For the past few years, people have been telling me about their amazing experiences at Bonnaroo. I was thoroughly convinced after a security guard at last year’s ACL Fest went on and on about how it’s the festival he looks forward to most every year. The lineup added fuel to the fire. After a 15-hour overnight drive, I arrived in Manchester, Tenn., in the pouring rain.
Within the first 10 minutes, I ran into three friends from Austin. After getting the campsite set up as much as one can in stormy weather, it was time to check out the grounds. The first thing that struck me as different than all the other festivals is the amount of stuff you can do without catching a single act. There was the Silent Disco – a tent where everyone was handed headphones playing the same music and told to jam out in their own way. There was a ferris wheel, peepshow, music trivia in the FuseTV house, and booths galore. I had to save my energy though, because the music went until 4am.
Highlights:
Extremely friendly staff
Clean Port-A-Potties
Arepas
The air-conditioned comedy tent
Watching a press panel (headed by Andy Langer) where Janeane Garofalo and Ani DiFranco got into it over Obama
Seeing Nine Inch Nails perform for over three hours in what turned out to be their last U.S. show ever
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Shooting Crystal Castles (dark stage, single strobe light)
Watching Public Enemy play “It Takes a Nation of Millions”
Standing 10 feet from an extremely energetic Drew Barrymore
Sleeping in the tent in pouring rain during Paul Oakenfold’s set
Lowlights:
Animal Collective (I still don’t get it)
Losing a flip-flop sometime Thursday night
The worst $10 burrito known to mankind
Trying to sleep through my drugged-out neighbor, Bubs, and
his early-morning antics
Extremely cramped camping grounds
$3.50 for a tiny bag of ice
By the end of the four-day festivities, I was ready for a real shower and real sleep.
This article appears in June 19 • 2009.