentage of the community very engaged in abiding by the rules of respect and community, and in such conscientious celebration, again reinforced the potential of the human spirit and the uniqueness of Burning Man and the people who call Black Rock City home for a week. |
"...there is such a consistent sense of tolerance...that you can feel comfortable walking around naked, in a martian’s outfit, in a dress, with only your boxers on"
|
For someone who’s coming to their first burn, there’s a need to understand the significance of the community and its ideals – while the parties and hedonism at Burning man are beyond anything I have personally witnessed in Ibiza, Miami or otherwise, they are secondary or only in contribution to the greater good of Black Rock city itself. Because the thoughtfulness and idealism of the community is what allows for its members to feel totally comfortable expressing themselves in the most extreme ways possible, for the people of Black Rock to lose themselves in the spirit of the moment, to be able to trust everyone they interact with and assume the best in them as well – it’s with the implied notion that everyone they meet subscribes to the same principles of total love, acceptance, expression, and thoughtfulness, and is as just as willing as you are to help their fellow man, to accept them for all their beautiful eccentricities, and to contribute to an idea that every person has the potential to let their spirits burn strong and free and full of love – and together, as a community, these glowing, radiant spirits can bring out the best in mankind for one week, and throughout the year to every person they touch... At Burning Man, everywhere you look you find complete freedom in artistic and personal expression – upon walking around center camp, you are immersed in an overwhelming sense of freedom and honesty – you are surrounded by people who are devoid of inhibitions and feel completely comfortable being themselves anywhere in the city – there is such a consistent sense of tolerance and love within every person you meet in Black Rock City, that you can feel comfortable walking around naked, in a martian’s outfit, in a dress, with only your boxers on, and have so little hesitation because you are aware that you are in a place where you can be trusted and accepted – and with that in mind, you become completely tolerant, receptive even, to even the most extreme and outlandish outfits you see on the playa – seeing nudity becomes as common as seeing playa dust in your sleeping bag (or every possession you bring to BRC for that matter). 10 Things I didn't get before I went to burningman
|
"...they host it so that we can show up to control it....they say...you take it and bend it, cry on it, believe it, nourish it, and ultimately become it..."
|
And when the night came...my god Babylon was reborn and we all fueled it with pure energy, and of course the mojitos limping us through the oh-so-warm day. The lights, the people, the costumes, the art cars, the art…by Tuesday night the line between reality and what was happening had been completely erased. Fire performers illuminated the corners of every club…fire installations breathed heat and light deep into the desert sky…the bass, my lord the bass sounded like cannon blasts as it ricocheted off the starlight-illuminated mountains until much past dawn…and the masses danced and biked and screamed and hugged, dressed like some sort of apocalyptic, prehistoric, futuristic prom in purgatory was taking place…in purgatory because heaven and hell were present and accounted for, all elements of counterculture and excess and spirituality and joy and community and individuality...in purgatory because we were not in a dream, but certainly not in the reality we have come to know our whole lives either....all the while the Man stood tall and bright in the center, a beacon, the only centering force inside a sea of hedonism, outer space electronica, fire and neon – the sounds and sights around you would literally make you dizzy and disoriented, until you found the man and tried to assemble some sort of reference point…and for one moment, I tried to reference my bedroom back home, or my desk, and then I truly realized just how far away I was from the world as I had come to know it…I had found a place where my soul had always resided, where my mind often drifted to, and where my heart felt safe to be free and open. Never have I been so far away, yet felt more at home. I was surrounded by art and music beyond comprehension, yet all of it was secondary to contributing to the greater cause of the city itself. It didn’t matter that The Scumfrog, D:Fuse, Soul in the Machine or The Egg were playing – at Burning Man, WE are the entertainment – the community is the headliner, the focus, the beginning and the end – we the people of Black Rock City are responsible for its creation, for its growth and life, and its eventual deconstruction, not to mention its continuation and survival. And even as Burning Man legends the Mutaytor played their last show in Black Rock City (they have agreed to travel and play at many of the regional burns being organized across the country this coming year), as this amazing collective of over forty artists “combined 50 thundering fluorescent-green drums, live improvisational electronica, breathtaking fire performers, sensual hoop dancers, dazzling aerial stunts and giant video projections, topped off with a 1.3 million volt tesla coil performance of a man in a metal suit being struck by lightning” - it is for the greater good of the community of Black Rock City that they moved on, and the people who came to Xara after the Man burned were truly the ones worthy of celebration – because without the incredible amount of work and effort and planning and passion that goes into Burning Man every year, none of this would be possible. Burning Man doesn’t host this event each year - we all do. The people do. I used to live thinking that showing up was enough, that once you kissed your first greeter, the brain massage began. The Burning Man organization doesn’t throw this intellectually-spirited freakfest so that amazing people can show up to merely support it, or take from it...they host it so that we can show up to control it....they say...you take it and bend it, cry on it, believe it, nourish it, and ultimately become it – we all contribute to the reality that manifests itself on that desert floor every year for a week – and we all take a little bit of it home with us too. And without that give and take, the love and freedom and expression and community and celebration that we make possible, would be nothing more than a far-fetched dream of a perfect world beneath the reality that surrounds us. |
"35,000 incendiary spirits stared, cried, danced, kissed, hugged..."
|
And then, after a week of celebration and hedonism and art beyond compare, on Saturday night, the Man burned…preceded by a procession of hundreds of fire-twirlers who performed in unison, chanting, dancing…35,000 incendiary spirits stared, cried, danced, kissed, hugged as the five story symbol of our creative and primal freedoms lifted his arms upwards to the heavens and released the energy of the screaming, soul-thirsty masses into the vast, open desert sky above….the heat from the blazing man warmed all our faces as the desert floor swirled with the rapturous inferno of all that is art and man and love, swirling tornadoes of fire out from his arms, burning and lighting the night sky like a rupture from hell to the heavens. All stayed and watched, and waited for the man to burn and buckle inside himself – and when he did, the city let out a cry that could be heard in the heavens, and the members of Black Rock City collapsed onto the fiery pile of wood the way the Man did into himself just moments before. The culmination of fire and energy in this miraculous week sparked a fury of screaming, dancing, and carnal, prehistoric celebration. The Man had burned, and we were free. Sunday held less of the accumulating energy of the week than Saturday – the momentum of the anticipation of seeing the Man burn dissipated into the night sky – Sunday felt more like a day of reflection, a time to try and ground your spirit in the comfort of the city, to absorb the incredible amount of creativity and positive energy that immersed Black Rock City for a week. Sunday was the day that camps started to break down, that this miraculous city that rose from the dust just a week before, began its inevitable descent back into the playa floor. The streets that once had camps bordering each other like house lots began to recede, and slowly gaps started to form where there once stood so much sweat and thought and welcoming energy. Yet the reality of the non-Black Rock world was still far off; we were still ensconced in the humbling, tranquil nature of Burning Man, walking or biking, still absorbing the incredible feelings that flow so freely around that city. The temple burned in an inferno exponentially stronger than the Man the night before – yet the tens of thousands that were still in Black Rock stood in awe and quiet reflection, as the last bastion of freedom and love was consumed with roaring fire. The temple was built by hand during Burn Week, by the community itself, using only scrap wood – such an intricate and massive structure, toiled over by the community itself, and then burned in effigy at week’s end. It symbolized the end of this miraculous experiment in temporary community, and our pilgrimage back to the reality we so fervently escaped would soon have to begin. |
"I also get to cross paths w/my fellow habitual line steppers, psychonauts, jackasses, mental patients, dance machines, crackmonkeys, bullshitters, extra terrestrials, merry pranksters, and pure un-adulterated geniuses..."
|
Man, our bus trip home was LONG, but relatively subdued (at least in comparison to the week that preceded it). Leaving at night is just a tough way to do it…another year, another trip around the sun, another jaunt to the playa... As always, its an expected bonus that along w/the incredible trip that is Burning Man, I also get to cross paths w/my fellow habitual line steppers, psychonauts, jackasses, mental patients, dance machines, crackmonkeys, bullshitters, extra terrestrials, merry pranksters, and pure un-adulterated geniuses...some of which I rarely get the opportunity to see off the playa. The UNexpected bonus is that I get to meet new friends. So I'm not Annie Leibovitz , but who are all these freaks? Beautiful mutherfuckers. Goddamn I want to go back through again. To get the wonderfully fortunate chance to get to know beautiful people whose full radiance might've previously been overlooked... I guess what I’m saying is - thanks to ALL for another incredible burn. Some memories I will never forget...some have already been forgotten (see also: erased, destroyed, deleted, damaged, or my personal fave, "storage cells replaced w/scar tissue") Old friends, until next our paths meet...and new friends, we will meet again. Soon. Otherwise we will laugh and hug under a kaleidoscope sky. I wish we never had to pull the parachute down and turn our vehicles 'round. Ornsbee would forever be fer mayor and tunas would jump in our mouths every night. Everyone would always wear something pink and good friends would always be just showing up. Naked wrestlers would tuck us into our trampoline beds every night just after the four-armed Casheathery monster bit us all in just the right places. Green-eyed stranger-friends wake us up with morning madness and eggs while my biggest worry is where to pee. Sky and Earth exchange vows next door just before blue flashing leather midnight dares King Shit of Japan to weld a new bus by moonlight. Priests danced in their whitie-tighties and gym teachers never danced and looked so free. We all hugged and laughed and cried tears of joy from our soul under the desert sky. Until we meet again in the desert, I wish the mix and rhythm of your belly loud laughter didn't have to cage quietly in my head until I see you again and we dance, newborn devils under the first sunrise. |
China-cat Sunflower
|
I’m finally starting to get my head around what’s going on here again. Thankfully I know that I’ll keep the memories alive, all it takes is a photo, or a word, or a look on a strangers face and the playa come blazing back into focus. With more time, I’m not sure I’d be able to make any more sense of what that last week in August means to me. Friendships have been forged on the playa that won’t be broken. For as amazing as the art and music are - and amazing is not nearly an adequate word - it’s the people who make up Black Rock City who are the truly special part of the whole thing for me. It’s the collective human spirit, the love and warmth and concern for your neighbors that is the energy and life that makes the whole thing work. I believe the time has come. Reality has come back to stay. BM 2004 is becoming an ever-fading memory. I recall some of those individual moments that I shared with those beautiful people. My heart becomes warm. Still, the memory fades. I feel a bit like the little girl watching the ice cream truck leave her street as she awaits the next time she would be able to taste the scrumptious treats again. Do not despair...and do not give up hope...rage rage against the dying of the light...rage against the machine...just rage, and turn to your tribe your camp your playa family. Let us blow on your embers, making them glow hot again. The burn doesn't fade. The world that we have come to accept as the real world wears away at it, tries to snuff it out. Do not let it. The memories do not fade, they just start to seem to abstract to really be true so we mute them in the telling, in the thinking, in the remembering. Tell them brighter and bolder and crazier then you remember them. (I'm up to 5000 pounds of ice and 4 tons of tuna at the tuna guys camp... ahhhh it was beautiful!) I chose this year to bring the playa back with me, and have it stay for good (yes I washed my clothes) but it is not easy, nor do I expect it to be. As I drove back from Black Rock... as the playa and the man and the people that I had come to accept unconditionally became distant occurrences that I could not be sure were in a state of wake or sleep (oh wait I didn't sleep) I found myself looking to the cars I passed, hoping each dirty car might have a Burning Man symbol proudly finger-drawn on the side, and a tired but euphoric, and probably barely fit to drive, burner behind the wheel. I hoped for this so that I could send a smile that I knew would be returned with love. But it hit me very suddenly. What a bigot I had become. Was my perma-grin from my week of bathing in pure bliss only meant to be shared with the "select few"? Was the freedom of expression I had grown accustomed to already replaced by a fear of how it would be received? My glow was already dimming. It was then I chose to burn-on. Then that I realized that my burn had nothing to do with the "reality" I was facing. It was mine to burn or to let smolder until next year. So I look at everyone as a burner because they all are, some just haven't been ignited yet. But I have to believe that we are all flammable otherwise what’s the point? A BRC vacation? So I will do my best to be a pyro, and see what I can catch on fire. Because my week in the desert isn't my burn, my week in the desert is fuel and my tribe is the catalyst, and that is enough for me to burn bright for another 354 days. I feel like I caught something out there that is burning inside me now, and I feel like I am living to capture, create, and share that burning flame of life I saw there. I feel so much better about existing here, working to make money and time to create what I discovered in the desert - not to pay bills and hope for 5:00 or the weekend. Seems to me, I realize how special it was more and more, the longer I am away from it. The more I see day-to-day asshole people and situations, the more I look around with open eyes. I'm gaining speed, becoming more clear, growing 20 feet tall…Sure we realize Black Rock City is out of reach for a year, but I have all the fire inside me to make it till our next week together in the desert... |
"And when the dust has settled and no trace has been left behind, the indelible marks on the souls and spirits of the people of Black Rock City is there for all to see, and each year, the burn within us all grow brighter."
No Trace - Dust in the Wind send to a friend |
Burning Man is a testament to the possibilities of the human spirit – some believe that when God granted man free will, that it was intended to be a curse – because eventually man’s inherent desires toward greed and fear and basic mistrust of our fellow man would resonate through our actions and decisions, and how we perceive the reality of the world we live in – that they would inevitably transcend our world through feelings like guilt and insecurity and shame and selfishness. But Black Rock City is in a manner of speaking, a realistic idealistic society – because although at times biking around the playa at night felt like nothing short of a circus on a Mars colony, the truth is, those incredibly genuine feelings of community, camaraderie, freedom of expression, and freedom from the restrictions of our society that hold us back, are present and abundant, and are the driving forces behind the spirit of Burning Man. The nature of Burning Man provokes everyone to use their free will to help their fellow man as much as themselves, to promote virtues that seem so fair in your heart and mind yet so seemingly hard to implement into daily life. Maybe it’s because the rewards and motivations that dictate our existence are lacking in substance and virtue in the world as we know it – the desire to acquire material possessions, that ensure your security while guaranteeing you increased insulation from needing anything or anyone outside of yourself – you live and strive to provide for and protect yourself and those you care for – the rest of the world be damned. In Black Rock City, everyone is inspired to give, to contribute – this is what drives these camps, these beautiful people that drive for days to come “home” for a week – to give and share their passions with so many that want to give in return – they receive nothing but the satisfaction of providing pleasure, joy or wonder (usually all three) to another like-minded spirit. Maybe that’s what makes the idealistic spirit of Burning Man seem not possible to maintain over the course of the entire year – can you really give yourself whole-heartedly to every person you meet during the other fifty one weeks of the year, the way you can in Black Rock City? Can you put that much confidence in the purity of motive or intentions of every person in the quote unquote Real World? The energy of sharing and thoughtfulness is so profound throughout the city, it is literally contagious. So often words like contagious are associated with a disease; never before has the sentiments of kindness, community, altruism and freedom been so infectious as to derive a positive meaning from the word. This is why BRC is a realistic idealistic society – it’s a living, functioning human community that operates under and cultivates the best possible characteristics in mankind in the harshest of conditions – it shows that man can live outside the boundaries of a capitalistic economy and organized law and not just survive, but rather thrive in the harshest land this continent has to offer, together in a city like one colossal family, and can celebrate and endure and create art and love. And when the dust has settled and no trace has been left behind, the indelible marks on the souls and spirits of the people of Black Rock City is there for all to see, and each year, the burn within us all grow brighter. |
STEWART WALKER LIVE AT BROADCAST SESSIONS, SATURDAY 10/2/2004
|
As hundreds of you saw, the first installment of Broadcast Sessions at Ventanas was a monumental success for music, art, culture and nightlife, together and in juxtaposition in San Diego – ushering in a new era of artistic appreciation and communal celebration together as one – live electronic music, digital and analog formats coming together gloriously amidst an eclectic room of artists, lovers, dancers, musicians and genuine souls - from the mind-blowing inaugural performance of Soul in the Machine, to the transcendental minimal sounds of nominal, from the genre-bending genius of Proton Radio’s Dan Mnookin, to the lush, organic swagger of Soulphonic Soundsystem – art and music collided in irradiant beauty at the first Broadcast Sessions, and that was only the beginning! Our second installment features one of the most profoundly influential artists in techno today, Berlin’s Stewart Walker! RSVP now for $5 cover all night on the CultivateLife list: As we commit to featuring the best in live electronic music from the genres of techno and downtempo, alongside the tech-house and deep latin house sounds of San Diego’s best local DJs at Broadcast Sessions, we are beyond honored to present Berlin Germany’s Stewart Walker, performing live in one of only two North American appearances! Although possibly not well known among casual club goers and electronic music listeners, Stewart Walker is one of the greatest producers of the new generation of minimal techno, having recorded on such legendary labels as Richie Hawtin’s m_nus, Berlin’s mythical Tresor and his own Persona Records imprint. His live performances in Germany and throughout Europe are becoming the standard by which to measure in today’s every-evolving world of electronic music. His influence in the realm of live electronic performance is vast and a live set of his will not soon be forgotten. It is an honor and a pleasure to be able to bring such a prominent global artist to our second installment of Broadcast Sessions!!! Our monthly residents nominal will be playing just before Stewart – considering they are also a minimal techno live PA and cite Walker and Richie Hawtin as their biggest influences, you can expect they will deliver the epitome of a mind-blowing live set. If you haven’t seen nominal create live techno laced with drum machines, synths, even live bass and drums, then you truly are missing out on the future of electronic music. The talented and razor-sharp DJs Astarte and Red Sonya will round out the warehouse, keeping things in the minimal/micro/tech-house arena on the decks to round out the night. Download Stewart Walker’s Warm Art Mix from Proton Radio |
