Burning Man is like no other festival in the world. It happens for one week in August in Nevada's Black Rock desert and attracts in excess of 50,000 people. The absolute antithesis of the modern Glastonbury festival, there is no sponsorship, no headline acts and nothing for sale at Burning Man. You even have to bring your own water to drink and to wash with. At the end of the week, everyone takes away everything they brought in, no rubbish means no trace whatsoever that they were ever there in the first place.
At Burning Man it's the people that attend that provide the main bulk of entertainment. While some of the revenue from ticket sales does fund some of the more ambitious art installations that are created there, the festival's attendees bring the overwhelming majority, forming a unique landscape of offbeat, weird, and downright wonderful physical art. These are all are burnt to the ground at the end of the week, in the now infamous closing ceremony.
The Opulent Temple is one of the bigger stages at Burning Man and the cost of the sound system, lighting and trademark DJ booth (complete with flame thrower) is funded by like minded party people holding a series of global events in the lead up to the event. Ali B is a self confessed life time 'Burner', cemented last year after playing for the Opulent Temple alongside the likes of Bassnectar, Paul Oakenfold, Dylan Rhymes, DJ Dan, Lee Coombs, and Icon.
On 28th June, Ali B is organising a London fundraiser for 2008's Opulent Temple stage. Held at Cargo, and rather symbolically on the same weekend of Glastonbury, the event will feature Dylan Rhymes, Ali, Coburn, Icon, a very special guest, and more artists to be announced.
Ali B said: "The flame thrower on top of the DJ booth is like having an instant applause button - 20 foot flames shoot out the top when you press it and the crowd goes crazy - Burning Man is without doubt the best party I've ever been to in the world and is in a league of its own."
Check out Ali B's lo-fi Burning man film from last year @ www.myspace.com/alibuk
All proceeds from this night will go towards the Opulent Temple at Burning Man 2008.
DJS: ALI B + DYLAN RHYMES + COBURN + ICON + SPECIAL GUESTS
8-3
£10 adv, £6 b4 9, £12 after
