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helco on fire

{helco on fire}


We were just wandering around on Saturday night when we stumbled upon Helco burning. That dude up there is zipping down a zip line after lighting that building on fire. About a second after this photo was taken, he burst through a neon sign at the bottom of the line. It was breathtaking.

Derek M. Powazek




Tower burning GOOD!
Helco in general.... YAWN......

taylor <taylor@taylor.org>




HELLCO! HELL NO! The most amazing amateur stunt ever to take place in the middle of a desert. This thing put out *A LOT* of heat.

Damien <dotis@mgvgroup.com>




{fireball}i'm so glad i finally found out it was the payless shoe store logo...

drue <drue@vivid.com>




Crouched to the side of the stage on the inside of the ring beyond the barbed wire, I could feel the tremendous blast of heat when they lit the tower. Then I saw the fire particles blowing into the crowd, while the ritualistic beat of the band took hold. I felt momentary panic, wondered what the hell I was doing here. I looked at the crowd, lit up from the tower, and they were cheering. I turned back to the flaming tower, watching it burn. It was glorious! Afterwards, I found this experience to be my most disturbing memory of Burning Man.

Kate Reed <katereed@nbn.com>




This reminds me of the Burning of Zozobra in Santa Fe each year. Pagan to the point of bringing out fundamentalist protestors. Can you say, "BURN HIM!"

Randy <rsbpc@roadrunner.com>




Valerie Solanas: "I thought I killed him already!" Henry Rollins: "Nothing he did was worthy of burning." Honors English instructor: "If you see a sentence you like, cut it from your essay." I'll take punk over techno on any red night. -- rle

rebecca e. <rebecca@bud.com>




From the Helco Shareholders meeting with Idiot Flesh, on to the Helco strip mall burn, I was in stitches at this madcap theater of the absurd. And what about the Damnation of Tinseltown! How looney tune was that? "LET'S DO LUNCH' again, soon! And the Opera. Wow, it was beyond Broadway! An effectively chilling, beautiful depiction of Hell. Very life affirming. I'm purified by the fires of Helco, having spent not a single dollar since that shall feed the greed machine. Shame on you gate slime who whined about the $40 ticket. It was worth it for the Opera alone.

Trip Allen <trip.allen@nike.com>




The mutation of corporate logos into cryptic epithets deprogrammed some of my subconscious acceptance of the consumer culture's unbiquitous plastic totems of induced desire and mall addiction. I now cannot look at a SUBWAY sign without seeing the Devil's barbed tail, or pass a PAYLESS SHOE SOURCE without feeling affronted by the malevolent pervasiveness of megacorporate come-ons.

mRXs <marxaos@wolfenet.com>




I was at the ranger tent for most of Saturday night I heard my dad onstage for the shareholders meeting but didn't get see any of it. When they were parading towards the tower I ran into Larry and grabbed his shoulder in a gesture of "dude-nobody better die tonight" His eyes were shining with the light of a major ego trip. We received a report of a girl OD-ing nearby so I headed for Helco tower. I was thrown into a funk of despair by the noise of 7,000 screaming drunk drugged revelers who mistakenly believed that the veil of responsibility had been momentarily lifted off them. I saw John on top of the tower and I had time to think "Jesus Jack, be CAREFUL" and then it burst into flames. We never found the od-ing girl, so I walked back to central camp. Praying the whole way.

Angel <satori@sirius.com>




After six years, I've said just about all I have to say about Burning Man. Except for this: John Law, you are one incredible mutherfucker, and I appreciate the fire and the humor you've added to my life. (That's John you see flying off the burning tower via zip-line). We'll miss your contributions to this project, but look forward to newer, more dangerous fun to come! Your friend, Bob Gelman

Robert B. Gelman <bg@bgamedia.com>




knew this was going to be the hottest show, got seat up front, devil missed my shoulder by six inches when he landed. the fire was the hottest most horrifying, scariest experience ever! couldn't get away due to crowd, had to endure it sparks raining down. the opera was by far the most interesting and beautiful of the performances, I will never forget it. Tinseltown was high camp at its best.

rockey <rockey@hooked.net>




Did anyone else notice how those beautiful, dangerous flaming embers were carried by the wind *directly* towards The Burning Man? This particularly impressed me because how could anybody plan something as serendipitous? The path of fire in the sky was framed by the moon behind, a visual triangle between the elements. Miraculously, the debris seemed to have missed most of the audience, too.

Tristan Naramore <tnaramore@ikonic.com>




helco... bad vibe. parts of BM had a real sinister edge that made the rednex with shooters right at home. so you think of your own demons and visualize them on the fire, but helco made me shy away = and not just the ashes in my eyes, a scarf wrapped around my face for the heat; just cos its at BM doesn't mean its all good... this experiene sent me spinning... I came back at dawn to check no devils remains rose wasn't this where someone lost an eye too?

dave collier <scoop@gamelet.com>




The whole thing is this. The fucking thing was on fire. Everyone was marching around and well. Foucault would have taken acid here if he were alive to experience the whole deal. It is the destruction of solidity. Be that man bike, or any thing. The truth of being with out a name.

MC PIG




{burning the man}