Spooky Saloon was an interactive time and space warp, organized by Ashley Cook and Sarah Cohen, featuring a western ghost town and saloon . Guests and participants were encouraged to dress as cowboys /saloon goers/ old school western towns people. There was a bar and a stage and tables and chairs and other elements to complete the installation we had in mind, with performances by 2000Blue, Scam Likely/Soft Lounge Sensation, FMC b2b Ariel Sports (with surprise performance by Prismviews), ARRN, 2Lanes, Pure Rave, 696 Blues Band, Jonah Baseball on the organ, Nolan Simon behind the bar and sound by Jeff Nolan.
Friday, October 18, 2019
cave
Russell Industrial Center, Detroit
Originally Sarah had the idea for a spooky barnyard theme, where people would dress up as certain animals, however after thinking about it further we decided it would have been difficult to coordinate the different animal costumes with party goers, and considered a slightly adjusted theme that would be more accessible for people to engage with. Ashley also came across a TIME Magazine cover featuring Lil' Nas X, the artist who collaborated with Billy Ray Cyrus in creating the unexpectedly smash hit country rap fusion single “Old Town Road” and became interested in the old style of country with the new style of trap music; we felt a need to create an event that was odd and unusual for people to interact with, like a dream/reality. There were some staples that we were specifically seeking, like saloon doors, hay bales, animal skulls, horseshoes; as we did research, we began to understand how to develop the installation so that it convincing enough to the guests to create the illusion of a real saloon. We searched on craigslist and local estate sales found a lot of gems for free such as a set of saloon doors, a rocking swing, an organ, a set of chairs and a table, an upholstered chair and vintage pallets for free on craigslist. The rest of the objects we had gotten from our own collection of furniture and trinkets, bought, or borrowed from friends. Aside from the large amount of things we had found, we also decided to create silhouettes to place behind the curtains that surrounded the space. We also introduced games and things for people to use in hopes of even further activating the installation; for instance while one was person at a table playing solitaire alone, in the other corner, a poker game was happening. It was as if the objects around, the music, the people all became one interconnected alternative reality.
