How to Approach a Bar?

[graidawg]

no moop from barbies they are shorn of hair prior to ingenious methods of disposal. the remains are resued as deterent for potential future barbies.

[theCryptofishist]

More importantly, trinkets produced in mass such as anything plastic, will put the bar keep in the uncomfortable position of accepting a gift that will either be MOOP or just one more thing to haul in their gargabe to Reno.

Remember those plastic trinkets can be donated to an elementary school or nursing home for arts and crafts.

[Kontradiction]

This is just nit-picky.....but everything important has already been said well. My suggestion is not to pull out playa gifts when you are negotiating a drink. Most worthy bars are happy to have you and don't need a gift in turn. In fact, your "gift" may seem like a barter situtation which true Burners will avoid. More importantly, trinkets produced in mass such as anything plastic, will put the bar keep in the uncomfortable position of accepting a gift that will either be MOOP or just one more thing to haul in their gargabe to Reno. If you really love a bar keep, then come back and get to know them. If you feel the love, give them something meaningful......after you've had a meaningful encounter.

Danke-

[Kontradiction]

no moop from barbies they are shorn of hair prior to ingenious methods of disposal. the remains are resued as deterent for potential future barbies.

+1

[theCryptofishist]

Has anyone tried ironing barbie hair to make a mat of it?

[gaminwench]

Barbies look best bald...

[Mr.Coffee]

My experience from my first burn (this year), was that any bar you like will always gladly accept a donation of Ice. Sometimes it gets you a lap dance*

















(* results not typical, no guarantee of lap dance upon ice delivery. If rash developes, discontinue use and have another beer.)

[JStep]

Great post! Let me preface this reply; last year was my first year. I spent 9+ months here on eplaya and researching BM in general. Now I'm a regional contact and looking to (only) my second burn next year. I am not a "veteran burner" by any means and am still humbled by all that I do not know about this magical thing we do. That said...

The Burner culture of decommodification and the human acculturation in defaultia means that your awkwardness in understanding the etiquette at BM is not uncommon and actually may be shared by the bartender! Yeah, believe it or not we are all humans, conditioned to life where every interaction of goods involves an exchange, and it may be weird shedding that prescriptive behavior.

It was a little odd for me the first few times I walked into a bar at BM. Not because I wanted booze but wasn't sure how I should go about getting it, but because I was unsure about what was expected of me. I knew the usual tips you will read here; Don't walk in reaching into your pack and dusting off your cup expecting something, don't try to reciprocate a gift out of a sense of duty to exchange, etc.... But still, when you come from years of conditioning into a world of gifting, ie a world where people give to you because they want to, not because 1) you have something they want for exchange or 2) because they owe it to you to provide something (a la Rainbow land) you sort of have an odd time figuring out your role in this drama....

Here's the secret; There is no role, there is no drama... IF you choose to think that way. One way to avoid the awkwardness is to always have your own drink, that way you you don't have to care whether or not they serve you. Be on the search for a cool place to hang out. When you find one, hang out, enjoy it, share, socialize and come back again. If you appreciate the atmosphere the place provides you, donate something. Ask the bartenders what they need or might be running low on. If you can help, help. Believe me, if you do these things you will find that that bar is a huge part of what you loved about your BM experience. The fact that they have given you some booze along the way is almost incidental.

Relax, enjoy yourself, create, contribute and look for ways to help. If you do this every day you will likely find that by the end of the week you're looking for ways to get rid of the booze you brought because along the way you were given so much that you never really thought about what to do with what you had other than share it.

[wh..sh]

Two words - please and thanks.

And drink up what you get!

I was sort of bartending for the art car serving drinks. Sometimes people are too demanding. When I hand them a can of beer that was just thrown in the cooler some would request for an ice cold one. For fucks sake people, it's below freezing and I have my hand in and out of the ice cooler all night long!

[ygmir]

Two words - please and thanks.

And drink up what you get!

I was sort of bartending for the art car serving drinks. Sometimes people are too demanding. When I hand them a can of beer that was just thrown in the cooler some would request for an ice cold one. For fucks sake people, it's below freezing and I have my hand in and out of the ice cooler all night long!

*considers ordering warm, fuzzy drink*

[theCryptofishist]

Damn, jstep keeps saying things that increase my eplaya crush on him. Someone, please make him stop.

[Raymaker]

don't crawl to it, screaming "I'm stuck to the playa"

[JStep]

Damn, jstep keeps saying things that increase my eplaya crush on him. Someone, please make him stop.

(((Fishy)))

[wh..sh]

Two words - please and thanks.

And drink up what you get!

I was sort of bartending for the art car serving drinks. Sometimes people are too demanding. When I hand them a can of beer that was just thrown in the cooler some would request for an ice cold one. For fucks sake people, it's below freezing and I have my hand in and out of the ice cooler all night long!

*considers ordering warm, fuzzy drink*

I will save up a warm can of beer for you

[Ugly Dougly]

Here's what I would do. Approach the camp. Say hello and exchange civilized pleasantries. Go to the bar (was bad!) and see if anyone offers you anything to drink. If not, then split; you're not missing anything. If they do, then return with some booze or mixer.

[theCryptofishist]

Yeah, going to the bad at burningman is highly recommended.

[Ugly Dougly]

Fixed!

[theCryptofishist]

Ah, the virtue of eplaya has been restored!

[Savannah]

Well . . . something's been restored.

[junglesmacks]

I knew I smelled something..

[BBadger]

Long shirt, no pants, no service.

[Ugly Dougly]

Nveer had mcuh use for vtirue anyawy.

And thank you, Fishy, for your redlines!

[Sail Man]

Two words - please and thanks.

And drink up what you get!

I was sort of bartending for the art car serving drinks. Sometimes people are too demanding. When I hand them a can of beer that was just thrown in the cooler some would request for an ice cold one. For fucks sake people, it's below freezing and I have my hand in and out of the ice cooler all night long!

*considers ordering warm, fuzzy drink*

How about a Guinness instead?

[Igneouss]

Good thread!
As you read this thread you realize that there are a variety of bars on the playa.
I work in the Golden Cafe and it's a bit different.

For one we provide real glassware for our drinks. You do not need your cup here. Please leave the glass behind when you depart.
No gift required but we always welcome donations of booze and ice and mixer.
We try to keep things up-scale by BRC standards. We discourage people bringing in beer for example.
We also have a few exceptions to the radically inclusive ethos. For example, one patron brought in a megaphone. After ignoring requests to keep it off they had to be helped out the door. Another is groups of young men in t shirts and cargo shorts that always seem to have cans of beer in their hands.
We are mostly a daytime operation. For many we are a calm refuge and happy place to sit out hot weather or dust.
We have a stage and generally have good quality live music. Some musicians are members and some just sit in. Good fun. Musicians always welcome.

As for ID, it was the individual bartenders' responsibility to card patrons. But when things got busy we would warn people at the door that the bartender would require ID. It was amazing how many people did not have ID... Not much friction on this however.

We noticed an upswing in patrons that acted like they were entitled to service. I found that odd. Seems to indicate more BM attendees that are spectators and not up to speed on the ethos of BM.

One problem we had was that when the bar staff got overwhelmed we would 'bar' the door until the work load/crowd was back under control. This pissed some people off. They would walk up and be denied entry while looking in at an obviously busy bar. They tended not to understand the reasons. There's that entitlement thing again.

People seem to forget that we do this for our benefit. The patrons are our entertainment. We have fun making fun. At any point when it becomes too much like work we might shut down.

There were a lot more people this year that came to the Golden Cafe. This in turn resulted in us being open fewer hours. The bar staff would simply get worn out trying to keep up with the lines of people and still make it fun and exotic and playful.

So I guess my $.02 for the virgin is to be adaptable and adjust to the different 'scene' that each bar might present. Be open and friendly. Jump in and do some dishes. Bring some ice. Share a story. Meet people that are different than you. Stay a while if you like the place. Give positive feedback. It's all good.

Cheers,
Igneouss

[lemur]

dude broseph.. the tshirt, cargo shorts and beer are my costume... pssshhhhh

people these days!!!

[gyre]

Golden Cafe is always very pleasant.

[Igneouss]

dude broseph.. the tshirt, cargo shorts and beer are my costume... pssshhhhh

people these days!!!

Dressing like a frat boy does come with risks. There ya go... I have seen burners dress intentionally like sparkle ponies.

[Igneouss]

dude broseph.. the tshirt, cargo shorts and beer are my costume... pssshhhhh

people these days!!!

Dressing like a frat boy does come with risks. There ya go... I have seen burners dress intentionally like sparkle ponies.

[Elliot]

So.... I keep hearing that bars often run out of mixers before they run out of booze. And I could easily carry a supply of mixers on one of my pedal vehicles. And a supply of mixers is something I can afford. Now our "bar hopping" expeditions might become "delivery runs"! What should I stock up on?

[Igneouss]

I'm sure it varies for other bars but we are always short of fruit juices. We also have sister bars that we share supplies with so if we extra of something it gets used at another bar quite happily