By Annie Rusten; Photos by Annie Rusten and Kabir Khiatani;
After showing up to Ultra on Saturday in a metallic pink body suit (pictured above), my opinions about the crowd at Ultra Music Festival should be obvious: I don’t judge. From the next-to-naked girls, to grandparents, to ravers, to young children with their parents, it seems you can find festies of every age and style at Ultra. So, in “The People” section (part 3) of my review, I think it’s a must to cover the types of clothing worn, the amount of crazy costumes, the variety of ages who attended, party props, hair-dos, and to keep it generic — “party-goers.” I love people watching at Ultra and if everyone didn’t add their own party sense in the mix, the experience just wouldn’t be the same.
If it’s your first time, walking up to Ultra is quite a site to take in. Not only can you hear the damn thing from a ways away, but you’re likely to start seeing the festies. Before we continue, I think it’s appropriate that we discuss what a festie might look like. The following list includes some or all of what you’ll see:
NEON
Jewelry
-bracelets
-beads, beads, beads
-necklaces
-anklets (Not a fan. They get in the way of dancing.)
-jumbo earrings
-glitter (Hey, it shines like ‘jewel’ry.)
Props
-glow sticks (of all shapes and size)
-fur (I literally saw someone holding/partying with fur)
Accessories
-hats
-wigs
-any kind of headgear
-tutus
-fur boots
-wings? (maybe some festies think they can fly?)
-big make up
-big hair
-piercings (in unusual places)
Clothes
-crop tops
-booty shorts
-swim suits (its hot!)
-birthday suits
-high socks
-sneakers
-flip flops (if ya like to get dirty)
Whether you’re one of the crowd equipped with the standard festie attire or you’re wearing what you would any other day, Ultra is in a sense just one enormous party. So it’s no suprise that people are dancing and raving everywhere they go! I’ve noticed that not only do people dress up for the fun of dressing up, but festie costumes also contribute to the party.
One second, you’ll be looking at someone dressed up as a fairy and the next time you look at them, they have a crowd circled around them and they’re using their costume to put on a show. From glow stick tricks, to Hula-hoops, to body jump-roping, nothing these people do should come as a suprise. Sometimes I’ll awkwardly catch myself staring at people who aren’t even trying to be entertaining, they’re just wearing something so crazy I can’t take my eyes off of them.
So, what’s too much for Ultra? The answer is NOTHING. Even the hairstyles this year were extra ridiculous. Some party goers were rocking the Dr. Suess “Whoville” look and others had no hair. A popular trend was shaving the Ultra U into your hair and not only into the hair on your head, one guy had it shaved into his obscenely hairy chest. Then again, some of us (like myself) don’t have hairy chests to shave, so what else can we do? Makeup! A lot of people come covered in not only makeup, but body paint. If there are any face-painters out there reading this, you would probably make big money booking up a gig at a something like Ultra, because people love to be festive.
In terms of what people remember when they think back on Ultra Music Festival, I think it’s safe to say that most remember it as an experience. The music, the shows, and the people pretty much team up to bring an “ultra” Ultra. And if your people are as good as my people, than no matter where you are, you should be guaranteed a great time.
