Om

[Gunark]

Wow... now THAT was a very decent weekend.

Beautiful location. Several thousand awesome people. Kick-ass music. Almost perfect weather... what more could you ask for?

The Om crew deserves tons of respect for putting so much time, thought, creativity and effort into this....

And of course, here is the inevitable comparison between WEMF and Om:

Basically, compared to Om, WEMF has turned into a rather sad, and sketchy little affair. I think what it all comes down to is the organizers' motivations... I think most people would agree that Om's reasons for putting this on are pretty noble. The Om organizers really care and believe in what they are doing... and most importantly, they are not in this to make money.

Anyway, great job, <clap><clap><clap>, and all that to the Om crew.

A good time was had by all, and I personally can't wait for next summer solstice.

-Matt.

 

[air-bag]

What about the music?
hello?

 

[Gunark]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">What about the music?
hello?</font>

I believe I said the music was "kick-ass"

...but I guess you're asking for more details.

For one, there was a lot of experimental stuff (as you'd expect). Some of it was good and some of it was not. But all of it was interesting.

As for the more traditional sets, my favorite was SirCut Breaker's at the "caslte" stage... The wabi guys at the Libation stage also put down some solid techno beats on saturday morning (even though they were doing it more for jokes than anything else). And of course the series of Saturday night/Sunday morning house sets at the Guelph crew's stage kept me and my ass busy for a good couple of hours.

I'm not exactly a big fan of goa, so I mostly ignored the tents playing this stuff (the main goa tent looked pretty damn cool though).

To be honest, I didn't set my musical expectations very high to start with. I wasn't going out to see DJ Ultra Mega Superstar, just so he could play a series of tracks I've heard a hundred times before (but this time in different order!) Instead, I was going to see something new and refreshing.. and that I did.

- Matt.

 

[air-bag]

thanks

 

[Moez]

OM was a week-end filled with every range in feelings and emotions for me. From anxiety to comfortability and some moments of sheer craziness. it combined wonderful music and amazing people and placed them both on a stretch of land so beautiful one must see it to understand just how perfect it was for a musical celebration such as this one.

The music variety was kick ass! There was everything from stomping goa to chill house, jungle, techno and even the sweet sounds of opera being sung at the gathering Saturday evening. True enough some of the music being played was an aquired taste, I was growing tired of the same progressive sounding goa after a while as well as the jungle, but to cater to the thousands of people there they had a large enough variety that you could find something that you enjoyed.

My only disapointment with the music was in the goa tent, even though it was there I spent most of my time. The DJs just never seem to know how to mix it and it was quite frustrating when you would be getting your groove on and all of a sudden it is interrupted by a dodgy mix. Just annoying is all.

I met so many people that were just so trmendously friendly and not once did I see anyone without a smile or a pleasant look on their face. It seemed that everyone was having the most incredible time.

The decorations around the sight were unique and beautiful, including the mushroom field set up beneath black lights, and the best tent was by far the goa tent. Holy crap, did it ever look magical at night. There was always a crowd of people in that tent dancing underneath the glow of black lights and to the pounding sounds of goa-trance. It was so intense and deffinitely a ride for your senses. Fucking wikkid!!!

This week-end was one of the best experiences I have had. True enough there were moments where I didn't know what to do with myself because I am not used to having unlimited amounts of free time like that, but the entire week-end was a learning and growing experience and a fantabulous way to spend a birthday.!!!

~ Johane

 

[kodos]

glorious! the weather was heavenly and considerate with a well-timed sprinkle here and there... i loved the wide-open space with the fields of grass and the little lake. there was a wicked crowd -- great diversity of peoples and harmonious friendliness throughout. free water for all, tasty chow whenever required? predictably, om knows how to treat their customers and give them their money's worth.

only one complaint could be made and that would be with the music... but is this a music festival, or something else? either way, it was in no way detrimental to my weekend that i only heard a small smattering of stuff i liked and that the goa was predictably stale and not all that goa-ish. but like i say... who gives a fuck. it was a great time, even if i had to sit through 'thriller', madonna, and a polka remix of the titanic theme song... if i liked house or jungle i probably would have gotten along just fine... still, where's all the psychedelic music for us neo-hippies in disguise?

i did enjoy rollin' cash's set right before banco came on... nice scratchin, great funky breaks. whoever was on earlier playing live funk and other stuff was awesome as well -- i'd love to know who the heck that was. on the friday i caught what i thought was some sort of fairie funk thang and that was sweet too. hmm... what's the theme here? i enjoyed the funky beats.

i'm soooooo glad i went. this one was a definate TEN!

 

[dj_jake_the_snake]

OM finally home

gotta do so many things now that I'm back. Just wanted to see who was back yet and who stayed for the afterparty?? Lemme tell you each day got better and better. some tense times but it was all internal.

ha ha subsonic chronic I saw you once this weekend and you were out cold in your tent

to all the others I'll write more later. okay Moez?

 

[ADT]

OM blows 3day out of the f******** water..

Free Food!.. how awsome was that..

Om charges less to get inside than 3day, and everything from the sound to the stages are better than WEMF..

The Goa tent was absolutely SICK!!!!!! that glowing webbing they had going all over the place was beyond trippy.. but yes.. the mixing was substandard... the track selection was awsome though

Solid House and Jungle all weekend..

OMG.. Easy Rush and Moh.. (you guys threw down the set of the weekend.. and im normally an trance person... fukin nice jungle...).. Moh lays down the sweetest fukin lines between tracks.. so positive and cool.. made my morning.. thanks! =D

..the crowd was way cooler.. i cant remember the last time i spent an entire night throwing down liquid with out some snotty brat coming up for a challenge (not that i dont like challenges).. the crowd was just too nice and friendly.. old and young partying together.. only good vibes all around.. come to think of it.. the only liquid kid who came up to me stuck a joint in my mouth.. haha =D!! thanks!! to the girl at the goa tent..=D

no brats abusing their bodies and making me feel ashamed of our scene..

the wicken lesbian wedding was pretty cool.. congratulations!!!!.. it was nice to see that kind of love in peoples eyes.. a beautiful scene all around..

the location was spectacular!!

but more than anything i have to give it up to the stars... mindblowing..

v..to everyone who made this weekend special for me.. abstractdatatype

 

[CC]

such a wicked weekend away from the busy city. i had almost forgot what stars look like.

friday night we drive up, arrive near the front gate at about 11:00 or 11:30 to see a massive line of cars that we would expect to see at the "other" three day event. i was quite puzzled at the long line, since last year didn't have it. so we wait in this car line while jane and the cru in our car check out the situation up front. now was it a line because of slow searches? nope, it was some guys broken down car, and the line of other cars behind were all to willing to shut off the engine and smoke weed. this in itself is cool. i mean where else on earth will you find this sort of patience. any other event would have had mass amounts of people trying to sneak their cars to the front. this sets the tone for the whole weekend: why hurry up when we can just smoke weed to pass the time?

the thing that makes this festival absolute number 1 is that they look at the important things for a three day first. they set everything up to inspire everyone to act proactive and responsibly. they take care of all the food preparation so that we all ate well enough all weekend, unlike other events where people may only eat a meal or two all weekend. the food was great too; better than i eat at home. the picked the best venue possible to make our weekend great, including making sure we had a place to go swimming. they also took the effort to set up workshops during the day to cover everything under the sun from music production/live PA stuff to social issues. they put so much effort into making the stages fantastic, instead of just renting light equipment and a few decorations. this weekend was all about the little touches. in every aspect of the weekend experience it shows that the promoters care. they do everything they can to make it our best experience of the year.

this is how a three day should be done, and i won't dare go to any other three day event; it just wouldn't be the same.

CC

ps. one complaint i will voice strongly is that between about 2 and 4 or 5 on saturday night, everything was a little too laid back. it was very chill house, trance or techno at all the stages. nothing uplifting for myself, which lead to my falling asleep at 4:30.

 

[gsnuff]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Gunark:
... The wabi guys at the Libation stage also put down some solid techno beats on saturday morning (even though they were doing it more for jokes than anything else)</font>

If you'd just thrown back a bottle of aqua you'd think things were funny too..

 

[afterglow]

Genious weekend... pure genious.

 

[afterglow]

Genious weekend... pure genious.

 

[Shorty]

WOW is definitly the word for this weekend..

I never knew freedom really existed until this weekend..where else could you walk around smokin a joint not having to worry about the security? speaking of security, Did they look really high to anyone else on Sat around 3 sometime? mwahahahaha I have pictures to show! They were in the line bitching about having to wait for food (jokingly of course)

Anyways the music....my god was it amazing, I haven't heard so many old skool tracks in a long time..Friday night was the best for all ragga lovers...wow and wow again..booo at those people who were booing the old skool

.

The black light activist tent (Goa tent) holy shit do they know how to decorate!!! during the day it looked a little blah but at night it transformed into (can't describe it) really trippy i'm sure for those on anything. Can't say much about the music because I'm not into it, but a lot of people seemed to enjoy it.

The breaks on saturday night were also amazing, my feet still hurt from dancing to them....mmmmmm yummy yummy breaks!!

The kind kitchen was the best, I ate food I've never eaten before and my god was it yummy. Thank you so much for all that cooked and helped in the kitchen

The stars were beautiful, and oh ya i don't think I've seen that many naked people in one hour before....big up to the nakkid krew lol how did that naked beach party go at 5 am? weren't you people cold? Everyone had to love the naked guitar guy...who knew one man could create so much laughter

for the people who attend WEMF this year and for the years to come, you should take note on LEAVING NO TRACE!!!

There was so much land (2 hours out in the middle of the boonies)and I was amazed at how people kept the place so clean, if only people could do that everywhere..

Okay well I could go on and on about how great this weekend was but I won't for your sake.

see you next year!

 

[Shorty]

one last comment..

Did anyone else know about those community bikes? my friend and I were tripping all over them on friday night, then Saturday we found out that you just pick em up and ride to where you want and then leave them, the people that organized om really though of everything.

Oh and I have to agree with CC on how everything seemed to end up very laid back around 3...that's when I also went to bed..Ah well only good things came from getting some well needed sleep.

THANK YOU OM once again

much love and respect

 

[JEMZ]

"Om-sweet-Om, OM-my-Gawd, what an OM-mazin weekend".

"did you have a good weekend?" What a rediculous question. It was impossible not to have a good time.

Okay. The location was beautiful, the water for swimming was incredible. The decorations were awesome in all parts. The were communal bikes that if you found one you could use to go wherever and just leave it there. There was a farris wheel. There was clean drinking water and free food all day. The was a wedding and there was 3000 people holding hands. There was a whole bunch of old friends there and a whole bunch of new friends. It was Norm's birthday and it was Johane's birthday. There was Trip hop, breaks, jungle, house, goa, techno, ambient, polka, circus music, spoken word, banghra, and you never knew where you would find it.

******* The essence of this weekend to me was the fact that the vibe was there, everybody was happy, everybody was smiling, everybody did there own thing.... but nobody was telling us to. There were no signs reading "remember PLUR" or no kids telling you how high they were and asking you to randomly sign their book, it was all just there. This event sustained itself with no pressure to move it in any direction, to me that is more than a party.

This reply did not go the way I wanted. I cannot possibly come close to explaining this weekend. The 3 day cannot hold a candle to this celebration. Real people, real partying, real happiness. I'm so glad I got to be there

Thanks Jen.
Jamie

 

[joey]

it would of been sweet to go

Oh how i sad i am that i had to miss you this year OM

glad everyone had fun,
like how could you not at OM?

 

[green_souljah]

Om was a pure spectacle of underground culture.

We arrived at about 11pm on Friday and waited about an hour to get in.
I was expecting some kind of a search of my car or something...but instead was greeted by a friendly guy and girl who simply asked if I had any glass bottles.
I answered "no" which was the truth, they smiled, nodded...and waved us on through.
First pleasant surprise.

I was supposed to meet up with my friends from Barrie inside the party.... Ill get to that!

We set up camp next to some cool people from Philly and proceeded to the party.
The Ferris wheel was a nice touch....vendors selling all kinds of neat things ( not just your standard "rave toys" that you would normally see.
We found the Bowggy stage first and I started grooving to some sweet disco house sounds circa 1998 Pure Wednesday styleez..

After some discussion with some random people we were told that 4 other stages existed!
Next I found the Guelph/Libation stage.

OMG!

Can someone please tell me who was spinning between 1 and 3am on the Friday night?
Not even joking this was the BEST jungle set I have ever heard in my life.
Pure old school......with hardly any Ragga..the stuff that I cream over!
(mostly 95-96)
If anyone knows who was spinning PLEASE tell me!
I was the dude in the black and white plaid shirt dancing my ass of in the front!
The people I at this stage were pure party people....none of this hip hop gangster "bo bo" approach that is so overwhelming at the jungle events of today.

After this we ventured over to the Black Light Activists/One Tribe arena.
This was buried in a valley about 1.5km away from where we camped!

This was without a doubt the most creative setup I have ever seen! I know that the Goa scene always does offer tremendous setup but this was mind blowing!

After this was bedtime for us....

We only slept for about an hour....I woke up around 7:30 am...stepped outside my tent to look around ...and then heard my name being called from a distance..

Who was it?
My friends from Barrie who I was supposed to meet earlier!
Apparently they were into the Rev's all night and were showing no signs of stopping...

Saturday was spent chilling around the campsite with a brief venture down to the water and Kind Kitchen area.
Thank you to the nice men making and giving away the pita's!
The music on Saturday tended to be a little more experimental and live oriented.
I found the live Dub band ( dunno where I just heard it from my site) to be entertaining mid afternoon.

Saturday night:
I really enjoyed the 70's funk being thrown down at the Bowwgy stage.
Heard a very good Jungle set at the stage farthest to the right at around 11:30 ish...

As someone mentioned above...the music did seem kinda chill on Sat nite...as the Guelph stage was throwing down some deep house ( it was well done with the live drumming but just not really my thing)
so I too spent most of Sat nite in the Goa tent.

Some more propa jungle wouldve been splendid...

But on the other hand this wknd I realized just how much underground music there really is alive and kicking right now...and I even surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying most of it!

Ravers arent the only people who like stuff you dont hear on hits 103.5

So I guess if I only see one thing wrong with an entire weekend.....

Om crew give yourselves a HUGE pat on the back for this one.....you guys have no idea just how awesome of an event you just through!

Every stage looked like about 3 weeks work went into it....the lay out of the party was well thought out and you could tell that months of effort and planning went into this one for a very nominal charge to the partygoer.
A breakdown of the ticket cost was even included in the brochure!

Other production companies could learn from these guys...as with Om you could see where every dollar went.
I dont even know if I will be in attendace at WEMF now.....as I know that I will just be dissapointed.

 

[SUNKIST]

What a fabulous weekend!!!

we showed up around 10:30 friday nite, and eneded up waiting in a huge line of cars for almost an hour-but that was about the only down point of the entire weekend.

the venue was totally worth the 4 hr drive from downtown..a huge open space with a beach, lotsa grass and an amazing sky full of stars at nite. everyone there as extremely nice, just going about there business, having a drink, talking with friends, playing some music or going for a swim-it was the most relaxed environment i have ever experienced in a very long time.

every stage was so good, each offering something else all weekend. the BLA stage was so amazing-you would walk over a hill to be greeted on the other side by the most amazing site of a black light tent kicking out some kick ass goa-a very intense tent-but so good-although Jo i agree..i noticed that the dj's good mix very well into each track..but i also noticed that with the majority of the tents..

the sumkids tent was kickin it all weekend-everytime i went over there there was something kool happening, rollin' cash-so good, and that mushroom patch? how kool was that? if anyone got a decent picture of it-toally post it, it was the koolest thing

i wandered over to the playrerecords tent saturday nite, and was greeted by a wikkidly decorated stage and a kicka ss dj, i dont know who he was, but he was spinning around 3am on saturday nite..but i was kinda disappointed that there wasn't really anyone there-the stage was kinda off by itself, and i'm not sure about the rest of the weekend, but i don't think it got the crowds it deserved..

and the guelph tent..oh baby..there was no where better at 7am sunday morning...marcus the cat i think? oh yeah..sweet sweet tracks, a rising sun and dancing on dew covered grass...a perfect closing to an awesome weekend...

great to see some familiar faces, and meet some new friends, thanks OM, and everyone else for a kick ass weekend...

Happy B-days to Norm and Jo..glad to celebrate your b-days with ya!!

 

[JEMZ]

^^^^^^^^^
Sorry I missed you Lori

Glad you had a great time though

See you soon I hope

 

[reiko]

OM my! I didn't think that anything could top last year's OM, but boy was i wrong...

What an absolutely incredible weekend.

Perfect weather combined with a beautiful location, thousands of smiling faces and such a wide variety of music, all weekend long.

And the best set of the weekend? Hands down, this goes to the one they call Rollin' Cash. Amazing mix of funky breaks to downtempo to some serious scratching...Roland should definitely be seen more often.

Where else but OM can you wander to the kind kitchen, to the swimmin' hole, to yoga, to see talented performers....and so much more.

So a huge thanks and much respect to the OM crew for allowing us to experience the beauty of the summer solstice.

*Already looking forward to next year*
~dEb

 

[French Disco Girl]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by green_souljah:
As someone mentioned above...the music did seem kinda chill on Sat nite...as the Guelph stage was throwing down some deep house ( it was well done with the live drumming but just not really my thing)
</font>

that was deeno who had the live drumming mixed in with his set. i'd have to say though the first hour was chill house, his set was by far one of my favorites. the second half i found a lot more funkier. too bad it was soo cold! deeno was amazing, as always.

thanks ritika for the [5 hr] drive there and home, thanks lori for getting us lost!

and tyler [you have my camera still!!] and brian for company on the way up and back. nice meeting you two!

as everyone else has already said, the food at the kind kitchen was amazing and plentiful! and the nekkid guy w/ the guitar was great for an early morning smile - as were the other handful of nekkid people!

lots of fun had

i can't remember who was from the board and who wasn't within our gathering but it was great meeting all of you.

happy bday norm!

 

[Jennika]

WOW, is all I can say.

best OM ever (it was my third)!

Rollin' Cash's set blew me away on Saturday, my legs still hurt from dancing.

Thank you everyone who made it a fantastic weekend.

I'm still in a daze to be back in the city, I miss stars and fresh air.

that weekend renewed my faith in OM as the best summer festival.

 

[Gunark]

I'm a little confused.. who was it that played the breaks set at the Sumkidz stage (the castle stage?) after midnight on Saturday night/Sunday morning? I thought it was SirCut Breaker or something... or was it Rollin' Cash? I've never heard either one play(does SirCut Breaker even play breaks?)

But either way, that was by far the best set of the weekend. The timing was perfect too.. I just wish they had some more uptempo sets like that on Saturday night.

 

[yummi]

Another great festival from Om !

Lot's of great friends old and new. The funniest/ strangest part of the weekend was friday night / saturday morning when my girlfriend and I wake up to find a totaly stoned guy sitting in our tent !!
After he asked us a couple of times where his stuff was we informed him he should try his own tent

!!

Was it true that Mittelstandskinder ohne strom couldn't play the BLA area 'cause he forgot a scsi terminator ?

Though i'm not realy into Goa I have to say that Olli ( I think ) was exellent, totaly took us on a ride, I love it when the DJ gets the whole crowd freakin' on cue specialy as the sun is coming up and mist sits on the grass.

Rollin' cash, Banco De Gaia, and Freedom also get my vote. Thanks also to Om and the performers who bought a more experimental style to the festival. I wish that I could have beeen in more places at once.

The only negatives, strange guy in tent ! Morons who get aggressive when trying to jump the line of cars coming in and the two cars on the way back who were driving side by side (left /right lane) trying to pass each other something ( a joint ?) while seperated by a double yellow line, the most dangerous driving I think that I have ever seen.

I have to mention that people comparing Om to wEMF are comparing apples and oranges. I go to WEMF with a completely different set of expectations, make plans to see the DJs I realy want to see and don't bring anything of value.

See ya all at next years Om !!

 

[labRat]

this was my first and definitely not my last OM experience. such a great way to spend a weekend outdoors with friends and good music.

some of the things that made this weekend so great:

* the BLA stage ... what an amazing setup. looking through the glowing roof to the stars above while listening to some good goa music. it was mighty.

* a canoe ride down the river at 4 in the morning on saturday.

* the sumkids stage ... always something new and different everytime i ventured that way.

* the never ending keg

* the naked hippies, i didn't see a lot of them, but it always makes you smile and realize that these people really know how to let loose. or maybe they were just really stoned ... or maybe a bit of both.

a good weekend all around.

--craig