The Morning After – Summer Love 2007

At least it didn’t rain this year. At least none of the pigs fell into the fire pit. At least there was an inflatable Shamu in the pool.

I spent most of the night trying to figure out what was wrong. Something was missing from Summer Love 2007 at the Goose ‘n’ Duck Ranch. The transportation was spotty and disorganized, the stage-side pool didn’t seem clean or full, and as a colossal buzz kill, one of the sponsors ran a “beauty contest” in the middle of the party.

Blame Club Beautiful, a networking website for beautiful people that reportedly rejects ninety percent of its applicants (not hot enough). Just as I was reaching that perfect drunk – a state I had orchestrated over several hours of painstaking inhibition – the music stopped and three guys were on stage yelping and strutting like a troupe of Patpong she-men. An MC pleaded for uninterested revelers to vote for their favorite with their cell phones.

My perfect drunk turned bad and I got wrecked. That’s where Summer Love 07 succeeded in a huge way. Booze was everywhere. The Goose ‘n’ Duck Ranch is a pleasant, if bizarre setting, and everyone drank their brains out. Beijing Hip Hop Experience and DJ Wordy saved the party after the poorly conceived pageant, and pulled the audience through the end of their set. And for some magical reason, there were flocks of smoking-hot, impeccably made-up girls (see some pics from the event here). Blame those swine at Club Beautiful again, I guess.

Rough edges kept Summer Love from being unforgettable. Why was my cut of roast pig covered in pig fur? Why wasn’t the pool light on? Why didn’t they have hammocks? Why were the housing packages so absurdly overpriced? And why, oh why wasn’t the music twenty-four hours, as the promotional material assured us?

They promised big, and delivered less.

Links and Sources:
clubzone.cn: 2007 Summer Love Pool Party Gallery (image)