I Survived Camp Bisco X

     On July 7th, over 17,000 music fans left their comfortable homes, lives, and monotonous routines to travel to the Mariaville Country Club in Mariaville, New York for the wild celebration that is Camp Bisco.
 

     Bisco, as I soon found out, is the kind of music festival where ANYTHING goes, and it’s not because the crowd is lawless or unruly. It’s because everyone is there to enjoy their weekend vacation, let loose, and have as much fun as they possibly can in those three days. So for that weekend, I was on what I liked to call Planet Bisco; a world that is almost the bizarro version of planet Earth. It’s a planet where upstanding hygienic people in clean “normal” clothes are the outcasts; where donning the weirdest costume or neon outfit will get you more compliments than disapproving looks; and where glow sticks are accepted as natural parts of the human body. As soon as you enter the Bisco gates, social norms are discarded and any feelings of pressure, stress, or responsibility evaporate. You can’t help but have a fantastic time after you see a man rave-dancing in a penguin suit, or a tent that has been decorated to look like R2D2, or a girl wrapped in so much neon tape and glow sticks that she looks like a fluorescent mummy. Everywhere you looked, you saw something so awesomely absurd that you couldn’t help but crack a smile. And also, it’s hard to hold back from high fiving a raving penguin. So I can proudly say that for those three days, I was a model citizen of Planet Bisco.

      The drive from Ithaca to Camp Bisco took me through the rolling woodsy hills of upstate New York, barely seeing another car on the road until I turned on Batter Street in Mariaville. While still 10 miles away from Bisco, cars were lined bumper to bumper in single lane traffic, creeping inch-by-inch closer to the festival’s gates. A few gung-ho individuals found that by driving on the opposite side of the road into incoming traffic, they could beat all of the cars that were patiently waiting. These “budgers” were soon pulled over and ticketed by the multiple police cars waiting behind bushes and trees. Justice was served. Others opted to just park their car on the side of the road, and hike the last 5 miles with their tent and gear strapped to their backs. 

        Thursday the 7th was a great first day for Camp Bisco, because everyone was so energized to start the festival that crowds were exceptional in size and noise. Bands played all day, and by the time the Disco Biscuits played their first set of the festival at 9:00PM, the roar of a crowd could be heard miles away. Skrillex also played a packed tent, with everyone pushing from all sides just to get a quick peek of the infamous 23-year-old DJ. 

         On Friday the 8th, Camp Bisco celebrated its tradition of being caught in a torrential storm, with sheets of rain drenching anything and everything at the festival. This rain did not deter anyone from the festivities, and instead prompted a “shirts off, shoes off, dance off” with an unspoken competition of who could get the muddiest. Grassy walkways quickly turned to soupy trenches as thousands squished on their way back and forth between the stages and campsites. I took full advantage of my Bisco Media Pass on Friday to catch acts front row and meet three of my favorite artist groups; Das Racist, Soul Position (made up of Break Science and RJD2), and Ratatat. These three groups easily put on the best sets at Bisco in my opinion. I even had the opportunity to conduct a short interview with Das Racist, who are a Hip Hop duo made up of rappers Victor and Himanshu, along with their hype man Dap.

Das Racist Interview:

Have you guys played a lot of festivals before?
Dap: Yeah we’ve played a few, hosted a few, and we’ve been to a few too, just in the crowd. I’ve volunteered at Bonnaroo a few times.

Did you change up your usual set today to match the heavy electronic mood of this festival?
Himanshu: I mean, we try to scale up the show a little more, we dance around more, Vic likes to scale things and jump into crowds hahaha.
Victor: Haha yeah, there was a good crowd for that s**t today, so we felt that vibe and in turn just put on a show for them. We usually just go with it.

So are you into this whole electronic music scene? Who are a few of your favorite dubstep artists?
Dap: Uhhhh, name a few, hahaha. Nah, we’re not super huge into dubstep and all that, but we can usually get into anything. Yeah, we’re cool with the Disco Biscuits, and really anything that sounds good, so if it’s a good song with a good sound…we like it haha.

I later saw all three of them thoroughly enjoying themselves backstage at MSTRKRFT’s set in the “Grooveshark tent” venue.

      Saturday was a day for relaxation and being lazy, as everyone seemed to be recovering from the previous two days of dancing all day and partying all night in front of blaring speakers. People slept in Saturday morning, sat around in the warm sun for a while at their campsites, and waited for the muddy terrain to dry out a little before venturing out to the food vendors or stages. I chose to enjoy more easygoing sets on Saturday, as I was a little “dubbed” out from listening to bass heavy electronic sets all day on Thursday and Friday. I set up a blanket with my friends in the shade near the Main Stage, and saw back-to-back sets of the Disco Biscuits, Lettuce, Yeasayer, Neon Indian, and Wiz Khalifa. Then it was time for a break, because a huge headliner was coming to the stage at 10:00PM, Bassnectar. It seemed that every man, woman, and child at the festival showed up for Bassnectar’s set, and he did not disappoint. The light show and speaker set up was phenomenal, as Bassnectar is known for bringing his own high quality lights and speakers to his shows to create an out-of-this-world experience when paired with his unique dub sound. The feeling of my heart vibrating in my ribcage as the bass was dropped is unforgettable, and I thank you Bassnectar.

Writing this article has been a daunting task, because there is no possible way to fully explain Camp Bisco to someone that has never been. It’s the kind of “event of a lifetime” that gives you so many memories and sensations in three days that you just have to be there to understand it. You would walk past the most mind blowing thing you’ve ever seen, and then 5 seconds later, you would come across something cooler. You can also never be fully prepared for Camp Bisco, because there will always be a situation where you wish you had something, but you forgot to bring it.

So here is a list of advice from someone who survived Camp Bisco 10: