early morning Wednesday 6/18
OK, so it's taken a couple days to recover enough to even semi-coherently wrap up this blog...next time, I'll work through any Sunday downtime instead of watching VH1 Classic on the tour bus, because the trip back Monday is a lost cause - you're either sleeping or driving (hopefully not both at the same time :). And then you get home, and all you want to do is shower and sleep some more. And then Tuesday rolls around and you have all the real work you've been missing to catch up on...but let us go back to Sunday for a few moments, shall we...
The day started off with more blogging in the morning...wanted to make sure I got it done before my Corner on-air shift starting at about 11am. Almost did, and blogged the rest while I was on the air from Radio Bonnaroo. Had fun recapping the events up to that point with Tad & Elizabeth occasionally joining me on the air. During one break, I noticed Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie stroll by right outside the "window" of my studio, with baseball glove and hat and 3 other similarly clad men in tow. They just talked a while amongst themselves and never even threw a pitch or swung in the backstage batting cages! Maybe they had just come from playing catch in the artist backstage area, and the interview finished up in the radio area, who knows.
By the time the on-air stuff and the blogging were done, we had missed Serena Ryder at 1:30 in This Tent. Cool, Canadian singer who had a great covers cd that I believe came out last year. We would miss her again on the Sonic Stage at 5:15...d'oh!
There was a big crowd assembled at the Sonic Stage for Broken Social Scene, and deservedly so. They would close out the lineup at The Other Tent at 730pm that night...knew we wouldn't make it over there for that due to Plant/Krauss, so it was nice to catch them, esp. in a smaller setting.
It was on to Sherry's backstage area, affectionately known as The Boneyard, so we could get a closer glimpse of Matt Cameron from Pearl Jam, drumming with his jazz trio side project, Harrybu McGage at the back of the Sonic Stage. Mission accomplished, and we even got photos from the front too as the crowd thinned out waiting in the BSS autograph line...I felt like a stalker dork though, since I had chosen to wear one of my old school Pearl Jam shirts. Didn't expect to get so close to one of the members of the band!
Caught a bit of Robert Randolph's Revival (a bit more rock/funk than the pop/soul of the Family Band??) at That Tent. When they started into an instrumental version of Michael Jackson's "Rock With You," we moved along to Jakob Dylan & The Gold Mountain Rebels at This Tent, where we heard the strains of "Three Marlenas" as we walked up. Saying something along the lines of, "we like to play songs we know," Jakob seemed hesitant to try out his own solo stuff in favor of older Wallflowers songs, but that was fine by the crowd, including Superfan Beatle Bob standing in front of us sidestage. Orchestra Baobab was also playing at around the same time, and what a spot-on performance from these Senegalese legends. Oh, and we caught Susan Tedeschi with an acoustic guitar and a flute player on the Sonic Stage and got some good video of her covering Ray LaMontagne's "Shelter." But my tolerance for the flute is pretty minimal, so it was time to move on...
As the anticipation for Plant/Krauss builds, we rest in the media area for a while, missing Aimee Mann and Solomon Burke in the process. Another fact of Bonnaroo...despite your best intentions, there will be times when you just can't head back out into the fray. The lure of tour bus AC and free Subway sandwiches for dinner is too strong...and, as I think I mentioned in the car on the drive down, one of the nicest things about Bonnaroo is seeing colleagues from around the country and catching up on their cities and stations and lives. The AAA (that's Adult Album Alternative) radio community, even though each station has its own unique way of appealing to their city/audience, is a pretty small, cool and fun universe with a lot of like-minded, easy-going folks.
The VIP bleachers are suprisingly half full when we arrive a bit early for Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. I had seen Alison with Union Station on this same What Stage a couple of years ago. This show ended up being one of the highlights of the fest for me, with plenty of selections from their Raising Sand cd, obviously, a couple Zep covers ("Black Dog" and "Battle of Evermore"), a couple selections from their recent history (a rendition of Plant's "In the Mood" was spectacular, and the O Brother Where Art Thou? song "Down in the River to Pray" was chill-inducing). Plant seemed especially exicted to be not only at a festival like Bonnaroo ("it feels pretty good up here!"), but in a state like Tennessee, where so much of the music he had been recently discovering had come from (thanks to his backing band, led by T Bone Burnett, pointing out to him that "there's some great white American music too"). Another highlight was shown on the big screen a couple times during the set - probably the oldest person we saw at Bonnaroo, which got a rise out of the crowd, because despite her short stature and age (70s?), she was right down in the pit, smiling and clapping along. As the crowd thinned out a bit towards the end, Tad & I went down much closer to watch the encore while Elizabeth went over to the Which Stage to catch the end of Death Cab for Cutie's set. Only got a one-song encore though, and it was kind of an odd choice - some old rave-up by the Nervous Fishermen, or something. An odd note on which to end a set that featured such good singing, playing and song choices throughout (even T Bone got to do a song).
The strains of Death Cab's "I Will Possess Your Heart" wafted through the air as we made our way out of the What Stage area and onto to That Tent for Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi's Soul Stew Revival. Really good set from them - always amazing to hear Susan sing, and I had never seen Derek Trucks before - his plucking style of slide guitar playing without a pick is awesome to witness...not sure if they planned on playing a long set anyway or if it was due to the crowd response, but they were still playing when we got off the Ferris Wheel at around 930 (they were only scheduled til 830). Took a picture from the highest point at Bonnaroo (literally, anyway :) atop the Ferris Wheel and then caught a bit of Widespread Panic at the What Stage, after which it was back to the tent to start packing up for the long ride home...6am will come especially early tomorrow!
Oh, and we did get a call from the tour bus area that the Celtics/Lakers game was close late in the 4th so we took a quick break from cleaning up to witness the Lakers barely hang on in Game 5.
And we did actually manage to hit the road by a little after 7, with the Cracker Barrel about an hour away being our incentive for getting a move-on. Surprised any of us were able to stay awake after that several-course feast, but Tad did an excellent job driving the first half and I took the 2nd half, while Jaclyn helped split the drive with Amy from The Tide Radio in Williamsburg. She was heading the same way as us, so we figured we'd help out so she wouldn't have to drive the whole way herself.
So, another Bonnaroo in the books, and some final thoughts (or things I may have forgotten to mention) have crossed my mind the last couple days...
--that was my FIRST time seeing Pearl Jam for free...I know, I know, whoop-de-doo, but when someone like me who goes to free shows quite often, and has PAID to see a certain band (who hardly ever does free tickets) 13 times, and then finally after all these years gets to go gratis, that was pretty darn cool. So those folks who won PJ tix for VA Beach from the Corner should feel especially lucky, I guess is what I'm saying...free PJ tix are hard to come by! And I guess being in the fan club and buying tix through them to get better seats and avoid service fees has something to do with it too, for me anyway.
--the SuperJam this year was a bit odd, in that it was kind of a jam, but wasn't really that Super (Les Claypool and Gogol Bordello). I guess no matter who they got, it would be hard to top ?uestlove, Ben Harper and John Paul Jones doing Zeppelin songs last year :) But it reminded me of something I've noticed at the other 2 Bonnaroos I've gone to...I don't know if scheduling is too tight and bands have to get in and get out or what, but I was trying to think of any "spontaneous" collaborations or special guests I saw...Eddie Vedder came out with Jack Johnson for one song...Kirk Hammitt came out with My Morning Jacket for one song...there had to have been others, but it just seems like, if I was that great of a musician in that setting, I would want to SuperJam with as many people as I could! I guess it's probably understandably a pride thing, too, with each artist wanting to prove their "Bonnaroo-worthiness" on their own, without help from an "all-star." Just throwing that out there...
--I only needed my earplugs once the whole weekend (for Metallica)...such great soundsystems regardless of the size of the stage! Of course the one time I remember to bring them, I hardly need them :)
--the My Morning Jacket stories we heard the next morning after their almost-4 hour set were pretty sweet...when I'm back in Illinois this weekend withOUT pneumonia, I guess that will have to suffice for not staying through the rainstorm for that long :)
--and other regrets...i've had a few...too few to mention ;) but i will anyway :) not seeing the Raconteurs, Serena Ryder, Solomon Burke, Zappa plays Zappa, The Coup or going into the New Orleans area (wonder how much money they raised for Katrina relief with their $5 "cover charge" for the Somethin' Else tent?) But we did see Jack White backstage for a couple seconds after his Radio Bonnaroo interview/performance, and we saw Solomon Burke's velvet throne up close in the Boneyard thanks to Sherry, so again, it's all timing and pacing yourself and the yin and the yang of Bonnaroo...
--i have no idea who the headliners could be next year to top this (for me personally)...Radiohead and DMB would be solid picks, but they've both headlined here before...Tad's still rooting for the Jackson 5 reunion...maybe they'll branch out into Green Day or Coldplay territory next year...Beastie Boys have yet to play Bonnaroo, I'm pretty sure...and once Chinese Democracy comes out this year (yeah, right!) and flops, what better place than the middle of Tennessee for that G'n'R reunion tour to start! I'm just sayin'...the Phish reunion would be too big for Bonnaroo and a band like U2 or the Stones doesn't need to play a festival, because the monetary incentives could never be enough. The Led Zep thing could still happen I guess (Plant sure seemed to enjoy himself this year)...ah well, let the speculation begin!
Thanks for reading my mostly off-the-cuff ramblings this past week...hopefully it brought the equally ridiculous and sublime world of being backstage at a major music festival home in a relatable way! The Corner Crew is humbled and honored to have been part of Bonnaroo '08!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Bonnaroo Blog 6
6/15 1:10pm
blogging away as I broadcast from backstage at Bonnaroo this afternoon...
so we had a big decision to make as we made our way back to the media area around 730 last night. We had been told to be there by 745 to be part of the posse sidestage (on the main stage!) for Jack Johnson...but we had also heard that only the closest associates of Pearl Jam would be allowed sidestage for their set (they clear everybody out in-between). So Tad, Elizabeth and I reasoned that, as much as we all like Jack Johnson, we didn't want to have to fend for ourselves amongst the crowd of 80,000 to try and get a good spot that late in the game for PJ. Some PJ fans had been in the pit line since 10am that day! So we took our chances and walked all the way through the What Stage crowd to get in the pit line for PJ on the far side, since the closest side to us was jam-packed full. Seemed like there was a line of some kind, but with no security keeping people from cutting and no tape or fencing organizing it, fans had to police themselves, which for the most part went suprisingly ok, although Elizabeth and I started getting nervous towards the very end of Jack's set when more fans figured out the "line to the pit" process that they institute for the What Stage. We ended up bailing out of the line and enjoying the show from the lawn. Our side had plenty of space, esp. once all the people in the line were ushered into the pit. Tad took his chances and texted us "I'm in" a little after 10pm. Sounds like it was rough getting there, but he ended up with a spot just a few feet away from the stage for his first PJ experience. Turns out the Jack Johnson sidestage crew (including Jaclyn) were allowed into the PJ pit first, but Jaclyn bailed when it got too cozy after they let all the pit people in. Clearing everybody out between sets I guess is a good idea...there are 2 sections of the pit separated by an empty aisle between them, and then the mass of the crowd is behind a barrier behind that. Only problem is, when there is no defined line or security to enforce it, plus when that line effectively blocks the most direct line to the portajohns on that side, folks tend to get restless, so anxious and restless would be the words i'd use to describe my mood during Jack Johnson's set. And of course, Jack's music is about the most easy-going, catchy, mellow sound around, which only served to increase my own personal UNease at the pit situation. Ironic, eh? Plus, this being Elizabeth's first PJ show too (it's my 14th), I didn't want her to have to worry more about her claustrophobia than the music onstage. And the camera work and screens beside the stage were excellent, so we all got tons of great pics from various vantage points. Corner Teamwork! And knowing that I'll have fan club (1st few rows) seats for the PJ show in DC next Sunday helped make the decision much easier...apparently this new system was instituted last year - 2 years ago, those kids who had been there at 10am would have been in the front all day, and we would've had to do that too, which is exactly the opposite of the whole point of Bonnaroo. You should WANT to experience tons of different flavors of music & activities and people and not stay hunkered down in one place for hours. Ah, well, the ying and the yang of the festival circuit, I suppose...
The highlight of Jack Johnson's set was Eddie Vedder coming out and singing "Constellations" with him. He also made a nice dedication of "Bubble Toes" to his wife, who was sidestage, and he tinkered with an authentic Jimi Hendrix wah-wah pedal loaned to him by a friend just for Bonnaroo (I'm guessing it was PJ's wah-wah expert lead guitarist Mike McCready).
Pearl Jam's alloted time was 10:15-12:15, but I felt pretty confident they're immune to playing "just" 2 hour shows, and they did not dissappoint. 2 of the 1st 3 songs were B-sides, still got plenty of hits ("Alive," "Betterman," "Daughter," "Evenflow"), a spot-on Who cover ("Love Reign O'er Me") and they closed with one I'd never seen or expected them to do - "All Along the Watchtower" (Ed does it with the Million Dollar Bashers on the I'm Not There soundtrack). Rants about 80,000 changing the world, stopping the war, gas prices, and special dedications for Father's Day and a couple of friends were part of the emotional rollercoaster that the nearly 3-hour set included. Tad ran up behind us afterwards, on cloud 9 from what he said was easily one of the top 5 shows he's ever seen!
Kanye West was supposed to take the stage at 245am, so we gathered up our 3rd wind and roamed around, enjoying a bit of Sigur Ros on the way. They pulled out all the stops on their one-of-a-kind brand of epic, soaring, name-your-own-lyrics indie rock, with strings and horns included with the very soft-very loud guitar combo.
We snagged VIP bleacher spots for Kanye right around 245, but after the big screens indicated he wouldn't be starting til 315, then 330, we decided to call it a night, while Tad endured, waiting until 430 before Kanye got his wish to play at "Sunrise" at Bonnaroo...from the backstage chatter we've been hearing today, most folks were none too pleased with not only the lateness, but the lameness of his set. Sounds like we didn't miss much...
some things I may have neglected to mention in previous blogs...
--i do love the "new" Metallica bass player
--Kirk Hammitt of Metallica joined My Morning Jacket onstage for their almost-4-hour set to do "One Big Holiday"
ok, off to explore the last day of Roo 08...can't wait for Plant & Krauss! cheers!
Bonnaroo Blog 5
6/15 930am
Never did I think the strains of the Rolling Stones' "Let It Bleed" album would be so unwelcome as 8am Sunday morning at Bonnaroo...some really clever fellas (who brought a bounce house to put next to their trailer) had a pretty nice PA system, and decided to finally use it (apparently they started closer to 7am, but I must've slept through that somehow). Luckily it was on the opposite side of the guest camping area, but it was certainly loud enough where we were to prevent us from getting back to sleep (and I had planned on "sleeping in" til 9am today before my on-air shift at 11!). And once that classic album (one of my all-time favs, mind you) was over, it was onto the first Police album...when I heard the strains of "Gimme Shelter" at 8am, I thought they might be listened to Radio Bonnaroo, since I knew Jaclyn took over DJ'ing at that point. But it's a much mellower, oldies-centric playlist from Jac and Marty from WXRT in Chicago this morning on 101.5. Not sure how many people actually tune in to Radio Bonnaroo in the greater Manchester/Bonnaroo area, but it's fun for the radio folks to indulge our personal favorites a bit...
So to recap yesterday, I'll try to be brief since my Metallica tangent was kinda long yesterday...plus, I didn't take very good notes throughout the day...lotsa good pics though :) Tad & Jaclyn have been taking great pictures too. Look for those all in one place (hopefully soon) on 1061thecorner.com. We tried to upload a few yesterday morning, but our website doesn't like my laptop for some reason :( Hopefully the detailed blogging is helping :) We did post the pics Music Allies have been taking, so check those out at least.
Slow getting going in the morning...but the catered lunch of sushi and tuna and rice sure hits the spot and helps energize us. By the time we headed out into the fray, it was about 1pm and we caught Matt Morris and Charlie Sexton in an intimate setting on the Sonic Stage. Matt is a childhood friend of Justin Timberlake's (I think he's the first signee to JT's new label) and his album (coming out later this year) features Patty Griffin and Edie Brickell. Even though we only caught the last couple songs, you could tell it was pretty good, soulful stuff.
Then it was onto the even more intimate Troo Music Lounge where the up-and-coming band Carney played a set that started slow, but really kicked in a couple songs in. Early Radiohead/Yardbirds/Jeff Buckley sorta vibe, and they did a smokin' version of The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"...looking forward to hearing what they sound like on record.
Elizabeth wanted to be up fairly close to catch part of Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings' set, while Tad and I were content to listen to part of it as we wandered toward Centeroo. Great to see such a great live band (Sharon Jones) getting such a great reaction on such a big stage (the 2nd biggest Which Stage). Great, great, great :)
Walked through the Fuse TV barn (some couches and TVs showing Sharon Jones and a painting on the wall and that's about it), and picked up complimentary Fuse battery-powered mini fans which would feel nice (for the few minutes the batteries lasted) later in the mix-of-sun-and-clouds day. The grounds definitely are showing the effects of a night of steady rain. The grass isn't too muddy (one good thing about the warmth), but the main paths for the golf carts are definitely mud pits in places. Against Me! was pretty impressive in That Tent, then Tad and I ended up in the photographer pit for the start of the Abigail Washburn & Sparrow Quartet set featuring Bela Fleck at This Tent. Such a great mix of bluegrass and classical. Ok, I'm going to start using another word besides great...difficult to avoid, though, at Bonnaroo! We'll get to see them at The Paramount in Charlottesville soon hopefully, so we met back up a little after 3 with Elizabeth at the Sonic Stage, where Mason Jennings played to one of the biggest crowds we saw in that spot all weekend. Looking forward to playing his My Corner Playlist when I get back Tuesday!
It was off to the What Stage for Ozomatli, whom Tad especially was excited to see, never having seen them before. One of the highlights of the festival for me, Tad & Elizabeth, no question! We ended up staying for the whole set and had plenty of room to move, even though we were right up close in the pit. And there is always lots of moving and crowd participation at an Ozomatli show, although we were a bit disappointed at the end they didn't do their trademark move of taking the show INTO the crowd at the end (esp. since I assured T & E it would happen :( Oh well, a good time was had by all, and then we moved over to the 2nd biggest stage for the gypsy punk stylings of Gogol Bordello, who had their crowd worked up into a similar frenzy.
We wandered over to This Tent to catch a bit of Cat Power (whom Eddie Vedder name-checked later in the evening during Pearl Jam's set) and The Avett Brothers (huge crowds for both, by the way). Seems like a lot of the This, That & The Other Tent shows this weekend are even more packed than I remember from Bonnaroos past. Maybe more people are sitting down and relaxing (and taking up more room), so it looks like it's fuller than it is, or maybe they just sold more tickets this year. I thought they decided last year to cap it at 80,000 though. Because the one year they tried 90,000 it was just too much. Maybe more people are just into the music this year, and not doing as much in the Centeroo or camping areas, dunno...not an uncomfortable-crowded vibe at all, just interesting to note differences from year to year. If anything, the crowds help to make the performances even better with their trademark Bonnaroo energy!
On our way back to the media area, we checked in with our Charlottesville pal Sherrie, who is here as an art designer/Cinema Tent organizer. She's been here a couple weeks already, and will stay about a week after the festival's done, helping with the teardown. It was really cool to see what I believe she called The Boneyard, esp. her office with AC! She was excited about some of the costumes that would be involved in the annual midnight parade through Centeroo.
After snagging some sandwiches in the media area for dinner, en route to Iron & Wine we caught a bit of Ben Folds' Which Stage set. His piano tech made an impressively quick switch of a piano string (I was trying to imagine Ben's piano teacher when he was a kid - "quit banging the keys so hard, son!" haha) and then Ben announced his final performance of the fan-favorite Dr. Dre cover he actually recorded a few years back. Elizabeth & I didn't shed any tears, and it made our decision even easier to head out to This Tent for a typical mellow but moving Iron & Wine set. Standing way in the back (conserving our walking energy at this point), I interviewed a couple guys in the crowd for their perspective on the festival.
OK, I'll try to blog about Jack Johnson and Pearl Jam and Kanye West while I'm on the air...just about to do my first Corner "Live from Bonnaroo" b'cast in a few! Cheers for now!
Never did I think the strains of the Rolling Stones' "Let It Bleed" album would be so unwelcome as 8am Sunday morning at Bonnaroo...some really clever fellas (who brought a bounce house to put next to their trailer) had a pretty nice PA system, and decided to finally use it (apparently they started closer to 7am, but I must've slept through that somehow). Luckily it was on the opposite side of the guest camping area, but it was certainly loud enough where we were to prevent us from getting back to sleep (and I had planned on "sleeping in" til 9am today before my on-air shift at 11!). And once that classic album (one of my all-time favs, mind you) was over, it was onto the first Police album...when I heard the strains of "Gimme Shelter" at 8am, I thought they might be listened to Radio Bonnaroo, since I knew Jaclyn took over DJ'ing at that point. But it's a much mellower, oldies-centric playlist from Jac and Marty from WXRT in Chicago this morning on 101.5. Not sure how many people actually tune in to Radio Bonnaroo in the greater Manchester/Bonnaroo area, but it's fun for the radio folks to indulge our personal favorites a bit...
So to recap yesterday, I'll try to be brief since my Metallica tangent was kinda long yesterday...plus, I didn't take very good notes throughout the day...lotsa good pics though :) Tad & Jaclyn have been taking great pictures too. Look for those all in one place (hopefully soon) on 1061thecorner.com. We tried to upload a few yesterday morning, but our website doesn't like my laptop for some reason :( Hopefully the detailed blogging is helping :) We did post the pics Music Allies have been taking, so check those out at least.
Slow getting going in the morning...but the catered lunch of sushi and tuna and rice sure hits the spot and helps energize us. By the time we headed out into the fray, it was about 1pm and we caught Matt Morris and Charlie Sexton in an intimate setting on the Sonic Stage. Matt is a childhood friend of Justin Timberlake's (I think he's the first signee to JT's new label) and his album (coming out later this year) features Patty Griffin and Edie Brickell. Even though we only caught the last couple songs, you could tell it was pretty good, soulful stuff.
Then it was onto the even more intimate Troo Music Lounge where the up-and-coming band Carney played a set that started slow, but really kicked in a couple songs in. Early Radiohead/Yardbirds/Jeff Buckley sorta vibe, and they did a smokin' version of The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"...looking forward to hearing what they sound like on record.
Elizabeth wanted to be up fairly close to catch part of Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings' set, while Tad and I were content to listen to part of it as we wandered toward Centeroo. Great to see such a great live band (Sharon Jones) getting such a great reaction on such a big stage (the 2nd biggest Which Stage). Great, great, great :)
Walked through the Fuse TV barn (some couches and TVs showing Sharon Jones and a painting on the wall and that's about it), and picked up complimentary Fuse battery-powered mini fans which would feel nice (for the few minutes the batteries lasted) later in the mix-of-sun-and-clouds day. The grounds definitely are showing the effects of a night of steady rain. The grass isn't too muddy (one good thing about the warmth), but the main paths for the golf carts are definitely mud pits in places. Against Me! was pretty impressive in That Tent, then Tad and I ended up in the photographer pit for the start of the Abigail Washburn & Sparrow Quartet set featuring Bela Fleck at This Tent. Such a great mix of bluegrass and classical. Ok, I'm going to start using another word besides great...difficult to avoid, though, at Bonnaroo! We'll get to see them at The Paramount in Charlottesville soon hopefully, so we met back up a little after 3 with Elizabeth at the Sonic Stage, where Mason Jennings played to one of the biggest crowds we saw in that spot all weekend. Looking forward to playing his My Corner Playlist when I get back Tuesday!
It was off to the What Stage for Ozomatli, whom Tad especially was excited to see, never having seen them before. One of the highlights of the festival for me, Tad & Elizabeth, no question! We ended up staying for the whole set and had plenty of room to move, even though we were right up close in the pit. And there is always lots of moving and crowd participation at an Ozomatli show, although we were a bit disappointed at the end they didn't do their trademark move of taking the show INTO the crowd at the end (esp. since I assured T & E it would happen :( Oh well, a good time was had by all, and then we moved over to the 2nd biggest stage for the gypsy punk stylings of Gogol Bordello, who had their crowd worked up into a similar frenzy.
We wandered over to This Tent to catch a bit of Cat Power (whom Eddie Vedder name-checked later in the evening during Pearl Jam's set) and The Avett Brothers (huge crowds for both, by the way). Seems like a lot of the This, That & The Other Tent shows this weekend are even more packed than I remember from Bonnaroos past. Maybe more people are sitting down and relaxing (and taking up more room), so it looks like it's fuller than it is, or maybe they just sold more tickets this year. I thought they decided last year to cap it at 80,000 though. Because the one year they tried 90,000 it was just too much. Maybe more people are just into the music this year, and not doing as much in the Centeroo or camping areas, dunno...not an uncomfortable-crowded vibe at all, just interesting to note differences from year to year. If anything, the crowds help to make the performances even better with their trademark Bonnaroo energy!
On our way back to the media area, we checked in with our Charlottesville pal Sherrie, who is here as an art designer/Cinema Tent organizer. She's been here a couple weeks already, and will stay about a week after the festival's done, helping with the teardown. It was really cool to see what I believe she called The Boneyard, esp. her office with AC! She was excited about some of the costumes that would be involved in the annual midnight parade through Centeroo.
After snagging some sandwiches in the media area for dinner, en route to Iron & Wine we caught a bit of Ben Folds' Which Stage set. His piano tech made an impressively quick switch of a piano string (I was trying to imagine Ben's piano teacher when he was a kid - "quit banging the keys so hard, son!" haha) and then Ben announced his final performance of the fan-favorite Dr. Dre cover he actually recorded a few years back. Elizabeth & I didn't shed any tears, and it made our decision even easier to head out to This Tent for a typical mellow but moving Iron & Wine set. Standing way in the back (conserving our walking energy at this point), I interviewed a couple guys in the crowd for their perspective on the festival.
OK, I'll try to blog about Jack Johnson and Pearl Jam and Kanye West while I'm on the air...just about to do my first Corner "Live from Bonnaroo" b'cast in a few! Cheers for now!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Bonnaroo Blog 4
late Friday/early Saturday 2am
clothes are soaked, tent is not (thankfully) after a pretty steady rainstorm after Metallica's main stage set...more on that in a minute.
called in a couple of reports in to Brad this afternoon and covered most of the following during a break after the Swell Season...
Elizabeth had the quote of the day - "I've become a hippie!" She's been Bonnaroo-ized, apparently :)
had a banana for breakfast then made it just in the nick of time to join Tad live on the air for his last break from backstage at Bonnaroo during Morning on the Corner this morning.
wandering around Centeroo with Spencer from my old station in Missouri KBXR, he beat me & Elizabeth at a game of cornhole in the MLB batting cage area. we also noticed Roo-specific Pearl Jam and Metallica shirts in the merch tent. Pearl Jam's has a tree of some sort incorporated in with the Bonnaroo font, while Metallica's says, Metalliroo "Peace. Love. Horns." on it, referring to the traditional metal hand salute (index finger & pinky finger up)...funny since Spencer had just been telling us a story about horns being inappropriately thrown by their co-sponsor of a recent Death Cab for Cutie show in Missouri, the moral of which seemed to be, don't let a TV person do a radio person's job :)
while waiting for Grupo Fantasma to take the Sonic Stage (a smaller, often acoustic setting for artists who are playing other, bigger stages throughout the weekend), I ended up making $5 my name-your-own-price for a Paste magazine subscription. Not sure if print media is wise to adopt the Radiohead model,,,,
Grupo Fantasma had at least ten people on stage, a very funky mix of Latin rock. And I learned from the Roo guide that they were Prince's backup band at his recent Super Bowl halftime show performance!
Blasts of metal guitar fill the air around noontime, as Metallica's roadies can be heard from all the way across the grounds...
After enjoying a free backstage BBQ for a bit, we wandered back out into the fray, where the Drive-By Truckers were playing the 2nd biggest Which Stage. Tad notices The Corner's Operations Manager Rick Daniels and his wife sitting right near where we picked a spot to stand, so we caught up with him for a bit, while DBT's "Ronnie & Neil" (a song about Ronnie Van Zant and Neil Young not being the rivals they were sometimes made out to be) filled the air...
We had heard from Jaclyn earlier in the day that she had gotten sidestage for Vampire Weekend just with her media braclet and no special pass or anything, so we tried our luck with Jose Gonzalez. Tad & Elizabeth have media braclets, and I have a pass that says "Why?" on it that gives me priority for most shows (if the sidestage area isn't already filled up). All 3 of us ended up getting to see the show from a few feet away once a few photographers left the area right in FRONT of the stage! A very quiet but intense set delivered to a rapturous audience...and we crossed paths with Jose and his 2 bandmates later in the day and got a pic with him backstage, so that was pretty awesome too!
After phoning in a couple reports to Brad, Tegan and Sara took the stage after Jose, and they were well received, despite a few technical difficulties here and there. We were sidestage for this one, not right in front. When you're photogenic twins, photographers tend to stay a while in the pit :) After "Walking with a Ghost," we decided to move along to catch a bit of Minus the Bear, whom Tad and I agreed were kinda math rock/groovy in a good, Mute Math-sorta way....
It was onto the main What Stage area for Stephen Marley next, just in time to hear him do my fav song by him, "Hey Baby." A couple of covers of his dad's songs later (and a cool reggae version of Van Morrison's "Lonely Avenue"), and we had to refuel back in the media area...
as it's getting to be almost 4pm, Tad & I discover Rilo Kiley are doing their backstage at Bonnaroo performance and interview in one of the trailers. So as we wait to catch a glimpse of Jenny Lewis, we see Brendan Benson from the Raconteurs doing an interview with the dude from Fuse, and we interview our Warner Bros. pal David Ravikoff, who had just gotten to see Metallica the night before in front of 100 fan club members in Nashville...and good for him, because despite faithfully working some of his fav bands as part of his job (R.E.M., Raconteurs, Rilo Kiley), we know him to be a true metalhead at heart :)
So Dave wanders off, and Tad and I wander back to the perfomance area where Rilo Kiley will be exiting. Sure enough, out comes Jenny Lewis and Tad goes right up to her (just fyi, Dave didn't pull any strings or anything) and tells her we're from a radio station in VA that plays her music and could he get a picture! I was content to take photos of her walking away, so this threw me for a bit of a loop. Next thing I know, Tad's taking MY pic with Jenny Lewis! I made sure to mention we had seen her in Richmond last weekend (leaving out the minor detail that I went with Elizabeth - I would pay with evil scowls from her throughout the afternoon for that one ;), but that's about all the chit-chat we had time for, as she was wisked away.
Got to be sidestage for The Swell Season, who were excellent as always, and they did the Pixies cover they had done in Richmond recently, "Levitate Me." On the way back to the radio area, I snapped a few close-up pics from sidestage during Les Claypool's set, to pay Tad back for the Jenny Lewis encounter :) For the Which Stage, only my "Why?" pass gets sidestage access, not the media braclet. So that was pretty cool, seeing one of the world's greatest bass players from just a few feet away, esp. right during his bandmates' saw solo! Later in the evening, Tad got to check out the SuperJam, which this year they did an excellent job of keeping secret til Les Claypool came out with Gogol Bordello at about 130am...
Jaclyn at around this time, meanwhile, was shooting great pics sidestage at The Raconteurs, whom Tad, Elizabeth & I managed to miss, instead opting for resting from the day's wandering and the free sandwiches that had been delivered to the backstage radio tour buses may have had something to do with it too. Next thing we knew, it was getting close to Chris Rock time, so we mosied on out to catch a bit of Willie Nelson, Rilo Kiley and M.I.A. on the way.
In what was billed as one of the biggest, if not THE biggest crowd to witness a comedian, Chris was introduced by Lars and Kirk from Metallica. He started off very funny, and then it seemed like I had heard a lot of the jokes for the 2nd half of his set. Plus, for a crowd of 40-some thousand (at least), the laughter didn't seem all that loud at times...more like a lot of light chuckling, I guess...And there was no relation to Bonnaroo at all, really...like, why was he here, no hippie jokes, just kind of a standard Chris Rock set that he could've done at any comedy club anywhere. Weird. And he only had an hour slot, which seemed short, but I guess was about right as the anticipation grew for Metallica.
Chris returned the favor and introduced Metallica, albeit 15 minutes after their supposed 9pm start time. Tad & Elizabeth only lasted a few songs, especially when the world's lamest mosh pit (3 well-built shirtless dudes running into each other) began right near us. Somehow we timed our entrance into the What Stage area perfectly, right when they were allowing people to go into the area closest to the stage. So we ended up seeing Chris Rock and Metallica from the equivalent of maybe 20 or 30 rows back...we'll have to try that timing trick tomorrow for Pearl Jam :)
Very mixed feelings about Metallica's set...it was my first time seeing them, so I don't really have anything to compare to. But I thought their reputation for long live shows preceeded them, and made them a good fit for Bonnaroo (if, as many thought, nothing else did). And like James Hetfield said at one point, something to the effect of, you're here for great live music, and so are we, so let's do this! They seemed very appreciative to the crowd...no stinky hippies jokes or anything...and they bashed out an all-oldies set, including a few from "Kill Em All" even...The mellower moments were nice respites from the lame mosh dudes ("The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else Matters"), and luckily these guys weren't the type to try to mosh/crowd surf even when a ballad is being played. So back to the long live show thing...their alloted time was 9-11:30. So they went on 15 minutes late, and then were done by 11:20, the last 5 minutes of which they spent smiling at the crowd and throwing picks and soaking up the applause of what seemed to be a mostly-pleased crowd (from what I overheard those around me saying as we exited), despite a major technical glitch in the last song ("Seek and Destroy") where the audio went out completely for a good 30 seconds. But going back through my 20-year history as a fan of the band, I couldn't help but be disappointed. ...And Justice for All was my Metallica album...listened to it over and over as a 14- and 15-year old...listening back to it recently for the first time in a long time, I was struck by how its themes of war and justice and freedom were not only perfect for the late-80s Bush era, but even moreso for our current one. And let's face it, Kill Em All is great, but they wrote that when they were what, teenagers? And they have all these new songs you know they are just itching to play live...why not throw us a bone and show us how the new stuff holds up to the old favs? THAT's what Bonnaroo is about to me...pushing the envelope a little bit. It seems they're in this mode of reclaiming their old glory, which is fine, but claim your current glory too, ya know? Why are you still relevant? They pretty much are a genre unto themselves, which is why so many people love them, but I dunno...I guess I wish Hetfield had had more to say than he did ("let's hear you, Bonnaroo?" "are you still alive out there?" and fist pumping, "heys," which always freaks me out in a fascistic way...) Plus the whole show was a bit like watching people play Guitar Hero. A very fun game to play, I'll be the first to admit, but not so much when you have to watch other people do it. Ironic that I think they've just inked a deal for an all-Metallica version of Guitar Hero! It's like their awesome precision doesn't leave room for any kind of improv or surprise, which I guess is what the spirit of Bonnaroo comes down to for me. I thought maybe ONE new song might've been the way for Metallica to accomplish this, and I'm sure they're understandably worried about youtube footage or whatever, but still... or maybe that's the problem translating metal to the Bonnaroo experience - getting aggression out by noodle-dancing and smiling and singing along to songs about positive change is totally different from doing so by pushing and shoving. While still very sincere, metal just by nature elicts totally different emotions that, for me, works when I'm in the car by myself and I can turn the radio up to 11, but not so much when I'm surrounded by my fellow humans, most of whom are the reason I have these feelings of aggression in the first place - lol! As Chris Rock said, "don't hate the player, hate the game"...And this is NOT about the 3 lame dudes attempting to get their mosh on, it's about the feelings certain kinds of music represent...or something. I guess I'm saying, whatever happened to clapping and pogo-dancing? There was virtually none of that tonight...sad but true, indeed....
My Morning Jacket's midnight set is exactly the cure for my metal doldrums, and even after we return to the tent after getting poured on waiting to find out who the SuperJam might involve, we can still hear the strains of MMJ from the Which Stage as they go well-past the 2-hour mark with their mix of funk/country/rock/soul...yes, that's more like it, Bonnaroo :) Can't wait to see how differently Eddie Vedder handles the What Stage crowd tomorrow...
clothes are soaked, tent is not (thankfully) after a pretty steady rainstorm after Metallica's main stage set...more on that in a minute.
called in a couple of reports in to Brad this afternoon and covered most of the following during a break after the Swell Season...
Elizabeth had the quote of the day - "I've become a hippie!" She's been Bonnaroo-ized, apparently :)
had a banana for breakfast then made it just in the nick of time to join Tad live on the air for his last break from backstage at Bonnaroo during Morning on the Corner this morning.
wandering around Centeroo with Spencer from my old station in Missouri KBXR, he beat me & Elizabeth at a game of cornhole in the MLB batting cage area. we also noticed Roo-specific Pearl Jam and Metallica shirts in the merch tent. Pearl Jam's has a tree of some sort incorporated in with the Bonnaroo font, while Metallica's says, Metalliroo "Peace. Love. Horns." on it, referring to the traditional metal hand salute (index finger & pinky finger up)...funny since Spencer had just been telling us a story about horns being inappropriately thrown by their co-sponsor of a recent Death Cab for Cutie show in Missouri, the moral of which seemed to be, don't let a TV person do a radio person's job :)
while waiting for Grupo Fantasma to take the Sonic Stage (a smaller, often acoustic setting for artists who are playing other, bigger stages throughout the weekend), I ended up making $5 my name-your-own-price for a Paste magazine subscription. Not sure if print media is wise to adopt the Radiohead model,,,,
Grupo Fantasma had at least ten people on stage, a very funky mix of Latin rock. And I learned from the Roo guide that they were Prince's backup band at his recent Super Bowl halftime show performance!
Blasts of metal guitar fill the air around noontime, as Metallica's roadies can be heard from all the way across the grounds...
After enjoying a free backstage BBQ for a bit, we wandered back out into the fray, where the Drive-By Truckers were playing the 2nd biggest Which Stage. Tad notices The Corner's Operations Manager Rick Daniels and his wife sitting right near where we picked a spot to stand, so we caught up with him for a bit, while DBT's "Ronnie & Neil" (a song about Ronnie Van Zant and Neil Young not being the rivals they were sometimes made out to be) filled the air...
We had heard from Jaclyn earlier in the day that she had gotten sidestage for Vampire Weekend just with her media braclet and no special pass or anything, so we tried our luck with Jose Gonzalez. Tad & Elizabeth have media braclets, and I have a pass that says "Why?" on it that gives me priority for most shows (if the sidestage area isn't already filled up). All 3 of us ended up getting to see the show from a few feet away once a few photographers left the area right in FRONT of the stage! A very quiet but intense set delivered to a rapturous audience...and we crossed paths with Jose and his 2 bandmates later in the day and got a pic with him backstage, so that was pretty awesome too!
After phoning in a couple reports to Brad, Tegan and Sara took the stage after Jose, and they were well received, despite a few technical difficulties here and there. We were sidestage for this one, not right in front. When you're photogenic twins, photographers tend to stay a while in the pit :) After "Walking with a Ghost," we decided to move along to catch a bit of Minus the Bear, whom Tad and I agreed were kinda math rock/groovy in a good, Mute Math-sorta way....
It was onto the main What Stage area for Stephen Marley next, just in time to hear him do my fav song by him, "Hey Baby." A couple of covers of his dad's songs later (and a cool reggae version of Van Morrison's "Lonely Avenue"), and we had to refuel back in the media area...
as it's getting to be almost 4pm, Tad & I discover Rilo Kiley are doing their backstage at Bonnaroo performance and interview in one of the trailers. So as we wait to catch a glimpse of Jenny Lewis, we see Brendan Benson from the Raconteurs doing an interview with the dude from Fuse, and we interview our Warner Bros. pal David Ravikoff, who had just gotten to see Metallica the night before in front of 100 fan club members in Nashville...and good for him, because despite faithfully working some of his fav bands as part of his job (R.E.M., Raconteurs, Rilo Kiley), we know him to be a true metalhead at heart :)
So Dave wanders off, and Tad and I wander back to the perfomance area where Rilo Kiley will be exiting. Sure enough, out comes Jenny Lewis and Tad goes right up to her (just fyi, Dave didn't pull any strings or anything) and tells her we're from a radio station in VA that plays her music and could he get a picture! I was content to take photos of her walking away, so this threw me for a bit of a loop. Next thing I know, Tad's taking MY pic with Jenny Lewis! I made sure to mention we had seen her in Richmond last weekend (leaving out the minor detail that I went with Elizabeth - I would pay with evil scowls from her throughout the afternoon for that one ;), but that's about all the chit-chat we had time for, as she was wisked away.
Got to be sidestage for The Swell Season, who were excellent as always, and they did the Pixies cover they had done in Richmond recently, "Levitate Me." On the way back to the radio area, I snapped a few close-up pics from sidestage during Les Claypool's set, to pay Tad back for the Jenny Lewis encounter :) For the Which Stage, only my "Why?" pass gets sidestage access, not the media braclet. So that was pretty cool, seeing one of the world's greatest bass players from just a few feet away, esp. right during his bandmates' saw solo! Later in the evening, Tad got to check out the SuperJam, which this year they did an excellent job of keeping secret til Les Claypool came out with Gogol Bordello at about 130am...
Jaclyn at around this time, meanwhile, was shooting great pics sidestage at The Raconteurs, whom Tad, Elizabeth & I managed to miss, instead opting for resting from the day's wandering and the free sandwiches that had been delivered to the backstage radio tour buses may have had something to do with it too. Next thing we knew, it was getting close to Chris Rock time, so we mosied on out to catch a bit of Willie Nelson, Rilo Kiley and M.I.A. on the way.
In what was billed as one of the biggest, if not THE biggest crowd to witness a comedian, Chris was introduced by Lars and Kirk from Metallica. He started off very funny, and then it seemed like I had heard a lot of the jokes for the 2nd half of his set. Plus, for a crowd of 40-some thousand (at least), the laughter didn't seem all that loud at times...more like a lot of light chuckling, I guess...And there was no relation to Bonnaroo at all, really...like, why was he here, no hippie jokes, just kind of a standard Chris Rock set that he could've done at any comedy club anywhere. Weird. And he only had an hour slot, which seemed short, but I guess was about right as the anticipation grew for Metallica.
Chris returned the favor and introduced Metallica, albeit 15 minutes after their supposed 9pm start time. Tad & Elizabeth only lasted a few songs, especially when the world's lamest mosh pit (3 well-built shirtless dudes running into each other) began right near us. Somehow we timed our entrance into the What Stage area perfectly, right when they were allowing people to go into the area closest to the stage. So we ended up seeing Chris Rock and Metallica from the equivalent of maybe 20 or 30 rows back...we'll have to try that timing trick tomorrow for Pearl Jam :)
Very mixed feelings about Metallica's set...it was my first time seeing them, so I don't really have anything to compare to. But I thought their reputation for long live shows preceeded them, and made them a good fit for Bonnaroo (if, as many thought, nothing else did). And like James Hetfield said at one point, something to the effect of, you're here for great live music, and so are we, so let's do this! They seemed very appreciative to the crowd...no stinky hippies jokes or anything...and they bashed out an all-oldies set, including a few from "Kill Em All" even...The mellower moments were nice respites from the lame mosh dudes ("The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else Matters"), and luckily these guys weren't the type to try to mosh/crowd surf even when a ballad is being played. So back to the long live show thing...their alloted time was 9-11:30. So they went on 15 minutes late, and then were done by 11:20, the last 5 minutes of which they spent smiling at the crowd and throwing picks and soaking up the applause of what seemed to be a mostly-pleased crowd (from what I overheard those around me saying as we exited), despite a major technical glitch in the last song ("Seek and Destroy") where the audio went out completely for a good 30 seconds. But going back through my 20-year history as a fan of the band, I couldn't help but be disappointed. ...And Justice for All was my Metallica album...listened to it over and over as a 14- and 15-year old...listening back to it recently for the first time in a long time, I was struck by how its themes of war and justice and freedom were not only perfect for the late-80s Bush era, but even moreso for our current one. And let's face it, Kill Em All is great, but they wrote that when they were what, teenagers? And they have all these new songs you know they are just itching to play live...why not throw us a bone and show us how the new stuff holds up to the old favs? THAT's what Bonnaroo is about to me...pushing the envelope a little bit. It seems they're in this mode of reclaiming their old glory, which is fine, but claim your current glory too, ya know? Why are you still relevant? They pretty much are a genre unto themselves, which is why so many people love them, but I dunno...I guess I wish Hetfield had had more to say than he did ("let's hear you, Bonnaroo?" "are you still alive out there?" and fist pumping, "heys," which always freaks me out in a fascistic way...) Plus the whole show was a bit like watching people play Guitar Hero. A very fun game to play, I'll be the first to admit, but not so much when you have to watch other people do it. Ironic that I think they've just inked a deal for an all-Metallica version of Guitar Hero! It's like their awesome precision doesn't leave room for any kind of improv or surprise, which I guess is what the spirit of Bonnaroo comes down to for me. I thought maybe ONE new song might've been the way for Metallica to accomplish this, and I'm sure they're understandably worried about youtube footage or whatever, but still... or maybe that's the problem translating metal to the Bonnaroo experience - getting aggression out by noodle-dancing and smiling and singing along to songs about positive change is totally different from doing so by pushing and shoving. While still very sincere, metal just by nature elicts totally different emotions that, for me, works when I'm in the car by myself and I can turn the radio up to 11, but not so much when I'm surrounded by my fellow humans, most of whom are the reason I have these feelings of aggression in the first place - lol! As Chris Rock said, "don't hate the player, hate the game"...And this is NOT about the 3 lame dudes attempting to get their mosh on, it's about the feelings certain kinds of music represent...or something. I guess I'm saying, whatever happened to clapping and pogo-dancing? There was virtually none of that tonight...sad but true, indeed....
My Morning Jacket's midnight set is exactly the cure for my metal doldrums, and even after we return to the tent after getting poured on waiting to find out who the SuperJam might involve, we can still hear the strains of MMJ from the Which Stage as they go well-past the 2-hour mark with their mix of funk/country/rock/soul...yes, that's more like it, Bonnaroo :) Can't wait to see how differently Eddie Vedder handles the What Stage crowd tomorrow...
Friday, June 13, 2008
Bonnaroo Blog 3
6/13 950am
How am I so awake this early? Actually woke up at around 3am and again briefly at 6am before finally really waking up at about 720am...the tent area gets a little warm when you keep the door zipped up all night! Ah, my first camping experience...I realize being in the guest camping area just steps away from the media/Radio Bonnaroo area isn't exactly roughing it, but by my standards, this is about as close as I'll get. Got to sleep fairly easily last night around 1am...called it a night early (by Bonnaroo standards) in order to be ready for a busy day today...
By the time we got our accomodations and tent situated last night, we had missed MGMT, Newton Faulkner, What Made Milwaukee Famous and Nicole Atkins, but were able to catch Battles and The Sword around 10pm or so. Big crowds for both and the energy is palpable just walking around, let alone as you get closer to one of the music tents. Vampire Weekend seemed to really feed off the energy and played a very spirited set, including some new songs. A lot better interaction with the crowd too than when I saw them in Austin at SXSW..."the punks and the hippies and the frat boys and girls can all get along" and "we're pretty much a jam band...but with short songs" were my favorite quotes from the VW lead singer...
Wandered over to Lez Zeppelin (the female Zep tribute band) and heard accomplished versions of "What is and What Should Never Be" and "The Ocean," but we didn't have enough energy to hang around for a Robert Plant guest appearance that wasn't likely to happen anyway (he's here with Alison Krauss Sunday).
You could definitely still hear the strains for both VW and LZ as we arrived back at the campsite, but it was a dull enough din of noise to get a good night's sleep to before our big Friday the 13th, featuring Drive-By Truckers, Jose Gonzalez, The Swell Season, The Raconteurs, Willie Nelson, and of course the mighty Chris Rock, Metallica and My Morning Jacket!
Will try to call in a report or 2 this afternoon if I can get a cell phone signal out of here...Jaclyn will talk to you from the Radio Bonnaroo studios tomorrow at noon and I'll be on at noon on Sunday! Cheers!
How am I so awake this early? Actually woke up at around 3am and again briefly at 6am before finally really waking up at about 720am...the tent area gets a little warm when you keep the door zipped up all night! Ah, my first camping experience...I realize being in the guest camping area just steps away from the media/Radio Bonnaroo area isn't exactly roughing it, but by my standards, this is about as close as I'll get. Got to sleep fairly easily last night around 1am...called it a night early (by Bonnaroo standards) in order to be ready for a busy day today...
By the time we got our accomodations and tent situated last night, we had missed MGMT, Newton Faulkner, What Made Milwaukee Famous and Nicole Atkins, but were able to catch Battles and The Sword around 10pm or so. Big crowds for both and the energy is palpable just walking around, let alone as you get closer to one of the music tents. Vampire Weekend seemed to really feed off the energy and played a very spirited set, including some new songs. A lot better interaction with the crowd too than when I saw them in Austin at SXSW..."the punks and the hippies and the frat boys and girls can all get along" and "we're pretty much a jam band...but with short songs" were my favorite quotes from the VW lead singer...
Wandered over to Lez Zeppelin (the female Zep tribute band) and heard accomplished versions of "What is and What Should Never Be" and "The Ocean," but we didn't have enough energy to hang around for a Robert Plant guest appearance that wasn't likely to happen anyway (he's here with Alison Krauss Sunday).
You could definitely still hear the strains for both VW and LZ as we arrived back at the campsite, but it was a dull enough din of noise to get a good night's sleep to before our big Friday the 13th, featuring Drive-By Truckers, Jose Gonzalez, The Swell Season, The Raconteurs, Willie Nelson, and of course the mighty Chris Rock, Metallica and My Morning Jacket!
Will try to call in a report or 2 this afternoon if I can get a cell phone signal out of here...Jaclyn will talk to you from the Radio Bonnaroo studios tomorrow at noon and I'll be on at noon on Sunday! Cheers!
Bonnaroo Blog 2
7pm eastern Thursday
....and we're BACK!!
after a 4-hour driving stint through a couple of midwestern monsoons, i'm back in the backseat...i think my fellow travelers were getting tired of my "radio scan" technique...lots of live Pearl Jam off Tad's iPod - had to wait til Jaclyn fell asleep otherwise that wouldn't have lasted too long...found a decent 80s station in Knoxville that went from Def Leppard to The Cars to Sheila E to Ratt...not bad! Then I couldn't pass up my childhood favs Kiss "Rock'n'Roll All Night"...and there was some Carter Family in there too (we are in Tennessee now after all). Not sure when the time change kicks in, but we're within a couple of hours now...should be able to tune in Radio Bonnaroo soon! They take over the area light rock station for the weekend and air Bonnaroo-related music and information for the crowd as they arrive at the festival and for the folks in the campsites. Jaclyn is excited about her Sunday morning shift on Radio Bonnaroo from 8 to 10am. If I'm awake at that ridiculous hour (after staying up til about 3am to see the start of Kanye West's set the night before), I might help out. In my other 2 trips to Bonnaroo, I have broadcasted back to my host station, but never to the campers of Bonnaroo.
oh, and it's been Spandau Ballet "True" and Guns'n'Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine" since Jaclyn took over, by the way...ok, she did find a really cool Etta James song on an oldies station and we rocked some Jackson 5 off Tad's iPod. Tad and Jaclyn's dance moves in the front seat are totally worth veering off onto the shoulder from time to time :) The singing...not so much.
more later after we land on Planet Bonnaroo!!
....and we're BACK!!
after a 4-hour driving stint through a couple of midwestern monsoons, i'm back in the backseat...i think my fellow travelers were getting tired of my "radio scan" technique...lots of live Pearl Jam off Tad's iPod - had to wait til Jaclyn fell asleep otherwise that wouldn't have lasted too long...found a decent 80s station in Knoxville that went from Def Leppard to The Cars to Sheila E to Ratt...not bad! Then I couldn't pass up my childhood favs Kiss "Rock'n'Roll All Night"...and there was some Carter Family in there too (we are in Tennessee now after all). Not sure when the time change kicks in, but we're within a couple of hours now...should be able to tune in Radio Bonnaroo soon! They take over the area light rock station for the weekend and air Bonnaroo-related music and information for the crowd as they arrive at the festival and for the folks in the campsites. Jaclyn is excited about her Sunday morning shift on Radio Bonnaroo from 8 to 10am. If I'm awake at that ridiculous hour (after staying up til about 3am to see the start of Kanye West's set the night before), I might help out. In my other 2 trips to Bonnaroo, I have broadcasted back to my host station, but never to the campers of Bonnaroo.
oh, and it's been Spandau Ballet "True" and Guns'n'Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine" since Jaclyn took over, by the way...ok, she did find a really cool Etta James song on an oldies station and we rocked some Jackson 5 off Tad's iPod. Tad and Jaclyn's dance moves in the front seat are totally worth veering off onto the shoulder from time to time :) The singing...not so much.
more later after we land on Planet Bonnaroo!!
Bonnaroo Blog 1
6/12 1230pm
and a blog from the road...
departing C-ville at around 11am, we stopped at Kline's in Staunton for some much-needed lunch. ok, so it might take us a while to get there...but the lure of BBQ and milkshakes was too strong...
Jaclyn just took over driving the Corner Element for Tad...she went with the radio for a while and now it's Flight of the Conchords off Tad's iPod after they were nice enough to let me choose the first things we listened to - (since I didn't go last year). I went with the new My Morning Jacket followed by Vampire Weekend. Ah, the nuances of roadtripping with 3 DJs in the car :)
As an Outback Subaru just passed us, they held up a sign saying "Boob-A-Roo...Show us yours" - Tad resisted the urge to lift up his shirt...
More later as events warrant...
and a blog from the road...
departing C-ville at around 11am, we stopped at Kline's in Staunton for some much-needed lunch. ok, so it might take us a while to get there...but the lure of BBQ and milkshakes was too strong...
Jaclyn just took over driving the Corner Element for Tad...she went with the radio for a while and now it's Flight of the Conchords off Tad's iPod after they were nice enough to let me choose the first things we listened to - (since I didn't go last year). I went with the new My Morning Jacket followed by Vampire Weekend. Ah, the nuances of roadtripping with 3 DJs in the car :)
As an Outback Subaru just passed us, they held up a sign saying "Boob-A-Roo...Show us yours" - Tad resisted the urge to lift up his shirt...
More later as events warrant...
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