The sky is gas flame blue and this afternoon is on fire. It’s Friday and the day has wandered away from me, performers have filed onstage and off while the crowd is full of anticipation. I can feel their nervous excitement. Right now anything can happen, a general consciousness hasn’t settled into the sea of people. 

But then, You Say Party! We Say Die! take the stage.  Lead singer Becky Ninkovic reaches out and pulls the entire crowd into the palm of her slightly scarred hand. If Marilyn Monroe were to be a modern dance-punk-pop singer, this would be her embodiment.

Saturday arrives and is so hot all the performers are wandering around backstage with wet white towels slung over heads and shoulders. I feel like I am at a sauna fully clothed. That 1 Guy, Daniel Wesley, CR Avery and Five Alarm Funk continue to turn up the heat.

There is a hush backstage as prayers are said in a closed off tent with Matisyahu and then a surge of energy arises as the performance begins. Deep beats drive pulsating lights, the fog machine empties into the night air like a genie’s lamp.  Sunday unfolds with Third Eye Tribe, K’Naan, Moshav, the DJ stylings of Mat The Alien and then De La Soul.

It’s a weekend of wonderment. While hot, it is also sweet. Music floats out ceaselessly over the entire grounds. Beer mercifully flowed in the saloon-themed garden and I found organic food I am still dreaming of. 


I experience so much of the world through my giant lens and camera. The world dances across it. I sometimes feel pressing the shutter is my way of touching this world. Sometimes, putting it down draws the curtain back, alternatively. What I saw this weekend, was a lack of ego on many fronts. Performers integrated with the crowd ,while the overall message lyrically was positive. Perhaps, part of this year's theme of Mitzvah (meaning any act of human kindness) was realized.