Simply put: the music was great but the crowd blew ASSSS!!!

Holy crackheads... some people have NO self-respect. Everywhere you looked, e-puddles, cross-eyed zombies, washing machines; assholes. First thing Dave and I saw walking in through the front entrance was a chic so shitty she was being carried out by her friends...not even an hour into the event. As the night went on, the situation worsened. I managed to get tagged by a 10-foot long glowstring while navigating my way through the puddles.... or dead people sprawled out on the ground... I couldn't tell. Ugh, talk about a vibekiller... I couldn't get into the music, not even for a full track, cause the crowd around me was so awful. Every ten seconds a group of people would charge through the crowd and literally 'make' space for themselves in front of us. They looked so out of it they probably didn't even realize there was a crowd around them. And "No, I don't want your half-used Vicks Mr. Complete Fucking Stranger, thanks anyway!" "No cracky lady, I would not like a glowstick show in my face, please turn back around". Oh the best was a group of five candy kids who squeezed up in front of us TAs and yelled 'make space! make space'.......for what? we were all wondering....... lost cell phone? dropped camera? no, they cleared out the crowd for a freakin e-puddle right in front of us with the glowsticker elbowing my shin at 140bpm! I'm actually very curious to know HOW they chose that exact spot out of all the goddamn places in the auditorium. I don't know but the look of bewildered disgust from Anthony's face was fucking priceless! And why do people think it's cute to splash water bottles all over the crowd????? Try pouring it on yourselves first. It really is too bad too cause there was some really great trance being played last night that I would normally go nuts to. I can't even blame it all on the youngsters though, there was this dumb ass guy outside the smoking area, who nobody knew, asking us about drugs and shit hell of loud with three cops + security standing about 15ft away. No matter how much we strugged him off he would keep saying 'drugs this, drugs that. are YOU guys on drugs? why not?'. GO. AWAY.

Wuuu ssaaah.... okay now that got that off my chest, I did get to meet a TON of new TAs, who all looked just as disturbed and dettached from it all as I was. Half of your names I couldn't hear or don't remember or never got, but there was FuzzyChicken, PhaseFour, Psiweaver, gezhutehriw;etak, kimchi, and of course the hardc0re FLTAs, Mel, Lis, Anthony and co, who I'm sure are traumatized by their first trip out west . Now do you see why glowsticks and pacifiers are illegal in your state? Thomas Datt was also brave enough to make good on his promise and join the crowd, at its worst

As far as the production itself, the dance floor was well ventilated most of the night, unlike the bleachers where I got nauseas from the heat and thickening smell of clove/cig smoke. The lighting was great but the sound system was ehh on and off. There were a couple times where the speakers clipped or the eqs were way off. Not that 90% of the crowd would have even noticed though . $10 Miller cups were rape, but at least the lines were MUCH shorter and quicker than Love Parade afterparty.

So overall a bad experience walking away from it, but now that it's over and the horror is fading from memory, I can say I'm glad I got to hear Thomas Datt, Perry O'Neil and Signum live for the first time, and Rank 1 and Blank & Jones played their best sets I've heard yet! I was particularly impressed by Signum who I haven't heard much from at all until last night. Hats off to all you guys, honestly the music was the only thing that kept me there that long. As sobriety took hold, we became more annoyed and Esper, Dave and I ended up leaving a few minutes into Deep Voices' set. It was great to see so many TAs out though, I didn't even know there were that many TAs in SF You guys should really make it out to the club events more often where you can at least enjoy your surroundings!


EDIT: To be fair though, talking to others who've been to previous Popsicles, this was by far the worst crowd to turn out in years, so being my and a few others' first time, I guess we just had bad luck. Skills did put together an irresistable line-up though and to tell you the truth if it's as good next year, I'd probablygo again... in the hopes that the vibe takes a turn back for the better. As much as I bitch, I can't really blame the promoter this time, security checks going in were proper and short of combing the crowd and dragging half the people out, they did the best they could keeping the situation safe and legal while still fun... for those having fun. I guess I'm just too used to the club scene where people are a bit more "tactful" about their state of mind and a bit more dignified in their partying.

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Last edited by R!CH on Apr-03-2006 at 05:59

kinda reminds me of Ultra.

ch00n in need of an ID
right-click-save (32mb)

for dark angel
right-click-save (60mb)


ten thousand crackies look better from a distance...


the closest thing i got to a TA group shot, apparently there were a bunch of others i never got to meet...


hope everyone got/gets home safe!


more pics from tiggerlovesyou.com...





















you can see where an 80-person e-puddle is taking place in the middle of the dancefloor

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Last edited by R!CH on Apr-05-2006 at 20:22

quote:

Originally posted by lex400sc ch00n in need of an ID right-click-save (32mb) for dark angel right-click-save (60mb) ten thousand crackies look better from a distance... the closest thing i got to a TA group shot, apparently there were a bunch of others i never got to meet... hope everyone got/gets home safe!

OMG downloading now!!! Great pics. I'll read the review in a bit.

Lex that's a helluva review. Crowd sounds like a bunch of retards (not to mention, e-tards.) The video was awesome...original mix of Rank 1 - Airwave.

Mel or Lis called me and left 2 voicemails....sorry guys, that wasn't Breathing. Breathing has vocals. This was the original Airwave, no vocals.


www.myspace.com/da187

click on video under "Music." THAT'S Breathing. I do appreciate the call though. I'm not too upset I missed it, since the crowd alone sounds like a buncha damn fools. Getting wasted 1 hour into it? For God's sake. Lame.

I'm still waiting for reviews on B&J and Signum...

Many thanks for video, Lex...and good review dude. Thanks for showing my crew a good time.


DA

quote:

Originally posted by lex400sc ch00n in need of an ID right-click-save (32mb) for dark angel right-click-save (60mb) ten thousand crackies look better from a distance... the closest thing i got to a TA group shot, apparently there were a bunch of others i never got to meet... hope everyone got/gets home safe!

pete is cut off on the left... and i'm completely out of the picture haha... nice to meet some of you guys!

i agree about the 'space making'. my brother was really feeling it being as how he's not quite the dancing type so every few seconds he got pushed or kicked in the shin.

overall a good experience, but too many tards...

RANT: I was in line for 2.5 hours! 9:30pm till MIDNIGHT...

As for all the people on e, well thats what I expect from a 'rave'...

I had a pretty good time, but maybe thats because I expected the e-puddles and 90% of the people there to be hopped up of pills. Then again Ten15 is the same exact way from my experiences Everytime I am there it seems like 8 out of 10 people are tore up off pills, but I have learned to ignore it.

If I ever go to a Skills event again, then I will NOT get WILL-CALL! My buddy decided to come the last minute. I went to the end of the line down by market street. He walked right in at 9:30 with no line. I waited 2.5 hours... I WAS PISSED!!

quote:

Originally posted by lex400sc Simply put: the music was great but the crowd blew ASSSS!!! Holy crackheads... some people have NO self-respect. Everywhere you looked, e-puddles, cross-eyed zombies, washing machines; assholes. First thing Dave and I saw walking in through the front entrance was a chic so shitty she was being carried out by her friends...not even an hour into the event. As the night went on, the situation worsened. I managed to get tagged by a 10-foot long glowstring while navigating my way through the puddles.... or dead people sprawled out on the ground... I couldn't tell. Ugh, talk about a vibekiller... I couldn't get into the music, not even for a full track, cause the crowd around me was so awful. Every ten seconds a group of people would charge through the crowd and literally 'make' space for themselves in front of us. They looked so out of it they probably didn't even realize there was a crowd around them. And "No, I don't want your half-used Vicks Mr. Complete Fucking Stranger, thanks anyway!" "No cracky lady, I would not like a glowstick show in my face, please turn back around". Oh the best was a group of five candy kids who squeezed up in front of us TAs and yelled 'make space! make space'.......for what? we were all wondering....... for a filthy e-puddle right in the middle of an already crowded dance floor with the glowsticker elbowing my shin at 140bpm! I'm actually very curious to know HOW they chose that exact spot out of all the goddamn places in the auditorium. And why do people think it's cute to splash water bottles all over the crowd????? Try pouring it on yourselves first. It really is too bad too cause there was some really great trance being played last night that I would normally go nuts to. I can't even blame it all on the youngsters though, there was this dumb ass guy outside the smoking area, who nobody knew, asking us about drugs and shit hell of loud with three cops + security standing about 15ft away. No matter how much we strugged him off he would keep saying 'drugs this, drugs that. are YOU guys on drugs? why not?'. GO. AWAY. Wuuu ssaaah.... okay now that got that off my chest, I did get to meet a TON of new TAs, who all looked just as disturbed and dettached from it all as I was. Half of your names I couldn't hear or don't remember or never got, but there was FuzzyChicken, PhaseFour, Psiweaver, gezhutehriw;etak, and of course the hardc0re FLTAs, Mel and Lis and co, who I'm sure are traumatized by their first trip out west . Now do you see why glowsticks and pacifiers are illegal in your state? Thomas Datt was also brave enough to make good on his promise and join the crowd, at its worst As far as the production itself, the dance floor was well ventilated most of the night, unlike the bleachers where I got nauseas from the heat and thickening smell of clove/cig smoke. The lighting was great but the sound system was ehh on and off. There were a couple times where the speakers clipped or the eqs were way off. Not that 90% of the crowd would have even noticed though . $10 Miller cups were rape, but at least the lines were shorter and quicker than Love Parade Afterparty. So overall a bad experience walking away from it, but now that it's over and the horror is fading from memory, I can say I'm glad I got to hear Thomas Datt, Perry O'Neil and Signum live for the first time, and Rank 1 and Blank & Jones played their best sets I've heard yet! Hats off to all you guys, honestly the music was the only thing that kept me there that long. As sobriety took hold, we became more annoyed and Esper, Dave and I ended up leaving a few minutes into Deep Voices' set. It was great to see so many TAs out though, I didn't even know there were that many TAs in SF You guys should really make it out to the club events more often where you can at least enjoy your surroundings! EDIT: To be fair though, talking to others who've been to previous Popsicles, this was by far the worst crowd to turn out in years, so being my and a few others' first time, I guess we just had bad luck. Skills did put together an irresistable line-up though and to tell you the truth if it's as good next year, I'd probably go... in the hopes that the vibe takes a turn back for the better. I can't really blame the promoter for much this time, security checks going in were proper and short of combing the crowd and dragging half the people out, they did the best they could keeping the situation safe and legal while still fun... for those having fun.

I can understand your frustration with the E-puddels, but lex how long have you been going to parties? Puddels have been at parties for years, I think what happens to people is either-you never went to these types of "raves" when you were younger, or you have simply grown up, and gottin used to older events/clubs where you don't see this kind of stuff going on anymore(or just don't notice it, because people don't act like idots when they get older). Lets give some of these kids a break because that was me and you ten years ago at homebase.

quote:

Originally posted by DarkAngel Lex that's a helluva review. Crowd sounds like a bunch of retards (not to mention, e-tards.) The video was awesome...original mix of Rank 1 - Airwave. Mel or Lis called me and left 2 voicemails....sorry guys, that wasn't Breathing. Breathing has vocals. This was the original Airwave, no vocals. www.myspace.com/da187 click on video under "Music." THAT'S Breathing. I do appreciate the call though. I'm not too upset I missed it, since the crowd alone sounds like a buncha damn fools. Getting wasted 1 hour into it? For God's sake. Lame. I'm still waiting for reviews on B&J and Signum... Many thanks for video, Lex...and good review dude. Thanks for showing my crew a good time. DA

Yeah, sorry I don't have more to say about the music, and that my review is so negative. I had much higher expectations of the night, or maybe a naive perspective since this is pretty much my first rave in over six years. My intention that night was to stay til 4, but when it came down to it, it was pretty much a group consensus to leave when we did. Deep Voices was playing Super8 vs DJ Tab - Helsinki Scorchin as we left too, shame I wasn't even motivated enough to stay for that. Seeing people trashed early on was expected. Especially after I walked over a large pile of white powder spilled on the sidewalk in the ticketholders line. I guess the idea is the more drugs you can do before getting in, the less chance of you getting caught with it at the door. I have nothing against party drugs by the way, just people that get clueless, rude and ugly on them. On a positive note though, my main pet peeves didn't really stand out last night: i didn't smell BO or farts everywhere, didn't get sweated on or elbowed in the head, didn't have any drinks spilled on me or cigarette burned clothes, and I didn't step in any vomit. w00t!

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i heard you got melly mel pregnant

It wasn't the puddles that annoyed me, it was all the people with some burning desire to continually be going somewhere. Is there some "rave game" that I am unaware of called "how many laps can you do around the building all night"? I mean seriously there was this one kid in a white polo who pushed past me 7 times during the night. Left / Right / Left / Right. I'm sorry but if you want to push your way up to the front, don't stay for 2 minutes and then push your way all the back to wherever.

I started counting for a few minutes the seconds in between somebody pulling me out of the music by pushing past me. Long periods of no interruptions was like 20 seconds. The occasional 30 seconds. Most of the time it was somebody every 10 seconds. I was out on the main floor all night. When we finally decided to leave, I threaded my way through everyone without having to bother a single soul.

I guess all the kids on the ground didn't bother me as much as it did lex400sc. As long as the kids aren't bothering me. I've never really had a problem at 1015, or any other event I've been to in the bay area. This was the first time the crowd has ever bothered me.

quote:

Originally posted by MR STROKE I can understand your frustration with the E-puddels, but lex how long have you been going to parties? Puddels have been at parties for years, I think what happens to people is either-you never went to these types of "raves" when you were younger, or you have simply grown up, and gottin used to older events/clubs where you don't see this kind of stuff going on anymore(or just don't notice it, because people don't act like idots when they get older). Lets give some of these kids a break because that was me and you ten years ago at homebase.

I'll admit I've seen ruder and pushier and nastier crowds at club events, I'll admit that I'm not a regular at raves, and I can even say it could have been worse. The e-puddles I knew would happen based upon the Love Parade afterparty. I didn't really let it bother me then, maybe cause I was able to escape to the vip for periods, but it's much harder to ignore when it starts closing in on you then when you try and relocate somewhere else, you find that it's the same story everywhere. I dunno, the first 2 or 3 hours it was funny to see these things and chuckle, but as the place filled and all the druggies closed in from every direction, it got annoying real quick. Probably a HUGE mistake that I was stone sober the second half of the night too. I'm no stranger to party drugs, but one thing I can say is that no matter how wreckless/careless I've gotten in the past, I've NEVER been so gone that I couldn't even function, communicate or see straight. Nor would I ever want to be that gone! For some of these partiers, being on another planet is a regular thing.

Anyway, like I said, I was really annoyed by it last night, but I'm over it. I think I've bitched and moaned plenty already. I think I would have had fun in the bleachers the whole night if I wasn't like 90 degrees up there. The view from up there was awesome.

Did you have fun at least?

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