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DIARY
The next five hours were dominated by GF #7, the Rites of Spring.
While this is technically the first installment in over a year, I’ve been maintaining a dialogue with the Chicago kids, most closely Amber, Sky, and Lisa for about six months now. I’ve been speaking with Skylar since last February and mentioned that I thought that the Gothic Funk parties were a more important definition and assertation of our principles and powers than just about anything else, including the manifestoes. He mentioned that possibility of a party to Amber, the week before Scavhunt to capitalize on the energy it generates.
I’d suggested this to Sky, partly because I thought that it would provide an advantage, but also selfishly because I was in Chicago that weekend, and hoped I’d be able to attend.
Beyond the initial suggestion, however, the whole initiative that blossomed into this party began and ended with Amber; its paramaters were solely established by Amber and Nora. Quite simply, Amber, had decided to throw the party and put together an organizational meeting. It was only attended by Nora and Amber herself, but together they developed the themes outlined in the invitation above (all of which successfully came to pass). Skylar was not present at the meeting, but played a major role in the logistics. Sam and Lisa (and others?) helped as well.
I had practically no hand in this party. I took pictures and set up this website. This is an encouraging step for the continuance of Gothic Funk in Chicago, and I hope that it is the beginning of a new series. But on to the party itself:
I arrived about an hour early and visited with Sam, Sky, Lisa, Amber, and Nora. After awhile guests started to arrive and we went down to the side yard, which must have originally been a vacant lot but has to have been cleared for at least the last forty years for the trees to attain their present hight; the space is a garden. We danced the Maypole.
Lisa had arranged for a folk band, the Giving Tree Band, to play, and there was dancing the entire time they played. Coincidentally, two members had lived in the very same Ukrainian Village apartment that Sam and Sky now occupy. The typical pattern of the party was that conversation went on in the front room, dancing and the band in the dining room, and drinks (an extensive bar) were mixed and served in the kitchen.
As I said, all of the items on the invitation were brought to frutition. These included:
– An Easter egg hunt… eggs had names on them entitling the finder a kiss from the person named. Ashley made out particularly well with six eggs. I did not find any.
– The crowning of the May Queen, that is, the best fey dancing lad. Votes went overwhelmingly for Sam Smith (see photos below).
– We danced the Maypole a second time with greater numbers and the band playing for us in the garden.
– Later, when the band had retired, Bill arrived and DJed New Wave for us.
– Other features included flowers and pastries and a hookah in the front room.
Jess and I attended the party for about five hours, until two AM. Attendance topped at around thirty-three (the second highest of any Gothic Funk party) at maybe midnight, and had tapered down to less than a dozen by the time we left. The music, smoking, and dancing, however, were to continue until four AM. Several band members and partiers then went out for breakfast, and watched the sun rise.
It is difficult for me to describe this party without conflating my own emotions (which is debatably a non-issue for Gothic Funk): it was the first time I had seen many of my friends in close to a year, and I was overcome by the success of the effort. It is, however, perhaps the first Gothic Funk party that can be closely compared to another: in feel and scale, it closely resembled #3. Despite the amount of preparation that went into the effort, the party evolved in a way that did not feel prescribed or rehearsed. Which is one of the important points. It will be interesting to see if parties continue to reflect those we have already thrown, if they are as radically different as they have been in the past or if, as I suspect, they vary continually with recognizeable similarities.
For a more detailed account of the event and additional photos, the party has its own website here.
Jess and I went back to Tom and Michael’s to spend the night.
END OF POST.