History of the Barnburner
2000
Location
The Wilma Theater, Missoula MT
Bands
Sound Tribe Sector Nine
Abendego
The Ear Candy Experiment
Djs
Dlyte (OR)
Mike Huckaby (MI)
Beyonda (TN)
Tobin (MT)
Overview
Being a little shaken up from the year before, BarnBurner 2000 added a comfort zone in production planning by being at the Wilma Theater (the cornerstone of downtown Missoula) and Crystal Theater. It was a big decision to take it downtown. As a core, we were so into our “Out in the Woods” parties, that it was at first hard to imagine being able to take over downtown and make it our very own BarnBurner World. We knew we had to create a type of event that was more interactive and explosive than ever.
Our first step was to tone down the number of acts from the previous year and find some talent from out of town that was so fresh and cutting edge that no one would miss the bulk. That band was Sound Tribe Sector Nine. These guys were young, on the move and perfect for the atmosphere we were going for. They didn’t have an easy act to follow, as local favorites Abendego (now Signal Path), as usual, hit it hard on their annual BarnBurner appearance.
The night began with our Pre Bake parade that took itself, by foot, with a thirsty mob of BarnBurner heads, from Caras Park to The Kettlehouse Brewery. It was a true mark that our downtown BarnBurner would have no problem taking over the streets of Missoula. Having access to such a huge room (the Wilma) gave us a great opportunity to go multimedia/projection crazy. With the help from our now ongoing decoration sponsor, REDBULL, this BarnBurner was definitely a sight to see. The party extended itself over the Clark Fork River, using the Crystal Theater as the DJ area (which, thanks to the amazing selection of DJ talent, was completely rocked out). It was great to get a little fresh air between our stages. It gave everyone a moment to collect themselves before entering the craziness again.
All in all, this BarnBurner was a tremendous success. It proved that we had no barriers to what we could do in a production sense and allowed us to better ourselves with sponsors and the community at large. It was in your face and down right fun.