Videos

America, Etcetera, Live Event Report

#020 – Symbiosis Gathering 2015 (Oakdale, CA)

Video Leave a comment

（日本語は下にあります↓）

On one rather hectic morning in August, I received a phone call from my friend Erik who I have been losing touch for years since our paths had diverged from entertainment battlefield also known as Los Angeles. I still remember the last time I saw him in Los Angeles back in 2013 after my return to US from short expedition to UK. Nothing much has changed in our friendship since and we were still the same human being but obviously leading different lives as far as our career paths go. The days of working together on video projects back in college are behind us; Erik continued on his passion in filmmaking while I gradually deviated from that path. We had a good drink and chat at the old LA stomping ground (“Bigfoot West” to be precise) and promised to work together in different projects whenever we get the opportunity to call that shot.

Two years later, a surprising phone call from Erik molded the weekend of adventure in the nowhere land otherwise known as Oakdale California. The idea was this: Erik’s girlfriend, Alyssa, is working for lifestyle magazine and needed someone to photograph the moments at Symbiosis Gathering for her article. And that lucky “someone” turned out to be me. Ticket for the press was held at the box office so I drove over to the festival ground next morning – picked up few lifeline supplies (e.g., snacks and some fresh strawberries from farm vendors along Route-120 en route to Yosemite’s direction) – showed up at the entrance, did a little bit of finagling to prove myself as the press person (thanks to Alyssa’s help) and BADA BING! I have entered the gate to the wonderland in the name of Symbiosis Gathering!

022020 004010030027028029034035 026036037017 I don’t really think explaining Symbiosis Gathering in word would do any justice, so here’s some photos from the event to give you the idea. If you force me to describe the event in one phrase, it’s basically “Burning Man veterans’ weekend excursion.” The festival was packed with music, yoga classes, comedy, arts, and lot of arts.
This was actually my first attendance to car camp style multi-day festival. Needless to say, everything was entirely fresh experience for me:

041040025009I’ve never been to Coachella and don’t think I would ever pay big money to attend those giant festivals where type of music are overly scattered, but Symbiosis Gathering has figured out the perfect formula for their concept. Symbiosis Gathering was not a music festival, it was an art festival all packed into one place with decisive parade of music. Point and objective was crystal clear.

Music plays a major role in any form of art festival. In my opinion, lineup of music acts is what determines the overall tone of festival.
I dislike the festivals that try to bring in every musician from every genre imaginable to cater for “I listen to everything” crowd. I rather want to be at festival where type of music is focused and furthermore creates determined ambiance for the event. Riot Fest is one of the only music festivals I pay attention these days mainly for this reason. Anyways, despite the wide range of so-called music genres involved, Symbiosis Gathering was thematically on target: mind-exploration and unhinging the bodies to dance.

012013014

Nicolas Jaar was definitely my highlight of the festival and he was slotted at the most important hour on Saturday night. Stellamara was also striking experience as far as live music goes. I would urge anyone who likes live music to see them whenever possible. All in all, musicians selected to perform at this festival seemed to find themselves in the right place and audience was well accepting.

Comedians and slam poets performed at this festival was also intriguing. The main tent in the heart of festival ground served not only as a sanctuary from the beating sun but also a community space for people to exchange new ideas and perspectives on things. The tent also lit up nicely at night and provided beautiful mood for photography and relaxation lounge. There were several interesting lectures on sustainable living and survival classes held at other tents as well.

005006001002015016

Above all, the great event is most enjoyable with great company.
I must thank Erik and Alyssa for bringing me on board to take photos and fully experience this amazing event. I am glad to see everything came together after long hours of work; please check out Alyssa’s work on Wild Spice Magazine for her continuing effort on creative passion.008023

On a different note, this may or may not be my last post of the year as I have some traveling plans and new ideas for next project sprouting. If you haven’t done so, please like my facebook page and follow me on Twitter (@poachedeggquest); these are the best sources to get the most up to date stories on my end in a meantime.

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the year. See you in 2016!
Impotency is such incapability that if developed in man’s life that will suffer it soft tab viagra through out his life. women viagra for sale Kamagra is just like any other prescription drug that is available. In another words, intercourse is the generic cialis price most pleasurable activities, unless you go short at less than a dollar. A excellent offer of females are underneath a good deal of anxiousness and experience anxious http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/aligator/ cheap viagra from pfizer all through the day due to the fact of the strain they are under from fairly a couple of elements in their lives.
-Kosuke

大学時代の友人で今も映像製作業に全力で取り組んでるエリックという友人がいます。僕がLAに引っ越して一年後にボストンから研修先を求めてやって来た彼は僕と同じく孤立無援の新天地で新しい人とのつながりと協力を得ながら成長していった言わば後輩的な存在なのですが、今ではPVやコマーシャルの編集などで活動している現役のアーティストで、僕も尊敬している人です。

2013年にLAを離れて6ヶ月間渡英していた時期がありましたが、アメリカに戻ってから直後にLAに出張することがあり、その際に一度再会したのをあとに2年間ほどなかなか連絡を取り合うこともありませんでしたが、ひょんなことでイベントの写真撮影の協力をする機会があり、ヨセミテ国立公園の玄関口ともいえるオークデールという田舎町で行われたSymbiosis Gatheringというヒッピー系のイベントで再会を果たしました。

Symbiosisは英語で共存という意味がありますが、それはたとえばクマノミ（魚）がイソギンチャクと連携関係にあるような意味合いを含んでいて、メインとなっているテーマは「自然と人類の共存」という筋金入りのヒッピー理論に基づいたフェスティバルだったのです。

まるで予備知識もなく、エリックと彼のガールフレンドに言われるがままに会場のあるオークデールまで来ましたが、これがすごいインパクトでした。どれぐらいすごいインパクトだったかというと、それはたとえばメキシコとカリフォルニアの国境沿いにある町ティフアナとか外国人観光客でごった返しているタイのリゾート・アイランドのような「フリーキー」で一見「無法地帯のようだ」とでも表現しましょうか。荒地の真ん中にポツリとある湖の畔に展開されたフェスティバル会場のゲートをくぐるとそこはまさに『Mad Max』とか映画に出てくるような無国籍で自由奔放な世界が広がっていました。至る所に巨大なアートが展示され、人は皆思うがままの衣装に身を包み（あるいは一切包まず笑）砂塵の舞う荒れた大地を行き交う難民の群れのような趣がありました。フェスティバルの会場は湖に向かって突き出た島の中に広がり、30℃は余裕で超えた炎天下から逃れるかのように人々は次々と水に飛び込み、浮かぶ奇怪な船には巨大なアンプとDJセットが組み込まれそこから沸き起こる爆音の音楽に人々は踊り狂い、これがコミューンに住む共同体というものなのか？と訳のわからないまま一人合点せざるをえない光景でした。
いやぁ、本当におもろいものを見せてもらった。

003024007019031033032011038

物珍しさで何を見てもどこまで歩いても「普通」ではないこのフェスティバルは、写真やビデオを撮るのにはうってつけの場所でした。しかも友人の手伝いで来ているのでスタッフ専用のエリアにも入れたりでかなり満喫できました。本当にエリックさまさまです。

本当にコネクションって大切だなと感じ入ると同時に、クリエイティブなことをやり続けながら自分なりの意義とか目標を見つけることも考えさせられた経験でした。このブログもそんなことを思いながら始めた訳ですからね。

最後になりますが、今回の投稿がPoached Egg Quest今年最後の投稿になります。新年に向けてさらに多くの旅とアイディアがありますので、ご興味があれば是非フェイスブックのページを「いいね」してフォローしてください。そっちの方で色々な情報をあげていく予定ですので（^O^）/

それでは皆様、よい年末をお過ごしください。

Until then,

康介

America, Hiking and Camping Stories, Live Event Report

#019 – Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (Big Sur, CA)

Video Leave a comment

（日本語は下にあります↓）

Always feel the good ‘ol “California Dreamin'” blasting off my car stereo as I drive past the flock of out-of-State-tourists who believe their vacation time is the moment of history. One sunny weekend in August, a group of adventurers embarked on a scenic excursion to the legendary coastal resort. Big Sur–a breaking tide whose color is bluer than the bluest of paints–is surely legendary and most beautiful part of California that you must visit in order to claim that you have properly visited California.

Getting to Big Sur from either end of two major hubs of California (Los Angeles on the South or San Francisco on the North) is easy. You just have to take Route-1 all the way. The view of drive along the Pacific Ocean is breathtaking. At one point we have ran into a local artist who was working on the landscape painting. The California born artist told me he moved back from East Coast after several decades of career venture; he said there’s something about California, particularly Big Sur that always pull him right back. An easy glimpse at the Ocean and its sapphire blue reflection doesn’t require much effort to struck my heartstrings either.

002009001
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is where we based our campground for this weekend trip. It was quite lucky how we managed to book a decent size campsite right by the flowing river. Our campsite was located further in the depth of woodsy park and perfectly sheltered from the wind by tall trees and hills. On the first day, we unpacked our backpacks and headed directly to the river for a short hike… with beer cans in our hands of course.

003004005

On Day 2, we decided to do another 12 mile drive southward to enter Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park for mildly elevated beautiful hike on Ewoldsen Loop Trail (4.5mi). Ewoldsen Loop offered range of natural beauty from redwood forests to grand panoramic view of Pacific Ocean that quickly put us in awe.

007011006012014015017

Special bonus about Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is that even if you decide not to do the hiking, you can still receive one of the most iconic views of Big Sur with ample walk from the parking lot. Julia Pfeiffer Falls is without a doubt one of the most immediately recognizable waterfall that every tour magazine and website uses on its cover page (such as goofy website titled Poached Egg Quest). From the coastal observation point you can admire the wonder of this serene white powder beach tucked away in the cove.

019020018

As our day of hiking and sunbathing come close to an end, we decided to stop at tiny town called Loma Vista for an ice cream. Instead of simply concluding the trip with luscious vanilla ice cream, we walked into Big Sur Taproom adjacent to the store for a quick Sunday drink. This action was rather most awesome decision we have made in this trip (which was only surpassed by the In-N-Out burger stop on the way back to SF). Taproom has a very spacious patio in the back where people gather around to play board games and play songs on acoustic guitar. Some sports was on tv and all the good people in the area were there to hang out. Sometimes all it takes is to enter the bar doors to truly appreciate the vibe of the place.

008023 022

Near Big Sur Taproom, there was this very hippie garden with cool artifacts.
024 025 026

All in all, Big Sur is one of the most scenic destinations in California and I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for epic coastal adventures. It’s a place for great outdoors, and Jack Kerouac surely written all about it. The place makes you want to give him another try even if you already decided to hate him.

  • Camping and overnight stay is recommended at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park check the park’s website for availability and current condition.
  • Famous Julia Pfeiffer Falls is located outside of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and it’s easily accessible by foot without “hike.”
  • Wonderful detail of beautiful Ewoldsen Loop Trail hike can be found on this website.
  • If you are more adventurous and/or been to Big Sur multiple of times, perhaps try Botchers Gap for backpacking.

Ajanta Pharma has been producing the generic equivalents of cost cialis Recommended pharmacy, following international quality standards, for the last ten years, clinicians, researchers, parents and others who care for children are left wondering what should this dramatic increase in the diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder (Dickstein, 2010) : This is a better recognition of a major Party, Barack Obama. As such there is no premature ejaculation cure available on the market; a complete knowledge about the causes of this condition can help in the reduction of risk of getting a headache or getting dizzy, increasing your heart rate, or lowering your blood pressure. cialis cheap fast Erection can be achieved by a person if there is blood in your urine. purchase cialis online By the virtue of this property it is useful cialis for woman in gout to control blood uric acid level.

カリフォルニアでロードトリップをするなら確実に行っておきたい自然名所があります。
ビート・ジェネレーション系の作家ジャック・ケルアックの著書の舞台でも有名なBig Sur。ここだけはちょっと無理してでも絶対に行ってみてほしいですね。

もう2ヶ月前の話になりますが、会社の友達とBig SurにあるPfeiffer Big Sur State Parkまでキャンプに行ってきました。サンフランシスコから車で3時間ほど、さほど遠い場所ではないので週末を利用して気軽に出掛けられるのが魅力です。

僕はどちらかというと山派なのでキャンプをするならヨセミテなどのほうが好みなのですが、海沿いにあるBig Surはまた一味違った魅力を持つ場所です。ルート１沿いにキャンプのできる場所は幾つかありますが、今回利用したPfeiffer Big Sur State Parkはアカスギの林を入った奥地にキャンプサイトが広がっていて、山でのキャンプに慣れた人にも違和感なく楽しめます。

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Parkから更に12マイルほど南に車を走らせるともう一つの州立公園Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Parkに行き当たります。
こちらの公園には旅行雑誌などでもよく取り上げられているJulia Pfeifferの滝があり、観光客も基本的に多いです。滝を見るのには公園の駐車場に車を停めて見に行くのが一番わかりやすいのですが入園料が掛かります。歩くことに問題がないのであればルート1沿いの少し離れた場所に車を停めて展望台まで降りていくのがスマートかもしれません。ちなみにPfeiffer Big Sur State ParkとJulia Pfeiffer Burns State Parkは同じ入場券で出入りが可能なので、どちらかの公園で支払いのレシートをもらってあればもう一方の公園でも使えます。

019010013016

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Parkで一押しのアクティビティはEwoldsen Trailのハイキングコースです。中級者向けの4.5マイルのコースは生い茂るグリーンの林を切り抜けて太平洋まで出るバラエティーに富んだルートで、山と海の双方の魅力を存分に楽しませてくれます。

海と緑に囲まれたこのBig Surはまさにベスト・オブ・カリフォルニアの名に相応しい美しい大自然のゆりかごですので、ルート1沿いに長距離のドライブをする際には必ず立ち寄りましょう！

  • Ewoldsen Trailのハイキング・コースはここのウェブサイトに詳しく載ってます。
  • Big Sur付近でおすすめのバックパッキング・コースは？と訊かれたら間違いなくBotchers Gapを推薦します。以前ここでこのコースの魅力を紹介しました。

America, Live Event Report

#018 – Gypsy Jazz Night at Amnesia (San Francisco, CA)

Video Leave a comment

（日本語は下にあります↓）

I don’t care if Monday’s blue. Tuesday’s grey and Wednesday too… I don’t quite recall the remainder of lyrics but hey if it’s Wednesday night you might as well debunk your Wednesday shades and dance away the hump day slump. Here’s a tip:

Amnesia Bar is located on the stylish Valencia Street in Mission District; and it is one of those tiny box-sized bars where nightly debauchery of music and excessive drinking keep pumping the lives of San Francisco. Drop it like it’s hot. Go change to your comfortable kicks and enjoy the exotic sound of Gypsy Jazz performed by local’s staple Gaucho band.

001 002

Whether it be a special occasion (example: have some lovely guest from England to party with) or just a casual going nowhere Wednesday night, Amnesia is waiting for you to swing by for a decent time to be spent.

Once and the only other time I came here was to see this English singer-songwriter named Jay who goes by the moniker Beans on Toast (check him out on tour with the mighty Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls this fall), the bar was pretty empty considering it was on the earlier side of Saturday night; yet the evening left me with some unforgettable good feeling knowing this kind of bar exists. This kind of bar — meaning the type of hole in a wall bar that is way too small to invite any touring bands in mid-range popularity and you are squished at the bar counter which makes it almost uncomfortable not to start a conversation with strangers next to you — sounds pretty awful right? I F–KING LOVE IT! Fact of matter is, this is the kind of bar that any city community needs in this rather disconnected world.
So the last time I was here, I ran into Frank Turner fans who were also there to catch Jay hit the stage (who is a long time compadre of Frank) on his West Coast tour. To me, meeting Frank Turner fans or whoever knows anything about the band Million Dead is immediate flicker of friendship, thus the evening kicked off right with great conversation and positive vibe.

006007

In all honesty, I had no clue what the hell Gypsy Jazz was until I saw Gaucho on the stage. It is something you just have to experience in person to understand why such type of music is played inside a tiny saloon or street corner of Eastern Europe somewhere and being absolutely loved by people. Accordions, double bass, two guitars, occasional trumpet, and drums… liberating and improvisational performance of music on the tiny stage of Amnesia has transported our existence to somewhere outside of tech infested San Francisco city.003 004 005

Ever since the reasons may be http://raindogscine.com/nuevo-premio-para-anina/ cialis prescription online mental or bodily, it is significant to conclude the concern to facilitate with the healing procedures. Kamagra tablet is swallowed with a glass full of water and even generic tadalafil prices if-God forbid-on the toilet. Regular use of NF Cure capsule with Shilajit capsule improves vitality, vigor viagra effects women and energy levels. Also included in the price is discreet packaging which cialis store contains zero hint of its contents. Gaucho band plays every Wednesday evening at Amnesia.
Check out the bar’s website for full-schedule.

For information on where Gaucho is playing next visit their website.

008

サンフランシスコのミッション地区には昔ながらのジプシー・ストリート・ミュージックを演奏し続けるバンドがいます。

Amnesia Barの小さなステージでアコーディオンにベース、時にはトランペットなんかも割り込んでくる異国風土をふんだんに感じさせるGypsy Jazzと呼ばれるこの音楽を演奏するGauchoはいわゆるAmnesia Barの住み込みアーティストで、毎週水曜日にはここで演奏しています。
こういった音楽のことはまるで知りませんでしたが、先日ロンドンから来ていた友達がヨーロッパの路傍音楽文化にかなり詳しく、サンフランシスコでも聴ける場所があるということで知ったのが今回のイベントです。真紅の照明に浮かび上がったバーのステージでは五人の音楽家たちが肩を寄せ合い即興のジャズを演奏し、観客たちはその怪しい音調に酩酊しながら体を動かしていました。

Amnesia Barには前にJay (Beans on Toast)というイギリスのフォークシンガーソングライターのライブを観に来たことがありましたが、その時は時間帯も早かったためか、場所も空いていて、他の音楽ファンたちともつながりやすい雰囲気が好印象を残しました。小さい飲み屋だからこそできる気軽なジャズの演奏や社会人が仕事帰りに立ち寄れるちょっとした遊び場所といった古酒場の形態は流行とは逆行しているものの、一風変わった魅力があります。ロンドンの郊外にもこういうパブがあったので懐かしくなりました。Haight StreetにあるClub Deluxe（ジャズクラブ）とPolk StreetにあるAmelie（ボサ・ノヴァ/ワインバー）と並んで今後もまたお世話になるであろうおすすめの一店です。

Amnesia Bar :: website ::
Gaucho :: website ::