The Show Must Go On: Friday at the Gathering of the Juggalos 21. Performances by HEXXX, Project Born, Blahzay Roze, Dayton Family, Wiked Wood, and Ouija Macc.
Welcome back to the ROX-TV website. By now, we are balls deep into the the greatest music festival on earth…the one and only “Gathering of the Juggalos 21” that went down in Thornville O-H-I-O. If you’ve been reading along, you will know that I rolled into town with Project Born on Wednesday. By the time Friday showed up, I felt like I had lived three lifetimes already and still had a long way to go. The sheer expansive and mind numbing world of the Juggalos was putting my body to the test.
Between the scorching heat, millions of things to see and do, and lack of sleep…I was starting to feel half delirious, nevertheless…I had a job to do. “Buy the ticket, take the ride” as Hunter S. Thompson always said. HST wouldn’t have given up two days into a drug fueled run into a Las Vegas convention and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let the thought enter my mind in O-H-I-O. This was Legend Valley after all, and lucky enough for me, the bats hadn’t shown up yet (We can’t stop here, this is bat country).
So there I was, coming back to life in my bed at the house I had rented. I made the mistake of chomping on some Benadryl a little too late in the night to try and get some sleep and was now half awake, but unwilling or unable to roll out of my night time nest. “This is the time to do great things” I mumbled to myself and with one eye open, slowly dragged my tattooed body to the shower. I didn’t expect eye opening results from the water, but it was a start. I also noticed that I was fucking hungry, which I ignored at first but came to the conclusion that the rumbling in my stomach were going to be more than a minor hindrance. “Alright already” I said to myself, “I’ll eat, just let me take a shower first”. My stomach barely listened to the internal dialogue that I was having with myself and instead just rumbled in more protest. I kept the shower to about six minutes or so, and then got dressed for the day. Project Born would be playing the Clown Drip Stage later in the night, so we all donned different PJB shirts for the occasion. I was excited for the performance because Blahzay Roze was going to be performing with the Morningside homies. The fire track “Don’t Switch” off of the the Born Dead 3 album is one of the best songs on the CD and I knew that the performance would be epic.
After the shower from hell (not really but it sounds cooler when you say it like that) I got moving and fired up the kitchen. I decided to crank out some French toast, sausage, eggs, and a little OJ. After a brief round of strategy and syrup, the PJB road crew was ready for another day of battling the heat, slanging that merch like some stones, and getting it the fuck in. I was multi-tasking a few different things between the raffle, the performance, pictures and documentation for ROX-TV, and much more. I also was gathering material for the new book I’ve been working on with Rudy “Rude Boy” Hill, which I’m currently in the process of finishing. (Author’s Note: We hope to have the product finished by the middle of September, fingers crossed on that….and be ready for the holiday season. More information will come on that release so keep checking back for updates. It’s going to be a banger, so be prepared)
The previous night had been amazing with Insane Clown Posse destroying the stage with the “Bizzar Bizaar” show (Bizaar Bizzar if you like). I could sit here and give you a second by second account of the set, but I don’t really do that. I’m more of an “all encompassing” experience kind of guy. To sum up the previous nights performance with words isn’t really possible. All I can say is that you had to be there. I’m sure there will be eighty thousand camera phone versions on YouTube by the end of the week and that is dope, but some things just can’t be captured on film, digital, stone carvings, whatever.
The real prize goes to the Juggalos and Juggalettes who were able to see, hear, and feel the Dark Carnival in person which has no other substitute. I know people can always find a reason not to do something, shit…I do it everyday. One of my best moves is “why do something today that can wait till tomorrow” (responsibly of course, if you have court today, don’t miss that shit). What we are talking about with the Dark Carnival and the blessings of a live ICP show is very different. I don’t know if anyone knows this but we are all going to get old and rusty, and eventually kick off the planet.
Everything in the world, besides rocks and shit, will have a day in the sun before taking the big dirt nap. I get it. I understand that. Time is a slippery devil, and can turn on you in second (no pun intended). One minute your a high stepping pimp and the next, your crashing into shit with your Amigo shopper at Walmart, pissing your pants, and forgetting your name. I guess the point is that time waits for no man, woman, or whatever you identify as. It’s precious and shouldn’t be wasted.
If you are down with this Dark Carnival shit, man I’m telling you…get off the couch and into your clown car….and head on down for a live concert with Insane Clown Posse. They’ve been banging around the world for the last thirty years and just like great sex, nitrous balloons, and good food…eventually it’s going to end. Not in a bad way, its just the way the world works. I can say for certainty that I will not be around in one hundred years. I don’t know when the clock runs out on live performance by the Wicked Clownz, but I think it’s safe to say that at some point, you will have missed your chance.
Whether it be five years or fifty years from now…it will end (at least in the form that we’ve grown used to having around for three decades). Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones died yesterday and I think it highlights what I’m trying to say. We take things for granted when we believe they are eternal, but even a Rolling Stone can die and they were rolling around for almost sixty years as a band. Now that I’m in the weeds and can’t see how I got on this roll, I will end this thought with one last thing: Don’t miss your chance to see the Dark Carnival in person. If you do, not today or tomorrow, but at some point you will kick yourself in the ass with both feet for missing a once in a lifetime opportunity. Moving on….
2:37pm Parking Lot of Death
So the machine was on the move and before long the Project Born road crew was pulling into Legend Valley once again. This time we decided to park up front near the main entrance. Never one to sleep on an opportunity, I parked my semi-fly (not really) Impala and took stock of the situation. I could have been the asshole that tried to drive up front, looking for the coveted spot that somehow a billion Juggalos had overlooked but I knew it was a lost cause. Those spots don’t exist and I know it.
I was destined to park in literally the farthest spot away from the entire event as possible. Why? Because I’m an edge of the scene kind of guy and this was probably the farthest spot on the planet from the action, but it was available and although it would have built in discomfort via a mad walk, it was ready and willing. The parking lot aka endless field stretched out as far as the eye could see, the fucking sun was burning in the sky like a crack pipe in an abandoned house, I knew it was going to be a long walk.
We had a truck load of merch (technically a car load, but truck load sounds more appropriate) and would be needing some assistance if we ever hoped to escape the Parking Lot of Death. Luckily for us, the saving grace came in the magical form of Ninja Nate. The baddest fucking golf cart driver in the Midwest. This Detroit king pin, came through and out of the kindness of his massive Juggalo heart, he made sure we didn’t perish in the steel desert with three hundred pounds of shirts, cds, and books.
He took time out of his insane work day and made sure we got what we needed and where we needed to be. I tip my hat to Ninja Nate, twice…for his good looking out. May the Faygo God’s look down upon you with great favor for the rest of the your life. Amen. We almost ran over thirty Juggalos, and tipped the golf cart G ride over at least once for a twenty five foot stretch, but we made it. Give this cat a prize. Stunt car drivers and Nascar circle boys got nothing on this thunder from Detroit.
So we were able to set up shop, in a tent next to the homie Skitzo. It was another day of fire performances at the Clown Drip Stage, with HEXXX, Project Born, Blahzay Roze, Wiked Wood, and many others set to perform. We got the merch laid out and ready to rock up, the raffle of the rare and amazing PJB materials, and much more. The sun was brutal and the wind was short. On with the show….
5:30pm Clown Drip Stage for HEXXX
I knew I couldn’t miss the set from my big homie HEXXX. Coming all the way live from the West Coast, this cat drops some serious bombs on the crowd. With his West Coast Wicked Shit swagger, sick fucking beats, and murderistic rhymes…HEXXX is not a MFER to sleep on.
I first met HEXXX earlier in the year at CRB Radio. He was being interviewed on air by DJ Carlito, the Rude Boy, A.T. Huck and the rest of the “Cruisin The Barrio” crew, which drops every Friday and Saturday, bringing nothing but the proper old school cruisin music that we all love. HEXXX and Macey Fox (HEXXX’s partner in crime) were excited to be in the Juggalo Mecca of the Murder Mitten and were also promoting some new fire HEXXX was dropping.
As I said before, I’ve been working on Rude Boy’s book for a good portion of this year and was able to interview HEXXX for the book. I can’t say enough good shit about this guy and manager, they are some of the realist people I’ve come across and I’m proud to call them my homies. Expect big things from this one who hails from the Wicked West. It’s only a matter of time before he blows up on the real.
This guy does Juggalo music correct with his own Faygo Twist of that West Coast flavor. I’ve been meaning to get out to Cali and chop it up with him and I think it’s going to be sooner than later. So anyway, HEXXX stormed the stage with that California G shit and the Juggalos got down to the sounds. Do not sleep on this guy. Be like Gozza and “Act like you know”.
(Author’s Note: After the HEXXX performance, it was back to the grind. I helped with the Merch booth, sold some raffle tickets, kicked down a few books and eventually got my ass something to eat. It was too hot for much else until the Sun finally took a union break and drifted off into the west. Once that fireball hit the tree line, their was some relief from the death rays, and the wind seemed to slowly turn on again after a long nap. It was far from cozy, but I could work with it.
Like I mentioned earlier, there was so much going on in so many different directions, to be in all spots at once was impossible. There were going to be some hard choices to make and I was going to have to miss certain shit. It’s not fun and I’m never happy to triage a good time, but that’s eventually what had to happen. I had wanted to catch Ouija Macc and DJ Chunk rip that fucking stage apart at Bedlam, but they were literally going on right before Project Born which featured Blahzay Roze for “Don’t Switch”.
As much as I wanted to be in two places at once, I couldn’t seem to figure out a way to hack myself in half safely, so it went like this. I would be filming the entire PJB performance for the group and that became the priority. I knew Ouija and DJ Chunk would be fire, but I had prior engagements. To complicate matters, about an hour before we were supposed to take the stage at the Clown Drip, we received some rather urgent news.
Apparently the sound from the Clown Drip Stage was travelling too far and wide, which had got to the point where the authorities had gotten involved. I’m not sure if what was the Police, who for the most part had been rather hands off and respectful to the Juggalos during my stay…or if it was something to do with a noise ordinance or complaint. Whatever the cause, it doesn’t matter, all that really came of it was that the word had come down from above that Clown Drip couldn’t go on in a similar fashion as earlier in the day.
The call was made to move the festivities to the Luv Rising Stage and that was all. Project Born and myself are not ones to cry over spilled milk or Faygo and quickly just recalibrated the plan. We needed to get the gear over to Luv Rising and quick. What I like about working with Project Born is that nothing can rattle this well oiled killing machine from Morningside. The homies from the Projects adjusted course, without so much as a sliver of discomfort. They know how to perform under pressure and constraints, adapting to the environment and moving forward like a solider on the battle field. We packed up our shit, grabbed a golf cart and hit the fucking trail)
To be continued…..
Signing Off,
Mike Shepard
ROX-TV Head Writer
kidvicious810 on IG
