Picture of the Day
The Krewe De 'Roo
Quote of the Day"Life's a garden, dig it"
~Joe Dirt
Random Fact of the DayMark Twain (real name Samuel Clemens) was born on a day in 1835 when Haley's Comet came into veiw. When He died in 1910, Haley's Comet came into view again.
Song of the DayGrateful Dead - Eyes of the World
We arrived at Bonnaroo on Thursday around 4:30 and got the site all set up by 6ish. We headed into Centeroo and went to the fountain at 7 to meet Shannon and Kari. I couldn't see them, but they both spotted me out. So Christine, Kari, Shannon, Amber, Tara, Buck, Steve, Sharon, Rob, and a couple other people (I can't remember their names) all went to the Cinema tent to watch the Piston's game. There was about two hundred people or so watching the game, and i'd say 95% were rooting for the 'stons. It was an intense game, but unfortunately we ended up losing. There was a couple concerts on that night, the first one I saw was an amazing band I had never seen before. They were called Signal Path, a sort of techno-jam band that played together beautifully. We also saw Perpetual Groove (there was So many people there)and the Gabby La La concert featuring Les Claypool (from Primus) which was a nuts show. Gabby La La, I'm not too sure about. She seemed a little too weird for me, not enough Les Claypool either, but I was digging on the sitar.
Friday I woke up early and we headed into Centeroo at around 1ish. We caught a great bluegrass band called Old Crow Medicine Show and I got to do some bare-foot dancing in the mud. (Took me right back to last summer) We chilled at that tent (This tent) while Joss Stone played between sets. Peter Rowan & Crucial Reggae played a show, and they were a pretty decent reggae-style band. I was laying in the shade of a tree, about to fall asleep though because of the long car ride there. (See previous post) We hung out for a bit and headed to Allison Krauss & Union Station. Allison Krauss has an amazing voice, I was very impressed with what I heard. However, there wasn't too much time to hang around since Jurassic 5 was about to come on the little stage. We headed to Jurassic 5 and HOLY SHIT was it a sweet show. They played What's Golden, Thin Line, Quality Control, and about five million other amazing songs. They did this accapella rap for like 5 minutes that completely blew everybody's mind who was watching. It started raining a little bit, but it wasn't too bad. After Jurassic 5, we hit a little bit of the Allman Brothers Band at the big stage. There was so many people there and everyone was grooving out. They played Jessica, Franklin's Tower, and another 20 minute Whipping Post, which is always welcome. We hung out there for a bit, and shortly the show I was looking foreward to came on: Herbie Hancock's Headhunters 2005. This was Herbie with a bunch of musicians (the most notable being John Mayer on guitar) playing with him forming a jazz-funk band which could pose a threat to take over the world if they stayed together. When we walked up they were playing Watermelon Man, bottle blowing and all. It was like a 20 minute jam, and then after they played that (which was my #1 song) they busted into such a jammeriffic Frankenstein that my socks got knocked right off. (either that or I wasnt wearing socks, either way it was funkah) Headed back to the camp site for a bit before Dave Matthews Band came on, ate some chips or crap food like that and killed a couple beers. Now I've never been the hugest Dave fan or anything, but I have always respected and dug his music. After his show at Bonnaroo, I'm a beleiver. It was SUCH a groove-happy show, he played You Might Die Trying, Time of the Season, Hello Again, Crash, Smooth Rider, and Bartender, amongst others. Warren Haynes came out and jammed on Jimi Thing with Dave for a while, and we were all so tired we headed back for a little bit with intentions to lay down for a bit and meet up for the Mars Volta. However, lying down for a bit turned out to be lying down for 10 hours, and I awoke in the morning upset I missed The Mars Volta and STS9. (but these things happen, especially at the Roo)
SATURDAY was my big day. I made 14 concerts. Yes 14. I woke up and headed into Centeroo for the Kings of Leon, which is always a good show. Someone said they played mostly their newer stuff, but I don't know that much about them to differentiate. We headed to Government Mule, and this was one of my unexpected highlights. Sure I kept saying Warren Haynes is my real dad and I'm going to grow up playing guitar like him, but honestly I hadn't thought much about the Mule show. It was much better than last summer, which was also a sweet show. They played a bunch of originals, from Thorazing Shuffle to Time To Confess, and some good covers, like Terrapin Station and Hunger Strike. I missed Soulshine at the end, because we left for Yonder Mountain String Band. I love Yonder, as many of you know. I mean I REALLY freekin' love 'em. It gets that redneck blood flowing through my veins. This was THE BEST Yonder show I've ever seen in my life. They played Half Moon Rising early, followed by the insane bluegrass jam Easy as Pie. THey played Troubled Mind, Finally Saw The Light, then Redbird > Dear Prudence. (Beatle's Cover) They were so on, and the singer always loves the crowd. (You're a beautiful crowd and we couldn't be happier to be here) After Yonder was the toughest leg of Bonnaroo. Jack Johnson, OAR, Iron & Wine, Keller Williams, and The Black Crowes were all on at the same time. We stayed moving, and I can proudly say I made every show. The Black Crowes I saw the least of, and they seemed to jam a lot more that I remembered hearing on the radio so many years ago. After a few minutes of that, I met everyone at the OAR show and it was POURING rain out during this one. We danced in the rain a bit and eventually decided to hit Iron & Wine to meet up with Sharon. Iron & Wine captivated me with his hauntingly truthful vocals, beautiful harmonies, and eccentric chord progressions. However, we never did find Sharon and ended up heading to the end of the Jack Johnson show. As we were walking up to Which Stage for Jack, we realized he was playing some Sublime, followed by some of his classics. After that, we hit Keller Williams, who was singing about something rediculous and playing every instrument on stage before he finally busted into Another Brick in the Wall. (Pink Floyd Cover) Headed back for a bit to eat some cheetos for dinner (eewwww) and waited in anticipation of Widespread Panic. Widespread Panic, oh man, SOOOOOO glad they're playing together again. As always, Warren Haynes came out for a few songs. Highlihghts include Chilly Water, Conrad, Climb to Safety, Love Tractor, and Come Together. (Beatles cover) It was a long show, clocking in at 4 hours, compared to the long Dave show, which was 3. They played 8:30-12:30, and although I was dead tired, I was not even close to ready for sleep yet. I got split up from the group and tried to meet Shannon and Kari at the fountain, but that fell through also. So I roamed around by myself and waited at Which Stage for Trey Anastasio to start playing. Trey started a little late and was scheduled for 12:30-2:30. He didn't stop at 2:30, not by a long shot. I remember it being 3:10 and he was still on. All around a pretty good show, but that Guys fucked up for leaving Phish and even more fucked up for canceling Zooma Tour. But that is neither here nor there, he played Boogie On Reggae Woman, Close my Eyes, Golden Slumbers, The End, 46 Days, Sledgehammer, and closed with No Woman No Cry. (Bob Marley cover) All around a good show, but I'm personally a little sick of seeing that coke head playing with sub-par bands after he left behind one of the most influential jam bands ever. Grrrrr. Anyways, towards the end of Trey I was getting real sleepy and headed into the fountain area. From the fountain, you can hear Which Stage and This Tent. Karl Denson's Tiny Universe was at This Tent and I was meaning to see them ever since Ryan saw that show in Detroit a few weeks ago. It was a funky show indeed, but I kept walking from one side of the fountain to hear Trey, then the other side to hear Karl, then back to Trey, Karl, Trey, Karl, etc... Both good shows, but I was just moving to stay awake. I met some random hippies from Georgia who gave me some Whisky, and after talking for a bit, I headed on my way, out into the black night to see what I could find. I got VERY lucky because I was passing by That Tent and heard some techno grooves so crazy, they'd make a frog lick it's own back. (See: Simpsons or Family Guy) It was RJD2, that quirky DJ who I always seem to catch a quick listen to at Bonnaroo late night when I'm a little inebriated. He makes sounds that you'll never hear anywhere else, he's really amazing, mixing anything from Jazz to hardcore to jam bands to rap, all into one melting pot of musical groovyness. Hung out there for a bit and eventually ended up back at the fountain, walking from Trey to Karl to Trey to Karl. Trey wrapped up his set and I headed into Karl's crowd to see what I could see. I sat up against the bleachers and fell asleep for 30 minutes. During my 30 minute nap, I had FOUR people wake me up and ask me if I was okay, and one of the three asked me what I ate. (They thought I was all drugged out, which I wasn't. I just needed a little Whisky nap) I woke up 30 minutes later feeling tip top (did I just say that) but seriously, I felt like I could party all night at this point. I got up, kicked off my shoes and back back, and started dancing like a mad man in the mud, having the time of my life. I had a ton of energy so headed back into the darkness to see what sort of crazy adventure awaited me. I heard DJ Krush in The Other Tent, and he mixed some Keller Williams and Phish songs, which I had never heard before. I chilled at the playground for a bit, soaking up all the music around me, and eventually headed out. DE LA SOUL WAS IN THAT TENT and HOLY CRAP was it a party. They played 2:30 - 4 am, and let me tell you I was screaming and waving my hands in the ayer, wavin' like I just don't cayer. I can't explain the energy between the band and the crowd, they had the whole place dancin and swinging our hands and shouting. I remember toward the end they had the crowd, as loud as possible, yelling "PAAAAAARTAH! (come on let's) PAAAAARTAH! (who wants to) PAAAAAAARTAH!" and I looked at my watch only to realize it was 4:02 am and everyone in that motherfucker was partying as hard as possible. My voice started to go, but I didn't give a shit, I had the time of my life at De La Soul. They played a lot of stuff off Stakes is High and 3 Feet High and Rising. Man it was a party. So after that show I knew I was in no shape to head home yet, I needed a little more party. So I headed to the Arcade Disco, which you could sum up as a rave in an outdoor arcade. When I walked in, everyone was partying like it was midnight. There were ravers (probrably rollin') doing liquid (dance) right next to two guys with thick glasses playing a round of Pac Man on the classic Table. The DJ, whoever it was, was amazing. He did a techno remix of Shakedown Street, and I got my groove on for a bit before FINALLY heading back to the camp site. The walk back to the camp site was long (30-40 mins) because I kept stopping to look at all the stuff for sale. As I approached the camp site, I was a little bummed because I still had energy at 4:45 in the morning but everyone was asleep. Upon arriving at the camp site, I realized this was not the case. Everyone was up getting shit drunk, lauging their asses off about absolutely nothing. We had about 30 jello shots to finish, so took those one by one as I sipped on a couple beers. Got to bed some time after 8 in my broken tent, which collapsed on my that evening.
Sunday we had to leave because of this lady that came with us who "had to work" on Monday, when she didn't even go. I was a little bummed about not going to the Sunday shows, but I made up for it by going to 14 shows Saturday. We packed up our stuff and headed out around 3. We were all sure we were going to die and get like 200 flat tires on the ride home, but all went smoothly besides the HUGE storm we were in the whole ride back. We saw 3 cars flipped on their roof's at the side of the highway. The Death Box was shaking an obscene amount, and we all tried to get as freaked out as possible. Topic of conversation included Hydroplaning, Jacknifing, how long it would take for the truck to stop, flat tires, cops, and all the cars flipped over on the side of the highway. After our freak out, we ended up sleeping the whole way home. I made it back to my apartment safely some time around 7 am and went to sleep. No pull-overs, no flats, no accidents on the way home.
All in all it was a great Bonnaroo, I had a great time with Christine, Buck, Tara, Sharon, and Steve, most of them I didn't know before the trip. It was also nice to see Kari and Shannon there, but I wish I could've seen Shannon more than for the Pistons game and a random run-in at some point, but it was still great to see her. (If you're reading this Shan, I miss ya!) All in all a great Bonnaroo, weather was manageable and the concerts were great. Well, always remember...
Dancing barefoot in the mud is the secret to everlasting youth. You should try it some time.
~GT
