Mouth That Roars

Bill Liblick has made a name for himself of National TV Talk Shows where he spouted his outspoken views from the front row. Now he offers you his opinion every week in the "MOUTH THAT ROARS" Column in the Sullivan County Post.

- Subsribe at sullivancountypost.com
May 29th, 2014

The Mystery is Solved

For the past several months there has been a big mystery hovering over Sullivan County and it has finally been solved. Of course I am writing about Mysteryland the Techno/Electronic Dance extravaganza held at Bethel Woods last weekend.

People did not know what to expect.

Turns out that Mysteryland was one of the most spectacular events to hit Sullivan County since Bethel Woods opened.

When Alan Gerry and his management team were initially approached by the European Promoters of Mysteryland to lease the Bethel Woods venue for Memorial Day weekend there was skepticism and criticism.

An event attracting thousands of young people coming from all over the word to Sullivan County camping out, partying, and having fun – How dare they.

Let’s not kid ourselves – if it weren’t for the Gerry name, there was no way on earth local municipalities would have given the required permits to hold Mysteryland. Thank you – Alan Gerry.

Sullivan County was once again alive. Local businesses were booming. People were introduced to Sullivan County and the Catskill Mountains for the first time – and they liked what they saw.

I spoke to people from all over the United States, Canada, and Europe and they loved Sullivan County and our hospitality.

The concert promoters did everything they promised they would do and more.

This was one of the most professionally organized events. There was nothing that wasn’t planned out in advance.

The New York State Police and The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department must be applauded for all they did to secure the safety of everyone inside and outside of the venue. Thank you – Jamie Kaminski, Mike Schiff, and Blake Muthig.

Albee Bockman of Mobilemedics did an outstanding job in providing EMS services.

Many people still are confused what Mysterland was all about.

We can all go back to the famed historic Woodstock gathering of peace, love, and music to kinda of sort of understand this, but it would be mixing apples and oranges.

So, let’s go back to the disco era where non instrumental dance music originated and later evolved as clubs such as The Limelight, Palladium, Tunnel, and Twilo began to play this new form of techno/electronic dance music.

Techno/electronic music began to take a backseat in the United States as Hip Hop and Free Style dance music began to explode in our dance clubs.

In Europe however, techno/electronic dance music began to explode, and a few years ago it returned to the United States in a big way.

Aside from dance clubs playing this form of dance music, promoters began organizing dance parties and festivals such as Mysterland.

What is the attraction?

Some might argue these events are an excuse for partygoers to take illegal drugs such as a form of ecstasy called Molly to reach an ongoing and long lasting high.

There have even been songs written and performed about this.

Can You Help Me Find Molly

In actuality, events such as Mysteryland provide an opportunity for famous DJ’s who mix this form of techno/electronic dance music to display their crafts before a huge entertainment dance experience along with a spectacular light and laser show.

The setting for Mysteryland was similar to the facade of the Magic Kingdom with the castle looking like a deck of cards with the center stage set for famous DJ’s to spin their music.

Other DJ’s spinned their music at various locations throughout Bethel Woods with different themes and forms of techno/electronic music

I attended Mysteryland on Saturday and Sunday night and it was truly a fun experience. The music and light shows were amazing to say the least. But, then again you need to like this music. It is not for everybody.

I was probably one of the oldest in attendance and a young woman from Long Island stopped to tell me she was glad that “there were some older people experiencing Mysteryland.” We laughed and I explained to her the music was nothing new and that I danced to it in clubs 25 years ago.

What was fascinating about Mysteryland was the politeness and friendliness of all those in attendance. This was not a rowdy crowd. This was a fun group consisting mainly of college graduates and young professionals. People were there just to have a good time. Don’t we all need that once in a while?

One of the criticisms of Mysteryland was that it was a den for illegal drug use and abuse. It would be wrong to deny that there weren’t people on hallucinogenic drugs, but in reality you can find these drugs at every concert venue alongside every form of music.

I will never condone illegal drug use, but those critics of Mysteryland should start with our heroin and oxycodone problem plaguing Sullivan County.

We need to concentrate on the music and all the positives Mysteryland did for Sullivan County.

Thank you Alan Gerry and Darlene Fedun for putting Sullivan County back on the map with Mysteryland.

Mysteryland | 15 years | Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZitG41clIU
Mysteryland USA 2014 Gabriel Espinosa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKJlRaLfx5E
Mysteryland
http://www.youtube.com/user/mysterylandvideo
http://www.mysteryland.com/

Bill Liblick has made a name for himself on National TV Talk Shows where he spouted his outspoken views from the front row. Now he offers you his opinion every week in the “MOUTH THAT ROARS” Column in THE SULLIVAN COUNTY POST.

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