What We Learned @ Bonnaroo 2010

This will just be a sort of recap or list of what we learned/experienced at Bonnaroo.  Maybe amusing, maybe disturbing, maybe it makes you wish you were there, or quite possibly makes you glad you weren't.  Enjoy!
  1. If ever you have dreamed of going to a place in the Continental U.S. that drug use is basically legal, buy your tickets to Bonnaroo 2011!
  2. Bonnaroo seems to be some sort of mecca for people with really, really bad tattoos.
  3. When the heat index is over 100 degrees, even the morbidly obese will be scantily clad.
  4. Don't go to an outdoor music festival in the middle of Tennessee in June dressed in a wetsuit.  And if you do, go with friends you can trust not to leave you passed out on a random tarp in the mid-day sun.
  5. 90% of the vendors at Bonnaroo are head-shops.
  6. Do not go to Bonnaroo if you have issues with personal space.  You'll be much better off if you go in expecting to share the same 5ft of space with 25 sweaty, smelly people - I mean, 25 of your new closest friends.
  7. Only thing worse than sitting in the sun when the temps are in the 90's with humidity hovering right around 95% - having to go into a filthy porta-potty in that same weather.
  8. Don't sit near any fences/shrubs/trees/immovable objects - chances are someone has peed (or worse) there.
  9. It is apparently perfectly acceptable at Bonnaroo for women to wear only what was advertised as "booby painting" as a top.  Use your imagination.
  10. Smoking (regular cigarettes) is either much more prevalent still than I thought, or just moreso among the Bonnaroo types.
  11. Do not expect to sleep past 7:00 a.m. in a tent in Tennessee in mid-June.
  12. Bonnaroo has the best fried pickles we've ever had.
  13. There is not much better on a boiling hot day than ice-cold, fresh-squeezed lemonade.  Pure amazingness in a plastic cup.
  14. If you have a hard time seeing over the crowd, practice walking on stilts!

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Thursday, July 8, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

6.13.2010 - Bonnaroo, Day 4 - Manchester, TN

Musically, plans were up in the air for the last day of Bonnaroo.  Headed to Centeroo early to fill our Camelbak's up with water before the lines got really long.  Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself...on our way down there we stopped to get fried pickles (one of our all-time favorite foods), and they were absolutely delicious - even better than in they are in the Irish Pub in my old college town.  Mmmm...

Food isn't something we've discussed much in this series of Bonnaroo blogs as of yet.  Mostly because, in order to curb expenses, we packed our own peanut butter sandwiches, chips, and carrots for lunch every day.  We ended up buying something in Centeroo every night for dinner, trying two vegetarian burritos, some cheddar and jalepeno hush puppies (fantastic!), pizza, and a noodle bowl.  The hush puppies and noodle bowl with it's spicy sauce were the most stand-out dishes of the weekend.  But I digress...this is a music blog afterall!

We decided to go see Ingrid Michaelson's set at The Other Tent at noon.  (By the way, both camera batteries had died at this point, so all I have to offer unfortunately is a crappy iPhone picture from way too far away!)  Got there super early and snagged a shady spot just outside the tent under a tree.  We haven't ever seen Ingrid live, and feel just so-so about her albums.  So we weren't overly excited about this show.  But boy, just minutes after Ingrid and crew took the stage, she completely changed our minds!  That woman is hilarious!  If she ever gave up music, stand-up comedy should be in her future!  And such a sweet person - one lady in the crowd near the stage had a sign saying that it was her daughter's birthday and that she is a big Ingrid fan.  Ingrid asked how old her daughter was turning that day, the lady replied with "4 years old".  Then Ingrid proceeded to ask the woman to pass up onstage the birthday card for her daughter and she signed it and drew her an old-fashioned hand turkey.

Totally recommend seeing Ingrid Michaelson live if you ever get the chance.  She performed her new rock version of "The Way I Am", some other great songs with audience participation, such as "Mountain and The Sea", "The Hat", and of course, her infamous cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic".  That number is absolutely hilarious when it comes to the dancing at the end.  That performance solidified our plans for that coming Tuesday night to go see her at The Vogue back in Indianapolis.

We wandered over to the Which Stage after that - our intent was to find some shade and sit through the Calexico show to see Regina Spektor, then Ween, then Phoenix and probably head back north after that.  Well, we sat in the sun/semi-shade for over 2 hours, listened to Calexico, ate our lunch, then decided we'd had enough.  It was a bit after 3:00 and no sign of Regina Spektor yet, so we just started our long hike back to the car at that point.  It had been a fun weekend, but after 4 days in that heat, you get to a point where you are no longer enjoying yourself, and the benefits of staying are far outweighed by the costs.

It took all of 5 minutes to drive out of Bonnaroo after our 2 mile hike in the boiling heat (Stopping of course to get a couple more orders of those delicious fried pickles and some frozen lemonade on our way back!).  The drive back home was fine, stopped off in Nashville to do a little driving tour of the city.  Mel had visited before, but I've only driven around it on various highways headed for other distant destinations.  The CMA festival was going on, so downtown was crowded for that, but I really liked the city.  It has a good feel to it, and I really enjoy that it has hills.  The fact that it is a music mecca doesn't hurt either :)

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Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Posted in | , , , , , , , , | 0 Comments »

6.12.2010 - Bonnaroo, Day 3 - Manchester, TN

We'd been looking forward to this Bonnaroo day for a while...it was finally Brandi day!!  We are big Brandi Carlile fans, if you couldn't tell...  So naturally, we got to That Tent at 10:30 - over 3 hours prior to Brandi taking the stage at 1:45.  We gathered a filthy black sheet and someone's discarded "Neat Sheet" to cover up some sticky lemonade that someone had spilled by the rail at the front, then sat down to hold our spots for the show.

Langhorne Slim played right before Brandi.  He's a singer/songwriter, and puts a hell of a lot of energy into his live shows.  This guy was bouncing around constantly - moving all over the stage from standing on the speakers set up in front of the stage to jumping off of the kick-drum.  At one point during his set, a kid wearing a "Langhorne Slim" shirt appeared onstage.  The kid jumped around with him during a song, then stood up there awkwardly until the band tried to shoo him offstage, and a guy in the photo pit had to help him down.
Then it was time for Brandi Carlile and crew to take the stage.  It is easily the hottest of Bonnaroo days thus far, and within minutes, Phil has sweated through his long-sleeve button-up shirt.  They played a typical bar or theater set, with the exception of the acoustic portion.  That just wouldn't have resonated with the venue or the crowd.  The band had a great energy level, even though they were sweating their asses off.  Tim had on a great shirt - it had some Hebrew lettering, and underneath it said "Shalom Y'all".  Hilarious!  Here's the setlist from that show:
It was so miserably hot after that show, that we decided to hang under the broo'ers tent and take advantage of the shade.  We heard some of Norah Jones' set, and The Avett Brothers, but the heat and threat of thunderstorms was enough to keep us from wandering closer to the Which Stage to get a better listen/view.

We headed to the Sonic Stage for the acoustic version of Brandi Carlile's set after cooling off.  The crowd was a LOT smaller there, and Brandi, Tim and Phil played a great five-song set.  The lady in charge of introducing bands on this stage was a crack-up.  She kept saying how great the band was, and how "sassy" Brandi is.  A very odd word to describe her if you ask me, but then again, no one did :)

After a short period of rain, we made our way back to That Tent to catch some of John Prine's set.  We aren't familiar with his music, but there were some true die-hard fans there to see him.  From what I gather, he's a legend in country music.  This was the place to find a lot of the older Bonnaroo crowd on a Saturday afternoon.

Then it was time to head to the main stage - the What Stage for Stevie Wonder followed by Jay-Z.  Stevie Wonder still sounds amazing.  He is one of those guys that sings a TON of popular songs that you don't even remember are his until you hear him belting them out just as impressively as he did 20 or 30 years ago.  He really is an instution in the music industry.  The lawn area was packed for his show, and we had quite a few high and crazy dancers around us, which was the only thing detracting from the experience.

We only stayed for a few songs of Jay-Z's set, but he sounded good as well.  Instead of Alisha Keys, some random female vocalist sang with him on "Empire State of Mind", but she was pretty decent.  Not a bad way to end another great day of music at Bonnaroo.

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6.10.2010 - Bonnaroo, Day 2 - Manchester, TN

After a long, grueling day of driving, setting up camp, and enjoying some shows on Thursday evening, we went back to our tent and got some rest for Friday. We found out on Friday morning that it is impossible to sleep in. By 7 a.m., the temperatures in mid-Tennessee are already brutal and the humidity is already pretty unbearable. Our tent was sauna-esque in the early morning. So, we packed up for the day, and headed to Centeroo to wait for the shows to start.


First up was Julia Nunes, who I had not heard of before Bonnaroo. While we were waiting for the show to start, I noticed a lot of college age kids that were talking to the band while they were doing soundcheck; they all seemed to know each other, which I thought was pretty cool. It's nice to see newer acts that have a lot of support from friends or people they have come into contact with. Come to find out, that's pretty much what got her some popularity and probably a spot in Bonnaroo. Her career kicked off because she posted YouTube videos of her songs to keep in touch with friends which eventually led to some ep recordings and so on...

Her music is quirky and intelligent, with pretty straightforward lyrics. What I liked is that she does make the ukelele look cool and her songs are kind of that peek into the brain of all those things you want to say but probably won't because in some way, it's sort of inappropriate in society. It's not dirty, so don't misconstrue that, but by looking at some of the titles of her songs ("Grown A Pair" and "I'm Not Good") you know you are getting a look inside someone's personality that is probably a lot like your own and that is always great. What stood out to me during the set is that she acknowledged the "Shitty Songs" of Top 40 radio and even played a little melody of them, which inclued "Poker Face," "Tik Tok," and some others that all got a laugh and claps of agreement on their shitty-ness. Overall, a pretty good show and one that certainly made me more interested in her music.

Next we headed to "That Tent" to catch the Carolina Chocolate Drops. We had heard a lot about this band and they have been getting quite a bit of attention as of late. They are young musicians, but they are keenly inspired, influenced, and aware of traditional southern "Dixie" music. They have been featured in films and were actually the first black band to play at the Grand Ole Opry. They are kind of an acoustic, hip-hop band. They have an excellent sound and a great energy as well. Please check them out...you won't be disappointed.

We stopped off at "The Other Tent" to catch a few of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros songs. The tent was absolutely packed to see them, and the stage was nearly as full of musicians of all kinds. We could only stand the crowd for a few songs, but they are a really great band. Need to check out more of their stuff for sure.




We went off to "This Tent" to go see The Gossip, who blew me away. I had heard of the band before, but never thought I would get the chance to see them...we are from Indiana after all, so thanks to Bonnaroo for an amazing opportunity. Beth Ditto is the charismatic lead singer of this trio, whose music might best be described as a sort of electro-punk. It's got those raging beats of electronic music and the anti-authority attitude of punk. They were just very excellent. The band has a really huge following and has had quite a bit of success in building a fan base in Europe. Their new album, "Music for Men" was produced by Rick Rubin, which certainly helped broaden the interest in their music. Some highlights of the set were songs "Men in Love" and "Heavy Cross." The bottom line is that you should check this band out. Beth Ditto has an amazing voice and can belt it out with conviction and will make your jaw drop.


We hung around to catch the next show at "This Tent," which was She and Him. We knew that this was going to be a packed show simply because of Zooey Deschanel, who is a doll, and also because the music is pretty good. People packed in immediately and we soon found ourselves surrounded by a lot of boys, and I'm pretty sure I heard one in particular say, "This is the most important show of my life. I've been in love with Zooey for years!" I have to say that I had been skeptical of the band, just because I tend to think that anything that gets a lot of attention quickly is just a fad. But Deschanel and Matt Ward are a great team and their music is humble and upbeat. When they hit the SXSW festival after recording their first album, they made quite the impression. They are both excellent performers...great energy and seemingly no flaws technically. The band has said that they are inspired by artists who used music to make people feel good and that is what they strive for. I have to say that even though it was ridiculously hot and crowded in the tent, their music did send a positive energy into an exhausted crowd and I'm positive that I am less skeptical of the talent and message She and Him have to offer.


We headed back over to "That Tent" to catch the end of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and to catch Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers. Steve Martin's banjo playing is renowned and was a great fit for the bluegrass sound the Steep Canyon Rangers have become known for. We only caught a small portion of the show, but it was great to go from a band like The Gossip to a bluegrass roots band. That was one of my favorite things about Bonnaroo...all music is welcome.


Next, we hiked over to the main stage area to catch Samantha Crain, who was on Cayamo this past year. We didn't get a chance to see her show then, but were excited to get to see her at a different venue. She was playing in a tent called the Cafe Where. I was surprised by her energy and her ability to really play a solid rock set, because I have to admit I did not think that she could by my first impression of her. I expected a "Colbie-Caillet-esque" softness and she blew me away...thank God. It was a short set but it was great and I certainly am interested in listening to more from her.

So the big show of the night for us was Kings of Leon at the What Stage. We knew people came to Bonnaroo just to see them. We saw one guy that must have really wanted to see the show because he showed up on stilts just to have a better view. At one point, he even fell onto a few people and I don't remember seeing him much after that, but I was just amazed at the lengths people will go to just to see a band. Now, Kings of Leon are literally the biggest band on the planet right now. Erica and I both had our reservations about them; we had heard that they weren't as good live and honestly, we haven't listened to them much because we were quickly tired of hearing "Use Somebody" on the radio every 5 minutes. However, we had done some research on their music and I have come to enjoy a lot of their music from their earlier albums. When I run, I listen to the entire Because of the Times album, so I was pretty excited that they played a lot from that one. "Knocked Up" was a huge highlight for me to see live.


In a way, I think it is strange how quickly Kings of Leon have gained popularity. I mean, they have been around for a while now and they were popular in Europe, especially England, long before most people had even heard about them here in the States. They are southern boys, and you get that sense of a neo-southern rock band when you listen to them, but there is something deeper. When they perform, they don't jump around and writhe all over the stage, but you know they are excellent musicians and lyricists. They didn't interact with the crowd much, but it was cool to see the entire crowd singing along to "Sex On Fire." Their stage production was pretty cool: a backdrop of all kinds of can lighting and a big screen that has random black and white, security camera-esque shots of them as they are playing. It was a great show, perhaps because my expectations were low initially, but in the end, I walked away liking a band that I had my reservations about...and I think that's what live performances should do.

All in all, day 2 was pretty excellent. We came away from that night with a list of new music and bands to start listening to and we found out that Kings of Leon are actually a pretty great band that can hopefully overcome that Top 40 shitty-ness that seems to have latched onto their reputation.

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6.10.2010 - Bonnaroo, Day 1 - Manchester, TN

So, our stuff is all set up, we head out to find the elusive "Centeroo" we've heard about.  As we are walking the couple of miles (yep, you heard that right, miles) from our tent to Centeroo, we notice that 95% of the vendors that aren't selling food are head-shops.  And that 90% of the people we pass are stopping to shop there.  This should be fun...Oh, and it's hot and extremely humid.  Like "I'd be drier in a swimming pool" levels of liquid in the air.

The first show we went to was Fanfarlo, 4:15 at The Other Tent.  I was stoked to finally get to see this band - I'd heard their name tons of times, but had really no idea what to expect.  They were really great.  I don't even know where I'd place their sound - somewhere around Folky/Indie-pop.  There is a special place in my heart for bands that incorporate a ton of different instruments into their music - and these guys had a clarinet, mandolin, violin, guitar, trumpet, drums, bass, and, if i remember correctly, one of those mouth-operated accordian-like things that I don't know the name of.  And they have accents, seeing as they are London-based.  And the lead singer, Simon Balthazar, is Swedish.  I never cease to be amazed when you listen to a band and hear no accent at all in their songs, then they open their mouths to speak in between and wow you with the coolest of European accents.  Great way to kick off 4 days of amazing music.

Next up was catching a little bit of Diane Birch's set as we nibbled on humongous vegeterian burritos on the outskirts of That Tent.  Hadn't even heard her name before checking out the Bonnaroo schedule.  She's from New York, and has more of a singer/songwriter style.  We listened to a few songs, and weren't blown away by her performance, but that might have been because we were so focused on chowing down and keeping stray black beans and sour cream off of ourselves.

We then sat through the Manchester Orchestra set back at The Other Tent - mostly because we wanted to be in prime position to get up close for Needtobreathe.  Manchester Orchestra has more of a hard-rock/metal sound, which isn't really our cup of tea as they say, but they did draw in a huge crowd.

Needtobreathe is a great band to see live.  They have a lot of energy, and seemed to have extra Bonnaroo energy compared to what we saw at The Vogue in Indianapolis a few months ago.  I think that every song they played at Bonnaroo ended in some epic rockstar-esque guitar solo.  They performed some of their big songs, like "The Outsiders", "Stones Under Rushing Water", "Something Beautiful", and "More Time".  There always seems to be a buzz of energy in the crowd at their shows - we highly recommend going to see them if they come to a venue near you!

Our last band of the night was Blitzen Trapper.  I've heard their name tossed around lately, but again had no idea what their sound was like.  And they happened to be playing the same tent right after Needtobreathe, so we decided to keep our prime locations at the front rail and check out a few songs in their set.  They are an Indie Rock group out of Portland, OR.  We enjoyed their sound, you can definitely get into their music.  Unfortunately, we were exhausted, and the massive crowd was getting to us, so we skipped out after a few songs to start the miles long trek back to our humble abode (read: oversize tent) for the evening.

As much as I've heard that people have trouble sleeping at Bonnaroo becuase of noisy neighbors, music that goes into the wee hours of the morning, heat, etc...we drifted off to sleep within minutes.  There are a few times in life when exhaustion actually works in your favor!

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Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Posted in | , , , , , , , | 0 Comments »

6.10.2010 - Bonnaroo - The Journey

So, after getting up before 2am Eastern Time, a 6+ hour drive South, we found the infamous Bonnaroo traffic jam on I-24.  We were on the wrong side of the highway to get to Bonnaroo.  We were supposed to get off at exit 111, but were being redirected to exit 127...that's a long way from 111.  After driving miles on the highway gaping at the huge line of traffic backed up on the other side of the road, we finally caught up with the end of the line on our side.  Lots and lots of miles from the exit we were supposed to be getting off at.  We sat there for a while, watched a few people hop out of their cars and march into the woods and use nature's restroom, then decided to just drive past our intended exit and try to come back around on the "right" side of the highway.

So we drove about 5 miles past that exit, turned around and came back.  There was virtually no wait that way, so we were thrilled - there were high-fives and everything!  All is well for a while as we drive these back-country roads - lo and behold, we find the traffic again.  Long story short, we sat in traffic for 5 hours before we got to the gates where they took tickets.  It was very hot.  I never have learned how to pee in the woods, so I needed a bathroom really bad.  We saw plenty of people peeing on the side of the road - I hope they don't use any of that corn for human consumption!  People that live along the route were selling everything from fruits and veggies to gasoline to dry ice.  When we finally got to the entrance gates, we laughed as we watch the safety guy search the car in front of us and take a good $50 of liquor out of various places, not because they were bringing in liquor - that's perfectly fine, it just can't be in glass bottles.  Did ya not read the rules before you spent that money?

Got directed to our campsite, which was nearly in the back of one of the furthest fields from Centeroo, we're jam packed in and everyone who got there in front of us has scooped up space like it's going out of style.  We had to infringe a bit on our neighbor's spots to put up our giant tent - note to selves, bring small tent next time  - which the guy next to us grumbled about, then they eventually rearranged cars so they had a ton of space anyway.  It started raining as we were setting up our stuff, but that was one of only two short rainshowers we'd experience over the sweltering 4 days ahead...

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Monday, June 21, 2010 Posted in | , | 0 Comments »

5.16.2010 - Joe Pug @ Radio Radio

Joe PugThe set-up at Radio Radio for this show was fantastic - the front tables were just a few feet from the stage!  Following our usual M.O. of being in line to get in before the doors opened, we managed to procure one of those front tables, which was perfect for shooting photos during the sets.  Not a huge crowd by any means, mostly late 20's through 30's folks.


Mandy Marie opened up the show - she's a local artist who usually plays with The Cool Hand Lukes.  During her set, she mentioned how much easier it is to get on stage with a full band and jam and be crazy as compared to standing up there alone and doing the singer/songwriter thing.  She played some good stuff, and was engaging and entertaining. 

Some highlights from Mandy's set:
  • Leaving Southern Missouri - Mandy was born and raised in Southern Missouri
  • My Husband
  • My Land of Make Believe
  • Why Do You Gotta Be A Dick To Me - No kidding, that's how the song went :)
I first heard Joe Pug's music via free EP download ("In the Meantime") he offered shortly after he played Bonnaroo 2009, I believe.  A couple of years ago when Joe was starting out, he offered fans unlimited copies of a 2-song sampler CD's for free to pass along to their friends.  He didn't want people to have to purchase a full album until they knew what they were getting.  Great way to promote your music and endear yourself with fans if you ask me.


He has a distinct sound that is diffcult to describe - maybe a mix of Americana and Indie-Folk.  His voice is gravely, yet smooth at the same time.  I would never have guessed that he is from Chicago - his music definitely has a bit of a Southern feel to it.  He seems to be a bit of a shy fellow, and soft-spoken, but still maintains a good stage presence.  At one point during the show, his foot-stomping had knocked a pile of his things off of a stool on the stage.  After he finished that song, he turned around and tipped everything else over, because it was clear it was going to happen anyway. 

Most of the songs Joe performed were off his most recent release, "Messenger".  Highlights from Joe Pug's set:

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Sunday, June 6, 2010 Posted in | , , , , , | 0 Comments »