–Settling into our new home. We had two tents, (one for sleeping, one for storage) a blanket area for lounging, and a kitchen/dining room/shade area under the canopy. 

Our campsite

Shade Area

Relaxing After Our 6-Hour Wait

 -Starting the weekend off with Neon Indian. Great group to get us ready for the dancetastic weekend. (This was not a highlight but a sidenote: During their set a guy right next to me started closing his eyes and bopping his head-but not in a groovy way- he passed out. After his friends caught him he looked up and said, “I’m fine. I’m fine.” Then they left the crowd.) 

–Two words: Silent Disco! We stumbled upon this magical tent after leaving Blitzen Trapper. When you walk into the small tent you’re handed a pair of headphones. A first glance inside provides a swamp of sweaty bodies moving and shaking all over the place to what appears to be no sound. But then, aha, the golden ticket: the headphones you’re holding in your hands. Take another look around the tent and you’ll see a DJ set against the side wall. Place your headphones over your ears and voila! You’re sucked in. You fell down the Rabbit Hole, got pulled into a vortex, and it’s the best thing that’s happened. You’re free to dance however you want to whatever rhythm you want as everyone around you does the same. Take your headphones off and the world around you seems like a lie, a fallacy. Put em back on and everything’s right again. Everyone’s smiling, laughing. People are dancing alone, dancing with strangers. Needless to say we spent a lot of time in this place. 

-Jamming at our campsite. Everyday we busted out the guitars, tambourines, shakers, and whatever else we could conjure up. On Friday we had a nice, smooth jam session to ‘Wagon Wheel’ by Old Crow Medicine Show. Later our neighbors thanked us for playing that song and told us that on their car ride down, their friend Mike said, “All I want this weekend is to have a jam session to Wagon Wheel.” Mike missed it, but we sang it plenty more times for him to hear. The universe was spreading the same ‘Wagon Wheel’ thought in everyone’s minds. Mumford and Sons played a cover of it on Saturday. It was officially the song of the weekend. 

Ed Sharpe and the Mag Zeros

-Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Seeing one of their performances is more than just watching, it’s being apart of it. They’ve been one of my favorite bands for a while now and every chance to see them live sends me shivers all over. We swiveled to the third row behind the bar and ended up on the bar for some songs. 

While they forget their lyrics and were disorganized, I surrendered to their spirits, to their overwhelming energy on stage. They’re constantly laughing and prancing around stage. Alex Ebert, the frontman, shook so ferociously at times it looked like he was having a seizure. My favorite was their last song: Om Nashi Me. 

–When we all re-entered Centeroo at night without a plan we ran, galloped, jumped, danced and swirled to the first tent that music pulled us to: Eclectic Method at the Rave Stage. 

-Caught the very end of Michael Franti and Spearhead’s set. Guided by Franti’s voice we ran to the stage to see his last song, the song I wanted to hear most, ‘Say Hey, I Love You’. My friend Siserra and I danced like wild woman to those last three minutes. 

–Flaming Lips. This band is a must-must-must-see for anybody. For about 45 minutes they performed their own songs and then they performed Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ During their performance the sky rained confetti and huge multi-colored balloons. When they sang, ‘I can be a frog,’ we all became different animals with every line. Thanks to Wayne Coyne’s suggestions and guidance, I gave peace to the world and all my love to the universe. The whole crowd also sang Happy Birthday to a band member. One of favorite songs: ‘Do You Realize??’ The whole set was the magical mystery kind. I went on an acid trip without any acid. 

-Lying down by the Ferris wheel at night. The lights constantly went from blue to yellow to red to purple to orgasmic flashes of every color. Brittany’s new friend gave us 3-D glasses. I could have watched the Ferris wheel for hours with those things on. While we were distracted by the Ferris wheel, Alex Ebert from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros walked right by us with a girl on his arm. Brittany leapt up, ran after him and hugged him. We still couldn’t believe we saw him just casually wandering around.