Gathering of the Juggalos
 

Finally decided to cross it off the ole bucketlist and go. Bought my ticket, booked my flight, and meeting a good friend of mine at the airport down there.

I'm very interested to see what kind of shenanigans will take place. I've gone to a bunch of Insane Clown Posse/Twiztid concerts before but this is pretty much the woodstock of that culture so fingers crossed its every bit as nutty as I'm hoping it is.

Aren't they supposed to be marching on DC this Fall? I'm thinking about setting up a Faygo stand and making some serious cash.

Yeah the Juggalo March is in September sometime I believe.

*shakes head* No good can come of it.

Is the community still young? I don't want to be a Sharon Osbourne but they were huge in the late 90s early 00's but Juggalo related stuff kind of died down alongside nu-metal and other trends from that time.

I'm guessing there's still plenty of fans to have this massive event but with ICP getting older it's just logical for new fans not to really get into them regardless of quality.

I never got into any of those bands but I never gave them a fair shake, ICP can say some really insightful things when describing their fans and music but then say something completely childish. I might be a little too old to appreciate it now but what would you recommend I check out?

Last few shows I've gone to have been 19+ and the ages went from around there to late 30s. But American shows could be a whole different story.

I imagine the bulk of their fanbase are holdovers from ICPs heyday but there's still a healthy enough younger fanbase to keep the longevity growing. They stated that last year's Gathering was the first year they were able to break even so that sounds like they're still gaining a new following from somewhere.

I'm not sure I can say I can recommend them. At least not in the same way you can recommend any other band. ICP has a pretty unique sound where it's classified as hip-hop but nobody from hip-hop would ever say it is :roll: I like them for their immense creativity; each album is like listening to an anthology of mini horror movies. They're chill stuff is pretty good too.

HORROR: Bowling Balls, Falling Apart, Hate Her To Death
CHILL: Homies, Forever, Juggalo Party

To be honest I want to see what happens at that march more than anything, what happens when Juggalos participate in political protest

I wonder how much of their younger following is ex-Homestucks

Seriously, nothing good can come of it. Best case scenario? Nothing happens and it's forgotten as quickly as it happens.

I mean, honestly, what are they hoping happens? The FBI comes out and apologizes and removes them off the gang list? Come on. I get their mentality of if we do nothing, then we accept it but a march is just asking for trouble. All it takes is for one drunk Juggalo or one idiot watching looking to start something and it's only going to make things worse.

I wish them well, but damn... i'm expecting the worst.

I had to.

Keep us updated on the smell. I have a pretty good idea of what the scent would be.

If previous concerts of theirs are any indicator, it will likely smell of diet root beer.

Man, I know that Juggalos being labelled a gang by the FBI has been a thing for a few years now, but I never really looked into just how much of an effect it's had on the community until now... wow, that's deeply upsetting. People getting discharged from the army, people losing their jobs and their kids... you can't even donate plasma if you're in the system of as a gang member. All because of the kind of music people listen to.

Just unreal. That genuinely upset me reading all that. I still don't think the March will accomplish anything good, but at least they're not just bending over and accepting this label.

So, according to CBC News and a lot of other outlets, border security for US bound Canadians was just upped in a big, bad way. They'll have access to your phone, can look at your social media, etc...

I bring this up because, again, the stupid gang label that Juggalos have been given now. I'm now worried they'll ask me what I'll be doing in Oklahoma, or they'll spot my Hatchet-Man tattoo, or they'll see something I've posted online, and register me as a gang member. Sound silly? It isn't. I've been reading up on this stuff and this is a daily thing that happens now in the Juggalo community. A Juggalette got a speeding ticket three days ago went in to pay it, and the person behind the counter recognized her Hatchetman. She was then entered into the gang database. All because of the music she listens to.

I don't want to overthink this, but I also don't want to be labeled a freakin' gang member when I leave Tuesday morning.

Well, I did it. I survived my first Gathering of the Juggalos.

THE HIGHS

The Ice Man
Finally got to see the man himself, Vanilla Ice, live and in person. Not only that, but midway through his set he asked for Juggalos to come up on stage and have a party. And a party it was. So many Juggalos rushed the stage he was pretty much restricted to the far side of the stage. Awesome show.

The Juggalos
Juggalos are good people. Trashy? Sure. But kind, down to earth people. And being surrounded by thousands of Juggalos is a seriously awesome experience. I got handed so many free beers, offered so many free blunts... People handing out bottled water if they heard you coughing from the dust, telling you where all the best shade spots are... it's a seriously misunderstood culture. A favourite moment was right when you enter the Gathering there's a tent with a huge banner, Jesus Saves Juggalos that was there all Gathering handing out free Faygo and water anytime you wanted it. I went up multiple times and no one tried to push faith on anyone; they just like doing it every year. Theres also some crazy talented Juggalos selling all kinds of arts and crafts... Bottom line, The Juggalos were awesome and made the Gathering for me.

The Clowns
Insane Clown Posse put one not one, but two fantastic shows. I was a little more partial to their first performance where they played The Wraith: Shangri-La in its entirety. On Day 1 Shaggy had a solo set which was sweet as hell too.

The Intimacy
All the artists were driving around in little golf carts all day, every day. It felt like they were always just around the corner. We ran into Lyte like 20 times over the four days. ICP probably around five or six. They kept showing up at the mini parties. Shaggy came by asking for a cigarette and sat and chilled with us at a campsite for about 15 minutes. The interaction they have with their fans is seriously commendable and explains alot of the devotion the Juggalos have for them.

The Juggalo Yacht Club Wine Mixer
Don't be fooled by the name; ain't no Juggalo out there that owns a yacht(or drinks wine by preference). But the event itself was fun. Limbo contests, beach volleyball, obstacle courses, bikini contests... it was crazy fun. And I don't know what was in that giant cooler of "Juggalo Juice" but that got me right messed up. Violent J and Lyte came in to join the party for a bit, too.

The Shark In The Water
One of my favourite moments was when I was just drifting along the water in my float drunk off my ass while watching Jaws and Piranha 3D projected on a screen. Some Juggalo was dressed up as a Shark swimming around and jumping out of the water and scaring people. Awesome times. Very chill. Met a lot of cool people just drifting about.

THE LOWS

The Heat
Holy f'n balls. That was some absurd heat going on in Oklahoma City. I'm from Toronto; this kind of heat is unheard of over here. Insane. Also caused everyone to sweat out any booze they were drinking almost instantaneously so we were drinking a whole lot more than we usually would have to stay drunk.

The Dust
"Dusty in Seventeen!" was a constant mantra being shouted among the campgrounds, constantly jabbing at this years official "Beamin' in Seventeen!" slogan in all the advertising. This dust got freakin' everywhere. You were constantly walking through a fog of dust until you reached the main stage. It sucked buying a hotdog and watching it get more coated in dirt with each second you left it uneaten. Each time a golf cart drove by it just made things worse.

The Juggalo Civil War
So, without getting into all the details there's pretty much a big split in ICPs fandom right now. ICP proteges, Twiztid, split from Psychopathic Records over some beef and took half the Psychopathic Roster with them. So not only were Twiztid, Blaze, & Boondox nowhere to be seen(and by extension, supergroups like Dark Lotus and Psychopathic Rydaz) but there was something kind of sad about hearing Juggalos with Twiztid tatts shout "F*ck Twiztid!" and the like.

The Cops
I never seen any of it first hand, but apparently the cops were being excessive douchebags to the Juggalos for no other reason than to be dicks. No real surprise there; that's kind of what the Juggalo March is all about. But considering previous Gatherings had next to no police involvement this kind of put a big wet blanket on the whole event for a lot of people.


All in all, I had an amazing time. Would I go again? I'm in no rush, but I wouldn't say never. Look, I'm not naive. I know there's things in the Juggalo world that is just straight up gross and off-putting like The Great Trash War of 2017 (and getting hit in the face with a vinegar filled water balloon wasn't my favourite thing in the world) but it was all good times. Glad I went :tcool: