"The most useful thing about art is its uselessness."
When Mike and I drove around Australia three of the coolest individuals I met said I should stay at The Arts Factory when I went to Byron Bay, seeming to think it suited my hippy side. So Sophie and I stayed there.
Their campsite is massive and is chock-a-block with a rake a load of tents. There's a nice communal atmosphere around the whole hostel. The whole place is more of a village then a hostel. It has a great cinema, a shop, a pool, bar and restaurant and loads. A bit pricey, but great.
But the weather was shite in Byron. It rained practically non-stop while we were there, making the communal campsite more of a miserable looking swamp then the promised field of love. It bucketed down and it was crap. The only time it stopped raining and the sun came out in full force was when we stepped on the beach. We stayed there for a few hours and when we stepped off it began to piss again. That was kind of cool.
It really is a great town, but you probably need a long time and good weather to fully appreciate it.
We did a day trip out to Nimbin, which is the hippy capital of Australia. Weed is as good as legal and it shows. It's a very cool, very laid back place and everyone is real friendly. As we drove in a couple of ageing hippys ran at us waving a peace sign.
I'd say it would be pretty easy to get trapped there.
So upwards to the vanguard we continue. In another life I might have stayed around here and worked and got trapped, but as it is 3 or 4 days is enough for me. The weather was beginning to get to me a little bit. And the constant guitar playing was getting to me alot. A lot of people are under the impression that everyone wants to hear them play all day and night around the campsite.
As my close friends know, I hate impromptu gigs. I find people demanding that kind of attention pretty intrusive. I hate people playing so loud and so crap that you can't hear anything else. What these people lack in talent they make up for in volume, and it's impossible to carry on anything while they butcher Radiohead as loud as possible.
The pinnacle of shitness came in the form of some guy who decided to do a medley/blend of 'No Woman, No Cry' and 'Let It Be'. Alternating lines and shit. Changing "In the government yard in Trenchtown," to "In the government yard in Byron," Bob Marley and Paul McCartney must be rolling in their grave and bed respectively. It was truly, truly awful.
Nimbin Hotels
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