is this a real update?! *gasp*!!!
why, i think it is!! greg is resting on the couch, as he doesn't feel well, so now is as good of a time as any to properly update this sucker, since i am not busy. starting with...bonnaroo 2009! i guess i'll just recount stuff the best that i can; not a real review or anything. a number of events have been edited to protect the innocent...or guilty...ha...scroll right by if you don't care... :) naturally, i am getting a little tired, so i might be all over the place.
our journey begins late tuesday night when sarah (my bb), liz (her sis) and matt (mutual friend and dirt star) arrived in cincinnati late. we pretty much crashed right away since it was late and knew that sleep would be a luxury in the next coming days. wednesday was spent eating dunkin donuts in the morning and shopping for our snacks at the campsite. it took some time to load the car, since we had to fit 4 bodies, a giant cooler, tons of camping gear (including 2 tents and an easy up, among other things), and all of our luggage. plus, it was raining. yuuuuuck. we met my work buddy barry and his friend mike, our travel companions, at a liquor store in kentucky. naturally, we had several other things to pick up- my jello shots weren't going to cut it all weekend (btw, i made close to 175 of those suckers). annnnnd off we were!
we ended up staying at a hotel about 45 minutes away from manchester, home of bonnaroo. our tv didn't work, but we had a shower and beds, so yay. we got 40s at a gas station and drank while swimming in the gross, warm pool. off to a great start!
THURSDAY
we woke up early on thursday morning to RAIN...TONS OF RAIN. EFF THIS. the one thing none of us wanted was rain, especially not setting up in the rain. total blowhouse. by the time we actually left it was clear and actually a little sunny, if i am not mistaken.
we ended up waiting in line for close to 6 hours to get in. 6 hours!!!! ugh!!! i heard people waited less, and i also heard people waiting up to 12 hrs, so i guess we were in the middle. we got routed the roundabout way we went last year, which was alright, i guess. i kinda like looking at the scenery (btw the route we took to manchester saved us about 2 hours of driving...do NOT follow directions bonnaroo gives you! ever!!! it'll lead you to alabama, the worst state EVER!). so anyway. we peed in the woods and got scratches on our legs.
entering the campsite, your car is supposed to be searched. our person basically asked us if we had anything illegal, we said no, and they waved us in. people in other lines were getting searched. last year they looked in everything! i guess it's just hit or miss.
we got lead back to our camp area to find we were kinda in BFE. suck. this equates to a long walk to centeroo, where all of the action is. turns out that while we kinda were in BFE, there were other people in mega BFE and mega mega BFE, so we felt pretty fortunate. it did not rain while we were setting up, which was slammin. we got our easy up up, and after some minor struggles, we got the 2 tents up as well. our neighbors this year were actually super legit, opposed to last year. actually, on our one side our neighbors rocked, the other side was a bunch of strung our kids who talked pretentiously all weekend abotu xanax and which radiohead album was the best (no joke). barry and mike ended up having to park and camp in front of us, which was fine, too.
after getting everything set up, we got our drink on and our jello shots on!! if i remember correctly, we toasted to bill cosby. hahahaha i just LOLed IRL remembering this....anyway, after we were full of refreshments, we began our trek to centeroo.
it really wasn't a HORRIBLE walk...not great, but not horrible. we got in and it was like home. i know that sounds stupid. but like....seeing the arch got me so psyched for the weekend!!! not to mention my garlic grilled cheeses i snagged before entering. mmmmmmmm....
since we were sufficiently drunk, we found it to be a great idea to run into the fountain at centeroo. definitely the best time to do it, since they recycle the water all weekend and by sunday it's literally BROWN. we met some weird guys and drank some of their 'water', aka vanilla vodka. whateverrrrr....
we ended up missing the one show that someoen wanted to see (i didn't care about any of the thursday bands) and we realized we were waiting for the wrong show at the wrong time. soooo...at this point i think we left and went back to our campsite after making a couple purchases. while walking back, it RAINED. HARD. we were drenched. it tapered off, then started up again later, as we began doing more jello shots. it also rained a lot while i was sleeping. and that was thursday in a highly edited nutshell. :)
FRIDAY
i woke up early, as everyone does at bonnaroo. when the sun rises at 7 am, it is hard to sleep when you are being baked in your tent. it had rained a ton, so naturally it was heavily muddy. the ladies decided to shower, and let me tell you- we were so happy we wore our rain boots to the shower. it was literally a mud pit right in front of the stand, and it was a struggle to pull your feet our. the showers were also clogged with mud. showering in rainboots is not recommended, unless you like watching them fill with soapy water...? idk. haha.
anyway, friday i was at centeroo from about 12:30 PM - 4 AM. what a day. i saw so many shows. here ya go!
GOMEZ- we caught the end of them. they were pretty legit. they did a killer cover of led zeppelin's 'bron-a-yur stomp' and i happily helped everyone around me clap properly. it was fun.
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE- um, they were ok. i bet i would have better enjoyed them if they had a late night set and i was drunk. it was just a bunch of guys hitting keys on a keyboard. that's what i got out of it...whatever...haha
YEAH YEAH YEAHS- omg. great show. matt stayed with me and we got maybe....10 'rows' back? we could have gotten closer if we went to the side of the stage, but this was ok. they were so AWESOME. i missed santigold to see them, but i feel i would have missed something, no matter what my decision. karen o was as crazy as always, and we got to hear a killer acoustic version of 'maps,' thanks to the guitarist's guitar being tuned wrong. he ended up smashing his guitar at the end of the show and storming off. haha...
after yeah yeah yeahs we met up with sarah and liz and hydrated ourselves and ate these massive pitas. then it was onto the what stage for some more shows!
AL GREEN- we missed most of this show, but what we saw, we were pleasantly surprised. he was handing out roses to all da ladiez and just being soulful. it was totally cool.
BEASTIE BOYS- ahhhhhh can i tell you how excited i was to see them?!?!?! one of the top three shows of the weekend, for sure. liz and i got second row on the second rail, where we were for pearl jam last year. sarah and matt made it up there as well. i have to say, it was a total FAN show. everyone i asked about it was disappointed they didn't play 'old' stuff, aka 'fight for your right.' haha. but they KILLED it. i was excited to hear 'root down' and 'paul revere,' in particular. nas was also a guest and they performed a song from the album they did together. they also played a lot of their instrumental songs, like 'ricky's theme' and 'subrosa.' i was so happy to see them play their instruments, because they are truly very talented. mixmaster mike totally killed it, too. amazing show.
phish followed the beastie boys. quite honestly, i do not care for phish. i was in the 2% of people there for sure. i did not care to get stuck in the mix, so liz and i left, since we both wanted to see public enemy. we sat on some cardboard under a tree and listened to phish a little while watching this weird hippie sing along and write down their setlist. haha. we got some pizza then headed to a REAL hip hop show...
PUBLIC ENEMY- also in the top 3 shows i saw this weekend. omg. we were super tired, but the adrenaline started to rush when we secured our spot about 4 rows back. they had an MC that kept having us yell 'AIIIIIIGHT' while the stage was set. i was getting psyched. they came out, and KILLED it. flavor flav is probably the best hype man in hip hop and it's kinda sad that he got brought down in the vh1 stuff...but not really, cuz i love that shit. but my point is, is he's GOOD. chuck d brought it, too. they played for over 2 hours and played 'it takes a nation of millions to hold us down' start to finish. their point was to expose their music to a younger crowd, which i thought was awesome. by the end of the show, liz and i were on the rail. i touched flavor flav, and got his sweat towel!! shut up, it's awesome!!! :) he threw it, the guy next to me caught it, and flav clearly indicated i should have caught it by pointing to me, so i ripped it right out of his hands. i apologized, but the guys said he didn't wanted it. hahaahhaha.....ANYWAY, it was a brilliant show and if they toured, you can bet i will see them again in a heartbeat.
GIRL TALK- man, i wished i wasn't dehydrated and half asleep when they started, because i would have loved to have seen more. i was so exhausted from my day (he started at about 2:45, which was late) that i had to leave. my lovely bb sarah went with me. i heard it was awesome from liz, matt, barry and mike, but he was pretty much playing his cds...so i guess i just missed out on the live experience (btw, girl talk is a killer mash up artist...i highly recommend you check him out)
so my day ends with my crashing at camp around 4 am. whew.
SATURDAY
naturally i woke up at 7:30, so i was exhausted but still pumped because there were going to be a ton of slamming shows i couldn't wait to see. i literally run on adrenaline all weekend. it's kinda strange. i did not do a traditional shower, since they lines were so long, so i put on my suit and washed up with a jug of water, hippie style. :) it did the trick- i had to be at centeroo by 2 PM to see some shows!! we took the cab into centeroo, since we were tired.
ROBYN HITCHCOCK AND THE VENUS THREE: ok, dummy me, did not realize until a couple days before bonnaroo that peter buck (r.e.m.'s guitarist, duh! haha) would be playing with robyn, a long time collaboration. so i was so stoked to see them in action. liz soldiered along with me (i warned her that peter was old but completely cool, and that i would go crazy, so she was prepared for me). they were good. quirky, but good. robyn is a big ole goof in pink and purple. peter was chill as always- i freaked out at his long hair!!! i swear i caught his eye a couple of times, but i always say that! it was way cool to see him in an element other than r.e.m. i enjoyed the quirky pop show. i got a little annoyed, as it turned out most of the crowd was waiting to secure their spot for bon iver, who performed next. who can blame them, i guess?
liz and i shopped a little and ate after the show. we divided, since she wanted to see of montreal and i was committed to...
JENNY LEWIS: she was so freakin cute, as expected. she opened with 'see fernando' and played 'silver linings.' it wasn't a knock your socks off show, but it was solid. she is a good performer and i like her voice. i sat down after about an hour since i was so exhausted from standing and the heat, so i watched the rest of it from afar (of course i was on the rail before. i am always on the rail! :)). elvis costello ended up joining her for a song.
barry met me after jenny lewis, and we chilled for a little. then we met up with the rest of the group. everyone except me and barry wanted to go back to camp, so we saw...
WILCO: ugh, i wish i saw more of this show! wilco is totally solid. i need to be more schooled in wilco. i recognized a few of songs, but not all of them. we ended up jamming out in the PIT, because we had made the realization the day before that it is ridiculously easy to get into the pit. people are just dumb about it. so, we were 2 'rows' back and jammed out before heading back to camp.
we chilled for a while. i actually did not want to drink, because 1) it was soooooo hot during the day and i never felt hydrated, and 2) i knew i had a long night ahead of me and i didn't want liquor to slow me down. so i just hung out while everyone did their thing. it was cool. then we decided to head back to centeroo for the late night festivities! on our walk there we met 2 cool jewish kids and i made them think that jambi's chant from pee wee's playhouse was a real chant. hahahha. then we saw BRRRRUUUUUUCE
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: it was so easy to walk right into the pit. seriously people!!! it's so easy to get into the pit at festivals! i realize this now!! haha. i really wished i watched a little more of this set, because i enjoyed what i saw. still not a huge springsteen fan by any means, but yeah. we arrived in the pit while he was playing 'radio nowhere,' which is a random song i LOVE. it was a really cool feeling, like an adrenaline rush as we all bopped around. we also heard 'born to run' and a couple of other songs. max weinburg wasn't there, which for any conan o'brien fan, sucks. i guess we were there for a half hour or so, then it was on the the next set.
as we walked deeper into centeroo, we got some food and hit the potties before settling in. i guess you could say there was a conflict of sorts...? but it was resolved before the next show...
NINE INCH NAILS: probably the best show of the weekend. it is the one show i cannot stop obsessing over and you tubing. liz, sarah, matt, barry and i arrived around midnight to secure a spot for the 1 am show. we were on the rail, off to the left side. pretty darn good. sarah and matt left for MGMT, while liz, barry and i waited. liz was drunk and funny and said she 'wouldn't care if she was suspended from the stage.' hahaha. ANYWAY, onto the show. trent and company BROUGHT IT. it was a perfect setlist and i was SOOOOO impressed by the energy and the awesome live show. they played all of the hits minus 'closer,' but we also got some surprising gems like 'the good soldier,' 'survivalism,' 'echoplex,' and 'i'm afraid of americans.' i was a minor NIN fan before this performance, but now i am a full-fledged trent junkie. his band was so good, and i was happy to see him screwing around on the synthesizer during the show. and man, is that man SEXY. why did not i not see it before?! by the end of the set he was drenched in sweat. mmmmm...and when did he get so buff?! hahahaha!! those arms!! at the time, it was announced it would be their last US show ever, but just this weekend trent announced there would be more US dates. they played for over 2 and a half hours, closing with 'hurt.' it was so very, very, VERY good. if they did ever come back to ohio, i would gladly see them in a half a heartbeat. i can't stop listening to all of their albums. by the end of the show we got a lot closer, thanks to liz's ungodly screaming...haha
afterwards liz and i stumbled back to the campsite, exhausted. poor thing fell in the mud on the way back, too. haha. fell asleep around 5 am.
SUNDAY
woke up around 8 (i slept in!! gasp) and was immediately sad it was the last day of the roo. sad, but also really stoked to think about sleeping in a real bed and take a real shower that night. we basically killed the campsite that morning and afternoon and packed everything up so we could leave after our last show. the battery died on liz's car, so while they were getting a jump and letting the car run, matt and i headed back to centeroo. here are sundays shows!
ERYKAH BADU- she was good. definitely a little weird, but good. she did not play 'tyrone,' which was a disappointment, given our weekend (ya better caaaalll tyyyyronnnnne) but she did put on a good show. i think matt and i were too exhausted to full appreciate it. we were in the pit, naturally!
afterwards we went deeper into centeroo to sit down and rest. we met up with sarah and liz and headed back to the mainstage for our final show, one of the few with all of us together (less barry and mike). SNOOOOOOP!!! it seemed like a fight to get into the pit, so we hung back. a lot of people really wanted to be close for snoop, and it looked totally crazy...
SNOOP DOGG- lo and behold, we were some of the last people to be let into the pit! we ended up in the second row, off to the side. snoop killed it. for real. he had his hype men, but he really catered to the audience. we got to hear 'gin and juice' and 'drop it like it's hot,' and he divided us up into the east side and the west side and had us have a shouting contest. he was a really great performer. we must have yelled 'FUCK THE PO-LICE' a million times. hahaha.
aftewards...it was time to go. :( a lot of the people stayed for phish, who closed it out, so we snuck out relatively quickly. we drove for an hour before stopping at a hotel and getting some much needed rest in a real bed.
overall, it was an amazing festival. i cannot wait for next year. i am a total roo junky. everyone should go to experience the epicness!!!
ending this entry now...i am so tired i can barely sit up. update on our new HOUSE to come tomorrow!!!