Seven. The sum total
of years I attended undergraduate and graduate school. The name George Costanza wanted to name his
child (boy or girl). The number of
minutes it takes to get rock hard abs. A
dope movie by David Fincher where I was first introduced to Kevin Spacey. The number of words George Carlin told us
could not be said on television. And the
number of consecutive years I have attended Bonnaroo. It’s really weird to think that it has been
that long as I vividly remember first hearing the ’06 lineup and getting all
excited to attend. The years are really
starting to run together and throughout the weekend I would be speaking with
someone about a memory from the past and we really struggled to determine which
year it was. But it’s all good, as the
2012 festival had plenty of amazing moments as every other year has in the
past. And this year, three of my
all-time favorite live acts were performing.
I bought my ticket sometime during the fall which was months
before the lineup came out. I thought it
was pretty early, but nowhere near as early as the group of tickets that were
sold just days after Bonnaroo 2011 had ended.
Though I would argue that the lineup itself is almost irrelevant and
that I’ve always had a good time no matter what my initial reaction was when I
first read the lineup, there is something to be said for the experience of
first seeing a band you are totally down with.
And that was where I found myself at the faculty meeting I was sitting
in when I checked my phone to see people talking about the lineup. And I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. Radiohead, Phish, and the Avett
Brothers?! I think at that moment, I was
the most excited as I had ever been upon hearing the lineup. The icing had been put on the cake and I was officially amped.
We had a big crew this year with many veterans. Uncle JB, his buddy Marty, cousins John, Shea, James, and Johannah and the return of my uncle Billy and his kids Dan, Kevin, and Lauren. A number of friends of my cousins were there as well and most of us met up in Gainesville on Tuesday night, and for the first time in our Bonnaroo experiences, we left early the next morning. Every year it seems that they open the gates to the festival a little earlier and this year they were allowing people in at 7:00 pm on Wednesday night. We were determined to get in as early as possible because waiting in a long line to get in can be a miserable experience. Admirably, we left Wednesday around 8:00 and were on our way. We met Billy and his family at the Kimball Wal-Mart (about a half hour from the festival) around 5:00 and got our shopping done for the weekend. We then grabbed some dinner and headed out. We were pleased to find ourselves in a very short line and arrived as the sun was just beginning to set. It allowed us plenty of time to set up our site and to hang out a bit before heading to bed. Thursday provided some more leisure time before we headed out to the shows around 4:00.
Thursday:
1). EMA
I had heard a little from this somewhat eccentric indie
artist, but she sounded interesting enough for me to want to check out for my
first show. Unfortunately, she was not
impressive at all and turned out to be one of the least inspiring performances
of the weekend. She also seemed pretty
angry at her past boyfriends. I just
didn’t jive well at all with this performance and left after a few songs. I still think her album is good, but for some
reason she just didn’t translate well live for me.
2). The Lonely Forest
This was much more up my alley. Good performance by a decent alt-rock
band. I ran into Billy during this set
and we stayed for a number of songs before heading over to meet the others for
the Cave Singers.
3). The Cave Singers
This group was more along the lines of the Americana roots
rock genre that just about everyone in our group enjoys. Billy and I made our way over to the right
side of the tent where we saw our group sitting down. I didn’t see much of this performance but
what I heard was good. One of the
interesting things you’ll see at a festival like Bonnaroo is how so many people
choose different ways to see a show, whether they are making their way through
the crowd to get as close to the stage as possible or chilling on the lawn towards
the back laying down, there are all kinds of ways to enjoy a show. Personally, I typically like to get as close
as possible which explains why I get so tired.
But when not much is going on and I’m not seeing one of my favorites,
it’s nice to just sit down and enjoy the set which is what I did here. Not a bad set from a decent band.
4). Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
The first really good show I saw came from this indie rock
group that I heard about through XM Radio.
I wasn’t too into them but their live performance changed my mind. They came out wearing very bright colored
sports jackets and put on a very energetic set.
They were also good with the crowd banter as they explained how they
always felt bad for the fans at these festivals since they had to utilize so
many porta potties. So they made an
announcement that the next day they would be placing a bottle of champagne in
one of the 7500 porta potties on site for some lucky fan to enjoy. Now I have no idea if they actually did this
or not but it was a pretty interesting idea.
But then again, most of the people attending the festival did not see
this show so the chances are that if someone did find it, they did not know
where it came from. Basically, this all
comes down to a “what would you do” situation.
Walking into a porta potty finding an unopened bottle of champagne,
could you see yourself walking out with it?
Not the most sanitary of places to be leaving such an item. At any rate, they played a great mix of
originals and some great covers including the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” and
Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” in the Whitney Houston fashion. Great performance by a relatively unknown
band.
5). Moon Taxi
Every year I seem to give out my personal award for the
worst band name at the festival. I think
this one takes the cake. I didn’t catch
much of this set but I had a little time to kill before the next act I wanted
to see so I gave it a whirl. They played
some fairly chill indie type rock that wasn’t bad but wasn’t great either. I stayed for about 15 minutes and headed out.
6). White Denim
I had heard some stuff by these guys and was pretty excited
to see them. But like EMA, I was left
fairly disappointed. After a few songs I
realized that they were little more than an indie-jam band who hardly sang at
all during their performance. Now I
don’t necessarily dislike jams but when there doesn’t seem to be any direction
it can get very wearying. The songs they
played seemed very frantic and disorganized and it seemed like they were just trying
some groove for a minute or two and then totally changed directions to a very
different groove. For me, I just
couldn’t get settled or into their set.
I’m not quite sure what the attraction here is.
7). Phantogram
Now this was more like it.
I heard some of this group’s songs on Spotify and was immediately taken
by their atmospheric psych rock and I shortly learned after that they are from Saratoga,
NY which is near and dear to my heart. They put on a very fun and engaging set and I
left wanting more. I can certainly see
myself listening to this band more over in the future.
8). Alabama Shakes
Every year at Bonnaroo there seems to be a band that I learn
about shortly before the show that somehow blows up in the few weeks between
the discovery and the actual performance.
This five piece from Alabama
play a great mix of rock, blues, and country and lead singer Brittany Howard
has an amazing voice and is a great front woman. This was the band I was most looking forward
to seeing on Thursday night; however, it appears this was true for just about
everyone else and by the time I made my way over to their tent, I noticed how
insanely packed it was. Not only that,
but it was very dark out and it was difficult to make my way through the crowd
without stepping on people or causing major disruptions. So I stayed back and watched this set from
afar and though they were very good, it was just difficult to get down with
this set as I was so detached. They
actually came out of the chute playing their most known songs first so it kinda
gave me a license to leave early and prepare for the rest of the weekend. In the end, this is a very solid band and
they could have a very bright future ahead of them.
Friday
9). The Kooks
When the lineup first came out, I was very excited to see
that this Brit-Pop band was going to be in attendance. I first heard of them through my friend Jon
in grad school. I picked up their second
album Konk back in 2008 and fell in
love with their sound. It’s one that has
always stayed true for me but is also one that is becoming harder to find in
the wake of rock going the generic or indie routs. There seems to be less of a market for this
type of music which is why I was so excited to see them. I was somewhat surprised they were given such
an early billing at 12:15, but that
just meant I would have to start my day a little early. I decided to leave the campsite about 30
minutes before the show started but in hindsight I should have left about 30
minutes before that as the line going into the festival was the longest I had
ever seen in all seven years of attendance.
The line was moving very slowly and it took about 15 minutes for me to
realize why. It seemed that a lot of
people were walking past the line and were basically cutting as they approached
the entrance. It was a perfect example
of watching a social contract fall apart before your very eyes. People had been waiting a fairly long time in
line and others were just cutting it.
Some around me decided to cut as well and I was left with similar
feelings to the girl behind me who kept saying “Respect the Line!!!!”, but it
was also clear that this was not going to happen. Finally, I decided to cut ahead a bit, but it
was too late. By the time I got to the
Kooks show, it was 30 minutes past their start time, and of course, they ended
about 15 minutes early so I barely got to see them. Again, if you are given an hour long
timeslot, then freaking play the full hour.
The few songs I saw were pretty decent, but I was disappointed that I
barely got to see a band I was so excited for.
10). tUnE-yArDs
I was very interested in seeing this group which is
basically the brain child of Merrill Garbus.
And there is no way you could listen to her singing and think she was
not a dude. I heard some of her songs on
the radio and while the DJ kept referring to Garbus as a female, I somehow
still did not believe it. Their songs are
very out there and unique but melodic enough for me to want to check out this
set and I’m so glad I did. The band
consisted of Garbus, a bass player, and a few horn players but most of the
music came from Garbus as she looped several vocal and drum tracks to create
the majority of the sounds on each song.
She also played the ukulele as her other main instrument. Though her music is a little out there for
me, I thoroughly enjoyed this set as did many others around me and you could
tell that Garbus was appreciative of the crowd.
It got me to thinking that playing Bonnaroo must be very special for a
small time artist as it gives them an opportunity to showcase their music to so
many potential new fans, and when the crowd is as receptive as this one was it
must be a very satisfying feeling for the artist. I’m not entirely sure I’ll listen to this
band in my spare time all that much, but they sure did put on a great show.
11). Sharon Jones and
the Dap-Kings
This group has played Bonnaroo many times before but I never
made my way over to catch their set.
Though they are the perfect example of a live act that I think just
about anyone could get down to. They
blend a mix of soul, funk, R&B, blues, rock, and jazz into what is a great
live performance. Jones at 56 years of
age is a great performer and seems to know how to get the most out of her band,
which is one of the coolest you’ll ever see. I don’t know much of their
material but everything I hear I like and it was a great show to catch for a
while.
12). Two Door Cinema
Club
I really wanted to stay for Sharon Jones longer, but I also
didn’t want to miss this indie rock group that I thought would be a lot of fun
to see. I considered skipping it, but at
the last minute opted not to and I’m glad that I made that decision. They put on a very solid performance and
played some really good catchy indie rock that translated well live. This is certainly a band I could listen to
more frequently and not feel bad about it at all.
13). The Avett
Brothers
Part one of my trifecta of must see shows came from a band
that I have truly seen their growth, if only for their Bonnaroo shows. They first played the festival in 2006 in one of the smallest tents
after Radiohead’s blistering headlining set.
Though the tent was very crowded, it was clear that they weren’t a top
billing. Two years later thy played one
of the larger tents which has been one of the best Bonnaroo performances I have
ever seen. Two years later they played
the second biggest stage and this year they were billed for the main
stage. If this progression stays true,
then I predict the Avetts will be one of the headlining acts in 2014. I absolutely love the Avetts and if you’ve
ever read any of my blogs or know me at all, you are well aware of this. However, I’m going to be that guy. While I am very happy for their success and
that so many of my friends and family dig them, they’re just not as good live
as they used to be. And this is through
no fault of their own. They are still
just as energetic as they were and are still excellent performers. But due to their success, their larger shows
on bigger stages just can’t compare to the days when they played smaller
intimate clubs where you could get right up front and feel more connected to
the show. I think this is true for just
about every band, so I can’t blame the Avetts at all. And it’s not like I don’t enjoy their shows
anymore as that is far from the case. I
think I just got spoiled because those first few shows I saw back in 2005 or
2006 were soooooo good that any comparison to them now is simply unfair.
Having said all that, it was really nice to see them play
such a large stage in front of so many people.
And it was also good to see bassist Bob Crawford back with the
group. He had missed many shows over the
past year or so due to the illness of his young daughter who has been battling
brain cancer. Really sad but it did look
like he was enjoying himself during the show.
They did a great job of mixing up their catalogue and hit up some really
older songs to go along with their latest.
I only wish that I had been able to find my group so that we could all
watch together, but for the life of me I couldn’t locate them amongst the sea
of people there. I swear every year it
seems that there are more in attendance than the year before.
14). Feist
I had a lull in the action after the Avetts and there was
nothing I was dying to see. I opted to
head over to Feist’s set and get some food (bacon wrapped hot dog with a fried
egg and cheese………unreal) while I waited for Dawes. I’m not the biggest fan of Feist and found
that Remainder album to be fairly
boring. I know a lot of people lover her
but I’m not one of them. Her set was
fine and all, but was more of a breather for me.
15). Dawes
Few bands have grown as much traction with me over the past
few years as this foursome from Southern California. Their sound is very reminiscent of the Band and
Jackson Browne and they have some of the best harmonies I’ve heard in some
time. By the time I made my way over to
the tent they were playing, I saw my group front and center and I joined them
for a great spot. The band was great and
you could tell how much they were enjoying themselves. Front man Taylor Goldsmith is an excellent
songwriter and writes some amazing lyrics (more on that later). I really hope things work out for these guys
and that they continue making music as there is few songs they have I don’t
enjoy. Drummer Griffin Goldsmith also
takes lead vocal on some songs and there is something that always gets me about
that. I can’t imagine how difficult it
must be to concentrate on drumming and singing at the same time but he makes it
look so effortless. His facial
expressions while he plays are also phenomenal as with just about every other
beat he seems to be shouting out in emphasis.
He looks like Animal from the Muppets up there.
16). Radiohead
Damn you, Bonnaroo.
You scheduled Foster the People in a time slot that ended just as
Radiohead’s set began. I would have
loved to catch that set as they were one of my favorite break out artists from
last year and put out an album of some of the best indie pop I had heard in
quite some time. Initially, I was very
excited to see them but when the moment came to make a decision; I just couldn’t
bring myself to do so. I knew that it
would be packed and I missed securing a good spot since I saw the entirety of
the Dawes show, and I also knew that I would have to leave the Foster show
early to get enough time to make my way over to the main stage for Radiohead
and find a good spot there. As I started
walking from the Dawes show the wheels began turning and it didn’t take long
for me to make a decision. I’d just have
to skip the Foster show entirely. I only
had 30 minutes before Radiohead and there was absolutely no way I was not going
to be there for every second of the show from my favorite band. It actually wasn’t a difficult decision
either. Once I accepted this as the
necessary course of action, I felt not one shred of regret. Foster will just have to happen another time.
By the time I made it to the main stage for Radiohead, it
was dark out. I had toyed with the idea
of getting up to the front pit but it was way too crowded to see where the line
even began for the pit. I didn’t want to
have to figure it out so I made my way to a decent spot to the left of the
stage and waited for the band to appear.
I had seen them earlier in the year in Tampa
for a Leap Day show and they were spectacular.
Last year’s release The King of
Limbs just may be my least favorite of their albums, but when they play it
live, it takes on a different identity.
Since the record relies so heavily on the beats and computer generated
sounds, the band needed to take several months off in order to restructure the songs
so that they could be played live. They
brought in an extra drummer (Portishead’s Clive Deamer) and found a way to play
the heavily produced album on regular ordinary instruments. And while I absolutely love the way they play
these songs live, as well as their elaborate lights show and various screens
they have set up, I was left slightly unimpressed. For the most part, they were awesome, but I
could have sworn that there were some parts of their show where they got lazy. Some of the guitar parts and more intricate
aspects of the songs fell a little flat.
They didn’t seem to have the tight quality that they normally do. It didn’t happen frequently or throughout the
whole show, but I distinctly remember some parts where I was thinking that they
were leaving something out. Granted, I
am nitpicking here, but it’s just how I felt.
Their set was fairly predictable and drew heavily from their last two
albums. I was super stoked they played
my favorite “Paranoid Android” as well as “Karma Police”. But they didn’t play anything from The Bends which was slightly
disappointing. However, when they were
on, they were great. And before playing
“Supercollider” Thom Yorke dedicated it to Jack White, for reasons that we will
find out later, thus hinting that there might be some sort of side project or
recording that might be released where they collaborated together. Words cannot describe how happy I would be if
this turned out to be true.
I saw the entire set by myself as seeing Radiohead did not
seem to be much of a priority to anyone else in my group. I understand why others do not like them
(Uncle Billy asked me the next morning if the band was really just one guy
messing around on a computer for two hours) but it would have been nice to
enjoy the show with someone who cared as much as I did. All in all, it was another great performance
from a band that continues to make some of the best music I’ve ever heard. No one can touch these guys.
17). Black Star
I was really excited for this show by veteran hip hop
artists Talib Kweli and Mos Def (who now goes by Yasiin Bey) that my friend Pat
first introduced me to about ten years ago.
They have more of an organic sound for hip hop and are extremely
talented. I’m not totally familiar with
their work, but everything I have heard I’ve liked. But this performance left me uninspired. There were too many breaks in their songs and
the flow seemed choppy and unfocussed. I
couldn’t get all that down with what they were doing and I was kinda bummed by
that. I remember feeling similar things
when I saw hip hop artists in the past that their live shows just can’t hold a
candle to their studio albums at least from a sonic perspective. They clearly get into their performances and
have a lot of energy which is great, but for me, if the songs aren’t really
there, I’m not going to care that much.
I caught about half of their show before I headed back to the RV.
Saturday
18). Dawes
Saturday might have been the least anticipated overall day I
have ever had at Bonnaroo. Very few
artists jumped off the page at me when I saw the schedule and it turned out to
be a very go with the flow kind of day.
However, it did start out with one of my favorite performances of the
weekend with a brief set by Dawes on the very small Sonic Stage which is one of
the best places to see a live performance at Bonnaroo. There are a few shaded areas, it usually
isn’t uncomfortably crowded, and you can get very close to the stage. You may have heard me talk about how I’m not
a lyrics person and that I very rarely listen to lyrics in any song. It’s not a conscious decision, it’s just what
happens. There will be times when I will
hear a song for years before I actually realize what it is they’re singing
about. It is only when I actually stop
and think about it and try to listen that I pick up on what is being said. This happened to me during this set when they
played “Million Dollar Bill” which is a song I thought was merely adequate. But for some reason I decided to listen to
the lyrics and was completely blown away by how amazing they were. The imagery, metaphors, and heartache that
goes into this song cannot be emphasized enough. I was totally blown away and after the set I
admitted to my cousin Lauren that it was the first time I ever listened to the
lyrics. She looked at me like I was
crazy and asked in an extremely incredulous manner if I was serious. Sadly I was.
She then pointed out how amazing the lyrics were, to which I retorted
that I knew. At least, for the past 5
minutes I had known. I couldn’t find a
clip of that song from this set, so I included it above when they played it on
their main set the day before. However,
this performance of “A Little Bit Of Everything” is one of my favorites of the
weekend.
19). Blind Pilot
A few weeks before Bonnaroo, my cousin John came up with a
good idea to create a playlist on Spotify where we could all add songs from
artists who would be performing. It was
a great way to educate ourselves more on artists we might not have been
familiar with. As I listened to it in
the weeks leading up to the festival, there were many times a song would come
on that I never heard of and had no idea who sang it. It seemed that more often than not, whenever
I would be genuinely curious as to whom it was, it turned out to be Blind
Pilot. Unfortunately, their live
performance didn’t live up to the studio songs I had come to enjoy on that Spotify
playlist. This set was one of the most
boring and lease engaging shows I saw during the weekend. I would think that for many artists that
playing a festival like Bonnaroo would be an excellent opportunity to showcase
a high energy show and to draw in some potential new fans. For some reason, Blind Pilot decided they
just wanted to lull the crowd to sleep.
I didn’t want to sleep. So I
left.
20). The Temper Trap
The Temper Trap is the perfect example of a band that sounds
great initially for me but quickly loses its luster in a short period of
time. For me, they’re like the musical
equivalent of liverwurst or tempeh. At
first taste, they’re really interesting and dense and flavorful, but after a
few bites/listens, it’s clear that it’s just over the top and tend to get
nauseating. I didn’t have much else to
see in this time slot and they were playing the main stage which has an
excellent area for relaxing in during the day so I decided to check some of it
out. They’re not horrible or anything,
but they just don’t do much for me in the long run which is odd because they
have a lot of qualities of bands I do enjoy.
It was fine for checking out for about the 20 or 30 minutes I saw
them. But I soon headed out for
something different.
21). Flogging Molly
I have similar feelings about this Celtic punk band as I do
for Dropkick Murphys which was a band I saw at Bonnaroo a few years ago. They both put on an energetic and exciting
set and had I been in a bar with a number of beers in me I would have enjoyed
it so much more. It is certainly a
unique sound that they have and I give them credit for that, but again, it’s
just not my preference of genres. But it
was good to see nonetheless, and I was particularly interested in the various
mosh pits that came about. Normally that
is something that is saved for the very front of the crowd, but I saw a few
bust out towards the back left area where I was. Some dude even made his way from way behind
me to get up to the mosh pit but was bummed to see that it has dissipated. However, two minutes later it was back on and
this guy was loving life. I hate moshing
and think it’s dumb, but it sure was entertaining to see so many others get so
much joy out of it.
22). Battles
I had seen these guys play Bonnaroo on a Thursday night in a
jam packed tent. They are fairly out
there playing an experimental type of indie rock and create some pretty
substantial noise. I also love how the
drummer’s main cymbal is set so high up that he has to reach way up over his
head to hit it. They clearly get into
their set and while it’s not my favorite type of music, it’s really interesting
and fun to see live. They don’t really
sing either and any vocals heard are pre recorded, and oddly enough they have a
screen behind them with the images of some dude lip synching to the lyrics
being sung. At one point one of the band
members addressed someone in the crowd, and though I couldn’t hear the response
of the audience member, it was clear what the guy in the band saw before him as
I heard him say: “How are you doing?...........Yeah you are!!!............I
must look like an angel to you right now”.
I couldn’t help but laugh. You
can hear this exchange on the video below.
23). Santigold
I absolutely loved this set by an artist I don’t know much
about but had enjoyed any song I heard of hers.
She put on a great performance of pop/rock/rap/reggae songs and she
carried herself very well on stage. She
had a few dancers to go with her performance and though the act was very
choreographed and planned out, it still made for more of a unique performance for
the weekend. At one point she invited
the crowd to run up on stage with her to dance.
She told us all that if you come up on stage the only rules were that
you had to dance, that you couldn’t take any pictures, and that you couldn’t
hump her dancers. Evidently, she does
this often but there were concerns about her being able to get the people up on
the main stage, so it kinda started out as a trial run but it didn’t take long
before people all around me started to dart for the stage area. Within a minute, the stage was covered with
what seemed to be hundreds of people just dancing their faces off. I considered doing this myself, but then I
realized that I hadn’t had enough beer to make the charge. But it was funny to hear the people behind me
who had a friend up on the stage because they kept on laughing and pointing out
his crazy antics as they saw them unfold on the main stage. I also noticed a security guard put some dude
in a head lock and drag him off the stage. I guess he tried to hump one of the dancers. As the song ended and the crowd started
departing the stage, Santigold expressed that she had never witnessed such an
large group take her up on her offer and called them all crazy. I later learned that my cousin James was one
of the ones who made it up on the stage, which is the second time he’d done
that during one of her sets at Bonnaroo.
This set was a blast from start to finish.
24). Jukebox the
Ghost
I didn’t know much by this band but many in the group wanted
to see them and since they were playing in a small tent towards the back of the
field of the main stage area where I had just seen Santigold, I decided to
check them out for a bit. I wasn’t right
up front and it was hard to see the band, mostly because the stage they played
on did not appear to be raised at all, so for the most part, I just sat down
and listened to about three or four songs before I headed out for the next
show. John later said it was one of his
favorite performances of the weekend and that they played a cover of Whitney
Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” which would not be the only time that
song would be showcased during the weekend.
25). Mogwai
I have known about this Scottish indie rock outfit for a
number of years but it wasn’t until last year that I really started listening
to them. I very much enjoyed last year’s
release Hardcore Will Never Die But You
Will and was excited to see them.
It’s interesting because they are pretty much an instrumental band and
have almost no vocals at all. Typically
this throws me off and I can tend to get bored with such music but I’ve never
really felt that way with them. And I’m
glad to say that they delivered during this set which made it difficult to make
the decision to leave early, as I wanted to catch a decent amount of the Roots. It’s also worth noting that this was one of
the loudest shows I would see over the weekend which was a little annoying at
first, but my ears soon adjusted and I was treated to a very solid set. But as I said, I love the Roots and wanted to
make sure I got in a good chunk of their show so I cut out here about 15
minutes early.
26). The Roots
I’d have to say that the Roots are most certainly one of my
favorite acts in hip hop. They
consistently put out good albums and put on a very entertaining and engaging
live show. The band is huge and includes
members playing all kinds of instruments including the tuba. They put a lot of energy into their shows and
there is a lot of interaction with the crowd which always gets people
moving. Even though I missed about half
the show (including this tribute to the Beastie Boys), it was still a lot of
fun to see.
27). Red Hot Chili
Peppers
Over the years, my interest in the Chili Peppers has gone
through a roller coaster type cycle. I
absolutely loved Blood Sugar Sex Magik,
was luke warm on One Hot Minute,
enjoyed Californication, had no
interest in By The Way, and found
myself pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the double album Stadium Arcadium. Now I’m back on the “I don’t really care”
bandwagon and Saturday night’s headlining performance did nothing to change
that attitude in my mind. There are many
things about the Peppers that I love, mainly the fact that they are so
passionate about music and so appreciative of each other and their fans. When I saw them get inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, it was great to see how humble Anthony
Keidis and Flea both were when they accepted their award. It just seems that their approach and
attitude towards music is unique and I totally respect them for that. I will also always hold a special place in my
heart for them because Blood Sugar Sex
Magik pretty much was my freshman year in high school. But yeah, this show was not that great for
me. While they put plenty of energy into
their set and are phenomenal musicians, it just didn’t do much for me for some
reason. Maybe because they played a
bunch of new songs I didn’t know or that they didn’t play much that I approved
of, but I just didn’t get down with them.
I’m glad I saw them live and had that experience, but I think it’s
pretty safe to say I will not go out and buy tickets for a show of theirs in
the future.
28). Alice Cooper
This was pretty much a must see for at least part of the
set. I actually own a copy of Cooper’s
80’s hair metal album, Trash on
cassette and though I’m not a huge fan of his or anything, you gotta respect
his accomplishments. The dude is 64
years old and sill brings on a great rock show.
I’ve never seen a drummer positioned so high on the stage as I had for
this performance. He pretty much had to
walk up a staircase to get to the kit. I
didn’t hear many songs I knew which was slightly disappointing but I’m glad I
got to see part of this set. I did
notice that the crowd wasn’t all that big and it was fairly easy to get to a
good vantage point. Kids these days. They just don’t respect their elders.
29). Superjam
featuring ?uestlove with very special guests
This year’s Superjam wasn’t really much of a Superjam as the
only people involved whom I knew were ?uestlove from the Roots and D’Angelo who
does absolutely nothing for me. Normally
they have a couple of bigger names to play together, but maybe this year they
couldn’t book anyone else. Or maybe it’s
my fault and there really was another dope and respectable musician up there
and I just never heard of him before. Either
way, the set was pretty solid though I did not know many of the songs (though
they did play the Beatles’ “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” which was
a surprising cover). I also should note
that at one point I exited this set to go check out Skrillex playing the second
biggest stage nearby. It was really loud
and there were all kinds of lights and graphic designs on the screens behind
the stage. I’m not a big dance music
kinda guy and for the love of me I have no idea what dubstep really is (though
my favorite definition I’ve found states that it is the sound produced from
Transformers having sex) but I thought
it would be worth a brief stop by while I had the chance. It didn’t take long before I realized that it
was just not going to be something I’d be down with and I went back to Superjam. Evidently I was in the minority as it seemed
like 80% of the entire crowd at Bonnaroo was at that set. Kids these days.
30). GZA with Grupo
Fantasma performing Liquid Swords
Another of my favorite hip hop outfits is the Wu Tang Clan
which is the group that GZA performed with back in the early mid 90’s. I didn’t follow them at the time but over the
years as I’ve heard their stuff, I found myself really liking it. And I didn’t know this before I saw this
billing, but Liquid Swords is
considered one of the best albums to come from a member of the Clan. I listened to it a few times before the
weekend and again found myself really liking it. The only dilemma I had at this point was that
the show was to start at 2:30 am and
I was fairly tired from such a busy day.
I was able to make it through though (despite the fact that he went on
nearly 30 minutes late) and was glad that I did. GZA performed the whole time with Grupo
Fantasma playing all instruments and using no loops or pre recorded
tracks. I have mixed feelings about this
approach as on the one hand I really like to see rappers use organic and live
instruments as they perform as it showcases a unique spin on their songs. But on the other hand, hip hop relies heavily
on solid production that comes from the studio recordings and the live
performances just don’t sound as good as the recorded ones. I thought this performance was very solid
overall and I totally got a kick out of how many people kept flashing up their
Wu Tang hand signals and chanted the signature line “Wu Tang Clan ain’t nuthin’
to fuck with!” over and over again. GZA
played right into it as well and constantly talked up his former band and how
great they are. Say what you want about
rappers, but they are certainly not lacking in self-esteem. I started getting tired about an hour into
the set and noticed that it was nearing 4:00. I started thinking about the long final day I
had ahead of me and decided to head out.
As I left the tent and headed towards the exit, I felt the first
raindrops of the whole weekend.
Sunday
31). Delta Spirit
Sunday was pretty much the exact opposite of Saturday. Where Saturday was sunny and warm and
included a number of acts I was less than excited about, Sunday was cloudy,
rainy, and chock full of some of the most sought after acts and biggest
conflicts of the weekend. I don’t know
if anyone was intentionally messing with my sensibilities, but I suspect that
must have been the case. Sunday began
with one of the best shows I saw all weekend.
I have followed Delta Spirit from the periphery for a few years
now. They played Bonnaroo on a Thursday
night a few years ago, and actually ran into some issues with their travel
plans and they were not able to play during their scheduled time slot. Instead, they played after the last scheduled
show and from what I recall, played a great set. This year there was no issue with scheduling
and they were right on time at the second main stage for a 12:30 performance.
Just about everyone in our group wanted to see this show so we all went
together. As we approached the stage
there was some debate of whether we should go into the pit to be up front or
not. After a few opinions were tossed
out, JB mentioned that we should get up front.
I asked him if he wanted to go into the pit and he responded as
emphatically and seriously as I had ever heard him before with a resounding
“FUCK YEAH!” It’s almost as if he
couldn’t believe that this was even up for debate. I couldn’t help but laugh and turn to my
cousin Lauren and admit that he had a point.
We made our way to the left side of the stage and entered the pit area
and stood about eight rows back. Though
I wasn’t as familiar with their catalogue as others, I found this set to be
highly engaging and entertaining. All
members of the band played with such passion and energy and the songs were
great to boot. I’m not sure if this is
more indicative of the performance and band themselves, or if it had more to do
with the fact that I was so close.
Either way, it was a phenomenal start to the best day of the weekend.
32). Kathleen Edwards
I saw this artist at the suggestion of JB. He had put a number of her songs on our
Spotify list and I really liked what I had heard which was essentially great
roots/Americana rock. We were up fairly
close for this set as well and while I thought the set would be fairly mellow,
she surprised me by rocking out quite a bit.
I thought the performance and the songs were excellent and were better
than I thought they were going to be. It
got to the point where I was questioning whether to leave or not, and when I
finally decided to check out early, a good part of me disagreed with the
decision.
33). The Black Lips
I wasn’t that familiar with this band either but what I
heard I really liked. They played one of
the larger stages and by the time I got over to see them they were well into
their set. I was bummed to leave
Kathleen Edwards, but a few seconds into this set, I was glad to be there. The Lips play a great blend of a 50’s/60’s
garage rock band sound with a little punk to boot. The sound is fairly distorted and their songs
were not very long. I wasn’t impressed
all that much with the members bantering back and forth with each other and the
crowd (they seemed to be pretty full of themselves) but the music was spot
on. And the bass player played a Hoffner
bass which is the exact kind Paul McCartney plays so they have that going for
them.
34). Grouplove
My original plan was to see Here We Go Magic during this
time slot but shortly before the weekend I heard a lot of good things about
this band and I decided to check them out, especially since I had already seen
Magic a few years earlier. They played a
great blend of pop/indie rock and were really lively. The tent they played was pretty packed so I
didn’t get all that close but I stayed long enough to hear their big hit “Tongue
Tied” and then began to head out. As I
did, I wondered why they played their hit song as early as they did. But then they started busting into Whitney
Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and I could not help but stop in my
tracks and turn around to listen. Maybe
it was a calculated effort to get people like me roped back into seeing their
set, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but it certainly kept me there a little
longer and I have no doubt it had the same effect on others as well.
35). The Beach Boys
Like just about every other classic rock band from the 60’s
or 70’s, the biggest attraction here was to just see the band that had such a
huge influence in modern rock/pop music.
I’m not a huge fan of the Beach Boys but you have to give them respect
as they have an unbelievable amount of hits. I actually saw them play last year after a
Marlins game in Miami, but the only
original member was Mike Love. Instead, John
Stamos was there playing drums and guitar and singing and doing all kinds of
stuff. And the way Mike Love kept saying
“Ladies and gentleman……John Stamos!!!!” you’d think Uncle Jessie wrote Pet Sounds. I walked away from that performance amazed at
how I had forgotten just how many great songs the Beach Boys had. This performance at Bonnaroo was special
because all living original members were present including Love, Al Jardine,
Bruce Johnston, and the mad genius that is Brian Wilson. I give the Beach Boys props more so for the
fact that everyone else does.
Personally, their music does not do that much for me. Their pop songs are great and catchy, but I
would never sit down and pop in one of their albums for kicks. The only one that I do own is their seminal
masterpiece Pet Sounds which was
created as a response to the Beatles’ Rubber
Soul. And that album blew
McCartney’s mind so much that it inspired him and the rest of the Fab Four to
record what is considered by many to be the greatest rock/pop album of all time
Sgt. Pepper. Now say what you want about that assertion (Pepper is actually one of my least
favorite Beatles albums, and Pet Sounds doesn’t
really do all that much for me either) but you have to respect what was done at
the time it was done. These guys changed
the game and upped the ante to make recorded music a thing of an art and beauty
much more so than anyone had done before them.
And it was for these reasons that I was excited to see the Beach Boys
more than anything else.
Anytime you go to see these living legends of rock and pop,
you have to take it with a grain of salt.
These guys are old and just not capable of putting on the types of
performances that they used to. Now I’m
not saying the Beach Boys do not sound good live, as they surprisingly sound
very good especially when they lay into those layered harmonies. But they also have a bunch of younger
musicians on stage who were no doubt carrying a large part of those
harmonies. At any rate, it was really
good to see them perform live together.
And even though Mike Love just may be the musician I despise the most
(every time he spoke to the crowd between songs I just stood there with an
incredulous look on my face unable to comprehend the nonsense that was emanating
from his mouth), it was still nice to see him and Jardine and Wilson all
playing together and seemingly enjoying themselves. It’s certainly not something I would pay for
as a solo show, but seeing them play Bonnaroo was a great experience.
36). The Antlers
I jetted early from the Beach Boys to catch this indie rock
band I had heard on XM Radio. I enjoyed
their sound and wanted to catch them live and I’m glad I did. They put on a very solid performance of some
pretty mellowed out psych indie rock.
37). Ben Folds Five
I really have mixed feelings on these guys. But I think I have a good way to describe my
overall thoughts as I made known to my cousin John who is as infatuated with
them as I am with Radiohead. I think
about 20% of the time Folds really shines as a songwriter/performer. He’s got some of the most beautiful and
catchy songs I have ever heard and when he’s on, I absolutely love his
stuff. Then, there’s probably another
20% (maybe even a bit more) that I just don’t like at all. Maybe it’s when he gets too quirky and
incorporates that overly fuzzed out bass sound, but he certainly has stuff that
makes me want to turn it right off. The
other 60% is kinda just there for me.
Nothing great, nothing awful, just kinda there. Many people in my group love Folds and were
all sure to be in attendance for most, if not all of this show. I caught the first 30 minutes but they were
not playing any of that 20% stuff I first mentioned so I decided to leave
early. The band was clearly happy to be
there, mentioning that this was the 2nd show they’ve played in 12
years, and while that was kinda cool, it wasn’t enough to keep me around much
longer.
38). The Joy
Formidable
I didn’t know much by these guys but my friend Kevin hipped
me to them a while ago and I really liked their overly distorted and heavy
sound that was also very melodic. I also
liked the fact that they have a female singer which for some reason adds a
level of depth for me that male singers do not.
At any rate, I absolutely loved this show, and it turned out to be one
of the best of the weekend. They played
with such passion and energy and the crowd was very much into it. They must have had their amps turned up to 11
too as the sound was one of the loudest around.
To top it all off, they had a few large bass drums strung up behind them
and banged on them not only with their drum sticks, but also with their
guitars. Finally, they trashed their
instruments at the end which prompted the crowd to roar with approval and I
left that show as amped as I had been all weekend.
39). Bon Iver
I was enjoying the Joy Formidable show so much that I
decided I would skip out on Bon Iver.
But they went ahead and finished 15 minutes early so I had more time
than I originally thought so I headed over.
I’m not a huge fan of Bon Iver, but I really did like their self titled
second album that was released last year.
It’s really mellow and has been noted to put many to sleep (most
hysterically by Justin Timberlake in Saturday Night Live) but I think the music
is beautiful and great to listen to while relaxing. They played the main stage and I was all
prepared to just lay down on the ground and chill while waiting for the Shins
but to my surprise, they rocked out on a few songs which was totally different
than anything I heard them do before. I
didn’t stay very long, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear such an
energizing set.
40). The Shins
This might have been the time slot with the biggest conflicts,
which is interesting because I remember saying the same thing about this
timeslot last year. There must be
something with Bonnaroo trying to end on such a high note on Sunday evening
which is too bad since I missed a number of bands (The Civil Wars, Fun., and
Young the Giant) I would normally have wanted to see. While my group all was amped to see Fun., I
just couldn’t do it as I was really excited to see the Shins. I have been a fan for nearly ten years
whereas the other bands I just knew on the periphery. I also didn’t like the fact that the dudes
from Fun. came out before the weekend and talked about how their performance
would be a once in a lifetime performance and that they’d do things that people
would remember forever. To me, this just
sounded like a desperate attempt to draw a larger crowd. I wasn’t buying it. And from what I heard from my group later on,
I didn’t miss anything all that groundbreaking (unless you count a set closing
cover of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” as being
“groundbreaking”). Now I freely admit,
the Shins performance wasn’t all that spectacular either, but I was much more
familiar with their songs and it’s always special to see a band you like for
the first time. Though the only original
member remaining is James Mercer, I thought they did a good job of mixing up
the old with the new and I got to hear a lot of personal favorites. They sounded great and I would have loved to
catch more of it, but I left early to get a good spot for the festival closing
Phish show.
41). Phish
The weekend ended for me with one of my favorite live
acts. I know these guys take all kinds
of flack from many of my best friends, but I’m not gonna pretend like I wasn’t
really excited for this. I had a few
beers at the Shins show and headed towards the main stage where my thought was
that I’d grab one more before the set began.
However, when I got there I saw the line for the pit and noticed that it
wasn’t particularly crowded. I thought
it might be a good idea to hit up the bathroom before the show began but as I
turned for to head towards the porta potties, the pit line started moving. I made a spontaneous decision to join them so
I scrapped the bathroom idea which was unfortunate, but I thought I’d be
OK. It was fairly uncomfortable being
smashed up against that many hippies but after about five minutes of slowly
inching towards the small line leading into the pit I started moving
faster. Then it got worse when I
realized how muddy it was getting, and I was wearing flip flops. I don’t even want to think what was in there. Eventually I made it through and headed
towards the back of the pit area as the front area was pretty much all muddy
and I wasn’t about to deprive some dirty Phish hippies of the pleasure they’d
not doubt derive from kicking it in the filth.
Before the set began the crowd entertained themselves by bouncing beach
balls up into the air and throwing corn tortilla shells like Frisbees. Finally the band came out and ripped into
“Down With Disease” and it was on.
It was great being that close to the stage for me and I was
even there a few songs in when they brought out Kenny Rogers to sing his
biggest hit “The Gambler”. But it wasn’t
too long before I started to get that urge to use the bathroom. I’ve been cursed with a small bladder and
with a fast metabolism to boot, those two beers I had earlier had started
making their way through me. It was only
about 30 minutes into their 4 hour billing and I just tried to focus on the
music and not on water. I’m not gonna
lie, the thought of wetting myself right then and there had crossed my
mind. I was wearing a bathing suit and
it was lightly raining out anyway. There
were not people in my immediate area and the ground below me was wet. Plus, I’ll bet a number of those hippies had
already wet themselves so I’d just be joining the club. But alas, I could not do it. I hung around for another 15 minutes before I
finally took off for the bathroom. On my
way out of the pit, I noticed a security guard and I explained my predicament
and asked if I could come back in when I was finished. Sadly, I was turned down so I just accepted
the fact that I’d have to deal with only 45 minutes in the front area. When I returned from the bathroom I found a
good area to see the rest of the show from and while it wasn’t as good as the
pit, it was still a great spot. The show
itself was upbeat and a lot of fun.
After about 90 minutes the band took a 30 minute break and then came out
to play for another two hours. I was
familiar with just about every song and it was an excellent way to finish out
the weekend. I headed back to the RV
around 11:45 and by the time I got
there, just about everyone was asleep. I
had made it through another year and it seemed to go by in a flash, as most things that do that are so much fun.
Until next year!
-M
