Symbiosis Gathering: Pyramid Eclipse
May 17-21, 2012
Pyramid Lake
http://vimeo.com/43090101
Filmed and edited by:
Austin Danforth and John Foy
Additional filming/photography by:
Steve Cyborski and Love Alfinda
*Words by Love Alfinda and Austin Danforth
(Love): A passion for art and music is a powerful thing. It has the power to motivate and inspire mere mortals to create and compose astounding works that most people only dream of. Throughout history, people have braved appalling conditions, torrential downpours, and agonizing heat; all this in support of seeing their favorite artist performing beloved songs, resulting in memories that transcend time and space. Music festivals have always been some of my favorite locations to witness this beautiful culmination of artistic effort.
The Symbiosis Gathering at Pyramid Lake was no different, as it consistently tested and fueled our passion. From May 17-21, we joined people from all over the world in celebration of art, music, and community. Early event entry on Wednesday night would prove to be invaluable as rumors of a dust storm with winds of up to 80mph flurried through the camps. After hastily setting up camp, Austin and I took a midnight walk through the grounds in order to get a preview of what was in store and to get our bearings. Exhausted, we finally tried to sleep under a blanket of frigid cold and ceaseless winds.
With one sleepless night under our belts, our first mission the next morning was to find the media tent. The stream of continuous stimulation ensured that our minds were constantly activated, making even the thought of sleep a distant dream. We caught up with Tahoe locals Zeb Early and Tina Pierce and the 4 of us set out on an explorative adventure; looking for friends, checking out stages, and figuring out where exactly we were. I ended up resting for the evening festivities while Austin headed out to see the opening ceremonies.
(Austin): The ceremony took place on Thursday, right after the disheveled stages were reassembled due to damage from the pounding winds. It was an intimate setting hosted by the Paiute elders, and centered around a smoke filled fire pit on the east shore of Pyramid Lake. This is a particularly spiritual area for the locals, who deeply treasure their connection to the land that surrounds them. Although I happened to be late to the ceremony, the message from the elders was clear; this is our land, and we love it, but understand it is the most important thing to us. So please, respect it! We had the opportunity to interview Scott Carey, the Tribal Planner for the Paiute Tribe that were the hosts for the Symbiosis Gathering: Pyramid Eclipse festival. Scott pointed out that the Paiute tribe is starting an economic development plan to raise money for the reservation. This gathering is the first major event to be held on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation since 1986, when there was a Grateful Dead Concert (at the Symbiosis festival site). Part of the plan is to increase tourism and have more special events on the reservation. A main focus was that the event created jobs for tribe members, and considering the success of the event, this was an absolute win for the tribe.
Due to the opening speaker’s powerful message about respect, everyone’s expectations were set for the rest of the weekend. A “pack it in pack it out” way of thinking should be implemented at all festivals. I was very happy to see people having fun, creating positive interactions, and respecting the land and their neighbors. With the amount of people that attended there was hardly any trash on the ground. It was clear that most people felt grateful that the native people had honored us with the use of their land.
Thursday and Friday were very relaxing for us, as we watched the hypnotizing line of cars pile in endlessly. It was mind blowing how many people were going to be at this gathering. Once people realized how impressive this was going to be, the air became electric with excitement and energy. This was the start of the festival for most people, seeing that activity was at a minimum until then. Friday afternoon’s line up on the main stage was insane, kicking off the festivities was Emancipator, who was followed by Lynx. There was a quick break and the crowd continued to grow exponentially throughout the night as Beats Antique, Love and Light, Paper Diamond, Rustie, Photek, and then An-ten-nae graced the main Eclipse Stage. Everyone that played Friday set the bar for the rest of the weekend. I speak for thousands of people, when I say I was definitely salivating to see what was in store for us.
With the media tent finally up and running on Saturday, we were able to link up with the Symbiosis Media team who were gracious enough to grant us coveted backstage passes, allowing us the access we needed to gather footage and photos. Our solid crew was completed with Steve Cyborski and John Foy joining us. Barisone started our day with his brilliant layers of hiphop, latin, reggae, and break beats, and prepared us for what was about to go down. Opiuo’s morphing bass incorporated with some glitch melted perfectly into Heyoka, the cosmic, auditory scientist, whose chill demeanor was appropriate for Saturday’s smoky sunset. After Heyoka, the rest of the night was filled with amazing sets from Tipper, PantyRaid, Nasty Ways, Lowriderz, Freq Nasty, and Vibesquad, all of who kept us dancing late into the night. As the last bit of night faded into dawn, San Fransisco resident Gladkill threw down a wild sunrise set filled with his chunked out, sexy, club bangers. It was extremely hard to go back to camp, however, a little rest was necessary if we were going to be able to send it on Sunday, which was the day of the eclipse and the pinnacle of the entire gathering.
(Love): The music before the eclipse on Sunday was appropriately more down tempo compared to the previous days. After a couple of hours lounging on the lakeshore, a softened vibe filled the air as Welder was the show most of us woke up to. Due to the remarkable last two days, thousands of faces had ear-to-ear smiles. I even heard someone say they were so happy that only crying could express it. Russ Liquid and Random Rab continued mellow beats that contributed to the solemn vibe. Our crew scoped out an ideal spot in the sand to witness the eclipse as all the music stopped and the crowd retreated into silence. This gave people the opportunity to experience this majestic event however they wished. I saw people reverently sitting in meditation, as well as groups of friends hugging, dancing, and laughing loudly. We saw people with huge wings strapped to them, some made of feathers and some made of beautiful silken fabric. These flightless birds seemingly levitated towards the sun in a beautiful wave of lustrous movement and light.
I had all but forgotten that we were still in for a solid night of music, but Tipper’s set following the eclipse slowly eased us back into the groove with mellow glitch hop that progressively flowed into heavier bass. Little Dragon was a perfect apex of the experience as they rounded out our evening with their “dreamy, rhythmical, and moody, future soul music”.
This experience is something that I know I will never witness again. To be there, in that brief twinkle of time, witnessing such a powerful celestial event on hallowed ground, is something we feel honored to have been a part of. During the silence of the eclipse, I thought about what I had just witnessed for the last few days, and how my expectations had changed. My expectations and a lot of my inhibitions were replaced by a feeling of contentment and gratified happiness. Yes, we chose to cover this event as one of the many music festivals we will be at this summer, but the Symbiosis Gathering became so much more. It gave us a piece of life on earth where each person genuinely cared about others as much as themselves, wanted to learn and grow, and treasured the earth like the hallowed ground it is. The music was unreal, and the knowledge and ideas that were exchanged is priceless. I am thankful for this glimpse and the possibilities it promised.
Art Video and Gallery coming soon…
Scroll down a little bit more for our entire photo gallery…
**So much gratitude to everyone that helped make this possible for us.
Thank you Scott Carey-Tribal Planner, the ancestors, the elders, and the future leaders of the Paiute Tribe for allowing us to enjoy this beautiful land. Thank you to the hardworking and talented Symbiosis production staff for braving the intense storms, and ensuring that the event went smoothly. An extra special thanks to the Symbiosis Media team, especially Paul West and Michelle, who granted us event entry and backstage access. On behalf of the Heckler team, we cannot wait for the next Symbiosis event.
**For more information on this event, please visit:
