We are the psychedelic weirdos

We are the psychedelic weirdos but let’s keep the locals happy

We may be psychedelic weirdos and that’s why we’re all drawn to this amazing way of expressing ourselves but how do the locals feel about us?

I have always wondered what must go through the minds of the local people when the psychedelic weirdos come through town en route to a party or festival or on their way back.

I can only imagine what it must be like for small town folk who are not exposed to such types of colourful people arriving in car loads at the local shops or petrol stations.

The Shock Factor

I remember when I first started going to parties back in early 2000, when we arrived at a filling station, tired, dirty, sunburnt and hungry. Besides these attributes add some psychedelic clothing and dreadlocks, it’s no wonder these communities thought we were a bunch of Satanists dancing in the moonlight.

I remember getting a bit of a kick out of being psychedelic weirdos walking around. Back then you stood out from the crowd if you were into psytrance; I remember enjoying freaking people out and making them feel uncomfortable, but back then being a rebel was cool and the looks and reactions from these church going people was such a highlight for me. But I think my generation of ravers were on a mission to create change where I think nowadays anything goes really…so the shock factor isn’t as strong as almost 20 years ago.

This one time, I went into Spar after a Vortex 3 day festival and I was dressed like a confused raver; dirty, bad hair and I was still dancing and grooving to the trance in my head. I was totally having a moment in the dairy aisle, I must have been some serious entertainment for an onlooker.

Psychedelic Tourism

Some communities today don’t really like it when the festivals come to town. There are some who find us psychedelic weirdos offensive and they don’t see that they can use the financial boost from the influx of people and the amount of supplies that are purchased. But I guess not everyone benefits; only a few businesses will do well where many others may not, so it may not be as significant as we think.

For these communities to see crazy ravers pull into their peaceful and sleepy town looking like aliens and running around the shops and streets it should be called psychedelic tourism [laughs].

Let’s keep the party at the party

But all jokes aside, I think in today’s times, we should attempt to adopt a different attitude because these small town folk are getting “gatvol” and if we want a future of outdoor festivals we should be more mindful of our presence in these small towns. Not everybody is comfortable with the idea of having a bunch of psychedelic weirdos dancing in their neighbourhood so let’s be mindful of this when commuting to and from the event.

If everyone can benefit from the festivals then hopefully it won’t be a huge battle every time the promoters plan events. Lately there have been complaints and religious groups petitioning against festivals in their areas. I can tell you straight up, that it causes big problems for licensing and a general problem for the entire psytrance scene, as a few locals have shut events down because of their small minded views. I urge all you party goers to bare this in mind when you arrive and leave a festival. We are not the demonic freaks they say we are, we are open-minded individuals who choose to live exciting lives and love adventure. We can only show small minded individuals the way by example, so let’s do our best to behave, be polite and not freak out the locals!

Tips:

When leaving a party I think there are certain things one can do to help get you focused for the drive home, as it generally is a long drive home.

Have a designated driver who is gonna start slowing his/her party down on the Sunday
Energade or Rehydrate is great for rehydrating
Take a nap before driving out
Maybe chill by your car and clean up the camp area, take your time, rather get home late …
EAT!!! Food is important to stay nourished and focused

So please travel safe my fellow trancers & psychedelic weirdos—we still have many more years of psychedelic fun filled future and we want the local towns to welcome us into their hood.

What I’m listening to: Frost Bite – Twenty Four Seven Records –

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We are the psychedelic weirdos