Common set the tone at Wanderlust
Big news came Friday night when I logged onto my Facebook account. It turns out that Michael Franti, the headliner of the Wanderlust Festival, had appendicitis and had to cancel his performance at the festival. The good news was that the replacement was hip hop phenomenon Common. I was super excited as I much prefer the sounds and beats of Common over Franti. Best wishes of good health returning to Franti!
So due to the headliner change, we decided to have a plan overhaul and just head up to Squaw by 6 p.m. in order to see Common, followed by the Mutaytor, followed by Girl Talk and then the late night DJs. We were in it for the long haul expecting to be out until past 2 a.m., so we did not want to burn out early from baking in the hot sun.
We arrived to Squaw in the early evening of Saturday where we enjoyed VIP parking in the usual Locker Room/VIP garage used by rich patrons in the winter months. Nice to have some shade and a quick walk to the venue. We took the Funitel a.k.a. the Funi up to Gold Coast for Common’s performance. When we arrived to the top of the mountain, I sincerely felt surreal, being in a place that I’m usually accustomed to filled with feet of snow. The stage was set up with an intense view of the Palisades in the background.
Sunset from the Funi
While we waited for Common to set up and sound check, we found the Converse dome. This place was a creativity surplus, and I dug it hard. There were a variety of things to do in the dome including picking three designs to screen-print anywhere you wanted on a T-shirt; getting your “rock star” picture taken equip with boas, fancy sunglasses and an array of hats and musical instrument options; naming a topic to have a poem written about, and painting the actual dome itself as well as the furniture within the dome.
We then went back to the stage area where Common broke it down for us, and we danced and waved our hands in the air in return. Although the performance was quick, lasting only about an hour, it enthused the crowd and started off our Wanderlust experience on the right beat. We checked out the VIP lounge and section which were cool featuring free snacks and water and Honest Tea. Then, we took the Funi back down in search of the Globetrotter stage.
We spent some time walking around the Village in search of our VIP gift pack, only to be lead on a two-day long goose chase… more on that to come. As we toured the Vill, we spotted members of the Mutaytor, a Burning Man sensation act featuring dozens of musicians and performers. I, personally, like to call individual members of the group – Mutaytors. We found some Mutaytors on stilts, Mutaytors twirling fire, Mutaytors twirling fire while on stilts, and then we found the crazy white faced, brightly colored outfit and hair dancing troupe of drag queens and outgoing ladies. After taking some photography of the acts, we entered the Globetrotter stage which was set up to the left of the Funi and the Vill. 
The Mutaytor impressed, stunned and amazed while I decided to try my own hands at performing and picked up a pair of glowing nun-chucks. The fun lasted for a few minutes until a nun-chuck whacked me in the forehead. Ouch. We then saw some old friends, met some new friends and found the VIP section just in time for Girl Talk, a mash-up DJ who plays extremely danceable songs and is an expert of getting the crowd stirred up and literally jumping in the air.
Then there were girls, dozens of girls from the audience going onto the stage, and I knew that I must go onto the stage as well. I started for it, but lost Cheyenne quickly. A random girl grabbed me, and said, “We’re going on stage – Let’s go!”, and soon enough, there we were on stage for all to see. My soul filled with adrenaline, and then I knew I had to find Cheyenne, who I spotted from my stage view. Unfortunately, my nemesis was working the backstage area and refused to let her join me on stage, so I stayed for a few more songs, then returned to the audience. We still had an ample viewing spot from the front row.
Girl Talk rocked our socks off for about 2 hours, and then we moved onto our next stop. The VIP DJ room. This DJ was not my favorite; extremely mellow. But I did meet a new friend, the vocalist/guitarist of Big Light – Fred a.k.a. Freddie. We decided to leave DJ Mella for the Giant Twister game outside. This game was a hoot. People were doing some crazy yoga poses while twisting on the Twister, and it was honestly almost too much for me to handle.
So onward to the other late night DJ – Lazer Sword. All and all, the Saturday night portion of Wanderlust was incredibly amazing and debaucherous, and I loved it. I may not have had the true experience of the fest, since I did not yoga it up. But the music was hot, and I had a blast.
Music in the Mountains - this is how it always should be!
Although Sunday’s musical experience was more mellow, and I sought for shade from the hot rays of the sun beating down on you at 8,200 feet, it was still a good time. We checked out Broken Social Scene and Spoon. Both performances were awesome and a perfect vibe in the mountain air.
After our two day goose chase for out goodie bag, we found it from Mike in the VIP bar in Goldcoast. The bag was awesome featuring a Wanderlust imprinted Klean Kanteen bottle, yoga videos, Luna bars and more! It was well worth the hunt!
I do not think the Wanderlust Festival had the attendance expected, and I read in the NY Times that the festy did not break even, but the light attendance and the overall spiritual energy held by the attendees made the festival even more spectacular in its inaugural year. I sincerely hope that the Wanderlust will return again!
Ta-HAPS 