Burning Man 11

After a quick dinner at Camp Spontaneous Salad, it was nearly time for me to go to my evening shift at the Fishbug. Tonight was a special occasion. We were going to have a live DJ and a dance party on top of lighting up Chimera. If I was ever going to learn to love techno, tonight was the night.

I walked through my camp block heading to the street and was slowed in my progress by a large crowd of people. I pushed my way to the front with a series of elbows.

The crowd was patiently waiting for a fire dance performance. Professional fire spinners were warming up getting ready for their turn to tear it up in front of us. They were swinging unlit hula-hoops, fire sticks, nunchucks, and other strange objects that probably have specific names.

The first spinner was one of the elders of the camp. I had met Dave the other day in passing. He was tall and had a wise demeanor that seemed to command the respect of the rest of the camp.

The crowd spread out into circle, as he began twirling two flaming nunchucks violently around his body. The balls of fire glowed and warmed the air. He switched positions and edged himself dangerously close to the crowd. A loud drum and bass mix pulsed through our bodies. Dave quickly felt the rhythm and pulsed along with it, as the nunchucks got faster. We watched in awe at the dangerous feat he was undertaking.

After several minutes, Dave stepped out and a younger female took his place at center stage in the middle of Chaos Street. She had thick dreadlocks and arms completely sleeved in tattoos. Her fire-spinning object of choice was a hula-hoop lined in 8 flames.

Her eyes burned with intensity as she rocked her hips rhythmically. We all looked on completely entranced. She switched from her waist to her arms and then around her neck with complete confidence. I didn't see the slightest hesitation in her graceful moments.

The show wound down after a half and hour or so and the crowd dissipated. I approached a few of the performers, including Dave, who were busy packing up their gear.

"That was incredible." I said with honest approval.

"Thanks." Dave said.

"Do you guys have any place to perform tonight?" I asked.

"I think some of us were just going to head out into the Playa somewhere and spin." the dread-locked/flaming-hula-hoop girl answered.

"I am asking because, there is a dance party with a live DJ at the Fishbug tonight. You guys would are officially invited." I said, hoping that my invitation didn't make my fire safety job more complicated.

"That sounds like a good idea." Dave answered as the others nodded in agreement. "It would be our honor to perform at the Fishbug tonight."

"I am leaving right now if you care to join?" I offered. "Its really easy to get to otherwise."

So, the small army of fire spinners followed my lead down Chaos Street under a glowing moon. They were equipped to the teeth as we marched, with what looked to me like deadly arsenal of weapons including, nunchucks, whips, staffs, ball and chains, and a hula-hoop. (I guess that last one wasn't as weapon like...) We could have been on our way to some post civilization brawl for some rare and valuable resource. (I am thinking of the movie Road Warrior for some reason) In place of a drummer boy though, was a mixture of random beat mixes competing for airspace.

When we arrived at the Fishbug, Camp Phage was already set up. Their DJ was behind two turntables a top a high platform. One hand was up in the air waving in time while the other was pressed against a pair if headphones. Behind the DJ, strobe lights and lasers shined around a large movie screen that was playing abstract black and white footage.
Pulsing techno mixes hypnotized the large crowd of costumed dancers in front of the platform.

Dave and company quickly set up in between the Fishbug and DJ. They lit their torches, and began to spin. A crowd split off from the dance party and gathered around them.

Realizing I was slightly late for my shift, I got my fire safety station ready in a hurry. Todd and I set up part of the perimeter in front of the tusks. A line formed around the right leg of the Fishbug waiting to push her flame effect buttons. One by one people blasted fire out of the tusks, often looking around afterwards as if they had done something wrong. The crowd by this point of the festival was a little more intoxicated in general that I had seen yet. Despite that fact, they seemed to be getting more conscious of fire safety. I imagine someone somewhere at Burning Man had learned the hard way though.

Everyone who came embraced the Fishbug that night. People waked around mesmerized as usual. Any art cars circling its perimeter were helplessly sucked into Fishbug's orbit. The side panels breathed at a slower rhythm than the techno creating a calm over everyone. The Fishbug had such a presence, it felt like two separate parties.
Gary took over for my shift after some time and I went for a beer at our supply shed. Rebecca was alone, sitting down in a camp chair next to the cooler. Her black 40's style top hat sat on her head as her cigarette cherry glowed in the darkness.

"Have a seat you." She said while patting the camp chair next to her. "How is it going for you here?"

I slipped under the yellow caution tape barrier around our work site and grabbed a chair.

"Pretty amazing place." I said finding myself smiling.

"You seem to really be right at home here so far." She said. "Some people can't get used to the dust."

"Well, It's in my blood. I am a direct descendant to generations of Bedouin goat headers from the Middle East." I explained jokingly (It is true though).

She laughed and took another puff sending smoke into the air. Fishbug's side lit up with stage lasers shot from Camp Phage's techno platform.

"What do you make of this place?" I asked, while simultaneously cracking open an ice cold Pabst from the cooler.

I could tell she was thinking about her answer.

"I had an Indian friend. Very educated guy." She said. "I brought him so he could see this place for himself. The year he came, the dust was just awful. One day, we found ourselves in his truck in an attempt to escape a huge whiteout. It was so thick, we couldn't see anything out of his windows. I guess when you are in that position the only thing you have to do is talk. I asked him the same question you just asked me. He answered by asking me, why does the white man have to go so far to have a good time? He liked giving me s***." She laughed.

I listened quietly as she explained further. She took another drag off her cigarette and exhaled a thick smoke ring.

"Its sad but true though. We almost removed the possibility for any real profound cultural experience. It has almost been done systematically." She explained.

A huge ball of fire shot from the front of Fishbug startling the crowd as she spoke.

"You know, I have been meaning to ask you how Fishbug came to be. How did you come up with this idea?" I said casually pointing to the 37-foot fire art sculpture in front of us. "It is so… unique. I have never seen anything well…" I cut myself off to let her speak.
"I was a street performer and I came up with the idea. I don't know if I told you this but I was a street performer and activist for years. I wanted to give people a metaphor to think about where man is going. I tried a lot of different forms in drawings and finally came up with the Fishbug. The over sized brain she said pointing to the bulbous fiberglass dome crowning Fishbug, suggests the next phase of human evolution. Man's next step isn't in physical evolution, but rather an evolution of the mind. Enlightenment so to speak." She explained.

"Interesting." I said trying to catch every word as she spoke.

"I wanted to put it into form to allow people to expand their own minds by just considering the phenomenon of the metaphor. You are given the freedom to go inside and explain to yourself what it means. Thus, bringing them a platform of their own metaphysical evolution."

Another gigantic fireball from a fully charged accumulator tank shot off and started the unsuspecting crowd.

"So Fishbug represents enlightenment?" I asked in an attempt to simplify the meaning for myself.

"Not represents, but rather suggests. As an artist, I think it is your job to point humanity in the right direction. Where are we going, is a question I ask myself a lot. How are we evolving?"

I walked back to my camp sight that night pondering the discussion I had with Rebecca. I hoped it would lead to some conclusions about how to actually act. I let my mind wander.

I agree with Rebecca. I think the mind is where the next phase of human evolution is happening. What does that mean though? Both enlightenment and evolution may mean different things to different people.

Evolution to a Born Again Christian may mean one more thing that you are told from birth to dispute at all costs. It is something that challenges their fundamental belief structure. It is something they believe challenges god's divinity. To a scientist though, it is the explanation for the way life forms adapt over millions of years. It is an explanation for life, as we know it on the planet.

Enlightenment to a Buddhist is a state everyone strives for life after life, until that person transcends suffering and desire. This is all done to reach Nirvana. Enlightenment can also refer to a time period when man started using reason over religion to explain the phenomenon of the world and universe around them.

I personally think part of evolved, more aware thinking, or enlightened thought, strongly considers the role and potential of man on the planet. We as humans, have both the gift and curse of consciousness. We know what we are doing to hurt the planet, and we know how to fix it. (I think we know anyway…) Life forces us to make choices every day. As inhabitants of earth, we are only part of a whole interconnected symbiotic biosphere, where trillions of organisms make trillions of choices. All of these choices one way or another influences our lives. We depend on this system for continued life and sustainability as a species. That needs to be part of everyone's decision making on a daily basis. (Of course, I think it should be legislated more aggressively as well.) According to many scientists, we are just about at the point of no return as far as the devastating effects of climate change. Understanding this and actually working to correct your own behavior as well as the behavior of others, to me suggests enlightened thought. I know, I personally have a long way to go.

I unzipped my tent exhausted and laid down on my dust bag… I mean sleeping bag, for some much needed shut eye. My conversation with Rebecca was still running in my mind. I tried my best to relax and go to sleep. I knew I was going to need my energy for the next day of the festival. Tomorrow was going to be the first day I ever wore women's clothing…

I rolled over and began coughing violently on playa dust. My mind continued to attempt to reach conclusions and answers to all the world's problems, in between gasps for clean air.

"Man's awareness and understanding of energy flow and symbiotic relationship between all living things, is essential in both the evolution of our species and continued survival on the planet." I thought as I coughed peacefully into dreamland.