Life is a learning experience and I think a true test of someone’s character is how they deal with their mistakes.

Do they make excuses and blame other people?
Do they shy away from their obligations?
Do they own up to the fact, fix what went wrong, and do better next time?

Ravers get such a bum rap in the Burning Man community but anyone who was going to warehouse parties in the 90s used to deal with this kind of disappointment on a regular basis. I’ve dropped over a hundred dollars on parties that were canceled the day of or an hour into the party where there was no offer of refund and you could tell the promoter didn’t care. Came with the turf back then, so I tend to be a bit more forgiving if it feels like the promoter was a rookie with his heart in the right place.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of the make-up / apology party. That’s one of the more underrated parties, where someone has made a social party foul and wants really badly to make up for it. That party is the one that always stands out.

i did get in touch with brown paper tickets, and received their apology letter. they even offered me 2 passes to their next event. i admit, i was a bit upset about not getting in, rightfully so imo, it looked like a damn good time. hopefully they’ve truly learned from their mistakes.

Refunds are available by calling BROWN PAPER TICKETS at 1-800-838-3006 or emailing Support@BrownPaperTickets.com. Tell them the name of the event (sand by the ton) and provide your order info. You will receive a refund within a few days.

We are EXTREMELY sorry that you were not allowed in to the event. Based on our pre-sale numbers, it was determined that the door numbers would be reasonable. Unfortunately, by 10 pm, the fire marshal felt that the building was at capacity. We never expected such a turnout. We diligently worked for many weeks with the fire marshal and the city to prepare for our big Grand Opening. It was our first event and we learned SO MUCH. We promise to do better next time and hope that you can forgive us.

http://mvgals.net/gallery/sandbytheton-071109

Next time they gotta widen the midway and spread out the porta potties. We got there about 8:00 right as that double rainbow was forming outside. An hour later the midway was getting bottlenecked and I look at the schedule to see Extra Action Marching Band playing on the midway stage at 11:00. Bad move.

By 11:00 there was no way Fire Marshals would let Extra Action play on that stage. They had to do their show on the move and I only got to see a couple songs before they disappeared.

Whatever, can’t complain. Best time I’ve had in years and years.

The layout was shortsighted, but the almost complete lack of water was the real rookie move of the night.

Upside – Super fun and creative party. I felt like they could have cut out 20 % of the entertainment or art budget and I wouldn’t have felt ripped off. Reminds me of Martin’s old Gatherings at the Homebase. Also reminds me of discussions people were having on the old Laughing Squid Burning Man threads, that when gas hits $7 a gallon trekking all your gear to Nevada and back may not make all that much sense and that we would be better off having a Burning Man experience somewhere here in the Bay Area.

I really hope this is a step in that direction.

Downside – for 250,000 of square feet it wasn’t laid out very well. There was a bottleneck as you tried to walk to the outside patio area that was created from portapotties and booths on either side that was causing the local fire marshal to freak out. That and people smoking cigarettes inside (OMG! Freak out!) In the future, I’d recommend putting the porta potties and booths somewhere else, like back where that empty surfing video art project was and keep that walkway clear.

When I left at 11:30 PM it was a madhouse. I had to fight my way outside and there was a mob of people, some of whom had already bought pre-sale tickets, that could not get inside. I’ve been to tons of oversold punk rock shows, underground parties, warehouse raves, ect. and I can tell you that event was not overpacked, by any means. There was plenty of elbow room to move around and even right in front of the DJ booth. It was just that bottleneck that was freaking the authorities out.

And there were two taco trucks outside with a crowd of people. That made me happy, the idea that you can create something organic like this and that it will in turn support other local organic, hard working economies at 11:30 PM.