Well, Friday burned me out. We did so much that I spent most of Saturday writing about it. At least I had a chance to relax a bit before heading out to the
Electric Daisy Carnival with Dustin and Pete in the evening (Katie was gonna relax at home). In the mean time, we went ahead to Vons grocery store to get some 3-dollar steaks. At the store I not only encountered cheap red meat but also another wall of liquor, even grander than the last (and at discount prices!) Once we got back, Dustin and Katie played Diablo II while I made my first solo attempt at cooking steak on the grill. Katie's brother Zach and their friend made hotdogs and sausage on the grill not long before that, but like a genius I got distracted and tried grilling when the coals were mostly spent (her brothers like cooking with lots of fire, too--check out the burn holes in the wire mesh overhang where the grill used to stand under). I threw a few handfuls of coal onto the grill, doused 'em with lots of lighter fluid and watched the flames lick the raw beef. I could hear the sizzling, but it died down before the steaks even started to cook. I gave the coals a few more good spurts using the pyro's grilling method, then sat back and waited. The coals finally started getting white, but after turning the steaks over, I found that they still had a ways to go. I continued squirting lighter fluid every now and then, but on one of the spurts I kept the stream going for too long... a few good arm hairs died that day. Oh well, I hope that Dustin and Katie like their steaks with fire, and lots of it.
Pete came around later after a little adventure around L.A. He accidentally got lost and ended up in Long Beach, so Pete gave me a call and I gave him live turn-by-turn directions using Google maps. When he arrived we grabbed our glowsticks and the TomTom ONE GPS then ran out the door. I forgot the receipts for the tickets so Dustin ran out and grabbed 'em. Suddenly he jumped back in the car yelling, "Quick! They're on to us!" Pete was on the phone and incredibly confused while I sat shotgun and laughed my ass off. Once we got going, I keyed the directions into the TomTom, but Pete needed to fill up the van's tank first. When we got to the gas station, Pete got a card from Dustin and stepped out to tend the pump while Dustin and I chilled. Dustin was trying to tell me a story when Pete poked his head into the van to ask about topping the tank off instead of using 20-bucks worth. After telling him sure, Dustin resumed the story when Pete popped in again to ask, and Dustin again said, "Yeah, I don't care, I'm telling a story." He continued the tale when Pete popped in again, uncertain if Dustin really didn't mind. I heard Dustin sputter in surprise and go "Wha, bah, gah, I don't care! If people behind us wanted gas, they could have some too! Lemme finish the storeeee." Pete left, but the story was put on hold for awhile on account of Dustin and me laughing too hard. Soon afterwards we started heading out for the carnival. Pete popped in a techno CD and we got ourselves warmed up. As the song played, I noticed motion out of the corner of my eye and saw Dustin pounding his arms rhythmically with a distressed look on his face. He was trying to psych Pete out, but every time either of us looked back, we all broke out laughing and couldn't keep the pattern. Pretty soon all of us started this odd, twisted dance to the music, hoping that some poor driver would see us and ponder the destiny of humankind.
Once we got to EDC, I thought I as suffering a bad bout of deja vu. I kept seeing things I experienced the day before at AX: as we got closer to the event, we saw more and more people dressed in costumes and wild clothing, with hair all the colors of the rainbow. We stood in line behind two guys from Texas dressed as the bowler gang from
Clockwork Orange--I can't believe I didn't take a picture. We all talked a bit to break the boredom while standing in line, but people-watching proved just as fun. The whole event is comprised of several stages, each playing a different style of electronica. We could feel the bass just walking in from the parking lot. While in line, though, we could also see nearby trees glowing orange and blue, with periodic strobes of green coming from beyond the entrance. Once we got through security, I immediately felt like I wasn't walking through stainless steel turnstiles, but pearly gates.
Everywhere was teeming with activity. A stage off to the right had lasers and strobe lights going off constantly to heavy beats while people let loose with glow-sticks. Others chatted or head-bobbed while waiting in line for the rides--this was a carnival after all. Pete, Dustin, and I headed towards the main stadium where Paul Oakenfold was playing. Once we entered the stadium walls, we stood atop stone stairs looking down on the field, where the pulse and twirl of glowing from countless ravers. Straight ahead at the far end of the stadium was an enormous stage with towering screens playing psychedelic imagery, and to the left and right near us were more carnival rides with huge lines. Dustin and I got into line for the tall tower that, after raising you high above the crowd, gives you up to gravity and lets you fall. Since Pete had heart surgery recently, he went ahead and explored the area. While waiting in line, we raved a little bit. Unexpectedly, one of two girls standing behind me asked for something. I had no idea what she was saying because of the music, though by the eighth time I realized she was asking me to give her friend a lights show. I took some twisty glow bands from earlier and wrapped them like gauntlets around my arms while walking to the stadium, I had two glow sticks in my collar, and I took one more blue glow stick in each hand and gave her friend a little demonstration. They seemed slightly amused, though overall I think they felt a bit uncertain of what to do at the carnival. A girl started dancing on the platform part of the ride, twirling her glow sticks and doing lots of deep bends... I swear if there was a pole she'd feel at home.
When Dustin and I got onto the platform and closer to the ride, we'd catch the blast of air displaced by the ride when it gets to the bottom. Having danced a bit the breeze was a relief from the warm night air. We jumped into the seats, secured the harness, and started waving our arms and legs around to the music. A clunk rang out when the lift latched onto the seats and up we went. Everyone began shrinking as we rose higher and higher into the evening sky--even the loud techno music sounded more and more muffled as we ascended. Once we hit the top, we let out a yell and the seats dropped. With a loud "BYAAAAAAA!" we shed any fear we had, then leaped triumphantly from our seats at the end of the ride. After that, we lined up for the other greatest attraction there--the porta-johns. Then, with the hope of making the carnival a little more interesting, we lined up for the bar. After a good fifteen minutes of the line (if you could call it that) not moving, and also the steep prices, we skipped out on it and decided to try the other ride in the stadium. Unfortunately, it was broken, so we went ahead up the crowded stadium steps and out into the madness to explore.
In front of the stadium were more rides, but most of them had incredibly long lines. Dustin managed to spot one that looked like fun and had a relatively short queue, so we went ahead and waited with everyone. The ride was kinda like the tea cup ride, where you have four people sitting across from one another in a circle, and in the middle there's a disk that you use to spin yourself around. We sat with a pretty cool couple, and Dustin and I had fun making them sick by spinning the ride every-which-way. When the madness ended, we walked along the concourse some more. Dustin talked me into going on the slide ride, which, I will admit was fun; he found an extra blanket no one was using for the slide and wore it as a cape on the way down. Walking away from the slide we came across a large, metallic dome with protrusions of varying size and geometry. Various sticks were attached to the sculpture by wire, and people were free to pick them up and bash the hell out of the thing. As everyone banging on the object got a feel for each other's rhythm, we eventually got some really good percussion going. As I joined up with Dustin, I saw a guy running out from inside the dome holding his ears and groaning while his friends laughed. The sounds of the drumming faded as we neared one of the stages outside the stadium. Dustin and I soon stood facing a flood of blue light and blaring bass. As though by instinct, we pushed forward into the crowd and raved until we couldn't dance anymore. Soon afterwards we ran into Pete while grabbing some Gatorade, and found out that Pendulum had already started their set. Pete walked us over to their stage, and then he and I left for the Infected Mushroom concert that'd be starting shortly.
Walking through the crowds at EDC compared to navigating between Scylla and Charybdis; stray from the course and you would end up torn from your party and swallowed up by some form of electronic ecstasy (okay, maybe the allusion isn't entirely apt). After passing hordes of revelers, Pete and I arrived at our destination. Within minutes, the stage lights went down and Infected Mushroom got on stage. Most of the sets that night were either DJ or playlisted, but this was completely and utterly live. Besides the two principle members of the group, they also had a guitarist and drum player on stage, adding more depth to the whole experience. The entire area around the stage for a good 50 yards was completely packed. I managed to get into the middle of it, following people here and there. I was hoping to twirl a few glow sticks while at the concert, but I could only safely move my arms either up or down, so I stuck to jumping up and down while prominently displaying the rock-salute. I was hoping to catch a dance or two with some girls, but the best I got was with a pair of lesbians... so it wasn't a total loss. As the night progressed I didn't care too much about who I danced with. The bass completely flooded me, making every hair on my body, every beat of my heart pulse with energy. It was all about the moment, about feeling one with everyone while the musicians literally rocked our world. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it was freakin' sweet.
Well, Friday burned me out. We did so much that I spent most of Saturday writing about it. At least I had a chance to relax a bit before heading out to the Electric Daisy Carnival with Dustin and Pete in the evening (Katie was gonna relax at home). In the mean time, we went ahead to Vons grocery store to get some 3-dollar steaks. At the store I not only encountered cheap red meat but also another wall of liquor, even grander than the last (and at discount prices!) Once we got back, Dustin and Katie played Diablo II while I made my first solo attempt at cooking steak on the grill. Katie's brother Zach and their friend made hotdogs and sausage on the grill not long before that, but like a genius I got distracted and tried grilling when the coals were mostly spent (her brothers like cooking with lots of fire, too--check out the burn holes in the wire mesh overhang where the grill used to stand under). I threw a few handfuls of coal onto the grill, doused 'em with lots of lighter fluid and watched the flames lick the raw beef. I could hear the sizzling, but it died down before the steaks even started to cook. I gave the coals a few more good spurts using the pyro's grilling method, then sat back and waited. The coals finally started getting white, but after turning the steaks over, I found that they still had a ways to go. I continued squirting lighter fluid every now and then, but on one of the spurts I kept the stream going for too long... a few good arm hairs died that day. Oh well, I hope that Dustin and Katie like their steaks with fire, and lots of it.
Pete came around later after a little adventure around L.A. He accidentally got lost and ended up in Long Beach, so Pete gave me a call and I gave him live turn-by-turn directions using Google maps. When he arrived we grabbed our glowsticks and the TomTom ONE GPS then ran out the door. I forgot the receipts for the tickets so Dustin ran out and grabbed 'em. Suddenly he jumped back in the car yelling, "Quick! They're on to us!" Pete was on the phone and incredibly confused while I sat shotgun and laughed my ass off. Once we got going, I keyed the directions into the TomTom, but Pete needed to fill up the van's tank first. When we got to the gas station, Pete got a card from Dustin and stepped out to tend the pump while Dustin and I chilled. Dustin was trying to tell me a story when Pete poked his head into the van to ask about topping the tank off instead of using 20-bucks worth. After telling him sure, Dustin resumed the story when Pete popped in again to ask, and Dustin again said, "Yeah, I don't care, I'm telling a story." He continued the tale when Pete popped in again, uncertain if Dustin really didn't mind. I heard Dustin sputter in surprise and go "Wha, bah, gah, I don't care! If people behind us wanted gas, they could have some too! Lemme finish the storeeee." Pete left, but the story was put on hold for awhile on account of Dustin and me laughing too hard. Soon afterwards we started heading out for the carnival. Pete popped in a techno CD and we got ourselves warmed up. As the song played, I noticed motion out of the corner of my eye and saw Dustin pounding his arms rhythmically with a distressed look on his face. He was trying to psych Pete out, but every time either of us looked back, we all broke out laughing and couldn't keep the pattern. Pretty soon all of us started this odd, twisted dance to the music, hoping that some poor driver would see us and ponder the destiny of humankind.
Once we got to EDC, I thought I as suffering a bad bout of deja vu. I kept seeing things I experienced the day before at AX: as we got closer to the event, we saw more and more people dressed in costumes and wild clothing, with hair all the colors of the rainbow. We stood in line behind two guys from Texas dressed as the bowler gang from Clockwork Orange--I can't believe I didn't take a picture. We all talked a bit to break the boredom while standing in line, but people-watching proved just as fun. The whole event is comprised of several stages, each playing a different style of electronica. We could feel the bass just walking in from the parking lot. While in line, though, we could also see nearby trees glowing orange and blue, with periodic strobes of green coming from beyond the entrance. Once we got through security, I immediately felt like I wasn't walking through stainless steel turnstiles, but pearly gates.
Everywhere was teeming with activity. A stage off to the right had lasers and strobe lights going off constantly to heavy beats while people let loose with glow-sticks. Others chatted or head-bobbed while waiting in line for the rides--this was a carnival after all. Pete, Dustin, and I headed towards the main stadium where Paul Oakenfold was playing. Once we entered the stadium walls, we stood atop stone stairs looking down on the field, where the pulse and twirl of glowing from countless ravers. Straight ahead at the far end of the stadium was an enormous stage with towering screens playing psychedelic imagery, and to the left and right near us were more carnival rides with huge lines. Dustin and I got into line for the tall tower that, after raising you high above the crowd, gives you up to gravity and lets you fall. Since Pete had heart surgery recently, he went ahead and explored the area. While waiting in line, we raved a little bit. Unexpectedly, one of two girls standing behind me asked for something. I had no idea what she was saying because of the music, though by the eighth time I realized she was asking me to give her friend a lights show. I took some twisty glow bands from earlier and wrapped them like gauntlets around my arms while walking to the stadium, I had two glow sticks in my collar, and I took one more blue glow stick in each hand and gave her friend a little demonstration. They seemed slightly amused, though overall I think they felt a bit uncertain of what to do at the carnival. A girl started dancing on the platform part of the ride, twirling her glow sticks and doing lots of deep bends... I swear if there was a pole she'd feel at home.
When Dustin and I got onto the platform and closer to the ride, we'd catch the blast of air displaced by the ride when it gets to the bottom. Having danced a bit the breeze was a relief from the warm night air. We jumped into the seats, secured the harness, and started waving our arms and legs around to the music. A clunk rang out when the lift latched onto the seats and up we went. Everyone began shrinking as we rose higher and higher into the evening sky--even the loud techno music sounded more and more muffled as we ascended. Once we hit the top, we let out a yell and the seats dropped. With a loud "BYAAAAAAA!" we shed any fear we had, then leaped triumphantly from our seats at the end of the ride. After that, we lined up for the other greatest attraction there--the porta-johns. Then, with the hope of making the carnival a little more interesting, we lined up for the bar. After a good fifteen minutes of the line (if you could call it that) not moving, and also the steep prices, we skipped out on it and decided to try the other ride in the stadium. Unfortunately, it was broken, so we went ahead up the crowded stadium steps and out into the madness to explore.
In front of the stadium were more rides, but most of them had incredibly long lines. Dustin managed to spot one that looked like fun and had a relatively short queue, so we went ahead and waited with everyone. The ride was kinda like the tea cup ride, where you have four people sitting across from one another in a circle, and in the middle there's a disk that you use to spin yourself around. We sat with a pretty cool couple, and Dustin and I had fun making them sick by spinning the ride every-which-way. When the madness ended, we walked along the concourse some more. Dustin talked me into going on the slide ride, which, I will admit was fun; he found an extra blanket no one was using for the slide and wore it as a cape on the way down. Walking away from the slide we came across a large, metallic dome with protrusions of varying size and geometry. Various sticks were attached to the sculpture by wire, and people were free to pick them up and bash the hell out of the thing. As everyone banging on the object got a feel for each other's rhythm, we eventually got some really good percussion going. As I joined up with Dustin, I saw a guy running out from inside the dome holding his ears and groaning while his friends laughed. The sounds of the drumming faded as we neared one of the stages outside the stadium. Dustin and I soon stood facing a flood of blue light and blaring bass. As though by instinct, we pushed forward into the crowd and raved until we couldn't dance anymore. Soon afterwards we ran into Pete while grabbing some Gatorade, and found out that Pendulum had already started their set. Pete walked us over to their stage, and then he and I left for the Infected Mushroom concert that'd be starting shortly.
Walking through the crowds at EDC compared to navigating between Scylla and Charybdis; stray from the course and you would end up torn from your party and swallowed up by some form of electronic ecstasy (okay, maybe the allusion isn't entirely apt). After passing hordes of revelers, Pete and I arrived at our destination. Within minutes, the stage lights went down and Infected Mushroom got on stage. Most of the sets that night were either DJ or playlisted, but this was completely and utterly live. Besides the two principle members of the group, they also had a guitarist and drum player on stage, adding more depth to the whole experience. The entire area around the stage for a good 50 yards was completely packed. I managed to get into the middle of it, following people here and there. I was hoping to twirl a few glow sticks while at the concert, but I could only safely move my arms either up or down, so I stuck to jumping up and down while prominently displaying the rock-salute. I was hoping to catch a dance or two with some girls, but the best I got was with a pair of lesbians... so it wasn't a total loss. As the night progressed I didn't care too much about who I danced with. The bass completely flooded me, making every hair on my body, every beat of my heart pulse with energy. It was all about the moment, about feeling one with everyone while the musicians literally rocked our world. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it was freakin' sweet.
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