A Harmonious Fusion of Conscious Living, Art, and Culture
After over ten years of bringing audiences crunchy grooves and good vibes, the Do LaB hosted yet another successful festival catering to the mind, body, and soul this past Memorial Day weekend. Held at its usual venue at Oak Canyon Ranch, Lightning in a Bottle provided audiences with a multi-faceted, eye opening experience in the hills of Silverado, California. With over 74 musical acts, 33 live artists, and 36 speakers, Lightning in a Bottle 2012 continued its legacy of progressive entertainment that focuses on enhancing the human experience through art, meditation, sustainable engineering, and music.
In terms of the festival’s musical experience, the Do LaB went above and beyond to showcase an expansive variety of genres. From world fusion to glitch hop, rock and roll to string quartet chamber music, this year’s lineup was reminiscent of an underground Coachella mixed with multi-culturalism. The five main stages for music—the Lumi Lounge, the Lucent Temple of Consciousness, the Bamboo Stage, the Woogie Stage, and the Lightning Stage—hosted world class acts that made sure everyone’s musical appetite was sated.
Friday night headliners Nit Grit and Tipper kicked off the first official LIB night with heavy-hitting sets that set the stage for the rest of the weekend. Lesser-known but equally impressive artists like Shpongle, Minnesota, and Gramatik also performed on Friday, proving that even the smaller names at festivals can compare to the main acts. As the momentum of the festival quickly amassed, attendees with weekend passes were able to kick off their LIB experience with performances by Bluetech, an-ten-nae, and EOTO. Headliners Lucent Dossier Experience—a tribal cirque of acrobatics, dance, and live music much like an acidified Cirque du Soleil—were a spectacle that captivated audiences with their (literally) fiery grandeur.
The same stage was quickly transformed into an altar for glitch-heads as Ooah, edIT, and Boreta slammed listeners with tracks from We Can Make the World Stop to Drink the Sea. Lightning in a Bottle numbers peaked on Sunday as crowds poured in to catch festival headliner Bassnectar. Leading up to the sultan of bass was naturally another 14 hours of nonstop music including OPIUO, Big Gigantic, R/D, and Sidecar Tommy. Still, the Lightning bass never struck so hard as when Moontribe veteran, Bassnectar, took the stage. Infused with dubstep, breakbeat, and glitch, Bassnectar’s set blasted the crowd with nearly two hours of both recent and earlier releases of his career.
As a whole, perhaps the most notable aspect of Lightning in a Bottle was the symbiotic relationship among each aspect of the festival. The eco-friendly stages enhanced the natural beauty of the venue; healing sanctuaries and yoga sessions healed bodies after a day of endless dancing and restored energy levels for yet another day to come; group meditation and compelling speakers opened minds to receive the positive energy that was essential to the festival’s success. From start to finish, Lightning in a Bottle was a living, breathing organism whose every particle was integral to the synergistic event.
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