Rico's rants: Burning Man for the day

24 November 2014

Burning Man for the day

It's been years since Rico last attended Burning Man, but it's still of interest, and Anum Khan has an article at Insomniac.com about the latest one:

Good news travels slowly, but bad news spreads like wildfire. This was once again proven true with the story that Jack U (Skrillex + Diplo) got kicked off stage at Burning Man. The (false) tale goes like this: Seth Troxler refused to play for his scheduled set on the Robot Heart stage because his entourage was denied access to join him onstage. Enter Jack U, whose attempts to save the music go awry when they play Turn Down for What. Burners, expecting to hear non-commercial music, boo Jack U off stage and end their set.
Diplo wrote an explanation of what actually went down, completely refuting the Burning Man rumors. He said that Jack U played Turn Down for What during downtime while the next DJ set up, and they chalked it all up to a joke. Contrary to the story, they were not booed off stage. To get the full scoop, read his Twitter response:

Despite rumors .. I wanna thank robot heart crew for putting together and awesome lineup or surprise guests and attendees that is gettin lost in a really lame false news story.. Although robot heart is anonymous and strictly a deeply quiet crew .. One of the founders .. Jaspn swamy loves this funny moment and is astounded that this is one of the busiest press stories from this years burning man.. Not only me and skrillex popped in but also above and beyond, thievery corp, and Seth and many more underground artists.. No one is ever listed or promoted and all the lineups word of mouth .. I have been friends of Jason (who's has booked me outside of bm in other countries) for many years and nothing on hear articles is true .. There was no booing .. No bad vibes ... Nothing about seth troxler was true either... I wanna say one thing... I'm a dj thru and thru .. We did about eight sets thru our few days at BM.. Ranging from trap dubstep at question mark to uk bass on the opulent temple .. Dub and classic reggae on the dancestranaught car and even deep techno and tribal house on robot heart.. Everyone on stage had a fun moment when we played a few tunes as we were just killing time while the next dj was setting up.. We weren't kicked off or booed .. Jus wrapped our set up with an inside joke ... And of all the stories to come out after an amazing week... This is pretty tabloidish that's not what burningman is about.. Everything we did there was good fun and all the people that attended knows it.

Rico says typical Burning Man clusterfuck...

But Mikey Lion has an article at Insomniac.com about surviving Burning Man:

It’s no secret to say that Burning Man is not for the faint of heart. That statement alone is a point of pride for those who have braved the treacherous conditions, pushing both mind and body to their ultimate limits, to do a bit of soul-searching at the world’s most celebrated transformational gathering.
Every Burner knows that The Playa is a loving teacher, but its lessons do not come easy. You never know what will be thrown at you at Black Rock City, whether that means walking into a spontaneous dust storm, or struggling with the challenge of being completely self-sustainable. Founding member of the Desert Hearts community, Mikey Lion, shares a few words of wisdom to help you achieve a transcendental experience at The Burn.

1. Burning Man Begins as Soon as You Decide to Go The endless months of planning and crafting are all part of the creative experience. The harder you work leading up to The Burn, the sweeter the fruits of your labor will be when you're finally there. So earn that shit and own it! Don't stress out if you aren't able to buy a ticket in the main sales. Just continue to prepare for The Burn as if you have a ticket. If you're really intent on going home, you'll manifest one. Trust me, there is no bigger regret than being unprepared when a ticket falls in your lap the week before.

2. Embrace the Dust In my opinion, the dust is the most magical part of Burning Man. Learn to love it, and you'll be much better off. You have fifty-one weeks out of the year to be squeaky-clean, but you have only one week to dance beneath fireballs in the middle of a dust storm. But don't forget your goggles and dust masks.

3. Express Yourself! This is your chance to be the best you that you can be. There are no taboos at Burning Man, so feel free to get as wild and freaky as you want. Ever wonder what it's like to cross-dress and don a British accent for a night? Now's your chance! We're all here for the same reason, so let loose, get out there, and express yourself!

4. Pace Yourself! There is so much to see and do that you're guaranteed to be overwhelmed your first couple of days. Do not forget to sleep and take care of yourself! Unlike three-day festivals where you're trying to squeeze in as much party as you can into a weekend, at Burning Man you'll have seven to eight full days to see and do as much as you can. If you decide to sleep for all of Thursday, no one is going to hold it against you. Besides, you're only going to see about twenty percent of BRC anyway.

5. Keep the Size of Your Posse to Two to Four People at Most There is nothing worse than trying to lead a ten-person posse around BRC. “Group thinking” and waiting for people both suck, so split up and meet everyone at your destination. A smaller crew means faster decisions, which means you get to see more of The Playa.

6. Save Time to Get Lost by Yourself; Try Not to Keep a Schedule Some of the very best Playa adventures are the ones you journey on your own. Do what you want, when you want, and say yes to everything. One of the reasons you're here is to get away from responsibilities. For DJs, even though Burning Man may be a great place to get your name out there, overbooking yourself will become a huge burden and ruin your Burn. Instead, select three to four special gigs for the week, and enjoy every second of them. The same thing goes for DJs you want to see. Don't spend all your time chasing around your favorite DJs via set times. You'll be surprised how much better everything is when it's all spontaneous.

7. Mental Breakdowns Are Part of the Learning Experience Burning Man is one of the most overwhelming places on the planet. The constant bombardment of stimuli has the capability to throw you into a state of confusion, panic or stress that you thought impossible at such a wonderful place. Add to that mind-altering sleep deprivation, and soon you may find yourself spinning down the wrong rabbit hole. However, it's during some of these darkest moments that we come to grips with some of our most profound thoughts. Use this time of chaos to your advantage and conquer yourself. You'll be better off because of it.

8. Sunrise Is Where the Magic Happens Sunrise on The Playa is one of the most incredible sights in all of existence. Add in some surreal Lee Burridge jams to the mix, and you'll be fighting back tears of joy in no time. Take your naps from 10 pm to 2 am, and you'll be charged up for the spectacle.

9. Make No Drastic Life Decisions for Two Weeks Post Burning Man I can't stress this one enough. Do not break up with your girlfriend or quit your job so you can live Burning Man 24/7, man. Your acclimatization back into the Default World will be a journey all in itself. Take some time to really think about things before you make any decisions that are going to drastically change your life.

10. Spend Some Quality Time at The Temple The Temple is the spiritual hub of Burning Man. It has the most amazing energy of any place on The Playa. It's the one place that encourages you to look deep into your soul and really speculate on what your life is all about. Whether you're trying to get over a lost loved one or trying to find the motivation to finally follow your dreams, The Temple is the place to do it. Write down whatever you want to release into the universe, and on Sunday we'll burn it to the ground. Don't leave early on Sunday. The Temple Burn is the best part of the entire festival.