Mosh Pit in the Woods
TIPI CIRCLE circa 10:36am—The conch is blown, summoning campers to a group warmup. Las Cafeteras, a Los Angeles-based band in town to play the Ten Mile Creek Revival, has agreed to make a morning cameo at Camp. They are set up on the Rainbow Theater’s backstage in order to play to the open space of the Tipi Circle. The band begins to softly play “Chan Chan” as children gather.
“When I was young, nobody taught me how to dance,” says band member Hector Flores over the PA. “When I turned 15 someone taught me how to move my body and it changed my life. So if you wanna have fun in this life, you gotta learn how to dance. We’re here to help you with that today.”
The band gradually picks up in volume and energy as the warm-up progresses: walking, shoulders, knees, hips. A spell of unseasonably cool air has kept Camp in a pleasantly mild temperature even as the midmorning sun bears down on the dry earth. Rainbow Tipi with its relatively new canvas reflects the sunshine like a mirror.
“This next one is a two-step,” announces Hector as the band switches to a higher tempo. “We’re gonna walk like you’re going to the grocery store.”
The crowd sways in a loose marching rhythm. Benches carry small piles of personal effects, evidence of the in-progress clean-up session which was paused to accommodate the band’s schedule. People seem more than happy for the interruption.
“Okay now we’re gonna spread out in a big circle,” instructs Hector, opening a small space in the center of the crowd.
The song has once again switched to a higher intensity and soon the entire crowd is jogging in a massive whirlpool of bodies. The band triumphantly ends the song to a chorus of cheers.
“That was your first mosh pit I bet!” jokes Hector. “Have you ever seen a mosh pit in the woods? Usually these are on concrete. That was the first time I ever seen that.”
“Now we’re gonna do a little activity called ‘Where You From From?’” says Hector. “I want people to get in groups of 2 or 3 and then you’re gonna say, ‘Where you from?’ And I don’t want you to say California or Mexico; I want you to be specific. What town? What hospital? Do you know what time you were born? Did you come out feet first or head first? It’s okay if you don’t know. Just say, ‘Huh, I dunno.’ Ready? Okay, go!”
The crowd pairs off and launches into a hundred-odd conversations. The bassist begins noodling the intro to Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”. The other instruments gradually join in.
“Alright, you should all be about done by now, right?,” says Hector after a few minutes. “Now I wanna see, who here was born in Laytonville, California.” A few hands shoot up. “How about who was born in Willits?” A different couple of hands go up. “How about in Northern California? Southern California? Outside California? In a different country?” The crowd cheers for the handful of international folks.
“What did we learn from this exercise?” asks Hector. “All of us are different. And that’s what makes us the same. We’re all the same because we’re all different.” He pauses, letting the paradoxical platitude settle in. “We’re all the same because, what?”
“We’re all different!” chimes the crowd.
“We’re all the same because, what???” he repeats.
“We’re all different!”
“This next one is a sing-along,” says Hector. “I want you all to think if you were the president for one day, what would you do to help everybody? That’s what this song’s about. The chorus goes, ‘Si fuera Presidente, para la gente.’”
The band kicks in and the campers join in on the chorus throughout the song.
“Now I need three volunteers from the audience, one from the front, one from the middle, and one from the back,” says Hector as the band continues softly in the background. He points out three raised hands. “Now I want you to tell me, what’s your name, where are you from and what would you do if you were president?” He passes the mic to the volunteers.
“My name is Josephine, I’m from Santa Rosa City, and if I was president I would make healthcare free for everyone!”
“My name is Avi, I’m from Oakland, and if I was president I would abolish ICE!”
“My name is Lyric, I’m from California, and if I was president I would let everyone have peace around this whole universe!”
The crowd cheers for each camper volunteer. Hector thanks the campers and sends them back to the crowd.
“I want to give a shout-out to my friend Sanje,” he says. “For 8 years she has been telling me that there was this magical camp, a camp that changed her life, a camp that she went to as a little girl. It’s so great to be here at this heaven-on-earth. This last one is called ‘La Bamba’.”
The band plays the ubiquitous tune with gusto and soon the whole crowd has morphed into a snaking conga line. “Sing with me!” says Hector. “Bamba, bamba…” Dust swirls as the line shuffles in a long spiral.
“Do we have time for one more?” asks Hector as the song ends, looking around for some Camp official. Off to the side, Super Duper (see: manager) Jack Crawford nods and gives an emphatic thumbs up. The band erupts into a driving Cumbia number with a piercing keyboard lead. The crowd roils with dancing for the grand finale.
“Put up a ‘W’ for Winnarainbow,” says Hector, throwing up the Wu-Tang Clan’s famous gesture. The crowd imitates. “We’ll see you at the next festival!”
The crowd cheers and begins to spread back out into cleaning stations. A number of adults gather near the rainbow to shake hands with the band members. It’s always exciting to have artists visit Camp, and Las Cafeteras delivered an exceptional performance that really engaged the children. It was a memorable finale to a memorable session.
We hope everyone has a safe journey home today and, as always…
Stay hydrated,
—J. Payseno, Editor
PS Be sure to check out Las Cafeteras’ official website for tour dates and merch.