Bonnaroo was absolutely fantastic. As anyone who has spoken with me for more than 30 minutes knows, I LOVE music festivals. Mostly because I love music, but also because I'm more fond than I should admit of getting absolutely disgustingly covered with dirt and sweat and spilled beer and ~15 layers of sublock, all while remaining in a constant state of pseudo-dehydration and surviving solely on vendor food... at least a couple times a summer.
And now, the run-down of the fun-down:
After driving from MD to Charlotte, we beasted over to Manchester TN in our 'bago, beer and Joey's birthday Knob Creek in hand, only to wait in a 4+ hour line to get into the festival.
After bribing the security dude $20 to let us keep the glass-encased Knob, we finally settling in our campsite and all bunkered down for a much needed nap in the cool A/C of the RV. Naturally, we were soon rudely awakened by the failure of our generator in the 90+ degree heat and the return of the 'bago to ridiculously high temperatures. In that sort of situation, the only thing one can do is have Rex liberate a beirut table from the neighbors and crush a bunch of super-refreshing Bud Light Limes (don't knock it til you try it). We then went off to tour the scene and to see the bands.
Bands I saw Thursday:
Freelance Whales
Sleigh Bells
The Walkmen
Deerhunter
Gabey-baby arrived bright and early Friday morning after taking the red-eye from the WWDC in San Fran, bearing absolutely no pertinent information regarding the launch of the iPhone 5. Luckily after a couple conversations with CruiseAmerica and the rigging up of some sort of shade contraption, we were able to get the A/C to stop failing in the heat. Kelly ditched us (naturally) to wang out with some Kentuckians for most of the day, and Hanley and I went on an epic quest that took us all over Bonnaroo and left us dehydrated as could be. All in all, Friday was a fantastic day for Canadian music (woo Decemberists and Arcade Fire), and was even more fantastic after I chugged 4 bottles of water and some hippie Chia Limeade. Sadly we ended our evening before Lil Wayne and Ratatat, but we needed to be refreshed and ready for a lovely sunny Saturday so it's all good.
Bands I saw Friday:
Sharon Van Ettan
Decemberists
Ray Lamontagne
Florence + the Machine
My Morning Jacket
Arcade Fire
Saturday I buckled down and brought out the fancy hat to shield me from the blazing sun. Much thanks to all my friends for reminding me all day how much I looked like a mom, or, as Hanley put it: "that aunt you have that's kind of cool but never got married and buys you beer when you're underage." Awesome.
We met up with Kelly's Kentucky friends for much of the day, and met some girl named Mel from Southie that had the exact same cheap-ass Timex Ironman watch as me: "all I know is this shit is waterproof and costs $30." I couldn't have said it better myself. The Kentuckians told us of a secret Deer Tick show we missed where they played Nirvana covers. It was described to me as such: "I have never seen a lead singer so coked out in all my life. After 2 unsuccessful crowd dives he eventually just jumped straight into the drums. This was after starting off the set by saying 'I don't know about these guys behind me but I am wasted.'" Later that night I learned that I have at least one friend who can get drunk enough to make a trip to the Bonnaroo portopotties without wearing shoes (for the record that's super gross, even for me). The most amazing LED lights were dropped from the sky by parachuters and tumbled down into the crowd. What a sight.
We partied and listened to music long into the night, making it this time all the way to 4am with Girl Talk. Thanks to everyone that held my hand throughout the evening, and to Kelly for helping me face that jambalaya/crawfish etouffee combo.
Bands I saw Saturday:
The Low Anthem
Old Crow Medicine Show
Deer Tick
Allison Kraus & Union Station
Portugal. The Man.
Mumford and Sons
Black Keys
Eminem
Girl Talk
Sunday was pretty rough, as was to be expected given our behavior over the previous 3 days. However, we persevered, like a BOSS, and saw some pretty incredible music, in addition to some not so incredible music (I'm looking at you, Neon Trees). Yeah, that's about it.
Bands I saw Sunday:
Smith Westerns
Neon Trees
Bruce Hornsby
Aunt Martha
Galactic
Iron and Wine
Beirut
Strokes
Superjam with Dan Auerbach and Dr. John
Widespread Panic
Monday we got us, cleaned up, and beasted it back to Charlotte, stopping "along the way" for some El Canteria in Oak Ridge.
Gabe was kind enough to get a hotel room for the stragglers, where we cleaned up, watched the Bs beat the Canucks, and slept soundly in lovely comfortable beds.
Tuesday morning everyone departed, and I made the long drive back home to Cumberland, stopping as per my usual to check out some road cuts and scenic views
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