Brightest Young Things

photos by Nick Ghobashi, Tom Fields and Dakota Fine

words by Dakota with excerpts from Amanda Pittman

...

To be completely honest, I hadn't really ever heard of Best Friend's Day until about a week before the Eighth anniversary of this shindig kicked off.  But it didn't take me long, judging by the character of the event, and the fact that it was taking place in Richmond, Virginia, to realize that it was going to be photo gold.

By all accounts Saturday at Lake Hadad (a man-made lake, that more closely resembles a swimming pool to be honest) was the cherry on top, what with the naked rope swing and the epic torrential downpour. However, yours truly was in attendance for Sunday's festivities and although I missed the actual "Nacho Jump" (bikers jumping over and into an absolutely massive pile of nachos), I still managed to see a whole hell of a lot of partying... oh, and I caught a little legendary hardcore band from Richmond called "Asshole Parade," ever heard of 'em?

So yeah, tread carefully if you are at work, because some of the images directly below are TOTALLY NOT SAFE FOR WORK (NSFW). Which, is pretty much how we at BYT like to roll, but we also want you to keep your job if you've got one. So stop perusing the internet and get to work, or rather, next year make it down to Best Friend's Day so that you don't get stuck again drooling over the pictures and scratching your head why you've never heard of this festival before.

Amanda Pittman, Richmond resident and VCU alumn sent me these choice words to describe Best Friend's Day:

A year ago I was anything but happy to be in Richmond. I couldn’t deal with the lack of Brit-pop and the massive amounts of  Metal, Hardcore, and the like. And their idea of a dance party was not my idea of a dance party.  Well, the year is over and so is the initial culture shock. I will never be a fan of Gwar or Iron Maiden but they both hail from Richmond and went to VCU and have had a larger influence than say, Jason Mraz or Carbon Leaf on the music scene.

This year was the eighth annual version of this event, which was started by a small group of friends who invited their friends to Richmond from everywhere else. It has since grown to a three or four day event with various activities and line-ups at local venues and parks. This year it was four days and from what I’ve heard had upwards of two thousand people in attendance.

First up, we have some scandalous shots from Nick Ghobashi (avert thine virgin eyes!):

In reference to Saturday's festivities at Lake Hadad, more from Amanda:

Bands played under the pavilions and people crowded under for shelter, but after about half an hour when it hadn'’t stop raining, and instead actually only began to rain harder,  people started dancing in the rain and sliding in the mud, all while shouting “HAPPY BEST FRIENDS DAY!”  to the nearest strangers.

There were two “lakes,” one for paddle boating or kayaking, the other for rope swings, floating trampolines and slides. The latter was more popular. Lines were about twenty people long for both rope swings. But anyone that would go off naked could skip the line. Richmond appreciates nudity. And rope swings. It took a bit, but after too many dudes felt the need to drop trow, girls finally joined in the fun. It was when girls joined that the security stopped caring, but would politely ask them to put their clothes back on, to which most obliged.

Next up, we have some awesome photos from Tom Fields, many taken with a Holga (!!!):

Nachos galore, tons of bikes, and hardcore bands, what more could a crust-punk ask for? Vegan mayonaise, maybe.

I had a lot of fun. Thanks to the organizers and my friend Raychel Black for driving me down to Richmond. And to Richmond, BYT shall be back! This I promise you... keep up the good work (and by good work I mean debaucherous and seedy fun) and I for one, will be marking my calendar year after year.

FINALLY, some photos from yours truly...

Previously in Tangents:

• 4/11: Cirque Du Soleil: Totem (A Review)
• 12/29: War, Reenacted
• 12/29: What in Hell is Slaughterama?!?
• 12/29: Disney Diary: Day 1
• 12/29: G.W.A.R. Does NOT Joust
• 12/29: Eff my Life: BYT Takes the "Twilight" Town Tour
• 10/25: Is the CMJ of Yore No Longer?
• 10/13: British Motorcycle Adventure
• 9/17: PHOTOS: Baltimore Blur
• 8/3: PHOTOS: Sonic Youth @ Prospect Park