Pemberton 2008 (Alternate Title: 4 People, 3 Days, 2 Tents, 1 Cup)

Myself and three friends (now bitter enemies) had the pleasure to travel 1600 kilometers in a tiny car to the inaugural music festival known as Pemberton. Pemberton? Coldplay, DJ Shadow, Death Cab, cube-o-tron, Jay-Z, camping, zero tolerance root vegetable ban, Vampire Weekend, Tom Petty, shuttles, dust bowl, Matisyahu, The Hip, mountains, Lillooet stage, My Morning Jacket, shower trailers, The Flaming Lips, Mount Currie stage, 40,000 people, Interpol, portable turlets, NIN. Ooooohhhh, Pemberton. As far as I'm concerned, the organization was top notch. Were their hiccups? Sure, but what does one expect when thousands of people are trying to get to the same place asap as possible?  

I think the coolest thing about a festival like Pemberton is that, in essence, a city springs up from nothing and nowhere. Like any other city, ours had neighbourhoods with trendy sounding (while at the same time likely referring to actual places) names like 'Nairn.' Our neighbourhoods had things like general stores, medical centres, and security. Our city also had a nightclub (The Bacardi B-Live tent), food vendors, shops, a farmers market, advertisements. Our city housed respectful, moderate people, alongside those who partied loudly all night, each night. There were hippies and hip hoppers and hipsters and young people and old people. Many different creeds, nationalities, ethnicities, and religions appeared to be represented. Yep, our little commune was not unlike the places we all came from. 

Something set our shanty society apart however. And it wasn't showering in a semi trailer, lineups to piss in a port-o-potty so gross that you shed salty tears for the poor souls who have to clean it, or 15 dollar bottles of sunscreen. Of course these things set us apart, and they shan't be spoken of again. 

But there was something more. 

I began to notice a camaraderie amongst and between all these different people unlike I've seen anywhere else. Perhaps it was because the liquor and drugs were going down particularly easy for many, or because people are generally more relaxed and chilled out on vacation. Or, a festival of this sort draws a certain type of person. Perhaps, but when it's all said and done, our little society was comparable to the places we've all come from - only this particular society was organized completely around music. 

See you at Pemby 2009.