Bonnaroo Hosts a Smorgasbord of Sound

© Nick Sievering / RumBum.com

Passing through the security checkpoint at Bonnaroo is sort of like stepping into another dimension. One where people can roam freely in the nude, or carry large cardboard signs that say “I Need Shrooms!” This is the point at which Bonnaroo newcomers understand that Bonnaroo is a community unto itself. For four days, the people in the community are entirely removed from the world in which we live and work.

Although some Bonnaroo attendees showed up a day early and camped out in their cars in the parking lot of a nearby Walmart, most people set up camp on Thursday in one of the tent cities just outside of Centeroo, Bonnaroo’s 100-acre entertainment village. Essentially, each vehicle gets ten to fifteen square feet behind it where folks set up the tents and canopies that serve as home for the weekend.

When the sun comes up at six in the morning and temperatures rise to 95 degrees by nine, it’s impossible to sleep in while camping at Bonnaroo, which means your first-night buzz never really wears. In order to survive the heat, which climbed to 110 degrees Friday afternoon, it’s crucial to drink plenty of water in between beers.

Good Vibrations

Conan O’Brien’s performance in the Comedy Tent drew such a large crowd that it had to be broadcasted on television screens on three separate stages. He noted that this was his first festival performance and reflected on his career, joking that it had finally reached its peak now that he was doing stand up comedy at a “refugee camp.”

© Nick Sievering / RumBum.comThe crowd for Frenti.Afterwards, Damien Marley and Nas performed together on What Stage, the main stage set in a massive field that can supposedly occupy every Bonnaroo attendee. Hordes of people showed up to bob their heads and groove out to the good vibrations that both Damien and Nas cast like a spell across the audience.

Next in the lineup was Tenacious D, the satiric rock group conceived by actor Jack Black and his partner in crime, Kyle Gass. They played a high-energy set that naturally included their infamous tunes “Tribute” and “F*ck Her Softly,” both of which inspired some of the most epic audience sing alongs of the whole weekend. The band also performed mini skits in between songs, which featured onstage cameos by a giant robot and Satan.

Michael Franti and Spearhead performed on Which Stage after Tenacious D’s set. The San Francisco-based Reggae/Funk band commanded the audience, which became a sea of moving bodies as soon as the band took the stage.

Stevie Wonder, GWAR and Everything in Between

Saturday’s lineup was stacked with noteworthy bands all the way from 11:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. the next day. Rebelution, a reggae rock group from Santa Barbara, kicked things off on Which Stage. The hundred-something degree weather didn’t keep a crowd from showing up and getting down to Rebelution’s ambient, heavily reverberated jams that echo with optimistic, worry free vibes – exactly what was needed during the hottest part of the day.

Isis, an experimental metal group named after the Egyptian goddess of fertility, performed next in This Tent. Their performance was particularly unique due to the recent unveiling of their plans to disband at the end of this month after 13 years together, making this one of their final shows. Their set list was short but it spanned their entire career and gave long-time fans a satisfying experience to fondly look back on.

© Nick Sievering / RumBum.comCooling off under the mushroom.The Dead Weather headlined What Stage early Saturday evening and brought the weekend’s first and only stint of rain with them. Jack White made note of this cosmic coincidence onstage, telling the crowd to remember who brought the rain in between songs from their debut album, Horehound.

Stevie Wonder drew a diverse crowd that had the lawn at What Stage packed body to body, thousands of which danced to the soulful grooves Wonder nailed down to such perfection that they sounded like studio recordings.

The crowd stayed put for Jay-Z’s set, which featured huge plasma screens that cast a luminescent skyline behind him as he performed “Empire State of Mind.” His set also included fan favorites “Run This Town,” “Big Pimpin’” and “Hard Knock Life,” each of which inspired nearly everyone in the crowd to wave their arms in the air, creating one of the greatest spectacles of the weekend.

After Jay-Z’s performance, people flocked to The Other Tent to check out the second half of Clutch’s set, which put them in the mood to indulge in a few more beers and go wild as the night was coming to a close. Lines for beer ($6 drafts) stretched painfully far, which gave those standing in line a prime opportunity to observe the festivities happening all around them – poi spinners, hula hoop dancers, jugglers and more than just a few stumbling drunks.

People then rushed back to The Other Tent with beers in hand to catch GWAR’s set by 2:30 a.m., when the band stormed the stage in full costume. Morbid chaos ensued as they systematically disemboweled live caricatures of pop icons with enormous foam weapons, then showered the audience with jets of theatrical bodily fluids (blood, vomit and even worse).

Back to Reality

Sunday offered another full day of music, but many who had driven to the now-iconic farm in Tennessee, had to pack up early and head home, back to "reality." The drive was a time to sleep (if you weren't, in fact, driving), to nurse hangovers, to goof off with your friends, or to stare dreamily out the window.

And if you caught yourself wondering how it was that you could have began the previous night at a Stevie Wonder concert and ended it at a GWAR show, you weren't alone. The answer is that, in less than a decade, Bonnaroo has transcended its beginnings as an ordinary jam festival, and has come to represent music as a whole, breaking down genre barriers and opening up a space where people can come together to watch their favorite bands and discover new ones, making some friends along the way.

Although some people may criticize Bonnaroo’s evolution and call the festival a “sell out” now that mainstream acts dominate the main stage (Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, and The Police in past years), Bonnaroo has the best buffet in town for good music of all genres, which means everyone is bound to find something they can eat.

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