Burning Man History: Paul Addis Is More Tyler Durden Than You Are

I know the guy who did it. I know the guy who, on Tuesday night of Burning Man 2007, burned the Man early. Not well, but I know him.

In fact, I once had a painful and hilarious BB gun shootout with him in a very crowded room during intermission, with him dressed as Hunter S. Thompson for his astonishingly excellent play and me bartending, serving the “Good Doctor Special” (PBR, whiskey, and a whip-it $4). I menaced people with a semi-automatic BB gun all night at the bar, and onstage, he made us laugh and cry and scared the pillfarts out of us, as two of his main props were a pistol and shotgun loaded with blanks. Sometimes he would fire the guns; sometimes he wouldn’t. Sometimes he’d pick them up and point them at the audience. He was sort of an ‘irritainment'(tm) hero to me even then.