All Bonnaroo Saga posts: tag/Bonnaroo 07
State of Mind and Let Me Be by Xavier Rudd
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/xr2004-10-28.shnf/xr2004-10-28d1t06_64kb.mp3,http://www.archive.org/download/xr2004-10-28.shnf/xr2004-10-28d1t09_64kb.mp3]
New York Port Authority Bus Terminal
I missed String Cheese. I know, I know. It was the show I intended to see at ‘roo. But not sleeping for the last two days got to me, and sometime into Tool, I passed out. Its a shame, but I’ll get to hear the show online, and should be able to catch them live some other time this summer. No worries. That sleep was some of the best sleep I’ve ever had. Apparently I didn’t even wake up when Charles started screaming my name and shining a light on my tent (they were well into their acid trip). I’m sad that I missed their game that night. After I didn’t respond, they decided I wasn’t there and turned on people walking through the crossroad. What Charles said he did was shine a light in someone’s face as they walked by, and if that didn’t freak them out enough, he’d yell. Sure, its a jerky thing to do, but it would have been funny to watch. The next morning I woke up to someone outside yelling “Beer! Beer for breakfast!” They were selling beers to anyone that was up at that hour (around 7, which is the point where the tent got unbearably hot, and you were forced awake). They kept at it for a while, varying it as time wore on. “Pay us and we’ll drink a beer!” They went on for a while until some security folks on horseback told them to take off.
So lets get on with Saturday. Oh wait, first I wanted to take back a couple things. But I suppose that goes along with Saturday. Lets start Saturday again. Friday afternoon, when our neighbors first invited us over, they were very drunk. And by Friday night they were burnt out. That is what gave me such a negative first impression. Saturday morning I got to talk to them again, and they’re alright guys.
Moving on, at some point in the morning we lost Charles. Not at all sure where he went. So Melissa and I headed to Shakedown Street, where all the vendors are. Melissa was on a mission to find some pot (“Do you have anything to put in these?” gesturing towards the pipes for sale) and I was looking for the obscure cool item that is always hiding in the rows of vendors. Shakedown has a LOT of glass pipes. Really, an unreasonable amount. And the rest of the stuff they had was standard fare, so I didn’t get anything. Melissa eventually found some pot (harder than you’d think, no one wanted to share), even though it was at an outrageous price.
Around noon I bailed on Melissa to go see Railroad Earth. Railroad Earth is a really high energy progressive bluegrass band. They’ve played Grey Fox before, so I knew they were good. This is where the trouble began: I started dancing, and I didn’t really stop until 4am. Railroad Earth had an incredible set, and then I moved over to see the Slip. I’ve heard them before as well: a guitar/bass/drum trio, and they’re good, so I wanted to see them live. More incredible energy, more dancing. From there I headed over to a small stage to see Railroad Earth again, for a much shorter but equally awesome set. Right after that, at the same stage, was solo acoustic Warren Haynes. I stuck around for that, which was a bit of a letdown, because he was a little late and a little drunk. He only got to play two songs (the rest was an interview) but they were both very good. From there I went to go see the Hold Steady. This was mostly at the recommendation of friends, and because some of their stuff that I’ve heard is pretty good. Their live show, however, really wasn’t. They were at the dusty stage (not their fault, but an immediate disincentive), and from the moment they got on, they were more into it than the crowd. That is always a turn off, and after hearing four or five songs (some of which I had heard before, and realized they didn’t add all too much live) I left. I headed over to The Other Tent where Keller would be playing soon. But the artist before him hadn’t finished yet (because I left the Hold Steady early). I hadn’t heard of him, or heard any of his stuff, but Xavier Rudd was incredible. He is a one man band, but not the same way Keller is. Xavier has a platform on stage with three didgeridoos, some drums and bongos, and an electric guitar on his lap. He played them all live, no looping. He had a drummer sit in on a few songs which just added to the awesome. I’m going to find out more about him, and see him again if I can.
Next was Keller’s set. Since I was there really early, I was right up front. This was my first time seeing Keller with the WMD’s (a quartet he formed to tour with after his last album), and only my second time seeing him ever. I was pumped, and already in a good mood because of all the good tunes I’d heard so far. When the musicians came out for a soundcheck, it took them a while to get the monitors balanced, and they would gesture to the guy at the soundboard how they wanted him to change it. Most of the time, they would point up if they wanted it higher. After some 5 minutes of pointing, the crowd started to do it too, and soon everyone under the tent was had their index fingers extended. Its these little spontaneous moments that make me love live shows. The show started with a really jazzy tune that could have been completely improvised, I’m not sure. But it was very different from the Keller I was used to. He only brought out two guitarts, and didn’t loop at all. It still sounded good, just not like Keller (obviously, because he was playing with musicians besides himself). Then he launched into some old favourites, and I realized why he wanted a quartet. There was so much more energy during Freaker than there ever was with him alone. And it was during Freaker that things started to get airborne. People brought beach balls of all sizes, and someone brought a massive stuffed Scuba Doo (Scooby Doo in Scuba gear). All of these were bouncing over my (our) head. More dancing. Eventually, Scooby ripped, and showered stuffing on our heads. I don’t think I can do this show justice, so I’ll stop trying. Just know it was one of my favourite sets all weekend.
After Keller, I briefly tried to go see Flight of the Conchords w/Dimitri Martin, buut there was a line for the comedy tent, so I didn’t. In fact, because of that I didn’t see anything in the comedy tent all weekend. Stupid lines. There is so much to do, why would you ever wait in line? I headed back to camp to rinse the dust and what was left of Scooby off me, then grabbed some food for the road, and headed off to see the Police. This is the first time I’ve seen a performance of this size. 50,000+ people all at one stage. I don’t want to do it again. The performance loses its intimacy, and you can’t even see the performers except on the massive video screens. Might as well be watching a dvd. The Police were nothing special. It was rumored that Stewart Copeland was trying to get Sting and Andy Summers to jam, but if they did I didn’t notice. I left less than halfway into their set to get a good spot at the Flaming Lips.