PurrView #42 - Festival Season

(photo borrowed from inquisitr.com)

Hipsters, unite. Festival season 2012 is officially here. 'Tis the season to pay in excess of $300 for event tickets, stand in long lines for showers and port-o-lets, pay upwards $15 per meal, walk around from stage to stage for miles and miles, pitch a tent and camp alongside thousands of other dirty hipsters, express yourself in ways you never thought possible and have the most amazing times of your life. Slight discomforts here and there are worth it in comparison to the wondrous things to be experienced at festivals; art, exhibition, technology, partying, carnival rides, trade, networking, comradery, and of course, bands, DJs, and other musicians and performers are all elements that make festivals the perfect adult playground and escape from society for a few days.

For more info on festivals, check out -->  http://www.festheads.com/ !

Here are just a few of the best festivals held on American soil to tantalize your senses and get your body moving and dancing:

South by Southwest (SXSW)
Though its 2012 run has just ended, it MUST be mentioned, as it is one of the most essential happenings in music and indie-culture. SXSW music, film, and interactive conference and festival takes place every Spring in Austin, Tex. What began in 1987 has become a mind-blowing 10-day event showcasing some of the best signed and unsigned bands and musicians, the latest in the independent film industry, the latest technology, and educational/environmental topics (because knowledge and caring for the planet are arts too!). SXSW is intense... Even if you're just there for the music, you might want to plan ahead a bit because you'll have to decide which of the roughly 90 venues (in addition to the Austin Convention Center) you want to visit! Save up your vacation time and splurge on this one!

SXSW - Austin, TX (photo borrowed from nunomad.com)

Coachella
Held in Indio, Calif., every April on the grounds of the Empire Polo Club, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is one of the West Coast's favorite goings-on among festival-goers. What started in 1993 is now going so strong that the promoter, Goldenvoice, not only had to split the festival into two consecutive weekends with identical line-ups this year-- the company has also just purchased 280 acres of land surrounding the festival. My favorite things about Coachella? The raver tents, the surreal palmtree-lined perimeter of the festival and the beautiful polo field grass under your feet!

Coachella after sunset (photo borrowed from KSpace.tv)

Sasquatch
Held at The Gorge in George, Washington, Sasquatch serves up the Pacific Northwest with the freshest indie/folk/hip-hop music and other forms of entertainment in one of the most beautiful venues ever bestowed upon us by God himself. The festival is put on by House of Blues. Some notable acts this year include Beck, Santigold, The Roots, Pretty Lights, The Joy Formidable, Tune-Yards, Jack White, Beirut...

Sasquatch! (photo borrowed from funcrunch.com)

Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC)
Presented by Insomniac events, EDC is an electronic music festival held annually in June. It was held in So Cal from 1997-2010. But what happens when an event gets too crazy for the L.A. area? MOVE IT TO LAS VEGAS!!! That's exactly what happend in 2011, and it was a change that arguably only made the event better. EDC's new location is Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It has exploded from a one-night electronic music event to now a three-night EDM experience complete with pixies, carnival rides, the best DJs, and entertaining oddities.

EDC (photo borrowed from electricdaisycarnival.com)

Bonnaroo
Bonnaroo (or as I like to call it, "Bonnarooooooooo!") is a four-day festival that's held out in the raging Summer heat of Manchester, TN. What began in 2002 as more of a Phish/Dead-head style gathering, Bonnaroo has now taken its place with the SXSWs and Coachellas as a reputable premier destination for festival-goers. For being out in the middle of B.F.E., massive crowds come a-flocking in remarkable numbers. One thing I love about Bonnaroo besides the amazing acts that are featured? It prides itself as being an environmentally-friendly festival with probably the smallest carbon-footprint out of all the festivals of this caliber. Shall we meet at "This Tent," "That Tent," or "Which Stage"? Seriously-- those are just a few of the clever stage names at the event. ;)

Bonnaroo (photo borrowed from 2pznappod.blogspot.com)

Alright kids... enough talk! Now get out there and let your freak flag fly ever-so-high this 2012 festival season!

~Meow~
Pennies

PurrView #41 - Avant Garde at The Plaza

(itricks.com)

Currently showing at The Plaza's historic showroom is "Avant Garde." Described as a collection of "music, mirth, magic and mayhem," it was an entertaining mix of mildly mesmerizing tricks, illusions, comical shtick and oddities to tantalize the senses.  

Violinist Lindsey Stirling-- noted in the show's description as "hip-hop violinist"-- was not present to add the desired depth to the "music" element. It would have been a pleasure to catch her since I've definitely enjoyed touches of hip-hop violin in the past like Miri Ben-Ari. Upon checking Stirling's tunes out, I found that she sounds like more of an ambient-trip-hop violinist than a hip-hop violinist. Nonetheless, I am admittedly disappointed that the musical phenom wasn't on the docket that night.

(Violinist Lindsey Stirling. last.fm)

Ed Alonzo contributed to the element of "mirth" in the show as he performed silly balloon tricks and such that I couldn't help but giggle at. Known by children of the 90s as the magician/diner owner on "Saved by the Bell," he was also the onstage illusionist who made Britney Spears disappear and reappear for her 2009 "Circus" tour.

(nerdreactor.com)

For the element of "magic," Juliana Chen seemed to take the cake with her slight-of-hand methods that give the illusion of a never ending wellspring of playing cards. She is not only a world-champion juggler and magician; she is also the show's director (and a lovely lady, at that).

 

( julianachen.com )

And for my favorite part of any equation, "mayhem" was presented primarily via Kevin James (the magician, not the comic). James is a creative and inventive award-winning personality on the worldwide magician circuit. He's created tricks that other illusionists and magicians like David Copperfield even use.  The highlight of his bit was the trick known as "Operation" which left me dumbfounded and creeped out. It was wonderful!

 (Kevin James and his pseudo-Charlie Chaplin sidekick. VegasNews.com)

Also appearing in the show were Michael Finney as MC and Sonny Fontana, who added a cute touch with his hand-shadow impersonations. In addition to Lindsey Stirling, "Avant Garde"  performers who were unfortunately not present for the show that night included self-proclaimed "Coolest Magician on Earth," Rudy Coby; famous pantomime magician, Jerome Murat; and world-renowned mentalist and stunt-magician extraordinaire, Aaron Crow. The dark and mischievous show was a delightful variety of comedy and magic, and a pretty good outing for a Wednesday night.

~Meow~

Pennies