First Friday: the Return (acid-redux)

It's been a number of years since I've last set foot downtown for First Friday. Times have changed - in many cases for the better down there. Suppose one should look at the fact that there's now more money being pumped into the event than ever before (maybe could be wrong) and it's an oft-forgotten fact that the event has been around for like 10+ years (again, I could be wrong) though now it's blazing-ahead under a new flag/ownership. Waxing nostalgic, I can remember attending early First Fridays and having my meager set-up posted out on the side of the Funkhouse. Once played out in the street in the defunct group "Waste Management (6161)" - those were amazing times. Then when I joined up w/ the BlankCanvas collective we had a great run @ the Box Office with further artistic incursions taking place across downtown - BlankCanvas left it's mark. Of course I can't remember those days w/o thinking of my time spent @ the KGPA; all the crazy magical wonder that place developed. Anyone looking back in the early 2000's can see that there was an apparent "culture" in Las Vegas - it's just that hardly anyone cared to peep-it back then.

Well money changes things, having new backers and vision - is like hitting the reset button, yeh? So I've heard tell about how attendance is high, vibe being different and tinged commercial - universally I've heard people complain about the parking down there. Aberrant Press / Gett Comics rolled down there in the month of December and we had a pretty positive experience. It's definitely a different animal than I remember before, I get what people were talking about in regards to it being massively commercial now but that's one of those things, it's almost like you need that to draw in the crowd and to sustain its 3 sec. attention span. Parked on the northern outskirts afforded me the chance to revisit some old sites I grew-up in while attending the LVA, downtown still conjures up a curious brew of memories sometimes. Walking downhill I was able to see most everything, First Friday seems to have a good layout that's still in keeping with its roots. $5 for a PBR, though… yea, not so-much. Gone are the days of communal drinks fished from the depths of kiddie pools in someones backyard. I'm sure you can find cheese and wine if you know what you're doing, like it or not -more C.R.E.A.M. for your coffee.

Had a blast seeing some old faces and kicking' back w/ good friends. Hate rolling into something half-cocked casting scatter-shot, found myself working the day of so I wasn't there for set-up, took me a while to find our actual table/tent. Along the way I ran into the infamous Rade Q. Zone and spoke with him a bit - good to see he's still keeping up the good fight! Caught some B-boys breaking in a circle, crunk'd up in the crowd and wasn't alone.. made me lament some of the graffiti thats been covered up or torn down. Guess the terror-bombing that occurred down town tore-up more than some people realize. Admired some wares that I found along the way - lots more crafts / trades being featured, seeing such creativity conglomerated is a true sign of growth - either that or the continued melting-pot effect. 

Least-ways I found it refreshing having more than just tattoo artists w/ Juxtapoz'ed aspirations entrenched down there. Definitely a better vibe than I remember from before, it doesn't feel like a demilitarized zone anymore like it did when they erected fences and charged a "donation" to stroll the streets. Nice not having to deal with the "art police" ..though never censored I did have my store-bought beverage confiscated, sorry - I refuse to pay $5 for a beer.. I'm not a tourist.