Tales from the desert

I found myself in Black Rock City the week before last almost in spite of myself, and returned to San Francisco last week just in time to celebrate the death of an international tyrant.

While educating Americans about the the continuing impacts of the imperial colonialism enabled by British monarchy occupied much of that week, I did want to circle back to share some reflections from my time in the desert while they remain fresh.

Below, I’ll share some personal highlights from my most recent visit, as well as a few memories from years past, and some of my favorite art installations and mutant vehicles.

My week in the desert

Black Rock City emerges periodically from the Black Rock Desert. For one week each year, it swells to become one of the largest cities in the State of Nevada. Within a period of days, it vanishes into the desert, leaving nothing but alkali dust in our wake.

I’ve been going to Black Rock City, the site of the annual Burning Man convergence, since 2003. The principles that unite our community have played an enormous role in my life, as have the people and networks who I’ve met both in the desert and at regional events from San Diego to Vermont.

As I ventured into the desert the week before last, I considered my intentions and articulated a hope to find some inspiration, as well as affirmation and connection. I’ve felt more isolated in the years since running for office than I ever did in the preceding 44 years, and experiencing the corruption of our system up close and personal left my sense of hope and possibility in tatters.

Thanks, each of my goals ultimately greeted me in abundance. My highlights this year included:

• Watching the 10 year-old son of some longtime friends play his DJ debut on an art car, a few hours before I followed him, hit all my buttons. He was not only the youngest DJ I’ve ever seen perform, but his music was legitimately funky! I look forward to bragging in the future about being part of his first public show (and hopefully scoring backstage passes when he’s playing stadiums).

• Overcoming a series of challenges with DJ gear that night (from cables that went missing in the dark to components for which I needed to figure out substitutes on the fly) left me feeling like a cross between McGuyver and the Hulk. The show must—and did—go on!

• A 5-hour DJ set on the esplanade from midnight-5am on Wednesday morning led me to play nearly every track I brought with me to the desert. That, in turn, left me feeling musically satiated for the rest of the week, which impacted my experience dramatically. In years past, music has always been at the center of my experience, whereas I actually felt comfortable this year turning down a surprise invitation to play later in the week.

• The longest Wednesday of my life felt like it delightfully went on for at least a month before time seemed to shift, and then flew freakishly quickly over the rest of the week.

• Reconnecting with old friends from across the country, and finding a whole slew of new ones, is always my greatest joy! My favorite example from this year entailed running into a neighbor from San Francisco after playing capoeira at Center Camp, before heading to the 9:00 side to find a camp called Disco Monkeys that he said was hosting a workshop on making pasties. While asking around at a random camp near the designated coordinates to try locating that camp, I heard my name, looked up, and saw an old friend from my time in DC! In the years since I returned to the west coast, she moved to Brooklyn, where she joined another crew with whom I performed back in 2018, so it was great to see them all together. I rejoined them the following evening alongside my campmates, and spent hours together touring the playa on Thundergumbo, their camp art car!

While building the life I hope to establish, I’ve moved in fits and starts, taking steps backward in between those forward. That week in the desert felt like a giant leap forward, for more than a few reasons.

First, this was only my second time (out of nearly 10 trips to Burning Man over the years) that I did not camp with a theme camp. On the one hand, I counsel everyone who goes to join (or start!) a theme camp, since it enables contributions to the community beyond what we can make as individuals. That said, the chance to simply enjoy exploring the city, rather than building art or an experience for others, felt like a privilege. It also led me to random encounters that I’ll not soon forget.

For instance, a series of three conversations on Thursday afternoon each started with strangers appreciating my work in politics, before leading to at least one (and maybe two) job offers to teach snowboarding at different resorts this winter.

Similarly, the chance to share a week of adventures with campmates, rather than a project, helped us forge a community of friends united through play, exploration, and mutual self-discovery rather than a focused collaboration. That enabled spontaneity that can be tougher to embrace when locked to a schedule. For instance, one of my favorite moments of the week entailed an unplanned visit to the Temple with my campmates, as we sat together and recalled stories about the departed relatives and friends who we each hold dear in our memories.

Finally, I treasured the opportunity to simply be myself, rather than a projection of others’ political manias and fantasies. Having experienced a public character assassination in 2020 that reduced me to a racist charicature, each encounter with people unfamiliar with me felt like a new beginning. Each day offers every one of us that opportunity, but it took stepping out of San Francisco and my daily routine to remember how limitless the future remains.

A few invitations

If you shared this pilgrimage, write back to share your highlights and/or favorite images! Hopefully we can cross paths another year.

If you haven’t (yet), put it on your list—and feel free to write if you have any questions about how to plug in!

Finally, if you’re in San Francisco this evening, join me at Madrone Art Bar at the corner of Divisadero & Fell! I’ll be on the decks and the mic from 7:30 until 10ish before a second set featuring the band 6 Roses.

My favorite art from the desert

I’ve collected a few images of my favorite art pieces, mutant vehicles, and figures from the playa, which I’m excited to share below. It’s impossible to fairly describe the experience of Burning Man in words. And while each picture may be worth a thousand, even these photos can’t convey the transformative whole beyond the sum of its fascinating, ephemeral parts...