www.youtube.com/watch

Better late than never, I suppose. Actually that kind of sums up the start of the event. We arrived at roughly 9pm, Steve and I helped The Omega Krew a little bit with processing of fuel for the xlr8r (with the assistance of Raquel's foot) , and subsequently went back down to the doors to keep them company. (The people, not the doors.) Everything was set up and we started hearing some tasty vibrations by something like 10:30pm. We were at the doors with We Are One Productions until about 11:30ish, maybe midnight, when I decided I had to go back up and see how things had unfolded. Needless to say, it was in full bloom and I could sense some friction in the fabric of space-time...

Some time later we made our back down to the doors. As we descended the muddy slope to the bus parking lot, I thought aloud of the group from Salem I had invited, wondering if they were going to make it to their first outdoor Eugene electronic music event. Approaching the small tent we saw a greater-then-normal number of people gathered beneath it. More people had shown up - fantastic! But one of them looked familiar in the dim light... and then so did another person... and then it dawned on me that they were all my new acquaintences from the Salem area who had opposed all probability and actually driven all the way to the event. (Almost all the way, there was a minor trek on foot involved.) So, I ecstatically introduced them to Steve and Raquel and We Are One (whom by the way I have to thank for getting ME there.) and we made our merry way back up the muddy road to the muddy dance floor, and proceeded to indulge in some muddy good times.

The crew from Salem was quiet and reserved at first, unsure of what to do, who to talk to, and how to deal with the small tear in the fabric of the space time continuum that was slowly growing larger. Two or so hours later, after observing their, and others' habits from afar, it seemed that the Salem Crew could care less about these worrisome things, and were covered in mud and dancing their hearts out, enjoying the company of their fellow mudstompers.

In the morning, shortly after dawn, the Salem Crew made their way back home, as did many mudstompers, while Steve, Raquel, Jeb and I hiked down to the creekbed at the bottom of the mountain, enjoyed the intricately constructed set of "Fern Gully", and hiked back up for some more mind-warping sound waves. By something like 8:30am, We Are One, Steve, Raquel and myself made our own ways back down that epic mud-covered descent to take everyone home. The rest of the day was spent in Albany, battling fatigue and convincing ourselves that we didn't actually hear the beats that were creeping in, almost sub-audible, from the most unsuspect locales of our peripheral hearing range.

All in all, it was a beautifully orchestrated event, good vibes all around and a few newbies got their minds torn open for the first time. I had a great time because I got my two closest friends there with me, two old friends who knew everyone there already and a group of new friends Ive made locally who get to share the experience with /their/ friends. I wish I couple personally express my gratitude to everyone involved, but I guess that'll just have to wait until "Contact" is made...

Until next time,
PLUR!