Magical Mystery Tour

Posted 8/21/12

I’ve been on the planet for a while, and my first taste of a magical mystery tour was in 1967, courtesy of four young men known as The Beatles. Up until then, John, Paul, George and Ringo could do …

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Magical Mystery Tour

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I’ve been on the planet for a while, and my first taste of a magical mystery tour was in 1967, courtesy of four young men known as The Beatles. Up until then, John, Paul, George and Ringo could do no wrong, but the film they created for British television was poorly received and the fab four took a hit for the first time since taking the world by storm. As we all know, the band recovered nicely and so too, shall we—in the wake of Sullivan County’s new-age version, the three-day-long party known as Mysteryland.

For the second consecutive year, the folks behind the world’s oldest Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Festival chose to set up shop right here in Bethel, NY, on the grounds of the iconic Woodstock Music Festival site, having given much consideration to the history of our region and the impact that it holds for a new generation of festival-goers. All of them were keenly aware of the “holy ground” on which they trod for three days of revelry, dancing, partying and celebrating life in general, in many ways mirroring the Beatles’ own adventures tripping the light fantastic. Truth be told, I have no idea why it’s called Mysteryland. Try as I might, and with a google search revealing more than 500,000 matches to the word itself, I’m still up in the air regarding the festival’s name. I have to resort (uh oh) to my own thoughts and considerations regarding the epic party that once again, fell on my birthday. With no clue as to whether Mysteryland actually has anything to do with the original tour that made its way on to U.S. soil in 1974, I’m left to my own devices. Not unlike the response that the lads from Liverpool received when their Magical Mystery Tour landed in this country, there were naysayers here in the Upper Delaware River region, claiming (once again) that the ‘hippies’ would give Sullivan County a bad name, that the “noise” would destroy our peaceful neck of the woods and that we’d be better off without ‘em, but (once again) I heartily, and respectfully, disagree.

For a photographer like me (there were more than 100 photographers from 27 countries), Mysteryland is a dream come true. Between me and The River Reporter’s Amanda Reed, we shot thousands of pics, most of which we’re still slogging through, in an attempt to capture the magic for posterity. In the Beatles’ adventure, “during the course of their tour, strange things begin to happen at the whim of four magicians, after they crawl into a tent set up on a field, which on the inside, features a projection theatre,” and that the mystery tour features a “fabulous cast of characters and performers.” Hmmm. (www.magicalmysterytour.com)

In making comparisons, Woodstock springs to mind as I peruse some thoughts from festival public relations director Betty Kang, who has already expressed her gratitude to the town of Bethel for opening its doors and heart to Mysteryland. “It was great to meet so many of you,” Kang said in a note to the media. “Thanks for sharing in this truly incredible weekend of electronic music, arts, culture and good vibes.” Kang went on to share some statistics about this year’s extravaganza, including the fact that camping “sold out at 10,000, with a 35% increase over last year and that “overall attendance peaked at 50,000.” Hmmm.

Was there trouble? I’m sure there were issues—inevitable with so many attendees, but none that I could see in my three-day tour of the festival (www.mysteryland.us). Was the sound out of control? Bethel Town Supervisor Daniel Sturm had worked tirelessly with festival coordinators to address any issues following last year’s event, and personally toured the grounds a few times. “This is so great for the town and Sullivan County” Sturm enthused, after asking what I thought. “What a fantastic event!” Nodding in agreement, I moved on. I may be old, but I’m not dead, and (IMHO) Mysteryland was an epic success. I worked, I played and (believe it or not) I danced, as the music played (yes, it was loud) late into the night. Celebrating my birthday with thousands of new friends was pretty cool, and one last look at Ringo Starr’s thoughts on the original Magical Mystery Tour sums it up nicely. “It was such a great, loose time and attitudes have changed,” Starr recalled. “It’s like, if you weren’t there you’ll never understand—but it was incredible.” Thank you, Mysteryland. We’ll see you next year.

[To view more photos from MysterylandUSA 2015, see page 7 and like us online at www.facebook.com/theriverreporter.]

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