@findthecoretruth (parading the round numbers around the ring), our good friend Lara (in referee garb, judiciously scoring the fights and calling the winner of each round) and I (the robed announcer in the silly hat) were so busy staging the fights and interacting with the wonderful fighters that we forgot to take photos at the time.
I wanted to bring something fast, loud, and stupid to the playa this year. Something that was portable, easy to make and use, and memorable. (photo gallery below!)
You know the sound a steel mixing bowl makes when you strike its edge? I love the round, BONGing resonance of it. So:
Fighters must strike each other’s armor as musically, creatively, uniquely, balletically as possible
You have 60 seconds
The crowd judges the winner.
Gong Fights exceeded my wildest dreams! The ferocity of the Violence Fighters, the grace of the Art Fighters, and the the idiot noise and chaos overran all rational concerns, and a kind of animal fervor took over.
It was stupidly magnificent, and magnificently stupid. Thank you especially to Mr. OK, Michelle, Lydia, Dakota, Thor, Sumit, Dandelion, Drift, Jackson, TwoNames, HoneyBear, Mike, Special Snowflake, and everyone else who armored and scored and assisted and fought and danced and hooted and lost and won.
The sound inside the kit is kind of glorious, but I think during a fight it will be hellaciously loud. Might need to hand out earplugs to the fighters. I’ll be working on arm protection next. And maybe some smaller noisemaking items.
Blood, money, paint, metal shavings, and an awful lot of passion have been spilled here on projects for Burning Man and beyond. XyloVan is Mack Reed's creative sandbox.