Oh, Bonnaroo. What an experience you were!
Something always goes wrong gearing up to a big event & this was no exception. This time, it was the tickets. I was packed & driving to LR before I realized something: the tickets were in DALLAS. You see, Bryan drove to Dallas with Ganon so that Ganon could have a week with Mimi & Augie. We had switched Bryan's suitcase at the last minute, and I didn't realize at the time that I hadn't gotten the Bonnaroo tickets out! I called Bryan, who called Mimi, who found the tickets & put Ganon in the car and rushed to Love Field to get Bryan the tickets just in time for him to make it back through security & slide onto his plane. Crisis averted, heart attacks ceased. Mimi for the win!
I picked Bryan up at 10:30 pm at the Little Rock airport. This isn't as bad as it sounds; I worked the day before and had slept all day. It was the perfect setup to driving at night, you know? So I did. He slept most of the ride after we stopped a couple of times for food & gas. We hit Nashville at sunrise and y'all, that gorgeous skyline glittering in the sunrise was breathtaking. I was driving, otherwise you'd have a photo. Little Rock currently has my heart, but Nashville…man. Another big city with mountains & lots of trees. Nashville. I think I'd like to get to know you better. Wanna go out for a coffee? ^_~
The Bonnaroo app directions told us to get off I-24 at exit 111, but the Manchester police had another plan. They routed eastbound I-24 Bonnaroo traffic to EXIT 127. o_O We stopped for gas at 114, and it was a good thing, too. We got into the Bonnaroo traffic line around 6:30am and pulled into our parking/camping spot just after NOON. Yes indeed, y'all. That's a long line. Through the center of nowhere. But we made it eventually.
That's when the first hilarious story from Bonnaroo happened. We were setting the tent up; in fact, we were seriously just unrolling it on the ground & I was looking for the big tent stakes when a man walked up to me. "Need to buy some shroomies?" That was the moment I realized something. This was it. All those years of "just say no" and honest-to-God--this was the first time I'd ever had to use it. At 31 years old, at my first camp-out music festival, I had just been offered drugs for the first time in my very sheltered, privileged life. It was certainly not that hard to say no…I hate feeling drugged. It just runs counter to everything I'm about. Bonus: I have a license & I'd like to keep it. Our hospital seems to drug test more often than most and in any case, there's no way I'm ingesting something sold out of pockets in music festival campgrounds. The biggest danger of illegal drugs is not what you think you're buying, but what you don't know they've put IN it! We felt like the only ones not partaking. It wasn't enough to get a contact high because you were always outside & therefore well-ventilated, but it was enough to become extremely irritating if you don't like the smell of marijuana, and I don't!
In addition to the ever-present, headache-inducing, all-pervasive scent of WEED at Bonnaroo, there was another recurring theme: SKIN. I have never seen so many people running about in various states of undress. I'm not just talking girls in string bikinis, though there were more of those than I ever thought to see in one spot. I'm talking guys in speedos & no shirts. Topless people of both genders (though all the shirtless boobs were painted to look like they weren't). People running around in shirts with no pants. I even saw one guy in his boxer briefs. Seriously just walking around in his underwear, and I know they were underwear & not a pair of bike shorts because they're they exact same brand Bryan wears. I wash underwear just like that all the time. Another skin-related theme was tattoos. You know the phrase "tattooed freak"? At 'Roo, it was "un-tattooed freak". I looked like a raging conservative with my one, small DMB rings tattoo on my wrist, and Bryan looked like an outright prude, with his perfectly unadorned skin. I'm pretty sure I've now seen a tattoo of EVERYTHING. Clowns, flowers, insects, band logos, cartoon characters, quotes, portraits, original characters, names, dates, the Twin Towers (not joking), zippers, handprints, one giant butt over a city skyline, and the guy with a tattoo of a mustache'd piece of toast smoking a cigarette in a holder & wearing a beret.
Me: *grinning* I like your French toast, there.
Him: HEY, THANKS! It's so nice not to have to translate that for someone!
Didn't see much music on Thursday. Mostly we just went in, scouted the food situation, ate some, and got the lay of the land. We determined the spot we'd probably sit in the mornings, looked at Planet Roo, & I signed the registry to become a bone marrow donor. One more step in my quest to save the world! Then we went back to the tent and I crashed harder than I have a word for. I don't remember falling asleep, and I don't remember dreaming.
Woke up in the morning with my back hurting like crazy and sweating bullets. The girls on my favorite thread at Inforoo had told me it got freezing cold at night but I didn't believe them, and so did not pack for that. THAT WAS NOT A LOSS. This year (and they swear to me on Inforoo.com it's the first time EVER) IT DID NOT get cold at night. I slept on top of my sleeping bag in a pair of scrub pants (just for the help with the sweaty sticky feeling) and my spaghetti strap tanks, and most of the night I went without covers. When I did use a blanket, it was simply a cheap twin sheet from Wal-Mart. I didn't need any more than that. The heat woke us up daily about 7am, when we had to flee the tent or roast alive. Each morning we started the car and got dressed in the air conditioning while we charged our iPhones.
Friday: This was the day we stage-hopped. We had a list of people I wanted to see, and we went from stage to stage catching them. I DON'T RECOMMEND THAT. Y'all, it was too hot and that involved too much walking. In the morning (and every morning) before most of the music started, we'd sit in the Sonic Cafe next to the Sonic Stage and just enjoy the shade & sometimes a breeze. I drank one glass of iced coffee per day; caffeine is a diuretic and I had 2 reasons for avoiding it: 1) Anything that made me need to pee meant using a port-o-potty more than absolutely necessary, and 2) DEHYDRATION. No alcohol for either me or Bryan; again, it's a diuretic and WHOA was it expensive at 'Roo. The only thing I considered was a tiny cider from the Woodchuck Cider stand in The Brooers' Festival, and even that was $3 for 3 ounces! No thanks. Acts: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Conan O'Brien, Gossip, Tenacious D. Gossip (punk rock) was the real stand out; Beth Ditto sounds just the same live as she does on her albums, which is to say GREAT. Her voice is powerful and melodic. The band is awesome, the songs are stellar. I left a much bigger fan, and Bryan discovered himself a new band. :) Tenacious D was fun to see, but I doubt we run out & buy any albums. The best part of that was The Metal coming out on stage; it was a VERY TALL man in a giant suit of armor! He was on stage for the duration of the Ballad of the Metal, in which he smites all other musical genres to the ground. And then he smote Jack Black to the ground. Note: when in need of extra syllables for a lyric, Tenacious D defaults to the F-bomb.
Saturday: This was the day we discovered stage stalking. On Friday we laid out our towels on the ground beneath the trees near the Which Stage and just stayed there all day. We alternated going to get food & drinks & bathroom breaks, and otherwise we just hung out. You know what? It was perfect. It was seriously the way I thought a music festival should be and I had a great time. My only problem was that I felt kind of gross all day. I think it was a combo of heat exhaustion & eating mostly fried food. On the plus side, my mood was 10 points better because I'd washed my hair that morning! We had gone to great lengths to make sure we had enough water for me to wash my hair the next day & it worked! I just stood outside the Element & washed it with bottles & my head hanging upside down. So refreshing! Acts: Rebelution, Trombone Shorty, Baaba Maal, Norah Jones, the Avett Brothers, and Weezer. This was a standout day because so many acts were so good. I came home and immediately downloaded music by Rebelution, Trombone Shorty, & the Avett Brothers (we already own all the Weezer albums). Rebelution is a great funk group, Trombone Shorty is jazz, Baaba Maal is African tribal fused with pop, Norah Jones is easy listening, the Avett Brothers are…something alternative-ish…and Weezer is Weezer, yo.
Sunday: This was it. The day I showed what kind of DMB fan I am. This day we planned to be there when the What Stage gates opened at noon, run toward the stage, and get the best possible spot for the DMB show. As we stood outside the gate after filling all our bottles at the filtered water station, I mentioned to Bryan that we needed to find some other DMB fans, "join their party" in RPG terms, and all get a good spot together. Just as I said that, 2 guys in lawn chairs (with a 3rd guy sleeping on the ground behind them) looked over their shoulders at me simultaneously and said "Hi!" I grinned at them. Their names turned out to be Mike, Josh, & John, and I'll just go ahead & say that my concert experience was leaps & bounds better because we met them. I have since friended them on Facebook & they'll probably read this! *waves to the Superfans, which name I have collectively given them in my head* We talked DMB until the gates opened, at which point Josh & Bryan hauled their butts at top speed to the stage, with me, John, & Mike following with most of the stuff. Thanks to Josh, we got PRIME spots. He's fast as lightning, and we were almost dead center right at the railing where general seating ended & the pit began.
Thus began a day of extremes. It was extremely hot & humid. We were in direct sunlight all day. It beat down on us; I know that's a very tired cliché but there is simply no other way to express how it felt. It's like we were being cooked; like the heat was directed at us specifically. We slathered in sunscreen all day. We took turns going off to the bathroom and getting food & drinks. Mostly we sat around & talked about life, jobs, college, families, other friends, and DMB. It was actually really engaging the whole time; all 3 of the other Superfans were extremely vivid, interesting people. Bands came & went across the stage and we saw some REALLY impressive stuff. Acts: John Butler Trio, John Fogerty, Zac Brown Band, Dave Matthews Band.
The biggest up & down of the day came at 5pm, when I got a voice mail saying I had won something I'd signed up for. Specifically, A MEET & GREET WITH STEFAN LESSARD. You know, THE GUY WHO PLAYS BASS FOR DMB. I jumped up, screamed, told Bryan, and ran to listen to the rest of the voice mail (it was too loud during John Fogerty to hear properly; I had to run across the What field). It was then I realized the voicemail had been sent at noon. I hightailed it to the Ben & Jerry's tent, but there was nothing to be done. The meet & greet had happened at 3pm; I'd missed it completely. No consolation prize, no nothing. If I had an AT&T executive right there, I would have kicked them in the face for the quality of their data network. :( The woman at the booth remembered me from the signup; she'd asked me if I was a fan & I had told her YES, and showed her my tattoo. She said people had been signing up even if they didn't like DMB, and she hoped it was fans like me who won. Well, when it turned out to be me who missed it, she was SO disappointed. When I ran up & told her my name & what had happened, she goes "OH NO, IT WAS YOU!!!"
Of course you know I adored the DMB set. Do I have to even say it? They played Lying in the Hands of God and Time Bomb, which means that I've now heard the entire Big Whiskey album in its entirety. Woo hoo! They did not utilize Jeff & Rashawn enough for me; it seemed like every time there was a good spot for a long, jamming solo, it always went to Tim. Don't misunderstand me; Tim is an amazing artist and he's gifted at what he does. It's just that, well, EVERY band has someone who shreds. Every band has a guitar. Not every band has a violin or a trumpet or a sax. Those are what I love most about DMB; those instruments that give it a completely different sound. That's what I always want to hear more of. But it was good nonetheless. They played You Might Die Trying, Seven, Cornbread, and Jimi Thing with the Sexy MF'er outro--all are big favorites of mine. :)
The REAL discovery of the day, though, was John Butler Trio! Both Bryan & I were beyond impressed: me with the music & Bryan with John Butler personally. Every member of that band was massively talented and the music was just…wow. What Bryan noticed about Mr. Butler is that he was very genuine. He started off talking about respect for the land & the ancestors of everyone present, and at one point he mentioned the Gulf oil disaster. He was so ANGRY about it, taking it so seriously and so personally, that he got tripped up and mixed up his words. And that was appealing. He meant everything he said; he wasn't paying lip service to anything. Later on, he said that some people had jobs they loved and they really did what their souls wanted to do, and that there was nothing more amazing than that (of course I started screaming & clapping there, and people looked at me funny). For everyone else, he said, "Consider not going back!" He meant it. And while I'm not proposing that everyone who is dissatisfied with their job should go quit NOW, I agree with him. Identify your dream job, the thing you most want to do deep in your soul, and find a way to do it for a living. Take steps toward it: go to school if you have to, move geographically. Do something, but please, move toward it. Also, he mentioned the "revolution" and how it isn't "about" to begin, and it hasn't ended--that is is ongoing. You do not start the revolution--you join it. I can't even tell you how deeply that resonated with me. Anyway, that aspect of his show was really intriguing. His pure talent on every stringed instrument he picked up…wow. Just wow. I turned to Bryan & told him I was going straight home & downloading this guy's latest album. Another impressive thing was at the end, when all 3 players started drumming. The drummer stayed at his kit but the other 2 had 2 drums each and they…wow. That was a BLOW YOUR MIND moment. I had to catch my breath. I also had to catch my breath during an instrumental solo song Mr. Butler played. There was such emotion poured into that music; it went from bright to sinister to foreboding to determined and back a thousand times. I am going to buy all of their albums; I have already purchased one.
More later, possibly. I'm off to nap again before work tonight. 7p to 7a; it's back to the hospital for me!
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