I spent this past weekend in the middle of Tennessee. It took me 24 hours to get there via plane, and I spent the next 24 hours without any luggage. But I’m not going to talk about that here, I’ll save that for a future post about how American Airlines could have used Social Media to get my business again. I want to talk about Bonnaroo, the best music and arts festival in North America.

The music lineup was top notch. I have extremely eccentric tastes in music. My philosophy when someone asks me what I listen to comes from Duke Ellington, “there are only two kinds of music in this world, good and bad.” So yes, there was one band that made me buy a ticket to the festival, Phish. But it was the diverse and deep lineup that made it a great weekend. In just two hours on Sunday I bounced between Merle Haggard , Erykah Badu, Andrew Bird and Okkervil River. My ears are constantly open and Bonnaroo does not disappoint.

The highlights:

My name is Brad and I like Phish. I used to hide myself as a Phishhead, I was tired of being pigeonhold but since Phish has come back, I just don’t care anymore. I was awfully excited to see them on Friday night. I utilized my semi-secret way to get down to the front of the stage, ending up 40 feet back on Fishman’s side. These guys are hot right now. They had a 3 hours to play, so I assumed we would hear 2 sets with a short break in between. That turned out to not be the case. We we’re given 3.5 hours of both classic and new songs. The jams were contained to the right songs and the right places. When I would find my mind wandering, someone would always come through and bring my attention right back. This was a good show. The new songs, Kill Devil Falls and Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan are good tunes with lots of opportunity to grow into being classics. I had never been so close to the stage during Divided Sky, so it was neat to see the silent jam that close. I’d only heard that at the Gorge, while the sun was setting so I can’t exactly complain. Harry Hood, YEM, Silent in the Morning and Down with Disease all were awesome. They were hitting everything with authority and meaning. It sounded like Phish, it didn’t sound like they were trying to be a pop band or a funk band or a cover band. This is the band that I grew up on, and this is the band that I know. They’re going back to being themselves, and everybody should be happy about that.

I love Wilco (the band). Last time I saw them, I believe I said, “this is a band I’m looking forward to getting old with.” Everything they put out is great, and the new album is no different. I was lucky enough to be down in front for the show again. You could tell that everyone was having lots of fun. Nels Cline is one of my favorite guitar players, and did not disappoint. Jeff Tweedy was very chatty, at one point he said, “we’re pretty happy about playing before Bruce, because if you boo, we can’t tell a difference.”

Grizzly Bear translated their lovely new album to the stage perfectly. Wish I could have seen their whole set, but I was transitioning from seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, on my way to see King Sunny Ade and Santigold. All were excellent and they were all at the same time. That’s the wonderful and frustrating thing about these festivals, you can only see so much.

David Byrne brought the house down. I’m looking forward to seeing him again next week in Seattle. He had a number of interpretive dancers on stage with him, they were fun to watch. I wish the drunk assholes from Jersey next to me weren’t yelling every lyric. Then again, I think drunk assholes from Jersey make the world go round (yin ‘n yang?).

The last time at Bonnaroo, I neglected to go to the comedy tent. This year I opted to go to see the Daily Show cast; John Oliver, Rob Riggle, Wyatt Cenac, Kristen Schaal and some others. All the standup sets were hilarious and a nice change of pace.

It would be wrong to neglect the excellent set from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. I’ve never been a big fan of The Boss, but I’ve always respected him and his band. They’re hard working and lots of people are devout fans, so who am I to judge? That man knows how to put on a show. The only other person I’ve seen work so hard and fill such a big stage without any doubt of who is in charge is Mick Jagger. He puts performers half his age to shame. The other memorable part was watching Max Weinberg’s 18 year old son take over the kit half way through the set, this kid has a future.

The disappointments:

MGMT had the crowd at the tip of their fingertips. That Tent was as overflowed as I’ve ever seen in my two years of going to Bonnaroo. Everybody was asking for a dance party, but sadly, they didn’t deliver. Maybe I was too far away, and the sound wasn’t loud enough. I don’t think so though. These guys need to tour some more and work out their live show. Take a lesson from the jambands and pull the song out a little. The crowd was ready.

I’m bummed that I missed these shows; moe. (they played until 7am), MURS, Passion Pit, Public Enemy, Phoenix, Femi Kuti, Al Green, Galactic, Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis, David Grisman, Citizen Cope, Neko Case and Band of Horses.

The roundup:

I’ve been to a number of festivals, all around the country, some better than others. For the most part, I generally get discouraged by the organization. Having to sit in a line for hours on end to get anything is not the way that most people want to spend their time at a festival. The good folks that run Bonnaroo know what they’re doing. Everywhere you go, the lines are manageable, the food is good, the beer is reasonably priced and the stages offer good sight lines, even if you show up late. You can tell that the organizers think about the experience and not just how they can make money. They’re taking the bet on the long term, not the short term. If they continue doing what they’re doing, Bonnaroo is going to be around for a long time. In the middle of June, there is no city I’d rather be in than Manchester, Tennessee.

My first time seeing them was in April 06 in Amsterdam. I had been meaning to see them a long time ago, but it always seemed to fall through. That show more than made up for it. Andrea and I didn’t have tickets to the sold out show, so we went and waited in front of the Paradiso a couple of hours before. Wayne walked by while I was talking to a British fella. He was really friendly and shook our hands while he walked by. Later on, we had procured one ticket, but were still trying to get a second. Another guy came out with an all-access pass on his leg. I asked him if he had any extra tickets. He said he might and that, “someone had put his name on the guest list a couple of extra times.” We talked for 2-3 minutes and he said to wait here and he’d be back in 10 minutes. So we continued our quest for one more ticket at face value. It came through a couple of minutes later. We disappeared into a local pub to get a pint before the show. Turns out, that guy that had a couple of extra tickets was none other than Michael Ivins. While he was outside, he was looking for fans to dress up in santa suits and alien costumes to dance on stage. Upon further inspection, we both realized that other people looking for tickets, like us, were dressed up and getting down on stage. Damn! That would have been a thrill.

I would recommend anybody and everybody with a pulse to see them. It’s just a good fucking time.

Here’s the best part: the beer cups are made of corn! and are fully compostable. They have garbage stations with recycling, garbage, and a compost can all stationed by elderly people with badges deeming them, Recycling masters. Everytime I threw my beer cup in the compost I told the Recycling masters that they were really cool. I think I drank a few extra beers than I planned to, just so I could put my beer cup in the compost.

The band was spot on.

I just saw them two months ago at Bonnaroo and they played a very similar setlist. Nels Cline stole the show both times. He is a really great match to Jeff Tweedy. A commenter at the Lineout, The Stranger’s music blog commented that Nels Cline is the brawn to Jeff Tweedy’s brain. He finally has a soloist to match his lyrical prowess. That’s not to say that the other guys are slouches.

It’s pretty hard for that band to play a bad tune. They played some of my favorites; War on War, Handshake Drugs, Impossible Germany. I was slightly disappointed to not hear Heavy Metal Drummer. During Via Chicago I made a run to the bathroom and had the greatest time walking through the crowd listening to the Jesus, Etc.. With the Evergreens in the distance, the crystal clear sound system, and the stars showing themselves for the first time in weeks. That song was really overplayed, but fortunately for us, it never gets old. I’m glad I didn’t run into anyway, cause I kept on looking up at the stars, especially when I heard these lines:

You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun

During the first encore, Bill Frisell came out and played. I could barely hear him, but it was still cool to see one of my favorite guitar players onstage with one of my favorite bands. After Hummingbird, the crowd lights stayed off and I knew immediately that they were going to be back out. They came out and played Misunderstood and closed with Spiders (Kidsmoke). Great tune to finish with.

Towards the end of the concert I couldn’t help but think how alright I am with growing old with this band.

Here’s the setlist:
Sunken Treasure
You Are My Face
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Handshake Drugs
Pot Kettle Black
War On War
Side With The Seeds
A Shot In The Arm
Impossible Germany
Sky Blue Sky
Too Far Apart
Via Chicago
Jesus, Etc.
Hate It Here
Walken
I’m The Man Who Loves You

Encore 1:
What Light
Airline To Heaven
Hesitating Beauty (w/Bill Frisell on Electric Guitar)
California Stars (w/Bill Frisell on Electric Guitar)
Hummingbird

Encore 2:
Misunderstood
Spiders (Kidsmoke)

… bat-shit crazy.
When he came out in a bathrobe for the encore, I didn’t know what to expect. When he sat down in the front of the stage and started putting jewelery and lipstick on, I got a better indication. There was lots of prancing around in high heals, and the band looked like they were having a great time as the backup dancers. Luckily, it was only for the encore. Any more, I would have felt like I was at a bad broadway show. It was the perfect amount of weirdness.

… a good showmen.
The banter throughout the show was really funny and enduring. He knows how to put on a show. He sang an Irish tune with the horn section and bass player, sans the microphone. He played keyboard, guitar, and walked…. err, strutted across the stage like he owned the place. One of the last tunes was in French and took me to another place.

… a great singer.
A really great singer.

the others
I saw Sean Lennon last winter at Neumos and was really impressed. I was hoping this show would be equal to that. Unfortunately they came out and Seans’ microphone was only going through the monitors and not through the mains. They played the first song and nobody could hear the vocals. They eventually got it taken care of and continued the set. They played about 4 or 5 songs, one of which was a 10 minute instrumental. I would have liked to hear them play for 20 more minutes.

A Fine Frenzy opened up the show up and was decent. The lead-lady was very cute on stage. She had funny banter, a wonderful voice, good keyboard voicing, and was very easy on the eyes. I was disappointed by the rest of the band. I felt like they were afraid to turn up and fill the room. I couldn’t hear the keyboard player at all. I liked the drummer’s paired down drum set, but I only heard him break-out once and play with some, ummm, ka-putz (?).

Overall, it was pretty apparent to see that it was the first show on the tour. Lots of little things that weren’t quite there. Rufus’ band was by far the tightest, but they will sound phenomenal in in about 5-10 more shows.

I’d definitely check out this show again. Maybe they should call the tour: the sons of rock royalty.