I don't go to the Gerlach Regional anymore. I may again in the future (5 years out?), but don't have much interest in it right now. I kinda did all the Burningman there is to do... I went to the original burns on the beach in SF and in the desert, then came back to the event after a decade away and camped alone on my motorcycle, camped with a theme camp, ran my own theme camp, worked in a service camp, and then was a Burningman employee with commissary, showers, paycheck, free ticket, and early arrival a full week before the event. So, after something like 15+ years, I feel like I have participated with the event in all the ways I can, and it was getting "normal" for me. There weren't a lot of new experiences, so I felt like I wasn't being fully present in the event, and being a Participant. I had kinda become a Spectator. My wife and I now go to Otherworld (the Victoria, BC regional), and then participate with local arts events that we and other Burners have created or curated. Now, with Larry's passing, I think the event will grow/change/morph. I don't want to see the transition happen. I want to go back in 5 years, when the event has been reimagined in the spirit of the last 30 years, and see what it has become. Be a Newbie again. I'm excited for that opportunity! But for now, I will stick with the local regionals. And revel in the joy of discovery that new burners experience! Their excitement gives me hope for the world.
Damn, those Burner created projects look so awesome! Since our magical night winning the room at Ashram last year, and finding out about projects like secret cinema in London I've been thinking about those awesome immersive theatre projects people have created. Maybe I'll do something like this someday too...
Remember, this is about participation... a do-ocracy... All you need to do is make the space, and invite the do-ers to do their thing. It's kinda amazing what happens when you invite 6 people to come over, have some wine and snacks, and then you present your Big Idea to them. That's how Maker Faire started. That's how Figment started. That's how every theme camp you've ever heard of, started. One person got some friends together, and infected them with an idea. "Maybe I'll do this someday..." is the wrong headspace. "I'm gonna invite X, Y, and Z over, and tell them about my half-baked idea, and show them some web sites and photo galleries, and we're gonna..." It may not materialize for 10 years. But it won't ever happen if you don't share the ideas with others. So why not do it now? Maybe I'll do something like this someday too...
Maybe i'll do this someday = I'm thinking about creating something of the sort. I need at least a half-baked idea to start asking for cooking help. And then plan the bake sale. I'm all about making shit happen and I've been tackling smaller projects, helping out friends with their big idea. Helped my friend Jerome feed 200 people at our regional this summer: And the speakeasy experience we created with my friend has been a huge success too, it's given me confidence in my entertainment abilities :) We're #1 in our city right now! I hear AirBNB is launching this new thing called "concerts" in our city in October. I'm not huge on music myself, but if my boyfriend wants to tackle the musical side of it I'll totally transform our basement into the coolest space ever. But setting up something like Please don't tell in NYC, or that spooky cemetery event I mistakenly snuck into last year: 
I wonder how similar the AirBnB concerts are to what HomeDitty is doing. I'm not a fan, because a host doesn't receive any payment from hosting. But it's certainly interesting.
I think they are looking for 2 things: 1. unique spaces (concerts on a boat, private rooftop, mongolian yurt have a great appeal) 2. cheap-ish to produce music so it's profitable even with a small audience. Minimal band members, accoustic, minimal props. So a cool dude with an artsy loft, an acoustic guitar and a unique musical style can probably do pretty well from what I can gather. A quick calculus of 10 people at 20$ (or 20 at 10$, whatever), 20% Airbnb fee: as an artist you just made 160$ for an hour of music. You can actually earn a LOT more, the question is wether the demand is there. The struggle is to actually set up that cool space, and get popular enough to get reliable bookings. Basically, I feel it's worth trying out at the launch since we do have a lot of musician friends. Worst case, we just pimp out our basement as a cool party venue and come out even ?
haha I hear that, no mongolian yurt in my pocession in the near future My basement is already fairly pimped out, friends have painted murals on the walls. We've hosted loads of concerts there already. Are the concerts only beta in one city?
I only know about Montreal - I know they launch a couple cities at a time so you should look into where it's at with your city. It might have launched already! Go for it. It has a a high earning potential IMO, and it's really minimal effort to get started. It's just a matter of whether it's going to pick up or not.