Tag music festivals

Cool Glasses Project

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Back in early July, I attended a music festival with a few friends. We noticed that there were numerous vendors with booths set up along the entry corridor, so we decided to take a look at what was being sold. At one point, we found a booth which sold accessories like body chains and sunglasses, and zoomed in on one particular pair of shades. My friend tried them on and absolutely loved them, so she asked the vendor how much they cost. They were $100, and though my friend hesitated over the lofty price, I could tell she was thinking about purchasing them, despite the fact that she couldn’t afford them.

I have to admit that I also liked the glasses, so much so that I took a picture of them for reference (see image above). I then told my friend that we should keep walking, and once we were out of earshot of the salesperson, I informed her that all of the styles of sunglasses at the booth, sans embellishment, were available through Amazon. I also stated that we could probably duplicate the look for a fraction of the price, and that it would be foolish for my friend to purchase the cool spectacles from the booth we had just visited.

A couple of days after the event, I decided to look on Amazon to see if I could find the glasses, and also figured that I could look for the aqua fabric, the rhinestones, and cool eyeglass chains. By some stretch of luck and a willingness to search for appropriate accessories, I quickly found everything I needed, and ordered them. Once the materials arrived, I printed out the image of the shades we both loved, and set up my workstation so that I could make two pairs of duplicates. Despite the fact that I did a fair amount of cursing while figuring out the sizing of the fabric segments and also while gluing the rhinestones, I was able to complete the project.

The reference photo with the two finished pairs of sunglasses

The best part of the project was that I made each pair for $32.77 ($38.76 after I added cases), and had a nice creative challenge. The next time I saw my friend, I asked her if she remembered those glasses from the event we had attended, then handed her one of the pairs. She was speechless. I then told her that I hadn’t purchased the glasses from the vendor, but that I had made them, along with a second pair which I kept for myself. She was truly blown away, especially after I told her how much I had spent on materials.

Why Raves Are So Appealing

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Copyright: cunaplus

Back in March of this year, I attended my very first rave, a smaller event which was held indoors at a theater in downtown Los Angeles. What surprised me was how loving, accepting, and cool just about everyone was at the event and how consistent they were with PLUR, an acronym which stands for Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. It was as if all judgement, criticism, pretense and posturing had been left at the entrance to the event, and I have to admit that it was refreshing and lovely. I was so enraptured by the energy at the event and so into the music that I was left wanting more when it was time to leave.

I have to admit that I am a bit hesitant to attend the larger, outdoor festivals, for a number of reasons which are well detailed here. It just doesn’t seem like it would be very fun to sit in a Porta-Potty with a full length bodysuit gathered around my ankles, nor does it seem like fun to have a bunch of strangers sweating on me while I dance to electronic music. It was already quite stuffy and hot while I was at the indoor venue, and that was during a part of the year when the outside temperature was in the upper 40’s Fahrenheit. Bear in mind that it is customary and almost required that attendees dress scantily, primarily to offset the increased ambient temperature which develops as a result of all the human bodies gyrating and dancing together in a small space, and also as a proclamation of body awareness and acceptance.

Despite the fact that the venue was pretty packed, and the ambient temperature was pretty toasty, I had an incredible time, and can’t wait to attend another rave. There is something so liberating about dancing without a care in the world, moving with the beat of the music, and feeling absolutely no judgement from other people at the event. It was also fun to dress up, especially because it has been years since I have dressed up for Halloween or masquerade balls. Raves are a fantastic way for adults to align with their childlike energy, and let go.

Back In The Day…Attending Concerts

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Source: 123rf.com
Image: 46963270
erika8213

 

Among the memories from my childhood, teenhood, and early adulthood are all the incredible concerts I had the good fortune to attend.  I grew up in the 1970’s – 1980’s, and was exposed to all kinds of music during that time.  I was able to see most of my favorite artists perform live, some in front of massive coliseum-sized audiences, and others in cozy local venues like the Troubador.  Little did I know that when I was cheering Poison and Ratt that those bands were about to hit it big on the music scene.

Here is a partial list of some of the artists I was able to see live between 1976 and 1989:

Elton John (Dodger Stadium, 1976)

Rolling Stones (1981, 1989)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1980, 1981)

Pink Floyd

Mötley Crüe

Talking Heads

David Bowie

I thoroughly enjoyed being in the audience, rocking with the music, lighting my lighter (who remembers doing this?), and singing along when the lead singer would prompt the crowd to join in.  There was always a palpable energy at concerts, a buzz, and I’m not talking about the burning weed which circulated through the air.  The audiences were always so pumped, so excited to hear a favorite band play live.

I also remember wanting so badly to attend the US Festival on Labor Day weekend in 1982, but my mother staunchly refused.  Then there was another US Festival which I desperately wanted to attend on Memorial Day weekend in 1983, but my mother once again refused, pointing out that I had final exams the following week.  Some of the girls in my class threw caution to the wind and attended the festival, so I was able to live vicariously through them when they described the experience.  An estimated 570,000 people attended the 1983 Labor Day weekend US Festival, which is no surprise since tickets were a mere $20 for each day of the event.

Here’s a video of the full concert which Van Halen performed during the 1983 US Festival:

Other festivals have come to the forefront in popularity in, recent years, but now that we have spent the bulk of the year in lockdown, avoiding COVID, live concerts, with the audience standing in front of the band members, are nearly extinct.  We now rely on livestreams and virtual concerts, which don’t even come close to creating the same magic that a live concert in front of a packed audience can do.

Ventura County Fairgrounds recently hosted a drive-in setting for a live concert which apparently went pretty well.  The audience was limited to 500 cars, I wonder if this will be the new norm for concerts?  At any rate, I am thankful that I was able to see so many incredible artists live, when concerts were still fun.