Time to Boogie

So Australians are really into music festivals- those multiday outdoor events that involve camping and listening to a lot of bands.  Being from Boston, which is not at all near any of the big music festivals in the US (Cochella, SXSW, etc) means I've never been to one before- Great Woods doesn't count because no one actually spends the night, at least not deliberately.  Part of me thinks I'm getting too old for these sort of events, as porta potties and intoxicated teenagers tend to be things I avoid.  However, one of my friends from the lab invited me to Boogie, a music festival on a farm an hour or so north of Melbourne.  It's small (around 1000 people) and has a reputation for being very fun and chilled out, so I decided to go.  The lineup was pretty good- featuring Justin Townes Earle, Jim James (from My Morning Jacket), Eilen Jewell, and a whole bunch of Australian acts.  Drinks were cheap and tasty, and the food was to my liking- I ate from the Melbourne Taco Truck for three straight days.  Luckily, the weather was just about perfect- cool and sunny.  My favorite thing about the festival was the special effects guy: they had a screen behind the stage showing images that looked like a kaleidoscope, and when I got closer, I realized that they were created by a guy with an overhead projector- he would put a drawing on the screen and wiggle it around in time to the music.  Fantastic! I tried to snap a photo but I don't think it captures the genius.

Although I did have a good time at the festival, by day three I was most certainly tired of disgusting bathrooms and sleeping in a tent, so unless the Arcade Fire make a festival appearance down under, Boogie may have been my first and last.

Updated to include one more photo: my coworker Jayne and I with Beaker!