AKL BLOCK CLOUD PARTY 2015
OK, yes, it is called Block Party, but I prefer Cloud Party, after the bubble-dome building it was held in…Wharf party even sounds more fitting. I went with the expectation it was going to be like the crowds found at any one of the underground night markets. Other than that, I was just gonna go with the flow, explore for a bit, and come back home.
Poster art by Seattle artist BenHorak.tumblr.com
Between the ferry terminal building and the Cloud, a crowd had amassed to watch a topless street performer entertain them with the assistance of a young volunteer, Saha. His buildup to a trick of chopping an apple in half on top of the little girl’s head, turned out to be just a prolonged joke. He knew how to hold an audience though I’ll give him that, but I wasn’t impressed. However, the little girl was cracking me up! Afterwards when the man was trying to split that apple in half using only his bare strength, Saha did the crazy twirl around her ear thing that I hope other people noticed, and when the man was trying to balance himself on a plank of wood atop a tin barrel, he asked the little girl to hand him the red hula-hoop she was standing in, so she picked it up, and just threw the thing at his legs like a Frisbee, zero fucks given, as if she was also waiting to be impressed. He didn’t fall though. Saha stole the show. I didn’t stick around, opting to beat the soon to be dissipating crowd, I wandered onward into the dome.
There were plenty of homemade artisan and vintage craft stalls selling neat and unique trinkets and artworks. Cool to see, but really not my cup of tea. Speaking of; there was some iced tea punch-bowl drinking ceremony/picnic thing happening on the opposite side, large-scale games of chess and jenga were being played, and like the empty stage was at the time, the Cloud felt rather spacious. I thought more noise was needed. More stuff to fill all that negative space. I definitely see potential for something greater.
Nearer to the back, I met Cleo who had a neat drawing setup that invited people to come doodle a picture of their dream desire and phantasies — PhantasyProject.com. I took a seat and stuck around for a bit (My name is Fin, and this is my picture):
When a trio of girls next to me started talking about D, I went back to the chess board. Game in progress. Hippy-esk music playing in the background. Two opponents taking a really long time to make their moves. Boredom setting in. Among the circles of friends standing beside me, I noticed the dancer from the last sketch session and wandered over to say hi. Hailey is her name. Cool character. Specks of glitter on her face. Really good vibe from her. She told me about the band playing next on stage, so I found myself a seat up front and hoped Hailey had good taste. “New Gum Sarn” was the band’s name:
Drums: Sophia Lawler-Dormer / Guitar: Durham Fenwick / Bass: Dave Weir / Guitar/Vox: Oscar Dowling. https://newgumsarn.bandcamp.com/music
The Auckland four-piece “New Gum Sarn” were really, really good. The release of their debut album ‘New Gold Mountain’ will be released sometime later this year (TBC). I liked them. When they finished I headed for the exit. Catching my attention however, were two interesting tables I missed on the way in, tucked away in their own corner. The mess on top was colourful and the people sitting around them were contributing to it — they were making stickers. Of course, I joined in. I made three and gave two away. Cindy, the girl who I gave one away to, gave me one of her sticker eyes in return, and Chris, the other, happened to be part of the two-man crew who setup the free sticker making help-yourself-workshop, both of whom seemed way chillaxed — CHIPPY
Heading back to my car, I caught Cindy, sticker tagging one of her designs on the street, the creative rebel. …Come to think of it, actually, shit I think she stuck it to a tree XD We met further up the street, again, and, I like her. Not quite sure if her third sticker eye or the plastic bag sticking out of her right shoe had something to do with that, but yeah, a story for some other time perhaps. A good person. A good night overall really.
I like the idea of having plans, but I also seem to find myself very comfortable with impulsive decisions and going with the flow. I met some incredibly nice and cool people tonight, and that is one thing I never expected. Go with the flow, and it’s all a party.
Thanks, Cleo. Upon review, I noticed I failed to credit you for your awesome photography [http://www.cleobarnett.com/block-party] and had I done further research I would have totally mentioned that you actually founded Auckland’s first Block Party on Queens Wharf in 2014 — which is amazing! 🙂
🙂 i love this