bob_dobalina

i had to fight off a pretty ugly hangover to get behind the wheel and drive east on saturday afternoon but i knew that my efforts would be rewarded. my departure from the crib in hollywood was at around 2 p.m. and i started by filling up on petrol and then making my way south to the 10 and then east to where the ground was scorched by wildfires just a week ago. in my trusty satchel was packed lap balm, eye drops, a small towel in case there was a hot spring, a glass pipe, an assortment of dank (thai, citrus, and something called salmon creek), rolling papers, water, gloves, beanie, long underwear, a warm sweater that my father got for me in columbia, and a jacket. i fought through traffic until i got to T's place where i found him scrutinizing a map of the mojave desert. the idea was to make it out there in time for an afternoon meditation session -- not really my bag but i figured i'd participate for the sake of solidarity. it took about 90 minutes of wading through gridlock to make it the 40 miles to claremont to pick up my friend and load my car up with more water, juice, wine, brown ale, fruit, and granola. i had to try to contain my excitement because i knew that even though we were on our way, there was still a long road ahead of us before we were dancing under the light of a full moon.

rave culture was born in warehouses and, to some degree in clubs, but i like to think that the essense of those types of gatherings was forged in the desert. of course its very LA-centric of me to say that but i think that for at least this pocket of the world, the desert was where people learned what it meant to converge, dance, establish new relationships, and discover yourself. i'd broken into many a warehouse (and invariably been kicked out of quite a few) but it wasn't until i actually danced to the rising sun that i understood the why's and how's of it all.

these full moon desert gatherings, or moontribe, are entering their 11th year of existance despite the best repressive efforts of THE MAN. in 11 years of creating, converging, and celebrating, the organizing people and the party kids (many of whom are bringing their own kids to the events) have become accustomed to using the veil of secrecy to keep from getting shut down. but of course in 11 years of fighting to keep the good hippies of los angeles down, THE MAN wasn't without his own tricks as was proved by the helicopter and SUVs that the local authorities used to shut down the meditation session when T and i arrived at about 5 p.m. how THE MAN ever found out about where we were gathering remains a mystery but he was certainly in top form because we got shut down before even the first record was spun.

how foolish THE MAN is to believe that we could be defeated so early, so easily. we hung around for a little while, mainly to watch the lunar eclipse that started around 6 p.m. and to give the organizers enough time to scout a new spot to party. doing our best to put sad faces on and look dejected to the narcs in SUVs that were watching us from across the way, we once again saddled up and dispersed to chill out for a few hours and let the static die down. the sizzler in downtown barstow (not the first time i've mentioned this locale) and its soup and salad bar provided at least a temporary diversion for me, T, and a few other friends that we decided to caravan with. we got the call at around 9 p.m. and once again we were off, to a spot that was out of the reach of THE MAN.

there's a lot of desert east of los angeles and not a lot of people or companies that want to own the land. so a good portion of it is owned by either the military or the bureau of land management, a part of the department of the interior. BLM land kicks ass because since its federal property, state and local authorities don't have juristiction. and that's just where we were headed.

i had a good amount of party anxiety built up in me by the time we made our way into the BLM land. i hadn't been to a desert party in about 3 years and the last time i went to a moontribe was in 1998. and it was the maiden voyage for my new car as a party mobile. i was looking forward to see how the all wheel drive would cope in what i'm sure would be pretty nasty desert roads. we drove for about an hour on paved roads and then about a half hour on a dusty unpaved road that had huge ruts and rocks threatening to fuck up my rear differential or punch a hole in my oil pan. but the ride dug in and hung tough. i was pleasantly surprised at how easily i kept up with the jeeps and trucks that were leading the way of our caravan. and i think my little black car is proud of its coat of desert dust, an automobile achievement badge.

we set up base camp around a rock formation that was a few hundred yards from where the sound system would be set up. on top of large rock and boulder formations that were created by volcanic eruptions hundreds of thousands of years ago, there was a fire pit that was probably created more recently. a few guys got a fire started while others pitched a huge tent and still more unpacked our supplies and threw blankets and sleeping bags into the tent. dozens more of these little areas were set up, spread over the acres that we decided to inhabit. some people started fire displays while others went to work making venison stew or chai. everyone went about their business, pausing to look at the light of the moon as it poked through the light cloud cover or to great new arrivals. seeing a stream of headlights cross the desert and make their way to us was always a nice sight and everyone made the arriving caravans feel welcome.

the sound truck arrived after midnight and was greeted by cheers from everyone. it wasn't until about 2:30 a.m. that the first record started spinning. it got everyone on their feet, running to the dry lake bed that housed the 'dancefloor.' the moontribe regulars, daniel, brad, petey, brian, and trevor laid down some seriously hard beats and everyone lost themselves in the music. i'm not really into the dark, hard trance that they play at desert parties but its hard to imagine them playing other types of music. drum circles started everywhere and there were costumes of all sorts. one guy had a backpack with metal wings that would shoot flames.

the sun came up a little after 6 a.m. there's nothing like the sunrise at a desert party -- music playing all around you and the air filled with positive energy. i met tons of people and reconnected with several friends that i hadn't seen since my last moontribe 5 years ago. there was a lot of, "hey, didn't i see you at..." and "we you there when we..." or "i remember you from..."

i was getting pretty tired at around 8 a.m. so me and T packed our stuff up and drove out of the desert and back to civilization. civilization is a strange word because it seems wrong to compare the stupidity of a city like los angeles to the unity that was created out of nothing, in the middle of nothing. in the space of a few hours we built a community and fueled it with music and compassion and joy. the word 'miraculous' comes to mind.

after over 300 miles of driving, i made it back to the crib at around 10:30 a.m. within a half hour i had taken a quick shower to wash off a few pounds of desert dust, snarfed down a mcmuffin and was fast asleep. i was fuckin exhausted but moontribe is one of those things you file under "worth the effort."