So....I've told pretty much everyone I know that I was going to, was at, or came back from Bonnaroo throughout various stages of my experience, and I'm sure it comes to no one's surprise that it was absolutely amazing. It was great to be part of something so unrealistically perfect surrounded by 70,000 of the world's most laid back and happy hippies. It's hard to say that it was great because of the shows because (while it was) there was so much more that made it everything that it was. Maybe it was laughing at highly stimulated people on lots of drugs, maybe it was all of the interesting tents filled with art, knick nacks, food, and entertainment. Maybe it was withstanding extremes in weather with little but a smile or meeting people from all parts of the country and realizing we have similar interests and concerns. I'm guessing it was a rich combination of everything, but whatever "it" was, it was beautiful.
Alright, sap pause; here is a list of some of the bands I saw and a quick synopsis of what I thought (in no particular order):
-Ani DiFranco: Surprisingly Good
I didn't know her at all pre-Bonnaroo but my friend wanted to see her so she could pick up chicks (apparently an Ani DiFranco show is the best way to do that). I usually don't get that into a show if I haven't heard the music before, but this was a surprising change.
-Snoop Dogg: Ha. That's all I can say. I had fun
He was extremely out of place and repped the West Side a lot, but it was definitely a lot of fun
-MGMT: Good Show, huge turn out, big hype
It was fun, I danced a lot and got pretty excited about a few songs. They played some new stuff they are working on and that was cool (plus it dispelled rumors that they're breaking up)
-Gomez: chill, calm, good to rest to
I hadn't heard them before either but they were perfect to lay in the grass and listen to
-Bon Iver: a tad slow for my mood at the time, but harmonies were amazing.
-Of Montreal: out of this world.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I think that if Rocky Horror Picture Show were a concert, it would be something similar. The set list was solid, the crowd was fully equipped with beach balls, balloons, cow bells, and water, and the stage hosted people in near drag (the lead singer changed costumes 3 times, the bassist wore a feather shoulder covering, and the keyboardist donned a princess costume). Stage performers detailed some kind of warped story line throughout the show ranging from people in bunny, eagle, and dinosaur masks, a psychopathic killer in church robes, people in gas masks, and much more. At one point, the bassist played WHILE crowd surfing, the lead singer followed suit, and to tie off the show, they broke everything. Nuts, huh?
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs: The show I was most excited for, and it delivered
Karen O is my hero. She was really energetic and a little warped (but in the best way possible). Equipped with a kimono and yellow zebra print leggings, she danced, she laid on the floor, she ate the microphone (and broke it later on). She dawned a leather jacket when they played Zero in honor of the line "get your leather on" and when the tuning was weird on the guitar they decided to play Maps acoustically. Insert gushing here.
-Girltalk: Stellar, of course
He was fun and really genuinely nice, smiling over how he used to only get a 20 minute set and now he gets an hour and a half (which he went over, bless his heart)
-Animal Collective: Could have been better.
The sound was pretty crappy (which wasn't their fault) and I have a feeling the show would have been better suited for the night time, so I want to see them again in different circumstances.
-Andrew Bird: PHENOMENAL.
This guy has more talent than I can even handle seeing, let alone hearing. He played the violin with both the band thing and plucked the strings for 2 different sounds, which he recorded on stage and repeated over each other. He also incorporated his genius whistling skills and played over it all with the guitar. I want to be Mrs. Andrew Bird.
I'd love to continue, but this is getting pretty dense.....I guess I'll just end with a quote that actually almost made me cry over its sheer beauty. After helping a dehydrated guy, a hippie woman (who was likely on Ecstasy) said as matter-of-factly as anything I've ever heard by Bill Nye: "we're all one."
Harp on those words for a couple of seconds, please because I thought they were awesome.
