Remembering Bonnaroo ‘07…

 I went to Bonnaroo last summer, and I just found this piece I wrote the day or two after I got back.  I had some amazing and strange experiences at the ‘Roo, and I definitely plan on going back this year.  The lineup looks pristine.

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I attended Bonnaroo over the weekend. It was slightly amazing. Thursday and Friday were decent, but Saturday and Sunday made everything worth it. Undeterred by a nose full of mucus, a throat full of thorns, and a head full of pressure, I braved the Tennessee heat to watch Old Crow Medicine show. Me and Trey had just met up with friends, but they wanted to go see someone else, and we were going to go with them, but as we began to walk by OCMS, they started to play “Wagon Wheel”. We never saw our friends again.

Immediately after that show, we pushed forward to steal a shade spot. There were four trees at that stage, and there are no reservations. We got a spot, and waited for Regina Spektor. The show was probably the most soulful performance by someone not in a Motown band. We decided to skip the next show (The Hold Steady), and go wait for Regina’s autograph. Pushing people, oppressive sun, Trey and I were separated for an hour and a half, and I swear someone was swinging a sledgehammer right at my temples. The line moved, as lines tend to do, and I realized I had neither something to sign or money to buy anything to sign, so I took my shirt (A wonderful gift from a friend), and presented it to Regina when my turn came. She laughed at the dancing 1930’s-style cartoon, and gave it an arrow. Of course, she added “Regina is here” to the arrow. It was touching.

The Hold Steady being almost over by that time, we headed back to camp to eat and for me to get a new shirt. We finally got Eddie on the phone. He was at the Spoon concert, and wanted us to meet him there with food for him. Being hungry ourselves, we snacked on sandwiches and Beanie Weenies, then packed up more for him. We found him passed out underneath a tree beside Spoon, and after a second of wondering what to do, he woke up, and Trey and I decided to go watch Franz Ferdinand instead. We didn’t want to get too close and stand next to sweaty rock dudes, so we hung out behind the trees. We sat for a while, and Trey then exclaimed “That’s Colin Meloy!!!!!!!!” and sure enough, it was. We hugged (Colin, not each other), and talked for a second, then talked to the rest of the band. Last thing I remember is him saying “I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow” and me being a sarcastic jackass and saying “Well, you won’t see us, but we’ll probably see you”.

We left Franz early to eat and prepare for the next batch of shows, The Police and The Flaming Lips. We decided to skip the Police to nab a good seat for the Lips. Trey disappeared (We found out later he was hitting on girls), so Eddie and I headed to The Lips. He decided to “enhance his mind”, and borrowed 15 bucks for the occasion. That brings his tab up to $260.

Sitting in our spots at the Flaming Lips, we are talking music with a remarkably familiar person, and I decided to use the bathroom after chugging a bottle of water. On my way over, a guy stopped me and said “Do you go to Vanderbilt?”, “Yeah, I’m going in next year” “Me too” “Were you at orientation…Eighth and Ninth!….SAOP!…We played freaking Apples to Apples together man!!!” I then pissed and walked back to camp. He came over with his group, and we watched the Lips together. They defy description live. All I will say is that I enjoyed their soundcheck, and fuck the Police.

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I figured that all those unconvinced of the beauty of Bonnaroo would be helped by this account from last year.  Make sure you go to Manchester Tennessee this June, and partake of the Bonnaroo with me.

Cheers,

Mikil