Bringing A Bit Of 'Burning Man' To Boston

One of the problems of making the pilgrimage to “Burning Man”—the annual, weeklong participatory art festival, awesome oasis and weirdo encampment of some 50,000 “Burners” in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, Nevada—is it can be a major downer to return home to the normal world again.

“It gives people a sense of belonging,” says Melinda Green of “Burning Man.” She’s been making the trek from Boston to the desert and back again for four years. “Everyone’s very open and happy and it’s very different from the default world.”

To help with the adjustment, Burners have developed “Decompressions,” local post-“Burning Man” meet-up parties. The local Burner group Black Rock East is organizing Boston's fourth annual “Decompression” dubbed “Conspiracy 2.0,” scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at Who's On First, 19 Yawkey Way, Boston.

The event’s aim, Green says, is to “bring that ['Burning Man'] spirit for one night or one day.” It’s a night of live music, DJs, dancing, and interactive art including Mark Kriegsman's 13-foot-tall metal and LEDs “Lightning Tree,” Blake Courter's “interactive hyperbolic video Kaleidoscope,” Michael Dewberry's “9-foot illuminated tensegrity sculpture,” Max Eskin's pedal-powered, two-seat “Giant Baby Carriage,” and Carl Gruesz's “warm and fuzzy glowing couch.” As always for “Burning Man” parties, “Creative attire is encouraged.”