2005 Gathering of the Juggalos

I survived my first Gathering of the Juggalos this weekend!

GOTJ (for those of you not in the know) is a 4-day festival of concerts, music, food, and just all out debauchery! The gathering was held in the Nelson Ledge campgrounds in Gainesville, Ohio. We booked a campsite as well as a nearby hotel so that we had a place to hang when at the gathering and a place to comfortably sleep and shower.

Every night, there were 3 or 4 concerts. Bands include Dark Lotus, Mini-Kiss (Midgets in a KISS cover band), Jumpsteady, Mantis, Esham, ABK, 2 Live Crew, Blaze, Powerman 5000, Twizdid, TechN9ne, Mack10, and of course, Insane Clown Posse! I didn’t get to any of the signings, but they all signed autographs

There were many other happenings as well during the day. They had a Miss Juggalette Pageant which was completely off the hook. Girls competed for a trip for an all expense paid trip for 2 to California, and you should see just what they’re willing to do for the trip! I’ll have pictures if I can find a photo lab willing to process the film (Digital cameras were prohibited so I went through 7 disposable cameras… Sucks, huh! I’m picking up a $200 Canon camera which is compatible with my lenses and can be taken to things like this!) It’s expensive enough, but $3 a roll rather than $10 a roll (for the disposable cameras) is much better!

Late nights I spent hanging out at Club Chaos (a site with tons of people, music, fun)… Lots of random shit went on as well. Some guy grabbed the pool used for the Faygo wrestling and dragged it down to Club Chaos and managed to put together an impromptu oil-wrestling match. Otherwise, there was tons of dancing, flashing, smoking, and god knows what else that I wasn’t exposed to!

I went with Dave, who’s been a Juggalo for years. I only knew a bit about ICP and nothing of the other bands, with the exception of 2 of the guest bands.. One being 2 Live Crew, who I grew up listening to. After seeing the show, I now understand why they were (are?) banned from performing in some states. I don’t think any of the strip clubs here in NY get as raunchy. lol. as before, I’ll try to get the pictures up. Powerman 5000 kicked ass also… Unlike Mini-KISS who got more bottles of Faygo, cans of beer, and who knows what else checked at them, and I don’t think it was in respect, Powerman 5000 was welcomed into the family. They put on a great performance playing “When Worlds Collide”, The one everyone knew, as well as some of their new stuff. The show was incredible and I hope to see them again when they come to the area. The other bands were all pretty good too. ABK, Twiztid, Tech9…They were all good. There was such a great feeling in the area as everybody (except me. lol) knew all the music and lyrics, but it didn’t stop me from hanging in the crowd and having an awesome time. Even the Mosh Pits and flying bottles of Faygo weren’t enough to take away from the fun!

I have to talk about the Magician they had there… I have always been a huge fan of Magic, but they had this magician who, as per the program states, stupefied his audience… With an emphasis on “Stupid”. In his first performance, he actually messed up on 2 tricks. There’s something funny about a crowd of Juggalos chanting “You Fucked Up! You Fucked Up!” in harmony at a magician who just gave away his trick because of a stupid blunder… In addition, he messed up one of the same tricks AGAIN the second day. On day one, a cabinet with a false bottom got jammed when reseating by the magicians foot sticking out of the back of the box revealing that he was laying in it. The second night, one of the props, a stuffed doll that was supposed to be transformed into the magician was caught in the trapdoor of the false bottom of the box… Can you say DOH!

The atmosphere at the gathering is absolutely incredible. You’re at a campsite with 10000 other people who consider you friends..Fellow Ninjas, Juggalos and Juggalettes), and family. People just walk up to you and say hi. GOTJ is a unique experience. Our modern version of Sex, Drugs and Rock n’ Roll (Or at least a unique cross between Rap, Hip-Hop, Rock, Jazz, and quite a few other styles)

I’ll post more if I think of anything.

Check out the Gathering of the Juggalos website for information about this and upcoming gatherings.