AAR = After action report, LDO!!
So we held a gathering of the Töads and Buffalo burners at the clubhouse in North Buffalo last weekend. This was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants gathering and we got to meet some really cool mofos and work on some shit. Art was inspired. Plans were laid. No animals were hurt in the course of these activities, despite our best efforts.
In attendance was most of the members of Pyromancy, Buffalo’s best professional fire dancing and performance troupe.
The other half of the crowd was local Buffalo burners, and with the facile crossover between the Töad Meädow ideology and Burning Man ethos, they may as well be counted among the Töads as well.
The first stupid thing to happen was when we busted out the pickle electrocution rig, which had been built hours before. The idea is you take your favorite pickle, then impale it on some deck screws, and then electrocute it to teach it who is da boss!
TBH (to be honest), the pickle electrocution, though novel, was underwhelming. No worries though, because George the Töad Extrordinaire, busted out his jumper cables and an old nail to improve on the design and light up the whole pickle.
Then there was the matter of the flame effects for the art car. The fire rig had existed for a couple weeks now, in concept. But we took advantage of idle hands to screw it all together.
We set the rig up inside, passed around some pipe wrenches and sealant, and those interested, turned a wrench a few times to make the flame effect plumbing into reality. Again, Tadpole Nik was on top of things. With his experience in plumbing and hydraulics, he taught some new people the basics of pipe sealant and pipe wrench mastery. Even I cranked on some fittings and with each tug of the wrench, brought the world closer to Töadly chaos.
Töad King struggles with stuck threads. #toadmeadow #flameeffects #propane
A photo posted by Töad Meädow (@toadmeadow) on
Chris de La Toad showed up late, got drunk, and then finished the flame rig in 10 minutes. Chris de la Toad is part Töad, part machine. He slapped the flame effect rig together 300% faster than any of the mortals. We’re still trying to figure out his secret.
A bunch of other stuff happened, but I’m tired of typing. If you want to experience shit like this, you have to get off the friggin internet, stop wasting your life, and come out to a Toäd gathering. We can only spoon feed you so much.
We’ll be releasing some really friggin cool art online within two weeks. It’s so cool that I’m going to keep it a secret until it’s ready. Keep the eyes peeled.
The next giant Töad blowout…our spring Celebration, is going to happen May 1-3. Mark zee calendar, now.
i just heard some good things about Toad Meadow from some Canadian burners, would like to know more, joined the mailing list, and want to bridge whatever gap between the Buffalo area and the Boston area! We have a great 12 year-old regional burn in VT called Firefly every 4th of July weekend/week that is a great place for makers, magicians, and pyros as well.
Also I create vector art, and am an adobe wizard – I may be down to help in that area as I saw mentioned on this site. I photo-retouch, trace, and composite images on an expert level too if that helps.
My wife Courtney and I may try and attend the next event in October, but either way, please reach out if help is needed on any projects requiring my skills.
Keep up the good work, toads!