From sfraves-request@medisg.Stanford.EDU Fri Sep 11 12:22:03 1992
From: larryc@netcom.com (Larry Ching)
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 11:25:57 PDT
Subject: An Affordable I MAGI NATION

The admission was a $12.00 'donation' - $10.00 if you plead poverty. I was told that admission was free after 4AM, but I was too tired to bother to verify this.

The experience began in the hallway leading from the entrance to the bar room. There was a kinetic sculpture of a tree with moving heads. Some projections and a strobe, plus a poor man's Dream Machine ( a halogen bulb hanging in a rotating bucket that had vertical rectangular slots cut into it ).

The bar room was occupied by a smart/juice bar, jewelry, an overhead projection screen, a candy table, the "Weird Blinking Lights" table, and the Darwin Chamber merchandising table ( shirts and tapes ). Upstairs, in one room was located a video/projector chill space, which metamorphosized into a rather harsh sonic environment later in the evening. The open space upstairs was occupied by some "Weird Blinking Lights" LED electronics and sculpture. In the same open upstairs space was the magik group, who performed various rituals through the night.

The dancefloor really didn't hit a cosy dancer density until about 1 AM. I saw two live performances; the first was by two guys who I thought introduced themselves as "The Entity", but the flyer says "Mindarc", so who knows? They played a danceable, but somewhat anonymous synth sound. The second performance I saw was another duo called Darwin Chamber - I liked them! Their use of samples adds a deeper dimension to the dance beats, and it doesn't hurt that they have a cartoon sense of humor. As I'm writing this, I'm listening to one of their tapes. The address on the tape inner sleeve implies that they're from San Rafael.

Before and after the performances, the music was provided by the DJs. Of the DJs listed on the flyer - Jeno, Garth, Markie Mark, ( and Synthesis ?), I liked Garth the most. Of course, Markie Mark came on after 3:15, when I was starting to fade out.

BUT - I was very impressed with the large ambient chill room in the back! Good projections, and a smart toast bar ( more about that later ), but the SOUND! It seems they approached the owner of Auricular Records to gather together members of various local experimental/ambient industrial bands to provide the sonic environment. So, behind a twenty foot long array of tape machines, synths, samplers, electronic effects, and acoustic instruments were members of IAO Core, Big City Orchestre, Nux Vomica, and others - jamming on the machines together as SENSE/NET. I happen to like ambient industrial, so I was enjoying it a lot. I just wish there was a division of the room into a talking section and silent section, for folks like me to really get deep into the sonic soup without being distracted by the conversations of others.

I understand that Auricular is planning to release an edited version of the night's set.

Above the floor was the projectors, as well as patron participation area where people could "play" sounds by passing their hands in front of light sensors. This area was set up by a business (?) called ODDERNMART. Their info says that they're on 1387 Baker St. in SF - (415) 346-8129.

And then, there was the smart toast! Two gals sharing the Auricular Records merchandise table were selling toast, with or without jelly mixed with nutrient powder. I had a slice of sourdough, a little butter, and strawberry jelly mixed with Vital Health Food Supplement Cocktail powder. It tasted good, and was something a little solid to go with all the water and juice I had been drinking.

Other SFRavers I saw at I MAGI NATION - The Normals, Lee Fogel, Jon Pincus, Marlo, a "Weird Blinking Lights" guy, and Brad (?) outside as I was leaving. For those of you who don't know my face, I was the guy wearing the HAWKWIND t-shirt. ( by the way, I didn't remember to look for you, Eric, until I got home and re-read your posting! How did the magik rituals go? I thought it would be too bloody noisy for that kind of activity ! ).

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It's 11AM, and I'm going to stay up long enough go to the opening of HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH. Then, back home to sweet (?) dreams.

Larry Ching / larryc@netcom.com

PS - Thanks for all the advice on catching the train! I had a trouble- -free ride to and from San Francisco. I just wish a person could really stretch out and sleep !