Tag: <span>Just Do Lab</span>

Festival Reviews

Favourite Artists Heard at Lightning in a Bottle

Lightning in a Bottle provided an experience for attendees that was about more than music. However, the musical lineup was one that can not be overlooked. An array of talented musicians played at this year’s LIB, and headliners of the event included Chet Faker, Grimes, Big Gigantic, Cashmere Cat, Jamie XX, Four Tet and Tokimonsta. The festival saw an eclectic mix of electronic music, from dubstep to techno to deep house to tribal house. There was a little bit of something for everyone.

Here are my favourite LIB acts, listed in chronological order.

Mija

Mija, Mija, Mi hija… Maybe it’s because I have been wanting to see this lady perform since I first heard her B2B sunrise set with Skrillex at Bonnaroo in 2014, but Mija did not disappoint with her set at LIB. She threw down an incredible performance, slaying her 80-minutes on the Thunder Stage and proving to us all her prowess as a DJ. She kept the crowd jumping and dancing the whole time, giving the chills to everyone who was there dropping their dirtiest dubstep dance moves. The highlight of her set came at the end though, when she crawled out into the crowd to share a cigarette with her fans. Thank you Mija, for being so good at what you do, and for sharing that moment with us all.

William Close and the Earth Harp Collective

William Close and the Earth Harp Collective was one of the most unique musical experiences of the weekend. This was my first experience with the Earth Harp which was set up stage left, midway to the back, with the shimmery strings of the harp extending to the top of the front of the stage. The best way to experience the show was to set up under the California stars, grab a seat on the ground and cross your legs to feel the reverberations of the harp through the earth. William Close used his Earth Harp to do a powerful cover of Mozart’s Summer Overture, one that literally gave me goosebumps, before closing out his set with a guest appearance by David Satori of Beats Antique.

Autograf

Autograf appeared to be teasing the crowd with a slow, sensual start to their set… Until they announced that the slow start was really just their soundcheck and it was time to get down! The trio revealed their individual talents through a 90-minute set to a crowd who refused to stop dancing despite the sun’s beating rays. Set up on stage with drums, a keyboard and a mixer to perform live covers of classic dubstep hits, classic house hits, and their own hits, their energetic set was happy and eclectic, and they definitely left their autograph on LIB.

Jamie XX

Oh my God… Did Jamie XX ever kill it! Opening with the song Crystallized by his musical group The XX (can you grace us with a new album yet? Please?) before mixing into one of the most melodic sets of the weekend, Jamie XX took us on a house journey unlike any other. Nothing but a shadow on the stage amidst a constant, mysterious cloud of smoke and lights, the talented producer did not look up once from his set, and barely even noticed when a naked man tried to charge his stage. He just continued to do his thing, keeping the crowd moving and grooving until 2:00 a.m.

HÄANA

If you don’t know who HÄANA is, you need to discover her. She was one of the most talented individuals I came across all weekend. Dressed in a black and gold dress, with a gold cage headpiece, HÄANA sings live, mixes live, and plays the violin live. Her nordic inspired tunes, combined with her ethereal voice and the twang of her violin create a uniquely magical sound. The beauty of her music is something that should not be overlooked and is something that everyone needs to experience at least once.

Lee Burridge Mixing Into Four Tet

Lee Burridge and Four Tet are musical geniuses, each in their own rights, so it was with complete joy that I saw on the schedule Lee Burridge playing the three-hour sunset slot at The Woogie Stage as a precursor to Four Tet’s set there. The legends did not play B2B, or with one another, but Lee Burridge transitioned his three-hour techno set perfectly as the sun went down (amidst cheers) and The Woogie came to light, into an introduction for Four Tet. Lee Burridge’s dynamic three-hour mix kept us dancing and shuffling the night away until, unknowingly, we were listening to Four Tet who took us on a two-hour journey through his unique, artistic beats. Sunday was a phenomenal day of techno at the Woogie Stage, with some of the best sets of the weekend.

Chet Faker

Chet Faker’s energy throughout his closing set at the Lightning Stage was infectious. He could be seen running around the stage, with his black coat flying behind him like a cape. At one point he was belting out his tunes from half way up the scaffolding. The talented musician took a completely different route from his DJ set at the Temple Stage, playing with a four-piece band to play songs old and new. He effortlessly weaved old songs like Drop the Game into new songs like The Trouble With Us, into some of his classics like Gold and his cover of No Diggity. To finish the night, Chet Faker left us with one of the most mind-blowing, stunning visuals of the weekend when he climbed up onto a slightly raised platform to play the piano with a white backdrop, creating a dynamic silhouette of a man and his piano.

Festival Reviews

The Lightning in a Bottle Community Experience

High fives when crossing bridges, spirit animal yells resonating across the grounds, stumbling upon karaoke hidden away in a ravine. These are some of the incredible memories I have from Lightning in a Bottle. But the most unique memory I have from the festival is the community that was built over the weekend, allowing for attendees to have a spiritually awakening experience.

I went into the festival with an open mind and an open heart, having educated myself on the festival beforehand and being aware that it is a festival known for the experience it provides. This allowed me to explore the various music, non-music and self-discovery components that make up Lightning in a Bottle. Every day there were new discoveries, new adventures, and new parts of the festival to explore.

Yoga sessions took place multiple times each day at the two yoga stages Yoga Om and Yoga Namaste. They did wonders to stretch out those tightened up festival muscles. I had the pleasure of attending a yoga session with Kishan Shah under the Earth Harp. Set up at the Lightning Stage, William Close played his mystical Earth Harp as Kishan Shah led a class under the big, blue afternoon sky. The reverberations of the Earth Harp gave me the strength and concentration to move and flow while fully embracing the heat of the day and the brightness of the sun.

Photo by Zipporah Lomax

Lightning in a Bottle provided festival goers with the opportunity to attend workshops and listen to speakers in The Village. Topics varied from exploring the history and effects of music on the world, and learning about ecological sustainability and environmentally conscious nutrition, to learning about the benefits and effects of essential oils on our bodies and minds.

Photo by Courtney Smith

The festival had a Sacred Fire in the middle of The Village that remained lit throughout the weekend so it makes sense that Fire by Friction would be one of the available workshops. Hosted by Icarus Zuare, attendees learned how to make a fire using only wood. No flint, no matches, no lighter. Just you, Zuare, and a twig. He sat patiently with duo after duo giving every one hands-on assistance and advice as they worked to start a fire using only friction. And every one successfully did it.

LIB is also known as an environmentally friendly festival, encouraging sustainability. It won the Outstanding Award from A Greener Festival Foundation multiple times in the past few years. It is a “leave a positive trace” festival. This means what you take in with you, you take out. LIB works to educate attendees on what they can do to help the environment, and how to maintain sustainability at a festival through educational workshops, talks and booths. To this end, Lightning in a Bottle provided compost bins next to the trash and recycling bins.

Every day of the festival provided a new and incredible experience. The music was phenomenal, with the main stages – Lightning Stage, Thunder Stage and The Woogie – hosting some of the most talented individuals in today’s electronic music, while the Pagoda Bar and Favela Bar kept the beats bopping and the party hopping through the night. It was fairly easy to get caught up in the music until you remembered the large size of the festival, and how much more there was to explore.

From the art structures scattered throughout the grounds, to the smaller areas that hosted more music and games like the Grand Artique, to the different games that could be stumbled upon across the festival like the renegade bowling contraption, it was easy to get caught up in the adventure that was LIB before watching the sunrise from where you were: Temple Stage, Meditation Lookout, a hammock in one of the trees, or your campsite.

Photo by Dan Krauss

Festival Reviews

Five Favourite Moments at Lightning in a Bottle

My feet have not fully touched the earth since the spiritual journey that was Lightning in a Bottle, so to help ease my float back down to reality, I’ve pieced together a list of my favourite moments from this year’s LIB Festival.

1. LIB Opening Ceremony


One of the most touching moments from the weekend was the LIB Opening at Sacred Fire. The opening ceremony was a way for festival goers to give thanks for the use of the land over the five-day weekend. It helped set the tone of respect for one another and for oneself, for Mother Earth and for water in a California drought, and of community that became synonymous with the LIB experience. The ceremony commenced at 7:30 p.m. on the Thursday evening in The Village with traditional native music, a speech by a member of one of the local tribes, a kiss to the earth, and then a slow, silent walk down the hill to the fire. As the sun began to slowly descend on the mountains, thanks were given and a feeling of gratefulness and appreciation appeared to wash over the crowd. Every one began to chant and then, as the sun took it’s last breath before hiding behind the mountains until the morning, the fire expert, Icarus, lit the sacred fire that remained lit all weekend. And so the festival began in one of the most enchanting ways possible.

2. The Funk Hunters Afterhours at The Grand Artique

Once again, The Funk Hunters quickly became a highlight of the weekend. These boys can do no wrong in my eyes, always throwing down one of the most energetic sets of the weekend. With some of the funkiest beats you’ll hear, from jazz to hip hop, to swing to classic rock, if you ever have an opportunity to see The Funk Hunters, put on your comfiest dancing shoes and go dance them off. The Funk Hunters were scheduled to perform on the Thunder Stage from 5:25 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. and, of course, threw down a phenomenal dance-worthy set. But it was the lesser known, late night performance (this time at the carnival themed stage of The Grand Artique) that captivated this gal. From 1:45 a.m. until 2:45 a.m. the boys took the stage at The Grand Artique putting on one of the best sets of the weekend and keeping the crowd dancing the whole time. Some swing dancing was done, lots of twirling was had, and the grooves just kept on going. While the set was phenomenal, and the smaller crowd made for a wonderfully intimate experience, it was the smile and pure joy on the duo’s face that was the most memorable. Their apparent love for the music they were playing for the crowd to jam to was infectious.

3. Late Night Bingo

Also known as LIB’ingo, this fun activity didn’t start until super late (or early in the morning), after most of the music had stopped for the evening. You could wander by the tent but, more likely than not, if you were passing by the LIB’ingo, you were going to be drawn in by the loud music being played out across the picnic tables, and the obnoxiously hilarious bingo hosts dressed in their zany outfits. You knew you were going to have a good time as soon as you walked into the tent and got a bingo card from one of the dancing disco ladies. Watch out for a tie though… A quick game of Twister was used to determine the winner. But if you stayed until the final score card? You became part of a post LIB’ingo dance party, dancing on the picnic tables with your new bingo buddies.

4. Sunset Gratitudes

The gratitude for the sun continued throughout the entire weekend. Sunset gratitudes were held nightly at 7:30 p.m. at the Sacred Fire, and again with sunrise honourings every morning at 5:45 a.m. Another area that was used to honour the sun was the Meditation Lookout. The Meditation Lookout was a big hill, with a tree on top overlooking the entirety of the festival. In the evening, festival goers climbed the hill, and sat facing west to watch the sun go to sleep for the night. The best part of watching the sunset on the Meditation Lookout was how many people you connected with as you released your spirit animal sound into the fading purple sky, then cheering the sun for being the brightest star in the sky. And if you couldn’t make it to the Meditation Lookout for the evening show, chances were you grabbed ahold of your new family and, together, howled the sun to bed. It was a nice reminder that we should all take a moment every day to enjoy the beauty of the world around us.

5. Chet Faker’s DJ Set in the Temple

Chet Faker was one of the headliners of the weekend, scheduled to close out the festival at the Lightning Stage on the Sunday night of the event. If you paid close enough attention though, you might have been one of the lucky few to realize that Chet Faker was also playing a DJ set at the Temple stage during the wee hours of the morning. The festival booklet did say that attendees could “get intimate with headlining acts during late night ‘Encounters’ series at the Temple Stage,” and the schedule for Saturday at the Temple Stage revealed a Chet Faker Afterhours DJ Set at 1:45. However, it didn’t appear that very many people were aware of this musical appearance (myself included until a bouncing Tigger informed me of the event). There were maybe 50 people in the tent watching the performance! Chet Faker on the Lightning Stage was incredible, but a Chet Faker DJ set in such an intimate environment was something unforgettable. And yes, Chet Faker slayed his 90-minute set with a huge grin peaking out from under that beautiful, burly beard.

Notable Mentions

Baseball with The Crows at The Grand Artique, lime jalapeño margaritas, hugs, hugs, hugs and more hugs!