Bonnaroo! (or Fuck Kanye! Or I Want My Money and I Want it NOW!)
I'm so lazy, I apologize. I also apologize for most of these pictures and videos being not-so-great but to be honest, I'm posting this more for me than anything. (I like having my life well-chronicled in here, okay?)
(Oh and LJ? Bite me with the LJ-embed thing you have to do for videos)
DAY ONE: Thursday June 12, 2008
Jeff and I left from Asheville around 11pm or 12am Wednesday night. We had gone to Geoff and Casey's house and hung out beforehand and waited on their friend Chris to finish making brownies (yes, they were those kind of brownies). We (well, Jeff) knows Geoff and Casey (they're brother and sister) from working at the movie theatre. I also worked with Geoff but he didn't really remember me, but that's okay. Anyway, we hung out there for awhile and left and then had to come back an hour later because Geoff and Casey had forgotten their tickets. We ended up getting to Manchester at around 4 or 5am (we gained an hour going into Central time) and both of the cars got through the security check and everything pretty quickly. But we got put in one of the worst camping spots imaginable. We were so fucking far away, it was a little criminal.
Anyway, Jeff and I (well, mostly Jeff) got our tent up and I promptly went to sleep for 3 hours. later on in the morning, our neighbors asked our group for a condom. They acted like this was a completely normal request to ask complete strangers at 10 in the morning. I realized right then and there that Bonnaroo was going to be like nothing else I had ever experienced ever.
A little bit later, we all decided to head down to Centeroo (where all the action takes place) to check things out. The walk took us a good 35-45 minutes. Now. I am not athletic in anyway and I am certainly even less so when it is 93 degrees out. I was not too entirely pleased with this walk.
But it was worth it, because this was greeting us at the end of it.
We went inside (after the security people threw my bottles of water away >:() and I took some more pictures of everything before it was overloaded with people.
Main stage (also called What Stage)
This Tent
Comedy Tent
Which Stage (with bonus shirtless males)
Fear and Loathing graffiti. All of the walls were covered in stuff by the end of the weekend and I would have taken loads of pictures of it, if my card hadn't been full.
There wasn't really a lot going on and the only show we wanted to see wasn't until midnight, so not long after, Jeff and I headed back to camp. We attempted to nap for awhile (napping in a tent when it's hot out is hard, no matter how tired you are). When it was darker out, Jeff put together this little grill his mom had bought for him and we made hot dogs. I thought the fire looked cool so I took pictures. (my mom's a photographer, blame her)
We headed back to Centeroo and watched Lez Zeppelin. And it was almost like seeing the real thing. They played that super insanely long version of "Dazed and Confused"! That chick who sang, holy shit, she could sing. And the rest of them were seriously incredible musicians, I was really impressed. But my favorite thing about the show was the demographics. Because every straight frat boy in the world loves Led Zeppelin (and chicks) so you had all these stereotypical looking frat boys rocking the fuck out and they'd be right next to your typical Bonnaroo hippie and then a few rows back, there'd be the 45-year-old balding, bespectacled accountant reliving his youth, also rocking the fuck out. And they were all smoking weed. It was amazing.
DAY TWO: Friday, June 13, 2008
I don't remember anything significant happening before Jeff and I saw Tegan and Sera, so we'll start there. Well, I didn't technically see them (I was lying down on the tapestry we bought with my totally Bonnaroo appropriate Chicago Bears baseball hat covering my face) but I did hear them! And they were really good and really funny.
After that, we all headed over to see a little bit of Les Claypool. Wow, what a crazy bastard that guy is (and I mean that in the best way). I only saw about 3 of his songs but holy shit, they were crazy. His cellist was also fucking insane.
I would have stayed but I had a date with the Raconteurs. I had originally never planned to split up from Jeff but it was going to be the only way we were both going to see all the music we wanted, so it all worked out. Also, now I have no problems about going to concerts by myself, so that's an added plus.
Anyway, the Raconteurs. I cannot express to you how in-fucking-credible they were. Without a doubt, they impressed me the most of any of the bands I saw the entire festival. I took a shitload of pictures and video of them because they had great cinematography going on on the jumboscreens and I'm a weirdo that gets off on that.
They shot in black and white. *___*
Yes, that's Jack White on the ground during his 7-minute or so guitar solo on "Blue Veins." There is a reason rock critics masturbate over him.
(please excuse my horrible video-taping skills)
After they were done (and they ended with "Carolina Drama" by absolute favorite Raconteurs song. ♥), I headed over to the internet tent and checked my email in the air conditioning. It was a tent after my own heart. I then went to where M.I.A. was performing to try and find Jeff. I could not understand a goddamn word she was saying but everything was fucking nuts. There were like, 60 people from the audience up on stage with her, not even joking. I tried to document it but it's super crappy (I was waaaaaaaay at the back)
Jeff and I met up and we got some pizza and watched a couple songs from Willie Nelson's set. I was happily surprised that the two songs we heard were the two I knew because of the Jackass guys.
After that, Jeff headed back to M.I.A. and I went back to What Stage to get a good spot for Chris Rock. Oh, how stupid that was. I went to the same spot for where I was during the Raconteurs, but there were not 50-fucking-thousand people trying to see Jack White shred. I barely remember Chris Rock's set-I mostly remember Metallica introducing him and people squishing me and it raining. I finally saw a path back to less people towards the end of his set and firmly planted myself there in preparation for Metallica.
Chris Rock introducing them.
PYRO \m/
FIREWORKS! \m/
^PYRO! \m/
I really did not expect to enjoy Metallica as much as I did. I knew they would be good. I mean, they're fucking Metallica but I really underestimated myself as a Metallica fan. I actually recognized 75% of the songs and knew the words to about half of them. I head-banged and unironically did this- \m/ a lot. And I think some drunk guy told me I had nice tits, I couldn't really hear him, though. I hadn't planned to stay the whole time but I got so into it, I ended up staying until they came back for the encore. By then I had heard all the songs I wanted to and my feet were throbbing, so I walked the mile or two back to camp in the rain. That was a terrible idea, btw, self.
When I got back, I found Jeff, Geoff and Casey all in Jeff's van. Apparently the rain had soaked everything we owned and it was all "yucky" so they were sleeping in the van. I joined them and had one of the most uncomfortable sleeping experiences of my life (Jeff's van is one of those old hippie vans with the curtains. He was in the driver's seat and Geoff and Casey were on the back bed, so I slept across the two middle chairs). I shouldn't complain, though, because it was that or sleep outside in the rain and lol no.
DAY THREE: Saturday, June 14, 2008
The next morning we awoke to everything still being yucky and no one was happy. I was especially not happy because I had three giant blisters on three of my toes (all right next to each other, too. I hate my feet). If Against Me! had not been one of the bands I was most excited to see, I would have probably gone back to sleep in the van with Jeff but I had to see them. So, I paid $5 to take a golf kart taxi down to Centeroo. I am not ashamed of this at all.
I got there just in time for Against Me! and I was not disappointed in the slightest. They were everything a punk-rock band from Florida should be. Raw and energetic and just plain fucking fun.
Unsurprisingly, Fuse's footage is infinitely better than mine and I highly suggest you check it out.
After they were done, I loitered around for a bit and laid down under a tree with a bunch of other people. Anywhere else this would have been weird, but it really wasn't. I was in between the What and Which stages, so I heard a nice mix of this hip-hop funk band Ozomatli and Gogol Bordello. And while I didn't see a second of Gogol Bordello, holy CRAP, they sounded fucking awesome. This reminds me that I need to go download their stuff because it sounded crazy good.
I got up a little later in anticipation of BB King but while I was sitting there, in the hot sun with no water and unsatisfactory chili cheese fries, I got super grumpy and decided to go back to camp. I'm mad at myself for missing BB King but I was hot and grouchy and I needed to take a chill pill back at camp. So I paid another $5 to take a taxi (again, I am not ashamed of this. 45 minute walk people!) and hung out at camp by myself and took pictures of the pretty sunset.
Geoff and Casey's friend Chris eventually joined me back at camp and we backed to Centeroo together to find them for the Pearl Jam set. Unbeknownest to me, a shortcut had been open all day that cut the walk from 45 to about 20 minutes. I could have saved myself $10 but my feet had blisters, okay?
Anyway, Pearl Jam. I'm not a huge Pearl Jam fan and I admit to only knowing their hits off of Ten but they were still pretty good. That guitarist of theirs is pretty kickass, too. But I do have to give it to them for two of the best moments of the whole festival for me. First, during "Better Man," Eddie Vedder led the audience along in a sing-along of it and most of the audience had their lighters out. During this, the stage people directed the lights at the crowd so the camera people could get a good shot and it was really incredible. Even Eddie Vedder stopped the song and said, "That's...that's beautiful. I didn't know it went back that far." I tried to get a picture but my timing sucked.
Secondly, they played their cover of "Love, Reign O'er Me." This is my favorite Who song ever. Ever ever ever ever. AND THEY PLAYED IT. I don't know if I'll ever be able to see The Who live and even though it wasn't Roger and Pete performing it, it was still pretty fucking amazing for me.
I told you, their guitarist is awesome.
Geoff and Casey were tired, so they went back to camp while Pearl Jam was at the beginning of their ONE HOUR ENCORE (this will be relevant soon!) and Chris, who was determined to see part of every act there, left to go add more bands to his roster. Jeff and I were also over Pearl Jam, so we went and caught the beginning of the Sigur Ros show (how so weird Iceland?) before it was time for Lupe Fiasco. I'm not kidding when I say I was probably more stoked to see Lupe than anyone else at Bonnaroo and he lived up to my expectations. He had the whole crown going and was all over the stage and had really good in-betweens to his songs (I especially loved the one for "Kick, Push") and he was just fan-fucking-tastic. It's a goddamn crime they only let him play for 45 minutes.
I got one epically bad photo and video out of it, though.
Now. Here comes the part everyone's been talking about. Kanye West.
Lupe got done around 2:15am and Kanye was schedule for 2:45. Jeff had even left Lupe early to try and get a good spot for Kanye's show, which is pretty hilarious in retrospect. I headed over to What Stage and got myself an okay spot and planted myself on the ground. Around 2:45, I knew he wasn't going to start all that soon because roadies were still on the stage. Around 3:15, the roadies were still fucking around on stage and the jumbotrons said that Kanye's performance had been delayed to 3:30. No one was amused, especially the glow stick people. During all of this, Jeff somehow wandered right in front of where I was, so we started musing over when Kanye was actually going to come on stage. The roadies were still fucking around (and completely dragging their asses, mind you. They were in no hurry) and they were screwing around with this screen and it was steadily getting later and later and later. By 4, Jeff had had enough and bid me goodnight. I was too committed, though. I had gone this far, I had to stay for the show! Also, I knew that this was going to be a big deal and I wanted to say that I had been there. I don't know what that says about me.
Anyway, around 4:20, the lights on the stage finally went out. And this is what happened:
(apologies for the really bad part towards the beginning. A HUGE hole opened up in front of me and I was able to go about 50 feet closer to the stage. Still not close but closer!)
And here's a super bad picture of the sunrise (if I had realized it was that blurry I would have taken another one, but my camera was running out of memory)
And I have to say, it was 100% worth staying for. Kanye kicked ass and I know he was all upset about not being able to perform "Stronger" in the dark, but "Stronger" at sunrise is something no one will probably ever see again and I think that makes it better. But seriously, if you have not read Kanye's blog on the whole ordeal, well, do that now and laugh, laugh all day long. I mean, I'm on his side here. It wasn't his fault it started so late (although, he should have addressed the crowd. That was bullshit) but oh Jesus Christ, his response is just the most insane thing ever. I kind of love him and his squid brains.
The shortcut was closed when the show got over at 5 something, so I gladly took another taxi. My feet didn't even really hurt but my legs were sooooo stiff from standing around I could barely walk. I got back to camp and fell asleep 4 minutes later.
DAY FOUR: Sunday, June 15, 2008
Obviously, the only thing anyone could talk about all day was Kanye. Everyone was shouting "Fuck Kanye!" across the campsites and it was all pretty hilarious. Jeff and I (well, mostly Jeff. I sat around a lot) spent a ridiculously long time packing up our stuff and drying our wet clothes in the sun. We headed down to Centeroo to see Broken Social Scene and Death Cab for Cutie. Broken Social Scene were pretty good but I headed out after the first 30 minutes to see Death Cab, who were extremely good and kind of the perfect band to end the festival for me. Chill and relaxed and very good music to sway along to.
When we were all back at camp, we all hung around for awhile before deciding to head back. Some guy was charging $10 to bypass all the traffic out of Bonnaroo by going through his yard and we figured we'd spend that on gas waiting in line, so we agreed (except Jeff and I didn't have to pay because the guy said Geoff and Casey had covered for us but we never confirmed in they did or not. Either way, we lucked out.) After a couple hours (it was a 5 hour trip), Geoff and Casey and Chris wanted to eat at a Waffle House, so we stopped. But Jeff and I just wanted to get home, so we left without them and made it back to Asheville in one piece.
Oh, and before I forget, here are 4 random pictures that didn't fit in anywhere else:
Jeff with the elusive solid color sour worm.
Top of the Fuse barn.
Sunset the night we left.
So you can see just how gross I was. And that was only Saturday night!
Anyway, Bonnaroo was incredible and it taught me a lot about the human race. No, seriously. For those four days, 70,000 people lived together on a farm in bumfuck nowhere Tennessee, didn't shower (or paid $7 to), peed in disgusting urinals, walked in mud and watched amazing music together. And everyone was nice to everyone else. Our neighbors gave us a canopy! Just gave it to us! And even the completely stoned on acid dude who accosted me during the Kanye concert (our exchange: "WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?" "Um, Kanye West?" "WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?" "Um. He's a rapper." "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON." "Um........" "DID I FREAK YOU OUT?" "Yeah." "I'M SORRY.") was apologetic! And people were sharing their weed with people they had never even talked to before like it was no big deal and everyone was making sure everyone had water and even when Kanye was 90 minutes late, the worst people did was throw glowsticks. Glowsticks. If Kanye had been that late at any other festival, shit would have gone down. This is why I will always get mad when people talk about stoners in a negative way. If that crowd hadn't been stoned of their asses, they would have rushed the stage or thrown bottles of water (hell, completely sober people do that at Reading and Leeds just for the lulz) and shit would have gotten out of hand. See kids, drugs make you too lazy to care that Kanye West's stage show takes two hours to put up.
But yeah, Bonnaroo is just this really weird thing where people are just nice to each other, even though the conditions are miserable. And I know it wouldn't have lasted much longer (Americans can only do without technology for so long) but the fact that it did last the whole four days was really just amazing. Call me a hippie, I don't care. Those people are onto something.