Bonnaroo is the granddaddy of all festivals in the US. There are other festivals of comparable size (Lollapalooza, Coachella) but they don’t have the same effect on people that Bonnaroo does on the 65,000 fans that flock to Manchester, Tennessee for the annual pilgrimage.
This was the second year Bessie and I made an appearance and thanks to Levi’s and Mayfield Dairy we were able to have over 2500 treats to give away backstage. Craig had flown into Kansas City the week prior for Wakarusa and we made the trek through the south before picking up the Mayfield Ice Cream in Chattanooga prior to arriving at Bonnaroo by late afternoon Thursday. The setup was a bit different this year and the artist area was located behind the second/Which stage. Since everyone loves free ice cream they gave us a parking spot near the entrance so that everyone had to pass by the truck to get meals, booze, or free swag from Onitsuka Tiger, Coleman, and Clif Bar. Once shop was setup and the rest of the crew had rolled in we laid out our plan for the weekend. The great part about working at an ice cream truck is that it’s fun and if you’re not watching a band, it’s a great place to hang out. We all pulled out our schedules and rattled off the few bands we didn’t want to miss. Mine were The National,
White Stripes, and Manu Chao. Since these were on separate days and not too early in the day I reckoned I’d be able to hit a good portion of the sets.
We were very fortunate to have Meghann and Paige back on board from Lollapalooza last year to help sling cream. Craig and Timothy we’re taking care of the photos and Jay headed our writing team. Colibri, who often works the fests we’re at, had the weekend off and ended up helping dish out some treats. With this much talent on board I decided I was going to chill most of the weekend and enjoy how great everything was. It was one of those events where you say before, “this is going to be so much fun.”, Then when you get there you find yourself repeating, “this is so much fun.” Once Monday rolled around and we we’re driving to the airport to drop Timothy and Craig off the airport it was “damn…that couldn’t have been any better.”
The band I was most excited to see was The National. I’d been to a few of their shows before but not since they released Boxer which is one of my favorite albums of the year. I ran over to This tent right as they were starting and ended up jumping around sidestage. When I saw Mike from Relix/Cold Turkey/Bonnaroo Beacon freaking out too, so I joined him and we both near lost it when they broke into “Mister November.” There was still work to be done at the truck and I headed back to cut stickers and clean up so that everything would be set for Friday.
For some reason I had a feeling Friday would be the big cream slinging day so I stuck around the truck almost the whole day. We had worked out a deal with the caterers that allowed most of us to eat right before meal change. I’ve tried to live on ice cream alone, and definitely consumed my fair share over the weekend, but at least one solid meal is needed each day when you’re on your feet for 12 hours a day in the hot sun. Oh yeah.. I forgot to mention..it was pretty damn HOT out there. Due to Tennessee being in the middle of one of their worst droughts on record, it was rather dry and dusty too. This just made the Mayfield Real Fruit popsicles all the more popular. I’m pretty sure a lot of people must have remembered us from last year because the freezers were taking quite a hurting. We had over 2500 pieces on board which I thought would be enough but there’s always a few nervous moments when you open the lid, peek inside, and hope you don’t run out early.
We had a ton of friends stop by the truck throughout the weekend and it’s always great to catch up with them. The Love Police and their extended crew flew in from Australia, Benjy came out of hibernation, Jackie brought along some friends, bands, and a bus, and numerous other folks stopped by to thank us for being there. Due to great tour planning we even got to pull off the trifecta (Sasquatch, Wakarusa, Bonnaroo) with The Slip and Michael Franti. One of my favorite moments was seeing the guys in Kings of Leon trying to look like rockstars while waiting to get their portrait taken backstage while Michael Franti was sitting on the back of the recycling truck doing an interview with the Clean Vibes folks. Two completely different worlds.
We were hoping to sling a couple thousand creams in custom White Stripes boxes in the campground or to people on their way out of the fest but it wasn’t going to work out. White Stripes and Warner Brothers have been helping us give away ice cream since Coachella and we usually hand out a treat in a box to help get the word out about their new album that just came out, Icky Thump. We put up a poster on the truck and in our little rack next to some Levi’s ping pong balls we encouraged people to take a box or some White Stripes stickers. On Sunday, after the White Stripes finished their Mtv interview, I got to personally thank Meg and Jack for helping us out which was nice.
Before skipping to Sunday we need to touch on Saturday. The Police were headlining that night and they were obviously the biggest band of the festival. Since we needed some cream for Sunday, the plan was to close shop once they hit the main stage, around eight o’clock.. I don’t normally get star struck backstage but I was bit in awe when I saw Jim Jarmusch across the way at the Danny Clinch photo tent. I guess I expect to see rockers backstage and not necessarily the guy who directed one of my favorite ice cream moments put on film: Roberto Benigni, Tom Waits, and John Lurie chanting “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” while in jail in Down by Law. It was great having Danny and his crew across the way because bands would show up and hang out near the truck while waiting to get their portraits taken. It wasn’t too hard to coerce them into coming over to the truck and we got one super sweet pic of all of The Roots, most with cream in hand. Naturally a lot of the artists would end up doing their portraits with ice cream and popsicles too. Hopefully I’ll be able to track down some of those shots to post sometime down the road.
The nice part about being Ice Cream Man is….. backstage a lot of the people know who I am because we’re at so many festivals. Once I step out into the “real” festival, no one does. This is good when you want to party a bit and when your social skills are not at peak performance. Saturday night was my designated play time and I caught a little of The Police before deciding it’d be a good idea to walk around all of the festival grounds. I’d shot from stage to tent to backstage many a times but never really got a great understanding of everything that was out there. I can’t say I know all that much more now but I can tell you the Budweiser Troo music stage is near dead center of the festival and The Dynamites ROCK. I caught almost all their set and sometime near the end I must have fallen asleep in my chair because when I awoke there was no one around….at all. I guess that meant it was time to get some real sleep before the sun turned my tent into a sauna around 8 in the morning.
Quite a few people leave to go home on Sunday and I can’t imagine going to a festival and leaving before Wilco and the White Stripes played. There were lots of other great acts that day but those were the two going on later in the day that I was hoping to catch. Jeff Tweedy came by the truck and we got a picture with Colibri and Paige. He also made a stop at the batting cage too. That morning, after dropping off some cream to security guards near the press area I had to test my swing in the cage as well. Craig and I played a good amount of wiffle ball at Wakarusa so I figured I had a little bit of warm up for the real deal. I’m guessing the pitches were around 50mph which is a good speed, but a little slow (not that I could actually hit any faster). I started belting ’em and even made the guy feeding the balls into the machine flinch three times with my monsters blows (ha ha ha…I even humor myself).
As things were winding down, Paige and Meghann loaded up a couple boxes of cream to take to the workers at the far tents while I dished the last couple treats from Bessie. I then grabbed a couple beers and some chips and headed to the grandstands to catch the last half of the Wilco set. It just so happened Colibri and Pete were sitting right next to me so we all hung out and commented on how everything was so great, including Wilco. Pete had stopped by the truck earlier in the day to film some video for Rolling Stone which ended up being used for a festival recap here. White Stripes were getting started on the other (actually Which) stage and I tried to get backstage there before the security lady looked at my pass and said “honey, don’t try to pull that on me now.” I tried but you can’t argue with that. Instead I snagged a couple more beers and made my way to the very back of the crowd to rock out. My theory is, if a band can keep the folks in the back captivated, then they’re REALLY good. The White Stripes destroyed it and they picked the perfect time, near the end of their set, to bust out “We’re going to be friends” which summarized most of the Bonnaroo weekend for me.
The band chosen to close out Bonnaroo was Widespread Panic. Since most of the crew had recently seen them, or wasn’t all that interested, we convened by the truck and started swapping stories. Danny was taking some crew/staff shots in his “studio”‘ so we rounded up Craig, Timothy, Paige, Meghann and I and grabbed a couple secret, saved creams for a photo shoot. It was the perfect way to wrap up the weekend.
Big thanks to Levi’s, Mayfield Dairy, Warner Brothers, White Stripes, Chloe, all the crew (even the ones that couldn’t make it), and all the people that ate ice cream to help us on our way to giving away half a million free ice creams. I’m not sure if I could handle more than one Bonnaroo a year but thankfully we got Vegoose coming up Halloween weekend in Las Vegas. The rumors for the headlining acts are quite impressive. Let’s just say it’s going to be a very rockin’ weekend. Hope to see you there.
Check out last year’s Bonnaroo review:
Ween
Perhaps the most unusual part of the Ween show was the fact that it occurred during the afternoon. If you know anything about Ween, you know that they thrive at night. Not surprisingly however, “brothers” Gene and Dean came up with a solution, filling the tent with a thick cloud of blackish gray smoke. Whether this was an attempt to simulate darkness or simply trick people into thinking there was an electrical fire, I’ll never know. I do know that their show wasn’t nearly as intriguing as the smoke. The set list, the jokes, and the solos were all the same. Where’s the creativity and originality? Where’s WEEN?!
The Hold Steady
This has been one of the most talked about sets from the weekend. Much to my chagrin, I only caught six songs because I was in the middle of an interview. From what I did see, it’s no surprise that the Minneapolis-based bar rockers’ performance has received high acclaim. The short stint I caught featured some of the band’s most balls-out fare, such as Boys in Girls in America‘s “Hot Soft Light,” “Chips Ahoy,” “Stuck Between Stations,” and “Southtown Girls,” as well as Seperation Sunday‘s “Hornets, Hornets,” and “Lil’ Hoodrat Friend,” with spastic front man Craig Finn inciting the well-buzzed crowd to chant “Yankees Suck” during the latter. The inebriated roar following that exclamation was unlike any I heard the entire time I was in Manchester. From what I can gather, the Hold Steady’s act screamed with the same drunken intensity.
Girl Talk
Why in the name of the Summer Solstice was Tag Team’s “Whoomp, There It Is,” the Cranberries, “Dreams,” and Peter Bjorn and John’s “Let’s Call It Off,” being played within the same set at Bonnaroo? Why was every soul in the overcrowded “Other Tent” screaming their lungs out to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone?” Why was there a skinny DJ onstage in his underwear screaming orders at the crowd? Better yet, why was the crowd listening? Was this the sign of the Apocalypse?
No, no, no, it was the work of that rascally mash-up mad scientist, Girl Talk. The Pittsburgh native, born Greg Gillis, throws a party like no other. Imagine (or remember) how fun it would be (or was) to getting really drunk at a middle school dance party, because that is basically what Girl Talk’s set is like. Rockin’ only a Mac, Gillis stewed A.D.D. cuts ranging from the aforementioned artists to T.I. to the Band to Hot Chip to Nirvana. No joke. Fans were dancing on stage. Hippies were doing the robot. Newcomers were slapping themselves for ignorance. I was swinging my T-Shirt over my head. It was hypnotic mayhem. I mean, at one point, everyone was so spellbound by Gillis’ melodic experiments that he stopped and ordered the tent to “stop looking at the f^cking stage, turn to the person beside you and f^cking dance.”
Yes sir, Mr. Girl Talk, sir. You are officially king of Late Night Bonnaroo.
Flight of the Conchords with Demetri Martin
Demetri Martin in SPIN magazine:
DON’T JOIN A DRUM CIRCLE
Avoid, avoid, avoid the drum circle — we’re looking at you, Bonnaroo. Scientists, in two independent studies, recently proved that the drum circle is the most annoying shape civilization has ever produced.
The Whigs
On Thursday night, an assortment of fans-ranging from Georgia frat boys to members of Dr. Dog-gathered in the Troo Music Lounge to check out Athens-based rockers, the Whigs. I was particularly interested, as the band had seen some bumps in the road with the departure of original member and talented multi-instrumentalist Hank Sullivant. Parker Gispert (vocals/guitar/keys) and Julian Dorio (drums) have also been talking about a new album, so I was also excited to hear some new stuff. I tell you what, did I have good reason to be pumped. After Gispert introduced the trio-now featuring multi-instrumentalist U.S. Gunn-as a “loud rock band,” The Whigs just about blew the roof off of the Troo Lounge. Almost literally at first, as the amps were definitely turned up to 11 on opener “Like A Vibration” and verbose punk-rocker “Technology.” But the sound guy got it under control, and everyone was able to focus less on the volume and more on the music, which was mostly awesome new selections, mostly. “Hotbed” ranged between Nuggets era garage fare and beefy rock riffs, while the 90s grunge metal of “Already Young,” is easily the heaviest-and maybe most badass-material the Whigs have attempted thus far. And the new guy, Sammy Gunn, passed with flying colors, burning up the neck on “Half the World Away”‘s fabled guitar solo. Watching the crowd explode during the band’s raucous closing stretch, complete with a cover of “Instant Karma,” and two more new-ish songs, “Right Hand on My Heart,” and “Need You, Need You,” it was obvious that these boys aren’t going anywhere.
Uncle Earl
I mixed up the times for the Uncle Earl set at the “Other” Tent, but I was still able to catch two great tunes from the all female, old-time bluegrass outfit. The first number was a cover “Canary in a Coal Mine,” a humorous choice, as it was written by Bonnaroo headliners, the Police. To be honest, I had never heard of the group before, but looking around at a jubilant crowd, I realized that these girls have quite the following. (I’ve actually come to find that some of the diehards are called “g’earlfriends.” Hmmm.) The audience’s excitement came to a head with the final song of the performance, an hoe-down adaptation of a traditional song featuring the John Paul Jones-producer of their recent release Waterloo, Tennessee-on mandolin. I wish I could have seen more Uncle Earl, because the little bit that I did experience was a raging good time.
String Cheese Incident
The first late night acts required a careful taming of the zombies flowing in from Tool, especially for the “blue-jam” melodies of the String Cheese Incident. Amidst reports of imminent disbanding, it was surprising the Boulder, CO band even played, much less seeing singer/acoustic guitarist Bill Nershi present, in light of him being one of the main players in the disbanding process. With all the surprises however, it’s unfortunate the music was not. The first set was only manageable, even though I was fairly “inspired” (it was late night!). Furthermore, reports of those who saw the second set sounded far worse. Maybe it’s time for this once great band to venture into new waters.
Manu Chao
With all of the buzz surrounding the extremely eclectic, French born Manu Chao, I’m a bit hesitant to say I didn’t see the light. With sounds ranging from The Clash to Jackie Mittoo, the set didn’t lack intrigue as much as it did variety. Each song followed the same general format: tight reggae intro followed by a punk influenced bridge then back to reggae then back to punk, etc. The singing was the most enjoyable part of the show: an interesting fusion between English and Spanish. I’m sorry and I don’t know about you, but I can’t be groovin’ to reggae and handle a 180? to punk, especially for an hour.
Kings of Leon
I walked up to the Kings of Leon for a few songs from Because of the Times. But then I decided that since I could only see the band by looking at the big screen and that KOL goes to great lengths during their performances to replicate the sounds of their records, I was better suited to listen to the CDs in my car. Plus, Hot Chip was coming on in fifteen minutes. Hmmm, pangs of claustrophobia and a squinting-induced headache versus an ecstasy-inducing, British rave-up? You do the math.
Wilco
Just like their new album, Wilco’s set at Bonnaroo was solid. I mean, they pulled out the really big guns; “Jesus, Etc.,” “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart,” “Via Chicago,” “Handshake Drugs,” “Shot in the Arm,” “War on War,” “Hummingbirds,” “I’m the One Who Loves You,” “Spiders.” That’s bleeping all-star. And except for obnoxious drums and really cheesy synth on “Via Chicago,” the music was on point. But for some reason, it just didn’t resonate. Maybe it was the size of the stage. Maybe it was because it was the last day; I was tired and couldn’t stop thinking about the White Stripes. Maybe it was because of the fact that of the five new songs played, only “You Are My Face,” and “Walken,” really held up. I think it was probably a combination of those things. I will say this, Jeff Tweedy looked as happy as I have ever seen him, and Matt was grooving a few rows in front of me. And I said it was solid. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.
White Stripes
The White Stripes’ Sunday evening performance radiated devilish mystique. Hell (whoops), if a bible-thumping local had seen the set, they’d probably tell you satan hisself was in the festival grounds. As an abnormally large smoke ring floated in the sky, the little remaining sunlight illuminated the White “siblings”-clad in their traditional red and white and backed by a cherry red curtain-like the fiery depths of Hades. It was a scene straight from the cover of Weekly World News, with headlines reading, “Lucifer Seen at White Stripes Concert. Porta-lets Burst into Flames”
And you can bet your ass that the Stripes played like musicians possessed, slaying the scuzzy, neo-blues numbers from their new release, Icky Thump, as well as selections from past albums all the way back to debut The White Stripes-like the sweaty, biker bar romp, “Stop Breakin’ Down.” Strumming his guitar, “Rita,” Brother White took on the persona of an old country star, addressing the crowd in an amped-up southern dialect, while performing countrified fare like the oft-covered hit, “Jolene,” the rockabilly strutting “Hotel Yorba,” and the moonshine still punk-rocker “Black Math.” It was another demonstration of this band’s range, as was the final stretch, which saw the White Stripes blister the crowd with squirrelly distortion on “Blue Orchid,” cruise in the Cadillac with “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself,” become hippie-friendly with “We’re Going to Be Friends,” and then tear off into the night with “Seven Nation Army.” Then Jack and Meg took a bow for the audience, as the former left us with the following;
“God Bless Ya. Thank you for buyin’ our records. Have Fun. Get home safely.”
Thank you, Jack and Meg. That was a mighty fine performance.
Tortoise
I had never listened to Tortoise prior to Bonnaroo. I’m a fan of the Sea and Cake, so I was excited to see what John McIntire’s other main project had to offer. The instrumental five-piece’s genre-bending post-rock was a perfect fit for the new festival demographic. It was jamming enough to please the patchouli-friendly folk and artistic and credible enough to attract the indie crowd. But all appeasing aside, this band is insanely talented and created a variety of instrumentals that left this guy scratching his head in bewilderment. And I was sober. I can’t imagine what that bug-eyed dude next to me must have been thinking.
The Police
I will admit that I didn’t go to the Police in a critical state of mind.
I actually spent most of the walk to “What Stage,” screaming, “I’m ready to get stung!” Lame, I know. Drinking bourbon out of a Camelback will do that to you. I will also say this: I’ve been to plenty of shows just to have a good time and been disappointed. And I know there are a lot of cool kids saying the Police weren’t protecting and serving like they used to. But I’ll tell you what, Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland were very entertaining. Sure, Sting couldn’t hit some of the high notes on songs like “So Lonely,” “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” and “Roxanne,” but the trio still sounded great, especially for a band that hasn’t played together in over 20 years (and a bunch of old dudes). Not to mention that basically every song you heard was a Top 20 Hit, and that five of them; “Message in A Bottle,” “Walking on The Moon,” “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” and “Every Breath You Take,” were #1 on the UK charts. You can’t help but feel a bit warm and fuzzy on the inside that you’re seeing them played live. Plus, how often can you scream “Da Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” at the top of your lungs and not feel like an idiot? Never, but I did it anyway. Yeah, so maybe you think I’m not cool because I had fun at the Police. I don’t give a…
Paolo Nutini
The hot sun was shining on almost 80,000 people on June 15. It would have been a full 80,000, but many were waiting under the shade of the cleverly titled “That Tent” to see the Scottish rising star, Paolo Nutini.
The Cold War Kids, a groovy, R&B-esque alternative group from California, had just finished, and there were 30 minutes to go until Nutini would deliver his show. Patrons and hippies passed the time by purchasing six-dollar beers and sipping bottled waters. The buzzed crowd watched eagerly as 2:45 approached, and they were welcomed to Nutini’s set by a Scottish traditional song, sung by his bassist. There were some awkward moments of anticipation, but Nutini eventually stumbled on stage, grabbing the microphone to stabilize himself. The singer’s eyes were closed, and he looked like he couldn’t stand up straight if he tried to (he wasn’t trying to). One question immediately arose from the inebriated audience: Is he drunk? That question that wouldn’t be too big of a deal if one wasn’t aware that the 19-year-old singer is underage.
Nutini’s full yet raspy voice seemed to struggle through a version of the huge hit, “New Shoes,” and his accent whistled when he came across the word “excuse.” The crowd sang every word with him, and applauded his performance with screams and cries of adoration. After playing the wonderfully written ballad, “These Streets,” he straightened his spine out a little and cranked out a high-energy rendition of Jungle Book anthem, “I Wanna Be Like You” in honor of his devotion to the orangutan adoption organization Sepilok. The band proved their support of the apes by jamming out their hardest.
Eyes still closed, Nutini and his band played two new songs that demonstrated their wide range: a bluesy and catchy “55 to 1” and a future radio hit, “Red Moon.” At this point, the audience realized that no, Paolo was probably not drunk. He simply had a style similar to the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, letting the music take over. The singer belted out “Jenny Don’t Be Hasty” and “Loving You,” both of which were also met with the yells teenage girls expressing their interest in him. The set closed with “Million Faces,” and audience members walked away satisfied.
Paolo Nutini, the young kid who caught a lucky break at a Dave Sneddon concert, has earned more than just European fame and swooning female fans-he has earned respect. And whether he was drunk or not (he’s touring with Amy Winehouse next monthdraw your own conclusions), he kept the audience smiling and put on an entertaining show fit for all ages.
The National
It took a long time for the National to get their Thursday night set started in “That” tent-a delay resulting from the first of many sound issues at Bonnaroo 2007-but once the Cincinatti-based quintet did, it was on. Matt Berninger and company brought the slow-building heat, performing a number of tracks from their critically acclaimed new album, Boxer, such as “Fake Empire,” “Mistaken for Strangers,” “Green Gloves” and “Slow Show,” as well as “Friend of Mine,” “Baby We’ll Be Fine,” “Mr. November,” and “Secret Meeting” from 2005’s heralded release, Alligator. Sprinting around the stage and climbing atop amp stacks, Berninger sang into the heavens as the stately rock sounds of brothers Dessner and Devendorf soared across an enraptured audience. And for their closing number, the National selected “About Today” from their Cherry Tree EP–its breathtaking, orchestral ascension a perfect summation of the night’s performance.
Mute Math
At 10 p.m. on Thursday night, New Orleans-based group Mute Math rocked the crowd at “This Tent.” I had never heard of them before this show, but when I asked around the audience at the beginning of the show the usual response was “Neither have I but they are sick!” Their sound is difficult to classify, and they claim to have influences as diverse as The Police, DJ Shadow, and Bjork. Personally, I found a style with a certain synthesis of American and European music; U2 and Pink Floyd meet Pearl Jam and Sound Tribe Sector Nine.
Michael Franti and Spearhead
Having just returned from a tour through some of the most socially and politically unstable places in the modern world (Iraqi war zones, Israel, and occupied Palestinian territory) Michael Franti made it clear throughout his performance that the images of the trip are still fresh in his mind. But aside from his extremely liberal political message, one will find an impressive mix of styles and a high energy show. Franti himself is a versatile musician. His spoken word lyrics are clearly influenced by Hip-Hop, especially socially conscious groups such as Public Enemy and The Jungle Brothers. Musically, there is a good fusion of funk, reggae, and rock. It’s not hard to see why he draws such a large crowd.
Hot Chip
When the first Bonnaroo was in the works, I bet the founders never even dreamed that one day, a group of nerdy British guys armed with a variety of synthesizers would take the festival’s second largest tent in the palm of their hand. Sure enough, it was late night in the daytime on Friday afternoon in “This Tent.” UK-based, electronica quintet Hot Chip had a jam-packed tent bumpin’ and grindin’ to selections from their past two albums, Coming on Strong and The Warning, as well as some bangin’ unreleased material. Spruced-up interpretations of songs like TW‘s “And I Was A Boy from School,” and unreleased live stalwart “Shake A Fist”-described in my notes as “f^ckin’ rad”-had new initiates pulling dance moves they never imagined possible. I should mention that this was only thirty minutes into the set. Sadly, I only caught stories of the mayhem caused by “The Warning” and “Over and Over” because I had other shows to check out. Yes, I left. I am an idiot. I know.
Elvis Perkins in Dearland
Elvis Perkins’ set was my favorite at Bonnaroo this year. Sure the White Stripes killed it and Girl Talk blew us all away with his incredible sampling routine, but I knew that was going to happen. I listened to a little bit of Perkins’ debut, Ash Wednesday , a couple of weeks ago, and was impressed by what I heard, but I wasn’t expecting the awe I experienced during his afternoon performance with backing band, Dearland.
A refreshing breeze blew through the tent as the folk-loving crew blessed a sun-beaten but sizable crowd with an assortment of songs, (relatively) old and new. Perkins’ modern folk was a stark contrast from the neo-classic rock blasting from the Wolfmother set across the way, but it was the perfect introspective fare for a tattered, Sunday Bonnaroo population. Beginning with Dylan-influenced, Ash Wednesday opener “While You Were Sleeping,” Perkins captivated us before introducing “Hey,” a bustling new tune. The wiry, baby-faced songsmith then slowed it down again with the stunning “Emile’s Vietnam in the Sky,” before picking things up with the jazzy shuffle of “Without Love” and the driving rhythm of “Weeping Pilgrim,” a song he informed us was a “dance number in the Civil War days.” Perkins and company pulled back on the reins for the next stretch, delving into AW‘s quirky “Sleep Sandwich;” a new organ flavored tune, “Shampoo,” and the bourbon-lulled number “The Night and the Liquor.” Dearland left Perkins with his guitar and harmonica for the next selection, “It’s Only Me,” but their return saw a crowd-pleasing addition, Alec Ounsworth of CYHSY–a band Perkins opened for earlier this year. Donning a straw sun hat, the front man contributed electric guitar and backing vocals to “Doomsday,” the most uplifiting number of the set, complete with spirited trombone, a rollicking drum line, and a “la la la” harmony. And with the carefree, jazz-infused, “1,2,3, Goodbye,” Perkins brought his soothing act to a close, instructing the audience to “take care.” It was a cheerful ending to an enriching performance, an hour of clarity that reminded us all that great music isn’t always about booty-shakin’, foot-stompin’ or headbangin’–and that Bonnaroo’s eclectic line-up allows for such realizations.
Cold War Kids
The bus ride from Fullerton, CA may have been long considering that Cold War Kids only had a hour long set. And since they had traveled so far and were one of the first to perform they made sure leave a lasting impression on their audience. With catchy choruses, seamless transition, and creative orchestral interludes, this indie Rock quartet proved a fitting start to the first full day of the Bonnaroo experience. With hints of the Velvet Underground here and some bluesy Dylan there, Cold War Kids genre-blending performance was a nice example of the evolving sound of Bonnaroo.
The Black Keys
Although one may not immediately associate Akron, Ohio with a particularly strong music scene, The Black Keys, consisting of Dan Auerbach (guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums, percussion) have been making waves in the music world. In the spirit of Bonnaroo, Auerbach showed up with a successfully scruffy beard, but it all boils down to the music and it’s hard to ask for a more talented live act. These two create sounds that could easily be mistaken for the work of 4 or 5 people, while maintaining a deep musical connection not possible with larger acts. Always a crowd pleaser, The Black Keys once again proved themselves in the hierarchy of the duo scene.
