5/18/19. 2pm. Joshua Tree Music Festival.
The energy of the population of JTMF swirls in the main bowl. Around and around it goes. All the love, hurt, and hunger for more twirls around the tiny music bowl that’s filled and surrounded with souls.
Booths form the perimeter of the bowl, along with the two stages. Clockwise from the west-facing stage there’s the gate to Boogaloo, which is the late night stage, then another stage, then the long curve of about twenty merch vendors, then the acoustic stage, Javagogo coffee booth, path to the pond, and then eight food vendors.
The humanity, the relationships are more work than the work. It’s not a bad thing, just a tiring thing. Then the dry heat, the wind, the dust; outside in the high desert, exposed to the elements.
Hey Jay, how’s it going? We hug, I pat her on the back. No smile. She doesn’t smile much, and actually the locals don’t smile much, maybe it’s the harshness of the desert, maybe it’s the relationships.
5/20/19.
Back in San Clemente for a day before I head to NorCal for BottleRock. I find that my mind is ready-to-go right away in the AM, booth-style.
5/22/19. 8am-ish. Novato, CA.
Wednesday AM. BottleRock set-up day number one. Lots of nervousness yesterday and last night that started in the evening. It was all Vata-Pitta. I still feel it this morning, but it’s less, in my solar plexus. In my mind. It’s the unrest, the “unsettledness.” The no time to ground out. The need for settledness and solitude, so real. Quiet. Especially after the windy desert. We need time to chill out; well, more like a warm soak. Settle the nerves.
Yesterday on the drive, there was a moment where I intuitively felt I should exit the freeway, but ignored it. What followed was a chain of consequences. On the next exit, the diesel computers were having technical issues, then we hit the wind. The talking, the wind. The Vata. It’s all spinning.
Trying to stay centered in all this movement. I need separation; time for a recharge, otherwise I get agitated.
There’s a lot of pressure to execute this weekend. Follow the plan, move slow while life moves fast around me. Steady flow. No rushing.
5/23/19. Cordeila, CA. 7am.
Waking up early. Still have the butterflies. I feel them in my solar plexus, third chakra. That’s where they were yesterday, and that’s where the nervous energy feels the strongest. Maybe it’s there to charge me up.
Omar and Sarah are here. They assisted in set-up yesterday.
I immediately jumped on the BBC crew to change our banner.
Load-in was pretty smooth. There was lots of activity, but we got in and out within the window, 11 to 3.
My writing has been neglected. I’ve been fixated on the apps, in particular the weather apps. The forecast keeps shifting, but the wind is looking calm no matter what. If it’s cool, but calm, I think that we will be ok.
I keep going over the interaction about the banner change. It was pretty well done. There’s a request for change. It went something like:
“Matt, the banner needs to changed. If it doesn’t say what I’m selling, it will hurt sales,” I said.
“That’s what you put on your contract. All the vendors have their business name on their contracts,” was the reply. “But, I get what you’re saying. I’ll talk to the promoters about changing it.”
It’s these moments that are opportunities. Move slowly while everything else is moving fast around you.
No kratom yesterday. It was too much on the drive. It also didn’t help the nervousness I was feeling. Makes sense, because it’s in the coffee family. However, it normally gives me a sense of well-being.
Phone is stimulating. Events are stimulating. Yerba Mate is stimulating. Life is not boring while doing festivals. There’s always a decompression after an event. In this case, after a run of 5 festivals. It will likely take me a week or two after The Untz to fully reset. It will be good to have 4 weeks in June to process, regroup, recenter and look to the summer festival tour. For now, BottleRock.