Well, here we are again, coming to you from backstage at a very rain-soaked, muddy Bonnaroo! Easily more rain than the other 3 Bonnaroos I've been to combined last night, including a brief tornado warning. We thought we made it through the worst during my half of the drive down, where the road was barely visible for a bit. But the skies opened up again as we assembled the tent in the guest camping area (around 9pm), and we luckily ended up hearing about the tornado warning while we were in the media area, so we waited it out on one of the tour buses provided for those in the media close to the Radio Bonnaroo compound.
Was hoping we could have made it in time to see White Rabbits at 645, or Murs at 715, but no such luck once we got a little bit later start than intended and factoring in a couple stops for lunch and dinner. And with another batch of storms that blew through an hour or so after the initial Tornado Warning (we saw these coming thanks to the Weather Channel on the tour bus), we ended up deciding to stay (sort of) dry and pace ourselves and spent the late evening catching up with some pals from other official Bonnaroo radio stations around the country and record label folks and such. And once the rain let up (a bit), it was back to the tent for a few hours of shut-eye before broadcasting from the radio compound in the morning.
So, no, we didn't see Chairlift or Passion Pit, and it sounded like Delta Spirit ended up playing a few hours later than scheduled after arriving late. And it sure sounded like some kind of techno beat started around 2am fairly close to our campsite, which was interesting since the official schedule had the music ending by 2am on this 1st night. I jokingly speculated we were probably missing a surprise set by the Beastie Boys with Nine Inch Nails, but alas haven't heard anyone buzzing about such a surprise in the radio compound this morning. I have definitely changed from the flip-flops to the rain boots for the rest of the weekend, though, as more storms are predicted for today...
Today's lineup is pretty crazy. There's so much good stuff going on at all times, I'm not sure I'll be able to see a full set from anyone. Instead I'm going with the strategy of seeing as much as I can (mud and weather conditions permitting, of course). Let's see...David Byrne's curated stage (the 1st artist-chosen lineup in 'Roo history) begins at noon, with Katzenjammer, followed by Dirty Projectors, St. Vincent, Santigold and Ani DiFranco. Later in the evening on that same That Tent stage, Phoenix and Girl Talk will do their thing...Gomez and Tift Merritt should be early afternoon highlights, with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Grizzly Bear and Santigold all playing at around the same time in the late afternoon. Then it's Al Green, TV on the Radio, Lucinda Williams and Ani all on different stages at roughly the same time in the early evening. Beastie Boys and David Byrne set times overlap on the 2 biggest stages, and then Phish is the big headliner on the What Stage from 11pm-2am. Public Enemy goes on at This Tent at 1230am, and we'll try to mud-dance from Paul Oakenfold over to Girl Talk between 215 and 4am (might have to get a nap in at some point today to make it that long!)
Listen for a few reports from me on the air this afternoon, and we're hopeful of having some interview and performance clips to play for you this weekend, live and direct from backstage at Bonnaroo '09!
p.s., just said hey to James and Sam from Charlottesville's own Sons of Bill as they wandered through the radio compound. Looking forward to seeing their noon set on Sunday at the Troo Music Lounge, one of several upgraded "side stages" that definitely add an intimate feel to what already is a great, gigantic weekend of live music here in rural Tennessee!
Cheers!
