Consumer test of Burning Man

Well, OK. I sucked it up, loaded up the trailer, and went out to Black Rock City to investigate all the rumors that the cops were running amok, that the event had become just too damned big, that there weren't any naked people any more because Burning Man has been overwhelmed by fascistic fashion codes, and that the entire scene had just been basically corrupted, perverted, compromised and sold out.

My conclusion? The Night of the Burn is still the best goddamn party on planet Earth. Period. And the ticket price, when you stop and think about it, is actually a bargain. I can't think of another event where you get quite as much “bang for the buck.” as BMan. If you want to spend 8 nights out there in BRC, which you easily can, then your $400 ticket is all of 50 bucks a night. Redonkulous. Now let's assume that you're a semi-sane human being, and you can get your Burn ignited, flamed, and properly snuffed in five nights. That's still a smooth $80 a night. Eighty bucks a night, man, to live in that town, where you're consuming a ha-ha stuffed ho-ho on a nightly basis? Nothing less than a steal.

As I roamed the playa at 3 a.m. Sunday morning, scraping up the shards of my skull that had been blown up by some totally evil and depraved DJ on a giant dragon, it struck me that this whole Electronic Dance Music scene, which is now the hottest musical genre on the planet, owes a lot to B Man. A helluva lot. Because it was back in the '90s, when the rave scene broke out (remember the rave scene, with huge parties in burned out warehouses and secret forest hideouts?) that many DJs who later became fixtures and even stars discovered that the greatest rave of them all was happening in Northern Nevada. They would show up out there and work it night after night, trying things out, seeing what worked and what didn't, cracking the playa with some ultra bass in yo' face in this wildest of places. Over the years, from '98 on, any DJ who was making a move and purveying a groove would eventually show up in Black Rock City to hone his chops, test his mettle, and see what it meant to get playatized.

And now, 10 to 15 years later, many of these guys/gals are bona fide stars and the hottest tickets out there, doing concerts for six figures a night and packing clubs, discos, and even stadiums on five continents. Tiesto and Bassnectar are just two of the many, many Djs who came, saw, and conquered BRC, yet another example of the trailblazing influence that blows out of this amazing burg every year. And to think that, back in '95, the Rave Camps were a mile from The Man (literally a mile; we would drive to those parties, believe it or not) because those crazy ass DJs were playin' that shit too damn LOUD.