Tag: Music

All Bonnaroo Saga posts: tag/Bonnaroo 07

Mr. Meowskers by The Slip
[audio:http://theslip.com/mp3/TheSlipMrMeowskers.mp3]

I left the site around 11, and I think I was trying to find a tshirt. I knew there was a Bonnaroo merchandise tent somewhere in Centeroo, but I couldn’t find it. I wandered around for a while, looking at some of the other things for sale in Centeroo (nothing really worth buying). Defeated, I headed over to the Sonic Stage to get a good spot for The Slip. The Sonic Stage is a really tiny stage, so almost anywhere you get is a good spot, but I got a spot in the shade right in front of the stage. Shade is important, especially since most of my Sunday shows were out in the sun, away from the tents. The Slip put on a really good show, at least as good as it could be in a half-hour. I really dig the bassist from the Slip. He’s good, and has a lot of fun playing.

I wandered over to see Pete Yorn at the same stage the Flaming Lips had played the night before. There were three trees near this stage (pretty far back, but not far enough so you couldn’t hear or see), and under them were people from one edge of shade to the other. I grabbed a spot in the sun where I figured the shade would be in 10 minutes or so (I was half right: I got partial shade, but that was mostly luck. If I had stayed longer I would have been back out in the sun). Pete Yorn was good, and chill, but not memorable.

I left a little early to go to the Other Tent, but I messed up and ended up at This Tent. I didn’t realize until an hour or so after I got there, and by that time I didn’t really care. So I saw the last bit of Sonya Kitchell’s set, which was also good, and also chill, and also not memorable. But what was good about this was I was in a tent, sitting down, in the shade. There were very few people standing for this show, and I started to realize that Sunday was a chill day, and the folks in charge had constructed it that way on purpose. I’ve got to give them a hand for that. When that set ended I laid down to take a nap, still thinking I was at The Other Tent. I was expecting T-Bone Burnett to come on next.

But when the soundcheck woke me up, it was not T-Bone Burnett on stage. This was about when I realized I was in the wrong tent. Turns out I was watching Elvis Perkins in Dearland. They were running a little late, but the crowd didn’t much care – most people were sitting down or asleep. During the soundcheck he realized one of his microphones didn’t work, so he spun it around toward the crowd and said into the good one, “Fuck it, this can be your mic.” Laughter and applause as the set started. I’d never heard Elvis Perkins before, but I had heard his name. They weren’t bad – I can’t say I remember any of their songs, but I enjoyed the set.

After their set I got up, well rested, and headed over to the mainstage to see Bob Weir and Ratdog. For those of you who don’t know, Bob Weir was one of the original members of the Grateful Dead. So at a fest like Bonnaroo, there were plenty of people in attendance. I stayed for a couple songs…no, maybe it was the rest of the set. That sounds plausible. Ratdog is a decent band, and its nice to hear some old Dead songs from the folks who made them, but there is something off. Maybe its that they’re trying to keep too many elements of the Grateful Dead, maybe its because they’re just a decent band and nothing more. I’m not sure what it is, but I doubt I’d go to see a show with only them.

After Ratdog I was back over to the other large (Which) stage to see the Decemberists. The shadow from those trees was long enough that many more people were shaded, but the crowd was much larger, and all on their feet. I’m alright with the Decemberists, but I didn’t much care to stick around for their live show. Maybe I would have stayed if I had been farther up, or able to sit down, but since neither was the case, I left.

Looking at the schedule now, I probably should have gone to see Ralph Stanley but I didn’t notice he was playing opposite the Decemberists at the time. So I tried again to find that merchandise booth to get a tshirt. When I got there, they were out, so I grabbed a sticker which got added to my laptop once I was home. I wasn’t upset about the tshirt though. There were plenty of people selling either knock-offs or their own versions. Those folks would be around during the mainstage shows, and probably on the road on the way out.

I headed back to the site after this. I had gotten a couple overpriced slices of pizza (the first food I bought during the fest) during Ratdog, but they left me wanting more, and since I would be out all night, I figured I’d go back and get my own food. When I got back Charles and Melissa had packed up and left. That must have been entertaining, considering how they were on their way in. And our neighbors who had invited us over were almost done packing their things. I talked to them and they said they’d stay for the White Stripes and Widespread that night, but they would leave after that to avoid the line in the morning (they were low on gas). I said goodbye, and headed back to Centeroo.

So from there I travelled to Wilco at the mainstage. Again, I sought shade. Here, the only unclaimed shade was next to the garbage cans, and it certainly wasn’t completely unclaimed. I got a spot, and someone shortly filled the rest. Wilco was decent. I’m sure I would have enjoyed this show more on a smaller stage. I’ve yet to hear their new album, but I’ve only heard good things about it.

Next I went to the White Stripes back at Which Stage (ya, its pretty much back and forth all afternoon). By this time pretty much everything was shaded, which was good, because the crowd was as big as ever. They came out, played for an hour or so, and left the stage. It turns out that they were taking a really awkward setbreak, and decided not to tell anyone. Some people left during this, thinking they were done. I was pretty disappointed with their show, and I say that as a fan of their music. I like their albums, and I like what I’ve heard of their live stuff before, but this show wasn’t that great. Plus, it clashed with the feel of the rest of the day.

When the Stripes ended their set, I went back to the mainstage (for the last time) to see Widespread Panic, who had already started. Widespread was really good, and even though they were on the mainstage, I just laid back and closed my eyes. Didn’t bother trying to see them, because I already knew I really couldn’t. Widespread was a really good show, and I wish I could have stayed for all of it. But the dust was at its worst, and I had to leave before started coughing up blood. I’d love to see Widespread again if I get the chance.

When I got back to my site everyone was gone. Not only folks from our site, but from campsites next to ours. They had all packed up and left. My tent was on the corner of the crossroads, and it looked very alone. Since it was early (2300 or so) I just sat at in the entrance of my tent for a while and people watched. While I was sitting there a few people walked by commenting on how empty this place was starting to feel. I popped my head out, “Man, you’re tellin me…” The guy who said it laughed, and then told me that they had figured my tent was abandoned by someone who didn’t feel like bringing it home. After they left, I took what they said to heart and brought all my crap inside my tent so no one would walk off with it thinking it was just left behind. I got to sleep that night earlier than I had in a long time.

All Bonnaroo Saga posts: tag/Bonnaroo 07

From The Flaming Lips I went over to see Gov’t Mule wrapping up their set. I caught the last couple songs, but I could no longer stand. I sat down on the ground right there. I guy in a giant pumpkin head passed by me, dancing to Mule. I couldn’t even stand when the crowd cheered for an encore, but I did stand once I heard them start to play. They were playing War Pigs, the second time I’d heard it that night. Maybe they heard the Lip’s “soundcheck” which is pretty possible, since no one else was playing at that time. Or maybe the subject matter of that song perfectly reflects what so many people, including the artists, are thinking right now. Mule delivered an incredible version that I would prefer to the original. They might have played another song after that, but I don’t know. I sat down after War Pigs and just listened to Mule jam.

An unknown amount of time later they wrapped up. I got up and started to head towards the exit of Centeroo, but on the way I passed The Other Tent (close to the entrance/exit and consistently had good bands). Sasha and Digweed were well into their set. I’d never heard them before, but they have really high energy dance music. Behind them on stage was a rainbow of flashing neon lights. I hadn’t expected to come upon a rave at 4am, but here it was. I stayed for a short short while, but left as exhaustion kicked in. The people in The Other Tent were dancing their asses off, and I just couldn’t do it. I would have loved to, but that day had killed me. I was already going on 16 hours on my feet and dancing, and I just couldn’t do any more. I heard the next day that they went well into the morning, finishing at 8am. I’m not sure if that’s true, but I’ll believe it. Next time I go to Bonnaroo, I’m bringing more Dew.

I floated back to my tent. My body was only sort of working, and my brain definitely wasn’t. What I remember is that as I left, there were still people coming in. Hardcore. Everyone at my campsite had long since passed out, and having nothing to distract me, I crashed hard. It was probably around 4:30.

All Bonnaroo Saga posts: tag/Bonnaroo 07

If you’ve never seen the Flaming Lips live before, watch the above video to get an idea.After twenty minutes or so of The Police, I left to grab a decent spot for the Flaming Lips. I wasn’t the only one with this idea, and there were a couple thousand people in front of the stage when I arrived. It sounded like The Police ended sooner than they were supposed to, and there was a while where there was no music coming from anywhere. Since all the other stages shut down when a headliner is on the mainstage, there wasn’t anyone opposite The Police. And the stages weren’t supposed to start up until midnight. The band was ready long before then, and came out on stage to screw around and make sure everything was in place. When Wayne Coyne came out on stage and looked at the huge crowd already assembled he asked “Did anyone even see the Police?”

Soon they got tired of waiting around for the arbitrary midnight start time. Wayne told the crowd “Alright, so we’re not supposed to start until midnight, so if anyone asks, this is just a soundcheck.” They launched into War Pigs, complete with visuals on the big screen (a semi-circular projection screen) behind them. Full of energy, the crowd was getting into it, and then they finished. I guess they got in trouble, because Wayne came back out and said they’d have to wait until midnight to go on. Some time goes by, and stage hands (I guess) start throwing out little laser pointer keychains from the stage. Soon they were getting thrown from the soundboard as well, but I wasn’t quite close enough to get any. All in all, thousands of these keychains were passed out, and people lit up Which stage with them. The very top, mostly blank space and the name of the stage in huge letters, was swarming with little red dots. Wayne came out on stage, and told everyone that these little ‘cat toys’ were harmless, and they were planning a big stunt with them about 45 minutes into the show, but the batteries don’t last too long, so save the batteries!

More nothing. As we’re waiting, we can see the band just dicking around on stage waiting for midnight to roll around. The stage is still covered in little red dots. But then the smoke machine starts up, and some music starts playing. The massive circular lighting rig above the stage comes to life, shining lights everywhere, strobes and the whole lot. It took me a second to notice, and another second to be sure, but the lighting rig was descending. The entire lighting rig was getting closer and closer to the stage, until suddenly the top was revealed. It was a gigantic space ship! It stopped about ten feet from the stage, and a ladder was brought underneath the ship. The members of the band (except Wayne) descend to massive applause. Then the ship starts to pitch forward, revealing more of the top to us. And sitting on the very top of the space ship is Wayne Coyne in a giant plastic bubble. Think of it as a life-size hamster ball. People around me wonder aloud if he is going to roll down into the crowd (he’s known for crowd-surfing in the bubble) and I admit I was wondering that myself. But he isn’t that crazy, he steps down the side of the ship, still in the bubble, onto the waiting hands of his bandmates and stagehands. They help him onto the crowd and he rolls around on top of his fans for a few minutes as the space ship pitches in the other direction to reveal the bottom. On the bottom are more lights, mirrors, and other things that make a space ship work.

He gets back to the stage right as they start their first song, and the confetti starts to fly. The Flaming Lips like confetti, and I do too. There are two cannons on either side of the stage whose sole purpose is to shoot confetti a hundred feet in the air over the crowd. I’m not even counting the handheld cannons Wayne fired when he felt like it (generally when he wasn’t singing or playing). There was much confetti, which was an awesome sight from afar, but I imagine must be insane up close. Next time I see them, I’m going to have to try to be really close.

After a few songs, the ship starts to right itself, and ascend back up to the top of the stage. We can see the projection screen again, and they make full use of it, including projecting the image from a small camera mounted on Wayne’s microphone. More lights, color, confetti and music. Then came the laser stunt. The screen behind them told us it was time, and counted down from 10 to SHOOT WAYNE at which point everyone in the audience with a pointer aimed it at the lead singer. He was ready for them, with a massive mirror he held up, reflecting the beams in every direction. This would have been boring as hell had it not been for the smoke machine showing the path of every single beam. You can interpret that metaphorically however you would like, but I’m going to stick with the visual. It was an incredible effect, and I wouldn’t like any deeper meaning to cheapen the memory of that. As it was with most of the stunts they did that night, the crowd was stunned silent. Maybe that isn’t true. Maybe I was so mesmerized that I didn’t hear them. I was awestruck, and I can only think that everyone else was as well, because I don’t remember hearing them.

Near the end of the show, they did the leaf-blower-balloon thing shown in the video above. One hitch: the balloon popped too early, and the band wasn’t ready to cut the music, so the held the crescendo while Wayne got another balloon to attach to the leaf-blower and inflate again. This was taken pretty lightly by everyone, including Wayne who I noticed pointing an accusing finger at the band (for not cutting on time) with a smile on his face. And it is a pretty cool trick, we just got to see it twice. :)

They inflated a giant white balloon and sent it out into the crowd, who shined their lasers onto it as it bounced above the fans. There were probably fifty other balloons that had been bouncing around all show, but this one had lasers on it, which made it special. Wayne even commented “Man that’s cool.”

Soon after they left the stage, but not after shooting off all the confetti they had left. They unloaded all the handheld cannons and the two massive cannons must have fired for a solid minute. They left the stage, and the crowd exploded. And then a new thought entered my mind: what about the encore? The crowd was obviously not going to be happy unless the band came back on, but how could they possibly top that? That was the best live show I had ever seen, and the crowd wanted more. I imagined them backstage trying to scrap together different props in order to make a decent encore stunt. But they were more prepared than I was for an encore, because as they came back on stage and started to play, the ship started to descend. And one by one they climbed up the latter into the ship, Wayne waving goodbye to the crowd as he ascended last. And then, with as many lights as before, the ship went back up.

Once the ship was up, the house music came on. And what was the choice to follow such a show? Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World. Everyone who knew the lyrics (and let’s face it: who doesn’t?) sang along. That was a perfect choice after seeing a show like that.

The show was over, but damn. What a show. I haven’t ever seen a live show so enthralling or enchanting in my whole life. There was much more than what I’ve written, but words are so dry I couldn’t even begin to describe it and give it the justice it deserves. If a DVD of this show ever became available, I’d buy it. If the Bonnaroo 2007 DVD includes clips of this show, I’ll buy it. Nothing short of being there can ever convey that feeling. I can’t wait until my pictures are developed; I must have spent half a roll on that show alone.

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.

All Bonnaroo Saga posts: tag/Bonnaroo 07

Eat My Dust by String Cheese Incident
[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/sci1996-08-11.sbd.flac16/sci1996-08-11d1t09_64kb.mp3]

Manchester, TN

So Charles, Melissa, and I made basecamp underneath a row of payphones. Melissa is pretty ditzy, but nice. She wore a long skirt and had hair that reached her waist. Charles has long blonde hair and a beard which is still shorter than his hair, for now. He said he grew the beard so people would stop mistaking him for a chick. I think that is only a half joke. While we were sitting under the payphones, one of them rings. Melissa answers it, and the chick on the other end asks for someone named Johnny. Melissa steps over to the main area of the terminal where most people are waiting for their buses to arrive, and calls out for Johnny, yelling that he has a phone call. Johnny is in his late twenties, he has short trimmed hair, and lots of peircings and tattoos. He notices our bags and general appearance and asks if we’re going to Bonnaroo. We find out he had just come from there, and had a pretty crappy experience. He had been lead to believe that someone would supply him with a ticket, but that never happened, and since he didn’t have thte moneyy to grab one from a scalper, he just walked away. What makes this such a crappy experience is that he was now in the middle of Tennessee for no reason. So he was now on his way home, waiting for a bus at 0600 the next morning. He was trying to coordinate something with his girlfriend (the girl calling the payphone). Johnny was an interesting guy, heavy into alternative life styles and body mods. Another interesting thing to note: he is friends with Lizardman. Besides that, he is part of a suspension team, gauged his earlobes, and split his tongue. He also raised and owns a couple Boa Constrictors. An interesting guy with lots of good stories, Johnny was a good addition to our group. So he hung out with us for a while until Charles and Melissa decided to his up a nearby pub with live irish music. Johnny joined them, but I stayed behind. I like Irish music well enough, but pubs less so, especially if I haven’t had much sleep. So my plan was to catch up on this journal, then catch a little snooze. Not long after they left, Johnny returned alone. He told me he tuned back after two blocks, favoring sleep. He went to go find an empty bench to sleep on, and I finished writing, still sitting under the phones. Once I was done I went to the bathroom to wash up and shave while I still had running water (shaving sucks when you’re camping). Charles came into the bathroom about a minute after I did, so I took my time knowing someone would be watching our bags. When I got out, the terminal was crowded, and it had been nearly empty when I went in. I couldn’t find my bags, or Charles and Melissa. Just then, Melissa bumped into me on her way to the bathroom, and let me know they have moved outside so they didn’t have to deal with all those people. I’m not sure what happened to Johnny, I think some people may have sat on him.

Outside, it was much quieter, and actually more comfortable. We had befriended the security guard inside when he learned that he came from the same area as C&M. We made friends with the next guard as well, when the first’s shift was over. Turns out the next guard also hailed from that area. What are the odds? They provided sporadic company as they made their rounds throughout the building. It seems their main duty is to keep people from smoking out front, as well as keeping panhandelers away. Those two things are more related than you may think. The reason they don’t want people smoking out front is because it gives a big target for panhandelers.

Another guy waiting for a bus joined us outside. He had just gotten out of jail, and was on parole. He had been to Bonnaroo in years past, and told us some tales of sneaking into the fest in the old days. In case you’re wondering, he got busted at a Particle concert and did 14 months. He was who I talked to most in the early morning hours. Charles had gone inside to crash and Melissa had fallen asleep on her luggage out front with us. This guy, I’ll call him Todd, was a big jamfan. It was refreshing to talk to someone who appreciated the music, because C&M weren’t big jamfans. We talked about the bands at Bonnaroo and other festivals and shows or experiences we’d had in the past. As the sun started to come up, he went inside to catch his bus. I figured I’d go inside when the street lights went out, which somehow managed to be about the same time Melissa got up. We went inside, found Charles, and found new places to sleep. Charles and I grabbed a spot on the floor between two benches, and I managed to get about an hour of sleep before some employee woke me up and told me to move. C&M moved to take over more than half of a bench, and I sat down on another one, using the cooler they brought as a legrest. In case you don’t know, bus station terminal benches are the most uncomfortable things ever. After an hour you lose feeling in various body parts, which makes any decent amount of sleep difficult. C&M pulled it off, however, sleeping until 10. I got an hour here and there, but spent most of my time staring at the wall and listening to CNN on the TV above me.

Around 0930, people started to arrive in the terminal (before that, it had just been us and the employees). A good number of them were headed to Bonnaroo. They weren’t as late as we were, however, and had planned on arriving on Friday. When Charles woke up, he found himself surrounded by Amish people. Its true: the amish travel by Greyhound. He reaction as he looked around him was priceless. We got on the bus at 11, and arrived in Manchester soon after (about noon?). We got a ride to the main entrance from a local guy trying to make a buck by serving as a shuttle. He told us that someone had already died, although he didn’t know how (probably drugs or dehydration). Once inside, we start to head to tent-only camping, but it is really hot and C&M didn’t have bags designed for ease of carry (a sleeping bag was tied on to their suitcase using ethernet cable). So at one of our breaks, a fella walks over and offers us a spot next to them on the corner of a crossroad. Its a good spot, and since we don’t really know where we were headed to, we accept. [NOTE: if you ever travel and have to rely on the kindness of strangers, it is very very helpful to have a female with you. Melissa is the sole reason we got this spot.] Unfortunately, these guys are part of the new fraty crowd at festivals, and as I write this I hear people commenting about the disarray of their site. Two even stopped to take pictures. But that’s ok. I can have jerks for neighbors since I won’t be spending much time at camp.

After setting up camp, C&M&I go to explore Centeroo. And after a brief setback (Melissa forgot she left her acid in her purse, so we had to go back to camp to leave it there) we were in Centeroo. I got to catch the last few songs of Tortise (who are very good). From there I saw Kings of Leon (also good), the Nightwatchman (good, but annoying), Dierks Bently (less good), and lastly the Black Keys (best). At Kings of Leon, the guy standing in front of me lost his balance and collapsed. He was on the ground and not moving when his buddy started to leave and get help. He didn’t get more than three steps away before his fallen comrade was back on his feet, albeit shakily. I’m not sure what happened, he’d been smoking pot, but that shouldn’t have had this effect on him. Maybe the sun? Either way his friends brought him out of the crowd. At the Nightwatchman show, Tom Morello amused me. He is a good guitarist, but all of his music is very political. At one point, when talking about the verses commonly removed from Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land he said “God forbid you should come to a Nightwatchman show and think for yourself!” and everyone cheered. In the middle of his very next song he said “Now pump your fists!” right before he soloed. The crowd, of course, obliged. Way to think for yourselves, guys. This happened a few more times in a couple other forms before his set ended. I went to see Dierks Bently because it was said that Sam Bush would be joining him. After two songs, Sammy wasn’t on stage, and the music sucked, so I left. The Black Keys put on a hell of a show. The tiny tent they were in was packed, so I decided to sit outside and stay cool instead of standing in a crowd of warm bodies. While the show was great, my seat was not. I got covered in dust from foot traffic (unavoidable). I’ve been steadily coughing it up since then. But the Black Keys: thumbs up. I skipped Tool because I could hear them from my tent. I’m about to head out to see The String Cheese Incident, who are on their last tour with Bill Nershi. Can’t miss that. I’ll write more later.