WOW. What an amazing event! I do believe it deserves an old-fashioned trip report. Hope I have time to get this down before I have to go...
When it was time to get ready to go I realized I was at a serious loss for good-looking cold-weather clothing. I wasn't about to wear a rain jacket so I layered up a sweater and a thin coat. Add my normal hat and gloves and scarf and I really did not look like I was going to a steampunk burlesque art collective event. GD had his awesome velvet jacket as a go-to so I was seriously outclassed already. NA and € of course were able to look pretty damn good.
As it was, we all froze our asses off, except GD, who is from another planet.
After dinner at Hof's Hut with some drunken ladies singing classic tunes ("Davy, Davy Crockett!") we ended up in spooky industrial downtown LA. We parked and hopped on one of the double decker buses provided to get us to the event - no way I'd ride on the open top in that weather.
They had blocked of a fair amount of streets and decorated with stage lighting, projections, and various art installations. It immediately struck us that with the simple warehouse background, it looked just like a set, a street constructed just for us.
We wandered. A guy holding a bucket of flowers pulled handfuls of petals and threw them onto the curb around him. Painters painted on large canvases and wooden boards, and you could bid on the art you were seeing born in front of you. Various lounging areas, including pillows strewn on the cement and ottomans spread in front of a gallery area. You could get your feet massaged in warm water or your face painted - for free, I believe. A couple of roach coaches sold hot organic food made to order, and there was booze and coffee.
There were two DJ stages and one performance stage. The DJs surprised me, I found myself moving to all the rhythms they spun, even though I can be pretty picky. When we arrived, the performance stage had a partial band and DJ, and some fun dancers/actors/mimes/etc, coming out in increasingly odd costumes to mug and busk it to whatever the band was doing. The instrumentation was a little quirky, with a guy playing many different things, including one of those electronic clarinet things and a
talk box, another guy rocking the keytar. A little 80's synthy for my taste (even though I love certain kinds of 80's synth) but very entertaining anyway. Behind them, large plywood boards were painted over and over again by quick draw artists, and a long screen included someone using photoshop to make and remake art as well. It was an orgy of creativity, continually altered, each choice, each piece fading into the next.
After them, a couple of incredible DJs came on. It helped that some nice people was passing around a little something in the crowd, and it seemed to me that the timing was too perfect for it to not be planted. It helped my night, for sure. Suddenly we were dancing our asses off, and I wasn't cold.
A group of Lucent people were in the crowd. They began the Monkey Chant, a groupthink exercise, everyone making the same noises and movements as one. NA and € joined in like the old pros they are. It was kind of weird - I found myself flashing back to the very first rave I attended, where I felt like a square peg in a round hole, trying to loosen up and get involved. We did end up chanting and moving with them but in my restrictive, everyday clothing and cold state of mind it was a little tough to let go and be one with the group. Still, it was fun, and makes me hope they do similar stuff at Coachella.
They wandered the streets, and we took a break to get some food, and ended up back at the performance stage to wait for Lucent Dossier's 12:30 set. By "wait", I mean we danced to the great DJ, standing close to the speakers, getting that buzz from the bass that I swear vibrates my molecules making me one step warmer. The crowd began to press in but we maintained our front and center location.
Just before the show began they asked us to step back and sit down. We did so with some difficulty as things had gotten pretty tight, and the show began. After a couple of minutes they were suddenly yelling at us to stand up - by order of the fire marshal. It was a bummer, especially while we were trying to get into the show, but it was accomplished and soon we were completely absorbed by the amazing performance.
Have you seen
this youtube sensation? LD took this and made it real. The girls came out in dayglo 60's outfits with over the top afro wigs and makeup and danced to both the original Fosse number and Walk It Out, throwing all kinds of moves in. Then the guys came out in red and white striped exercise outfits like strongmen from 1910, doing the smallest of feats and yelling "OPAH!" when completing them.
There was plenty else in their set, including an instrument made by stringing a building and playing it with rosened hands....aerial acrobatics....music and dance and art. Fantastic.
When it was done it was time for a hot drink and a sit and oh crap, it is so f'n cold! So we left at about 3.
Oh, and there was one moment where we were walking around and we heard one of the DJs playing a recognizable Bollywood song. We are so damn cutting edge it hurts.
Thanks to NA and € for making this extra special - your connection to LD is undeniable.
