BONNAROOOOO

After a week of Broo and a subsequent week of much-needed recovery, I am prepared to return to reality (although I'm not happy about it).  I'm struggling to find a fine line between describing every detail of Bonnaroo in chronological order on one side, and understating just how amazing Bonnaroo '11 really was on the other.  I will begin by saying that Bonnaroo is not simply an event, but in fact a mindset.  One must go in with the knowledge that they will not properly shower for 4 consecutive days, endure the blistering heat, and other details that might dissuade others from attending.  For Sarah and I though, these paled in comparison to the positive aspects of Bonnaroo.  For four days, we were immersed in amazing music, an amazing atmosphere, and an extremely well organized event overall.  Although it was a bit confusing to grasp the names of the tents and stages (they were playfully named, "This Tent", "That Tent", "The Other Tent", "Which Stage", and "What Stage").

One thing I really liked about Bonnaroo was that not only were fans grateful that they could see their favorite bands play at a prestigious venue, but also the modesty of all the bands, who were thankful of the opportunity to play at such a renowned festival.  There was a sense of mutual respect between artist and audience that I had never really felt before.  It was truly an intimate setting, it created a real bond between everyone at Bonnaroo.

Now, I realize I'm starting to sound like a total hippie, but that's what Bonnaroo does to you.  Bonnaroo is its own counter-culture society.  Security guards/policemen are at a minimum, especially inside Centeroo itself, and there is no real sense of any authority.  But the collective emphasis on having a good time and enjoying music is what comes from this, and it was refreshing to see people simply being nice to each other.

What was also refreshing was the Lemon-Basil popsicle I had from one food stand.  Amazing.  Insert shameless promotion here: http://www.kingofpops.net/  Seriously check them out.  The variety of food was what you might expect from Bonnaroo.  Pizza and Burgers and other typical festival food was in abundance, but so was Thai, Greek, Organic, Vegan, and other types of food.

Because it got so hot from 9am to about 3pm, there were several things available to do in order to keep cool.  We watched 2 fantastic documentaries in an air-conditioned Cinema Tent, as well as great stand-up from Donald Glover (who really took advantage of his first Bonnaroo appearance) and legendary English comic Bill Bailey).  Documentaries, it was said in the Q&A session following 'The Last Mountain', are so important in a democracy as an alternative media source to corporation-funded news and information that we see today.  This enforced the counter-culture mentality of the festival and really resonated with me personally.

I could elaborate on so many details so far, but I will restrain in my sorry attempt to keep this post concise and short-ish.  What I have failed to discuss so far is the only thing that brought me to Bonnaroo in the first place: The music.  It's tough to start, as every act I saw exceeded all my expectations.  While most rap acts like Eminem and Lil Wayne are simply not my cup of tea, I was so impressed with Childish Gambino.  Aka the aforementioned Donald Glover, the comedian (actor in Community, writer for 30 Rock) turned rapper really gave a great performance with an accompanying band, and will only become more and more popular from here on out.

Florence Welsh from Florence + the Machine belted out an epic set, and sounded even better live than she did on her first album, Lungs.  I know I wasn't the only on in the audience who got the chills multiple times from her performance.  Every band mentioned in my previous post played better than I could have imagined, especially Mumford & Sons.  I think that their encore to what was already a fantastic and pretty ballsy set was the highlight of the entire festival.  While the band could have simply churned out their entire first album and given everyone what they wanted to hear, Mumford & Sons really impressed me.  They played at least 4 or 5 brand new songs from their upcoming album, songs that no one else had heard yet.  I describe this as "ballsy" because not everyone might like something new so soon.  (This was M&S's first Bonnaroo appearance as well).

After their last song, they announced that they would like to bring some friends on the stage with them.  What this really meant, was that members of Old Crow Medicine Show and the Apache Relay joined the band onstage.  With their assortment of slide guitar, accordion, harmonica, mandolin, horns, and harmonizing vocals, they played a rousing rendition of Amazing Grace.  After each chorus, a different instrument would solo as they jammed for a good 10 minutes.  The entire experience left many in the crowd in tears, and created an atmosphere of such happiness, love, and an appreciation for musical proficiency.  And it summed up everything that Bonnaroo is about.  The impression that Bonnaroo '11 left on me leaves only one thing to be said:  See you at Bonnaroo '12!



Oh and I found a sick video of Arcade Fire playing 'Wake Up'
in front of just about every single person at Bonnaroo:

BONNAROO 2011

     There are now only 5 days left on my Bonnaroo countdown before I make my way to Manchester, Tennessee, and I couldn't be more excited.  This will be my first (of many, I'm sure) Bonnaroo experience so I am not quite sure what to expect.  All I know is that I will be camping with my girlfriend for 4 days, listening to amazing bands all week long, and sweating my ass off in the blistering heat.  In fact, only those first two matter-- all other details really go out the window.  But for the past week now I have been researching and preparing for which bands to see and when.  I'm so pumped to see so many names, but I have done my best to make a list of the TOP 5 ARTISTS and I am most looking forward to see play.  This list really doesn't mean anything, as I'm also drooling to see Florence + the Machine, Beirut, The Black Keys, Ratatat, The Strokes,etc. and even Eminem.  But these select 5 artists and their accompanying songs/videos are what I have been most recently been listening to in order to mentally prepare myself for what is to come.  I will most likely post here again before leaving to Bonnaroo, but I doubt I will post updates during the festival, although I will provide an extensive report of course when I return, covering all and everything that is B'roo.

5. The Decemberists

     I had not been familiar with several of the bands in this year's lineup, and the Decemberists were admittedly one of them.  In researching their stuff though, I was insantly struck by their amazingly poetic lyrics.  It continues to baffle me how bands can combine such deep and meaningful words with beautiful melodies, and it is why we all love music so much.  I have heard stories about the Decemberists live shows, and how they are fun and that audience participation is often encouraged.  This is my favorite video of theirs, and 'Sixteen Military Wives' is a fitting example of the Decemberists' impressive lyrics.  I also think I like it so much because I happen to believe the song's criticism of U.S. foreign policy is pretty striking. 

The Decemberists - Sixteen Military Wives

4. My Morning Jacket

     Despite having been around for a while, My Morning Jacket is another indie band that has managed to slip under my radar, until now.  I caught a glimpse of a live YouTube concert they did to promote their latest album, and was pleasantly surprised.  I believe this video captures everything about the band, as well as Bonnaroo itself, as it's of a performance from Bonnaroo 2004.  If bare feet, long haired musicians, and an atmosphere anything like this vieo is what's in store for this year, then I'll be completely satisfied.

My Morning Jacket - One Big Holiday

3. Walk The Moon

     I had been contemplating dedicating an entire post to Walk the Moon, and their debut album, 'I Want! I Want!' for some time, but this will have to do for now.  I don't know how I came across this band in the first place, but am so glad I did.  (Come to think of it, it was probably hypem.com).  The band is made up of a bunch of guys right out of college, who happen to make infectious and addicting indie pop music.  Don't let the word 'pop' scare you away, this is good pop I promise.  They are my new favorite band, and their sound is just full of energy and fun.  The facepaint you'll witness in the video is also mimicked my the band when they play live, and fans get involved in the paint madness as well.  I really can't contain my excitement for this one.

Walk The Moon - Anna Sun

2. Mumford and Sons

     I had heard of Mumford and Sons in the past, but never really set aside the time to listen and give them a chance.  I hope to never make such a grave error in the future.  They sound just like any good English indie band would sound, until the banjo kicks in.  The Irish twang is instantly recognizable and somehow mesmerizing.  The more I listen, the more I like, and the more excited I become to watch them jam out live.  I have varied between official band videos and live performances just to mix it up a bit, and here's a performance of one of my favorite M&S songs.

Mumford and Sons - Thistle and Weeds

1. Arcade Fire

     Until I heard that Arcade Fire shocked the Grammy world by winning Album of the Year earlier this year, I had not given them a real chance.  If this makes me just another bandwagonner, I don't care.  I bought the album on iTunes (a rarity these days for me), and never looked back.  I spent hours reading the lyrics to each song carefully, when I should have really been writing papers and reading for class.  Whatever, I got a 4.0 this semester so my technique works! (Cool brag, right?)  Anyway, I fell in love with Arcade Fire and their album 'the Suburbs'.  Their subtle theme of childhood nostagia and a concern for our increasingly technological society really fit into not only with how I felt at the time, but even what I was studying!  I would read a lyric and think to myself, "that is totally postmodern, I need to tell my Comm&Tech professor...")  P.S. If that makes me a nerd then at least i'm a cool nerd that likes good music.  Buy their latest album.  Seriously.  In fact, I would recommend buying each previously mentioned band's newest album.  This video was directed by Spike Jonze and the song really is beautiful.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs