Root Society vs. Opulent Temple

[alt12]

Is it too soon to compare? Which was your favorite? I have to say my vote is for Root Society and thats coming from an S.F. local. Baddest sound system, great space, and kickass breakbeats and jungle DJs...Was there every night...sunrise on burn night was epic...
alex
[/url]

[Naferu]

Hmm...I didn't hear much jungle coming from the Root Society, mostly just housy thumping. Perhaps my timing was off, if I wanted jungle I just went around the corner up the 10 less than a block.

Opulent Temple gets points for bringing in Bassnectar and Oakenfold.

My favorite location to dance was the dome near the Opulent Temple, with the cages and the center dance-stage. I'd describe the music as psy-acid-jungle-breaks? What was the name of that place?

[alt12]

i think that was el circo. i saw bass nectar there...nice space and good music but could have been louder

[supersurly]

tweaker dome or rave camp, tough choice there.

I'd have to go with tweaker dome since it looks cool from a mile away and they manage to contain their spracked-out mass of humanity and associated trash better.

[dronf]

Given that choice i would definitely say Root Society. The feeling of the place was just so much better. Better lighting, decoration, and music(except for the few acts that overlapped at both).


But i would also second the comment about El Circo being better than both. The music was awesome every night it was open, and always had a more intimate feel to it.

[pbmaniac2000]

I would say root society. I really like there lighting and the dome, but what really sells me on that place is the sound system. The bass in that place is unreal.

[akash]

i didn't like root society's setup at all. it was like an epileptic seizure waiting to happen. and it looked like some big corporate giant just dumped cash to build an over lighted and super midrangy sound system.

also i thought a lot of music was not very endearing - too much hard tech housey stuff.

the O.T. in contrast sounded great, was maybe a little too dark, but had a cool rig you could climb up on. and smoove and mopo both rocked the shit out of the O.T. during their sets

for the record the root society chill space was very nice and did look impressive from the distance.

[ratfink]

Whoever made this post, think about it...

If Burning Man is about community, then why are comparisons being drawn? Competition is a capitalist tool used to set people against one another. Is that what you really want to do?

Personally, I found very nice and appealing things about all of the sound camps. I think they're finally maturing.

There were hot gay boys dancing to the wailing divas at Root Society (and I love eye candy -- thank you so much!!!), and the dome and setup was amazing.

No less appealing was Opulent Temple's brand-new stage, which, as I understand, was invented and fabricated by the members of OT themselves. I spent a memorable and poignant sunrise on that stage...so thank you OT! What a gift to your city!

And El Circo...as always, the Faerie heart of the city; beautiful to listen to, beautiful to look at...I spent some hours there as well. Thank you for being there!

Point blank, I like them ALL. No, I take that back...I LOVE THEM ALL! I rather disagree with the tone of this post, which smacks of setting one group against the other, or making differences where the talking points are purely subjective.

I feel we all win when ALL our sound camps are working FOR US, THE CITIZENS OF BLACK ROCK CITY, not against each other; and giving us as much as they possibly can. We are all stronger when more people are contributing -- from the largest sound camp, to the smallest dome with one DJ.

So please...enough of the "better than you" thing. Isn't that our erstwhile president's favorite modus operandi, after all?

[blyslv]

Competition is a capitalist tool used to set people against one another.

Tell that to the naked oiled Greeks who invented them there Olympics, which, by the by pre-dates capitailism by about 2000 years. And I'm pretty sure that humans were competing long before competitive naked oily greeks were prancing about (to acid-jungle-psy-trance-O-matic). In fact competition for scarce resources is the basis for evolution and evolution is what made us human (as opposed to say Lemurian). So if you are against competition you are agasint evolution and if you are against evolution you are against humanity and I just can't support that.

[Simon of the Playa]

hi, my name is Simon of the Playa.

I did all of the upholstery for the chill / fuck dome and the octagon womb-room and the sofas and the big beds.

i was kinda pissed off for awhile, because the place was packed 24/7 for the whole week with smelly fucking hippies licking and sucking and fucking and kissing and probing and....

oh my fucking god, it was HOT!

i only wish i had actually a chance to use them....according to the nevada state health dept. after the first day, if you were off the pill, you could get pregnant....

so by the third day, when i actually had time to sit down, it was a spoogefest from hell....

needless to say, we BURNED THE MOTHERFUCKERS...

i'll make new ones next year...

and i'm glad everyone enjoyed them....it is my pleasure to make your burning man experience a hot and nasty one...next year....i'm covering it in see-thru vinyl covers like my grandma's sofa....we should be able to sponge those right off.

thanks for all the positive comments on the decor...i appreciate the feedback, it's sorta what artists live for....

and as far as competition goes, well, does it really matter if we all have a good time and nobody gets too hurt...

i dont think so...


PS....if you sleep, the clowns will eat you...

[DJ Dominus]

IMO OP all the way. Their line up was sick all week long. Root society had one good dubstep guy. The rest was ok.

That being said OP definitely gets worst, over payed DJ award for Paul Oakenfold. The guy didn't beat match a single mix well. We aren't just talking a bit off either. He was verging major trainwreck most of the time. Save yer money. Don't bring him back. He sucks.

OP also gets the best sound system award. Line arrays FTW. Being in the middle of them was orgasmic. RS had some sick bass though. Too bad it hit hardest 10ft OUTSIDE the dome.

Major props to both crews for doing their camps. It's that kind of effort and commitment that helps make BM something special for everyone.

[dj_john69]

OT killed it this year with their elite dj lineup minus the midget Oakie whom blows anyways !!

I made it to RS on Saturday night and enjoyed Jelo's set and Dan's set. What i didnt like was the "Host" of RS getting in the mic every chance he could to flaunt his dome and his name. By the way, his djing skills sucked. This is what happens when some chump gets ahold of tons of cash and does a rave camp on the Playa.

Atleast OT didnt kill the vibe by talking over their dj's !!!

My vote goes to OT once again.

[Kinetik V]

Opulent Temple: Better music, best sound system, best stage, and best overall attitude.

The other place looked like some mega-corp shelled out big bucks for the uber-dome and put in crappy music. I'd put the quality of music I heard over there about a 1/4 notch above what I would hear a Clear Channel radio station play. To say it sucked wouldn't be negative enough....

Back to OT, in years past I wasn't exactly a fan of them either. This year that got changed....I even went by as they were tearing down and checked out the cleanup...it even looked better than what I saw over on the 10:00 corner. In short, IMHO it's no comparison. OT wins, hands down.

[Simon of the Playa]

i'm going to play devil's advocate here...and this is not a paid position...it's a gift economy, stupid....


the mega-corp that brought you the uber dome et al. has a heart, a good soul, and spends alot of his cash, which he earned, not inherited, on trying to host a party for the people of the playa...

he really really works his ass off, and with little or no thanks.

you can say what you want about the quality of dj's, but c'mon, BassNectre AND Freq in one night was pretty fucking dog-diggity...

and i LOVE JELO.....i mean it, he is one weird dude..i sorta got to know him over the course of the week.he's coming to my hometown soon and i cant wait...

i digress, where's my adderall, i cant focus....

oh yeah,

everyone out there knows that money is a tool, and it really depends on how you use it to determine what will or will not be made or done...

i am so glad he's using it in BRC, i appreciate the fact that he actually cares....


his taste in music may not be your taste...agreed....i have some issues myself having slept 20 ft from those speakerzillas that moved most of my internal organs over to the right side of my body to 120bpm.

i now cant sleep without the thumpy-thumpy....the silence is deafening.


all i am saying is besides the usual peace and love and group hug bullshit
is..... that the man TRIED, he TRIED HIS DAMNDEST to bring y'all a good time.......give him Kudo's for that.....please.

and i personally policed 200 sq ft of playa on my fucking knees with three broken toes before i left on monday morning....

dont tell me i dont love the playa, i love her with all of my heart....i have since 96'....

next year......it will be better, contrary to what the signs leading to the gate say....


they always say that shit.....and we keep coming back, dont we, little moths that we are...

[Kinetik V]

Ok, I beat the corporate look angle into the ground, now that I got that out...the dome was fucking cool but the chillout space looked like a spoogefest...uh thanks but no thanks.

That dome looked like it could have rode out Hurricane Camille...freakin massive tubes and all. I'm wondering who designed and built that thing?

[Simon of the Playa]

17,000 pounds....made by Asha and the Pacific Dome people....

Tipi's by Rogue Dwellings, Andi....a super duper cool crew...

i did the spoogedome, and yes, we used gloves to haul out the cushions to burn.

and last year, he (the patron) did donate his 60' dome to hurricane katrina victim's relief...

he really does put his money where other peoples mouths can feed...

and to be honest, i just love to dance....i fucking LOVE IT!
i had three broken toes, and a cane, but when, and where i could, i shook my motherfucking booty as hard as i could...

Definately Hats Off to Opulent Temple....i have spent many many hours shaking my groove thing to your most yummy beats and beats and beats...

i have an idea for next year, if all of the BIG SOUND camps come together for one moment, and broadcast the same radio station for a giant sychronistic CONGA LINE....perhaps the biggest on the planet...It would truly bring us all together into one huge giant writhing snake of humanity..


EVERYBODY CONGA!


you like?

[PrincessLea]

Root Society was beautiful. I thought the lights and the ribbon dancers were fantastic. The little chill dome was great too. Thanks Simon for that! Opulent Temple was great too, I just thought the lighting, sound, and people I met at Root Society were so amazing tho. And Thursday with Freq and Bassnectar rocked my world... and being the place was packed every nite, I think alot of other people feel the same way

[Simon of the Playa]

thank you lea, that is very kind...

i would like to thank whomever put the big bucket of condoms in the chill/fuck/spooge dome....


now THAT was brilliant AND safe...

[Lakshmi]

Personally, I enjoyed myself more at the Root Society. I'm so glad you made this post too cause everytime I went there I forgot to check out the whole name so all I knew it by was Society.

The music rocked my world, the ribbon dancers were awesome, there was always a good crowd, and the dj booth was set up perfectly. I loved watching them rock out while I danced. For the most part the lighting was good especially from across the playa but the white flashing light tended to make me lose my balance while dancing, hah!

The chill space next door was brilliant too although it was always packed. When I first noticed the little cave in the center piece I peeked in and was assulated by the smell of sex and a flood of warm air. Kinda cool yet kinda gross at the same time. The heat from their activites was most appreciated though since it was a chilly night. ^.^

[FairyRebel]

Going-off domes are a myth!

Ashram Galactica was the only place that honestly made me get up and dance, they had something special going on. I think my favorite mix was Wednesday or Thursday night, I wish I knew who the DJ was.

[joshyalaska]

does anyone out there have video or sound footage from Root society Wednesday night around 11pm-midnight?

[The Hosh]

PS....if you sleep, the clowns will eat you...

[trilobyte]

Why do you have to compare them at all? Why start a vs. thread? I know some of the people involved in both camps, and each one had a large number of people working, slaving, and sweating all year long to create an incredible space on the playa for others to enjoy, and to showcase the talents of some of the most amazing artists and performers in the world.

Seems kind of a pity that those who put a lot less time, energy, and money into creating something on the playa would resort to playing favorites and slagging on their efforts.

~Trilo~

[Simon of the Playa]

yes, trilo is right, the critic is the ultimate spectator, and we are a participatory culture.

with that said, there is always room for suggestions to make things better.

hell, HELP US make things better, we could always use it...

and the more i imagine little conga lines pouring out from all directions on the playa to join and form a Monster Conga around the man the more i Like it.

it would give the SOUND CAMPS an opportunity to unite to serve the greater conga.

not to mention all the hip hips that will be swaying to and fro to the beat...

now there is some hot HIPPY action, i tell you...


ps. thank you so much for the "cant sleep,clowns will eat me" picture..

it's true you know...at least i can stare at my new screen saver to remind me not to fall prey to zzzzzzzzzzzz-land.

fucking clowns....where is my santa suit?

[[CDS] topher]

[quote="Simon of the Playa"]yes, trilo is right, the critic is the ultimate spectator, and we are a participatory culture.[/quote]

And it's worth noting that many of us go to Bm IN SPITE OF music/dance/electronica camps/installation.

And many of us qish that they would go the f&*K away.

[Simon of the Playa]

"And many of us qish that they would go the f&*K away"

wow, such venom....

good thing i wear big boots...


That's why they put us way out there on the corner....to minimize the sonic boom.

i remember when rave camp was like 7 fucking miles out....i could see a return to a similar situation, or like disturbia and soft and fluffyland

i dont know....i understand all too well having been sleep deprived and reprogrammed at 120bpm...

i still bop while i'm taking a shit...at two beats a second....you can set your watch by it...

so i feel your pain....

However, EVERYBODY IS WELCOME....yes?

and we must try to accommodate and make everyone feel like they have a place, because THEY DO....

there are a lot of things that go on at burning man that i may or may not like or participate in or condone , however, THIS IS AMERICA, FUCKWAD..

and like it or not, the big sound camps are here to stay...i suggest you lighten up, and perhaps not show so obviously to all that you are a white boy, with no rhythm, and hence, cannot or will not DANCE....

ear plugs work too.

[sensi63]

The enclosed dome made the space more special to me, the energy was more enclosed, and the vibe was more inclusive. I had my second chakra opened there in an amazing manner, so my vote goes to Root Society. Both places were incredible and the effort that their producers put into them clearly showed in the quality of the sound, light and vibe. Blessings to them both.

[[CDS] topher]

[quote="Simon of the Playa"]"And many of us qish that they would go the f&*K away"

wow, such venom....

good thing i wear big boots...
[/quote]

Good thing mine lare larger.


[quote="Simon of the Playa"]
That's why they put us way out there on the corner....to minimize the sonic boom.
[/quote]

Do you really, honestly, think that being out at the corners has ANY real soninc impact for the rest of us? You put out so much noise, you might as well be right outside my freaking tent.

[quote="Simon of the Playa"]i remember when rave camp was like 7 fucking miles out....i could see a return to a similar situation, or like disturbia and soft and fluffyland
[/quote]
Now we're making progress...but I would suggest further out. How about.....20 miles, with a warm & comfy & dimly lit shuttle bus for all of you furry-leg-wearing beatzombies?

[quote="Simon of the Playa"]However, EVERYBODY IS WELCOME....yes?[/quote]

After all that, something I agree with! we're all welcome. But recall the first rule of the playa: DON'T FUCK WITH ANYONE ELSE'S BURN.

[quote="Simon of the Playa"]and we must try to accommodate and make everyone feel like they have a place, because THEY DO....[/quote]

And that special place might be VERY far away from the main camp, its residents, center camp, people trying to sleep, kids, etc.

[quote="Simon of the Playa"]THIS IS AMERICA, FUCKWAD..[/quote]

And now you grace us with this wonderful bit of linguistic backasswardness. Thanks.

[quote="Simon of the Playa"]ear plugs work too.[/quote]

For some of us, due to anatomy, no they don't. My ears don't allow them to work properly, and I've tried dozens of brands, three primary technologies, and none of them work.

So get off your fucking high horse, jacakass.

[Simon of the Playa]

i dont have a horse to come off of, so take your snotty condescending manner and shove it up your ears, maybe that'll work...

i offer compromise and moderation, you offer up extremism, to the point of ugliness.

it's not MY camp, i am part of it, and quite frankly, more on the tech aspect and construction.

i do not choose the music.

and to think that i thought burning man was a community of people who unlike in the default world, seem to get along, and try to cooperate...silly me...

and as far as boots go....i got biggins....size 13 to be exact....

not that size matters, but you seem to be hung up on it.


i would like to see guns and ammo reinstated....i was even arrested in 2002 for possession of one (had it in saddle bags for protection over 3000 mile motorcycle death run...nothing nefarious)...but i know that's not going to happen...

i would like to see the playa wide open.

"no" on that one too.

and i would like to see a "zone" for the big sound camps in which to go nuts....

far from the maddening crowd, and visa versa...

i DO NOT want to see this kind of bullshit exclusionary dialog, it serves no purpose except to piss off normally level-headed people.

best t-shirt seen in 97...."American Gothic" mock up, hippy stylee, with the caption, "be careful about whom you assume to be unarmed"

play nice....

there is more than enough room out there for all of us....

[[CDS] topher]

and to think that i thought burning man was a community of people who unlike in the default world, seem to get along, and try to cooperate...silly me...

It is, and we do, try to get along, that is. The peoblems start when one branch of our now 50,000 person strong city acquires an unprecedented level of both power and impact on the rest of the city.

i would like to see guns and ammo reinstated....i was even arrested in 2002 for possession of one (had it in saddle bags for protection over 3000 mile motorcycle death run...nothing nefarious)...but i know that's not going to happen...

Sorry you got nabbed...I arrived just one year after the last of the drive-by shooting ranges, etc, and would like to see reinstatement of said items as well.

i would like to see the playa wide open.

and i would like to see a "zone" for the big sound camps in which to go nuts....

far from the maddening crowd, and visa versa...
[/quote]

Ditto.

best t-shirt seen in 97...."American Gothic" mock up, hippy stylee, with the caption, "be careful about whom you assume to be unarmed"

play nice....

A threat followed by "play nice"?

Whatever. Go have fun with YOUR version of BM and leave me to enjoy MINE....as long as I don't interfere with you, and you don't interfere with me, we'll be fine.