Shambala 2009/Seattle Vacation
Just got back from my vacation a couple days ago. I had a great time in Seattle, and Shambala was wild!
Vacation started on a Tuesday, and it was a rough day. I got up early and flew five hours from Detroit to Seattle. I arrived jet lagged and tired. As soon as Mike arrived, the four of us (Mitch, Sean, Mike, and Myself) took off for Salmo B.C. Canada for early entry to Shambala. The drive was supposed to take ten hours, but it ended up taking 12 because we had to go to a different border crossing as the first one was closed. We finally got to Salmo early Wednesday morning after driving all night, and waited in line for eight hours before they let us in to set up camp. Needless to say, the first day we spent mostly resting.
Shambala was really fun in the days that followed. There were six stages, and about 10,000 people in attendance. The crowd was pretty diverse, though there were a lot of neo-hippy types, many of whom simply walked around in the nude throughout the festival. Most of the stages played down-tempo techno and dubstep, which are not my thing, but there were a few DJ sets that were really good. My favorite stage was the Labyrinth, which played more trance music, so I spent most of my time there.
Saturday, was the best night. I juggled my glowballs and did a chin balance with a staff, which resulting in several compliments from people. One of the best moments came when Mad Mike and I wandered to the back of one of the stages during a breakdown of a trance set, then as soon as the beat kicked in, we both activated our LEDS and sprinted full force into the crowd like a couple of madmen in time with the music. Surprisingly, the crowd parted open for us and created a circle around us once we were inside and began cheering. I stayed up all night that day dancing to DJ Stargirl's set. I actually started to pass out on the dancefloor at one point, but I made it through until her set ended at 9:30am. Other notable times there included swimming in a nearby river daily to substitute for bathing, dancing until my feet bled, and buying a cool hand-made leather mask from a Canadian artist.
After we got back to the States, I spent the rest of the following week in Seattle. That Friday, we went to a Pokemon themed Happy Hardcore Rave in downtown Seattle. The event sounded too ridiculous not to attend, so we had to go. Mike and I were probably the oldest people on the dancefloor, but we didn't care. The whole happy candy-rave thing isn't my scene, but I still enjoyed the fast music and the dancing. While there, I was introduced to a new concept that I had never heard before called "private light shows". This is where a person(s) completely zonked out of their minds on ecstasy and hallucinogenic drugs calls someone over to manipulate glow sticks/poi or whatever directly in front of their face while they sit down and trip out of their minds while staring at the pretty light patterns. I had several candy kids ask me to give them light shows, and I did oblige them, though I thought it was kind of weird. It was a good time though. Mike and I had a lot of compliments and we danced a lot of those young 'uns under the table.
Saturday, we went to Hempfest. The event featured speakers, vendors, music stages, and everything weed-related you would expect. It was also very crowded, as in so crowded you could literally barely move through the sea of humanity. We ended up leaving after less than an hour on account of the fact we couldn't really move throughout the festival independently because of the sheer volume of people.
As far as Seattle itsself goes; I like it. I am still intimidated by large cities and put off by the traffic, but other than the usual big city gripes, I enjoyed Seattle. Cool climate, very hilly, lots of stuff to do, friendly atmosphere. Good times. Went to a cool arcade and played some DDR. Went and saw District 9 as well (it was okay).
When I got back to Michigan, I was very sore and very tired. I had an amazing time though, and consider this vacation a success.
Mitch is a freelance artist. This is the very cool flag he designed for our camp.
Picture I took of Mad Mike and myself on one of Shamb's dancefloors.
DJ Stargirl feels the music.
Hangin' out with DJ Stargirl after her set.
Ravers putting on a private light show for some other ravers. Note the glazed over look in the eyes of the ones sitting.
Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaattle