I Played (Escaped) Burning Man
I’m on a plane back to Vancouver, and managed to get out of Burning Man Sunday afternoon. It’s a bit wild to see all the mainstream news outlets covering something you were just at. It’s a rare vantage point to see something sensationalized but have full insider info of the event yourself. So it’s a bit of a long post this week but here’s how my trip went down…
On Thursday we arrived at my first ever Burning Man and spirits were high. I had 6 sets planned in 3 days at a mix of camps, stages, and art cars. We took the Burner bus in from Reno and arrived at our camp, Sonic Soul Tribe. They were hosting us and had gone above and beyond to make us feel part of their camp and their community. The yurt they set up for us was extremely comfortable and we were taken aback by how great the setup was. Thursday we biked around the camps and the playa. It’s a genuine bewildering experience seeing how creative people get with their camps. It’s visual overload. We trekked to one camp to repair a bike, and they gave us some drinks and fresh popcorn while we hung out. Everyone welcomes everyone, it’s a beautiful thing. The art on the playa was even more wild. Massive installations that are hard to put into words, and we only scraped the surface of how many exist. It’s endless. I genuinely can not think of anywhere else that compares to that.
I played my two sets on Thursday (Camp Iluminaughty and Celtic Chaos), and got to bed around 8am — my last set was from 6-7am. On Friday afternoon we woke up to the beginning of the storm. Water started to creep into our yurt as the ground below us slowly turned into a mixture of clay and small pools of water. I know everyone was saying mud, but because of the alkali it was more of a heavy grey clay that was unstable and annoying. I have never been more grateful for my decision to pack my doc martens, because without them my feet would have been a disaster. I appreciate everyone who left comments on my initial tiktok video telling me to bring rubber boots.
By Friday evening, we knew (and were sad) that my sunset set would be cancelled on the Sonic Soul Tribe stage. As the downpour continued, the conditions became pretty wild. Mini lakes filled the playa, and anywhere people walked turned into vast pockets of clay that would essentially create unwanted platform shoes on those walking through it. Since we didn’t set up our own camp, and the meal service camp had hunkered down, we started to go into the first stages of survival mode. Me and my manager hadn’t packed any food or anything, and from this moment I think the true ethos of Burning Man really started to come out. Everyone from our camp was cooking, helping each other with food, checking in on each other, and doing whatever they could to keep moods positive. Campmates made us makeshift beds in their trailer since our yurt was flooded. We are so thankful for that. The weather didn’t dim anyone’s spirits, I think it actually ignited something in a lot of the burners to embrace the community spirit.
The first night of the storm we set up a DJ booth in Sonic Soul Tribe’s semi-truck trailer and I did a 3hr b2b with N2N inside. People would wander through the drenched playa, pop in for 30mins, and enjoy the music plus warmth. I dried off just from playing this set and everyone kept saying how much this was needed amongst the storm. This became one of my highlights of the week.
The rain continued all night and the next day it finally broke for a bit. We heard rumours of people starting to leave, but it’s shockingly hard to get information when you’re out in the middle of a desert. People say one thing and everyone takes it as truth and it spreads quickly. The rumour of the “exit being possible” was constantly thrown around. Some people were going for it while others surrendered to riding it out till the end (whenever that may be).
On night 2 I played a b2b set with Subset on the parked Metaphoenix art car. The terrain had dried a bit so people were dancing and we had a great little party amidst all the chaos and unpredictability of the whole situation. The Metaphoenix team provided much-appreciated snacks and hospitality while we got to play some of our favourite music. The massive flames atop of the car kept people warm whenever they went off.
On Sunday we woke up early, my friend came to our camp, said he had a 4WD truck and that he knew a road that could get us out. We decided to go for it. A total gamble. As we drove through the camp the outskirts were more empty, it was clear a lot of people had also been leaving. When we approached the entrance (a single road that connects to the main highway) it was complete and utter chaos. Hundreds of cars lined up from all directions with a third of them getting stuck in the mud. We stayed on what we thought would be the best road and were extremely lucky to make it through, as we passed by many people who would be stranded until it dried out.
So that was my experience. A lot of people told me this was a “true burn” as we were amidst the storm and conditions were getting gnarly. That’s the best way to put it. The ethos of Burning Man is said to be one of radical self-reliance but I think the extreme weather highlighted another ethos. Radical communal effort. One where everyone was willing to help each other out no matter what amidst the chaos in the desert. I know I experienced that from my camp, the stages I played at, and complete strangers I met out on the playa. For that I’m grateful! (And a shower once I finally got back to Reno).
Wishing everyone still there a safe exit
-felix