We drove for some time looking for parking along the streets insulated with nice cars, horseback police officers attempting to make sense of the chaos. Meanwhile drag queens on stilts and half-naked people strolled in and out of cars in standstill. Due to a great deal of debauchery and some history of violence the event has become very controlled, heavily policed and alcohol free. What this means is that outside the barricades of the party, many were toting open containers.
Finally we found a space about a million miles away from the party and decided that a space was better than no space, so we piled out: a cowboy, a ladybug, two cats, a fairy and a bumblebee, ready for action. The mood on the streets was jovial, filled with intermittent shouts of 'Happy Halloween', or the crasser alternative, "Happy Halloween Mother******s!" . Our cats were cat-called, our bee was buzzed over and i think i made some middle-aged woman's night by dancing country-style with her in the streets. On the long walk we made enough friends to start a party and keep us entertained as we trudged what may have been up to 30 blocks (much of it very uphill - viva San Francisco). When we finally moved in on the epicenter you could feel the vibrations emanating outward. The social melting pot began to thicken, crowds swelled and the drone of the bass-kick from the music could be felt in the sidewalk. There were police checkpoints along the way to inspect bags for alcohol and weapons. Finally we reached the barricades that defined the party and passed through the picket lines of officers standing guard. I tipped my hat as we passed by and entered much what we expected to enter: shoulder-to-shoulder mayhem. Certainly not for the claustrophobes.
It was much like Mardi Gras in the sheer density of human bodies present, so much that you could almost feel heartbeats as you pushed your way through, (or maybe it was just the music, or the booze, or both). Dance lights flashed through the night. A huge screen flouted some digital eye-candy. A huge stage built like a cage with speakers pumped out the beats. Occasionally you might feel a hand touch you where you normally don't even touch yourself but you would never be able to trace it-the crowds were just too thick. I fairly promptly decided that i need to find a port-o-pot and lead our group like an earthworm through the human soil. Much to my chagrin the pot in question was behind a fence reserved for the musicians and we had to begin making our way in the other direction. On our way something suddenly changed in the mood of the night. The music had been cut at 11pm as part of the attempt to curb the troubles and at that point people were sort of just stagnating in post-dance party stupor. I heard someone muttering something about a fight breaking out and insisted that our crew exit, i had a bad feeling. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something told me that it was time to go- and fast. We made our way back through the barricades past people who seemed to be rushing the other direction, toward the conflict. With the party over our shoulders we kept walking away and subsequently ran into many of the friends we had made along the way. I might have accidentally started a party at someone's house who wasn't having one by dancing a square dance on their porch to the tune of Snoop Doggy Dogg. I ran back into the middle-aged woman who proceeded with an immodest proposal and i politely declined so that our bumblebee could go make friendly with another bee somewhere up the road. While we tried briefly to crash some other parties and deny that Halloween was coming to a close, things seemed inevitably finished and we finally made it back to the car with the taste of sweaty, child make-up on our lips and grins on our faces.
When we arrived home one of the girls immediately got online to find out what had happened. Apparently 9 people were shot at just about the time i said we should really go, in just the area where we were hanging out. We didn't hear gunshots but apparently our angels did. I couldn't help but thinking, what is the world coming to when 9 people are shot in the city of Love and Peace at party central on Halloween?
Finally we found a space about a million miles away from the party and decided that a space was better than no space, so we piled out: a cowboy, a ladybug, two cats, a fairy and a bumblebee, ready for action. The mood on the streets was jovial, filled with intermittent shouts of 'Happy Halloween', or the crasser alternative, "Happy Halloween Mother******s!" . Our cats were cat-called, our bee was buzzed over and i think i made some middle-aged woman's night by dancing country-style with her in the streets. On the long walk we made enough friends to start a party and keep us entertained as we trudged what may have been up to 30 blocks (much of it very uphill - viva San Francisco). When we finally moved in on the epicenter you could feel the vibrations emanating outward. The social melting pot began to thicken, crowds swelled and the drone of the bass-kick from the music could be felt in the sidewalk. There were police checkpoints along the way to inspect bags for alcohol and weapons. Finally we reached the barricades that defined the party and passed through the picket lines of officers standing guard. I tipped my hat as we passed by and entered much what we expected to enter: shoulder-to-shoulder mayhem. Certainly not for the claustrophobes.
It was much like Mardi Gras in the sheer density of human bodies present, so much that you could almost feel heartbeats as you pushed your way through, (or maybe it was just the music, or the booze, or both). Dance lights flashed through the night. A huge screen flouted some digital eye-candy. A huge stage built like a cage with speakers pumped out the beats. Occasionally you might feel a hand touch you where you normally don't even touch yourself but you would never be able to trace it-the crowds were just too thick. I fairly promptly decided that i need to find a port-o-pot and lead our group like an earthworm through the human soil. Much to my chagrin the pot in question was behind a fence reserved for the musicians and we had to begin making our way in the other direction. On our way something suddenly changed in the mood of the night. The music had been cut at 11pm as part of the attempt to curb the troubles and at that point people were sort of just stagnating in post-dance party stupor. I heard someone muttering something about a fight breaking out and insisted that our crew exit, i had a bad feeling. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something told me that it was time to go- and fast. We made our way back through the barricades past people who seemed to be rushing the other direction, toward the conflict. With the party over our shoulders we kept walking away and subsequently ran into many of the friends we had made along the way. I might have accidentally started a party at someone's house who wasn't having one by dancing a square dance on their porch to the tune of Snoop Doggy Dogg. I ran back into the middle-aged woman who proceeded with an immodest proposal and i politely declined so that our bumblebee could go make friendly with another bee somewhere up the road. While we tried briefly to crash some other parties and deny that Halloween was coming to a close, things seemed inevitably finished and we finally made it back to the car with the taste of sweaty, child make-up on our lips and grins on our faces.
When we arrived home one of the girls immediately got online to find out what had happened. Apparently 9 people were shot at just about the time i said we should really go, in just the area where we were hanging out. We didn't hear gunshots but apparently our angels did. I couldn't help but thinking, what is the world coming to when 9 people are shot in the city of Love and Peace at party central on Halloween?
Labels: HALLOWEEN(pt.2)
posted by derek | 8:55 AM
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