May Day Festival '09
May Day was a huge success. No amount of rain can stop a fair, earth-loving hippie. We, the Neon Gypsies, played around 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, following about 12 hours of rain and mud, warding off the wetness and calling out the sun. The Sun shined for most of our set, leaving the camp somewhat dry for the duration of the music. Lost Tortoise, the last band of the night, played until 5:00 a.m. when the rain started again. Music can keep the rain away. The entire place was like a wonderland. It's not often you get to wander around in gypsy style clothing, the same outfit for three days, and fairy wings. The plot of this scene went down some crazy rabbit hole in the side of Mary's Peak. It's an adventure that starts Friday afternoon (May 1) and comes back to reality somewhere on Sunday.
May Day Fest: Day 1
I Stayed up until 5 a.m. Thursday night finishing my homemade gypsy skirt for the festival. I got two hours of sleep, as I had to wake up at 7 a.m. to go to the early Geology lab so I could leave town early for the festival. I met Blair in class and we trudged through the Geology lab together, both anxious for the festival. By the time everything was packed and all the instruments were crammed into the trunk, we were three hours behind schedule, and finally ready to hit the dusty trail. Much to our dismay, the dust would quickly turn to slick, slimy mud.
Up the windy, dusty dirt road we drove in a little green Dodge Shadow. It was nice to smell the dank pine; nothing but clean fresh air. The view over the dangerous cliff on the way there was breath taking, though very nerve racking. We wound up through the trees when we came upon some very familiar hand painted signs reading "keep going", "pack it in, pack it out" and "May Day". Just around the corner we were greeted by the familiar faces of Emiliano Vargus and Melanie Reid. We were checked off the guest list, got a garbage bag to pack out our trash with, and in we went. We parked in friendly field just behind the stage; right under a sign that read "band parking only". "Hey, I painted that sign", was my first thought.
We slowly unpacked the car, setting up tents, socializing, just hanging out. The sky was a smidge grey, but not cold or even hinting at rain. By the time the sun went down, the cloud got too heavy and started to spit. We got rain on all night long. I woke up to find my tent had become a bladder. Apparently the bottom was water proof but the top was not. The only tarp I had went under and it should have gone over. Needless to say, my guitar, bass, djembe, tambourine, laptop, Canon Rebel, and most of my clothing got drenched. Luckily, Happy Town (located next to Camp Neon) had a five tarp canopy over a nice bon fire where I could dry the important things; the guitar, bass, drum and tambourine.
.......... more on Day 2, and 3 tomorrow.
Up the windy, dusty dirt road we drove in a little green Dodge Shadow. It was nice to smell the dank pine; nothing but clean fresh air. The view over the dangerous cliff on the way there was breath taking, though very nerve racking. We wound up through the trees when we came upon some very familiar hand painted signs reading "keep going", "pack it in, pack it out" and "May Day". Just around the corner we were greeted by the familiar faces of Emiliano Vargus and Melanie Reid. We were checked off the guest list, got a garbage bag to pack out our trash with, and in we went. We parked in friendly field just behind the stage; right under a sign that read "band parking only". "Hey, I painted that sign", was my first thought.
We slowly unpacked the car, setting up tents, socializing, just hanging out. The sky was a smidge grey, but not cold or even hinting at rain. By the time the sun went down, the cloud got too heavy and started to spit. We got rain on all night long. I woke up to find my tent had become a bladder. Apparently the bottom was water proof but the top was not. The only tarp I had went under and it should have gone over. Needless to say, my guitar, bass, djembe, tambourine, laptop, Canon Rebel, and most of my clothing got drenched. Luckily, Happy Town (located next to Camp Neon) had a five tarp canopy over a nice bon fire where I could dry the important things; the guitar, bass, drum and tambourine.
.......... more on Day 2, and 3 tomorrow.
