How do you distilll Bonnaroo down to 1 word? Can't. But since Less is More…..how about.. "Happy". Bonnaroo continues to evolve and this year bore little resemblence to the 1st couple of 'roos. Yeah still some homage paid to the JammenBand roots of Roo…Govt. Mule stretched out like in the old days….at 3 o clock on a sun scorched Saturday afternoon. And while there were plenty of acts that may have been unfamiliar to many….they all brought "IT". The electronic/hip hop/scratch/neo-punk element was there….as it should be. The bow to Rock Royalty was done with all honor and glory be-fitting Sir Paul McCartney….He did not disappoint. And those late night shows…..the SuperJams are always breath-taking….and let's not forget the visual/aural/olfactory shows that start at 2 am.
Dwight Yoakum tied it together nicely…he said the Rednecks and the Hippies have been coming together for years…and the lines have blurred….Rednecks don't really wanna fight all the time…and Hippies don't really wanna space out…and that festivals like Bonnaroo bring the musical genres and their fans closer. He noted how Hee Haw was on it's surface really corny…but it had some pretty good music. Buck Owens brought Bakersfield and the Tom Joad/Oakie attitude to the show…..and Roy Clark….he could pick.
Look, take the top 10 stereotypes about Bonnaroo…and the only one that still sticks is the lack of flush toilets. That's it. Plenty of potent smelling weed…..but for Most…it really is all about the music. 280 acts. Everything imaginable…Gregorian chants….punk…roots….rock…All there. For a music fan who likes to experiment….this is the place.
The communal mindset…how everybody watches out for everybody else….nobody's pissed off or fighting…just in the same place enjoying some great music…That's Bonnaroo. There's hipness, there's innocence, there's raw-boned emotion, there's crazy laughter. I give it my Bill B endorsement. Don't want to camp? Drive back to Chattanooga or Nashville after the shows and return the next day. You can sleep when you're dead.
Bonnaroo 2013….sounds silly, but I can't wait til next year. It's just that special. Buy a ticket. You can catch a ride up with me…..I usually leave for home at 5 am.
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