Words About Things

You’ve probably heard of the Burning Man festival that is held each year in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The event is famous for the giant statue that is built and burned each year and for being an entirely cash-free event with participants encouraged to give gifts in order to increase the community spirit.  It is also well known for the art cars which feature each year like the amazing example below:

Now there is a new festival/ party for those who like to go a little crazy in the desert: The Wasteland Weekend. This event has a post-apocalyptic, Mad Max theme and this year will feature three replica Mad Max cars as well as hundreds of other customized vehicles. It takes place in Soggy Dry Lake not far from Lucerne Valley in California.

Join the hundreds of fans coming from all over the the United States (and beyond) to gather in the Southern California desert. Set up camp at our wasteland compound, surrounded by specially-built sets. Costumes are required and post-apocalyptic campsites and vehicles are encouraged. Live for three days in a world pulled straight out of the Mad Max movies, beyond the grip of so-called civilization. Top DJs from all over will provide the soundtrack, fire dancers and bonfires will light up the night, and modified vehicles will shake the earth with their engines. Don’t miss it!

As the quote mentions costumes are required for all participants so you can’t just turn up in jeans. You’ll need a modified car in order to fit in also, no point turning up in your pristine hire car. For more information visit the Wasteland Weekend website.

Dubai has been getting some major international attention of late mostly because of the recent Grand Prix and the forthcoming opening of the world’s tallest hotel. Another event of note was the three day Sound City festival which featured 78 bands, artists and DJs from around the world.

The event featured showcases from established and new band split between seven venues throughout the city similar to the South-by-Southwest festival in America (East by Middle East?). Headliners Echo and the Bunnymen had to pull out at the last minute due to the illness of singer Ian McCulloch but they were replaced by the Super Furry Animals. In all five acts did not perform including Hip Hop legends De La Soul. Other than the no-shows the event was considered a success.

“The response has been hugely positive. There were between five and six thousand people here on Friday and there’s a great willingness for people who want to get on board next year.”

The festival was organized by David Pichilingi who also runs Liverpool Sound City. As well as live shows there were panel discussions and keynote speeches featuring big players from the international music industry. As well as some great bands there were a few old has beens hanging around like Ocean Colour Scene and the Human League. Perhaps next year when the festival is more established they will be able to draw some better artisits. No matter how cheap flights to Dubai get I’m not going to travel that far to see The Automatic and The Wombats.

It’s probably a bit late to decide to go to Sónar this year. The annual music festival is held in Barcelona on the 18-20th of June we probably means if you haven’t got it all booked up then like me you wont be going! This is a shame as the line up includes Orbital, Animal Collective, Crystal Castles, Mary Ann Hobbs, Richie Hawtin, Joker (Bristol ftw) and even Grace Jones.

One of the main differences between Sónar and similar festivals in the UK is that Sónar is held in sunny Barcelona so the look is more bikinis and flip flops rather than raincoats and wellies. Each year 80,000 electronic music fans descend on Barcelona for 3 days and nights of great music and a great atmosphere.

As the festival takes place in the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona it’s easy to travel directly to the festival from Barcelona airport. The day and night events occur at different venues although there are buses provided. If you want to explore further afield whist you are there then car hire spain is available although you would be advised to book early.

Richie Hawtin and Ricardo Villalobos at Sonar 2006

More info on Sonar 2009 here.