True Roo Part 3: Bonnaroo Sunday (Manchester, TN; June 14, 2009)

True Roo Part 3: Bonnaroo Sunday June 14th, 2009

Four days. 18 hours in the car. 25 shows. 40 hours on my feet. Two long recaps written. 10 total hours of sleep, all on the ground. 0 showers. Images of Frodo and Sam summoning every last fiber of their beings to climb the final ledges of Mount Doom dancing in my head. One day to go. Bonnaroo, I will conquer you . . . .

First stop was with the first lady of neo-soul, Erykah Badu. Things started rather ominously as the band came on 28 minutes late, a little strange for the first show of the day and not really fair to other bands who could have had more people watching them instead of waiting for this show. The band then started a simple 2-bar funk vamp and we’re waiting for Badu to appear . . . and still waiting . . . and waiting some more. 5 minutes into this vamp the band sounds like a broken record. 7 minutes in and the backup singers are looking around uncomfortably as if they’re not sure if Badu is going to make it. 9 minutes of the same 2-bar phrase and I’m starting to wonder if we’re about to experience a Kanye-esque Bonnaroo no-show. Finally, 38 minutes after her scheduled set started, Badu took the stage to a much tamer crowd reception than she would have gotten had she come on 1 or 2 minutes after the band instead of 10 minutes after. Not helping matters was the fact that you couldn’t see her. She was wearing a Public Enemy hoodie with the hood up and pulled tight and enormous shades that covered the rest of her face. We were basically watching a swatch of cotton, a piece of plastic, and a mouth performing. OK fine, so we’re off to a rough start, maybe this is still salvageable . . . .

Well, you can call Tyrone and tell him that Erykah Badu pulled this one right out of the fire! She opened with “The Healer,” and within the first minute got a huge response for the “hip-hop is bigger than the government” line. The set carried on from there including stirring versions of “Me” and “Other Side of the Game” complete with big breaks, badass beats, badubadu, and banging samples of everything from Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay” to Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” At some point she also lost the hoodie and the shades, which really brought her soulful expressions to full effect. By the time she walked off the stage to a raucous ovation, she was the envy of the women and she ruled the men. I don’t know how she did it, but she pulled this show from starting down at “WTF” level all the way up to one of my top 3 shows of the entire weekend along with Mars Volta and Girl Talk. Way to go Badu!

At this point, it is now a lovely Sunday afternoon. Sun is shining, birds are winging, hippies are twirling, the breeze gently caresses your face as we pass the time lazily somewhere in rural Tennessee. What better time and place to enjoy the delicate, mellifluous, introspective sounds of SNOOP DOGG MUTHAFUCKER! Bow wow wow. This was a really fun show, with the highest sing-along factor of anyone I saw this weekend. Everybody knows these joints, and if you don’t you can go watch Band of Horses on the other stage. The DJ cut different joints together, both to keep the party going and to carefully avoid other rappers’ verses. My only regrets about this show were not thinking to pack gin and juice with me, and Snoop never said “fo shizzle.” Other than that it was great. I’m glad the show really was good, because even if it hadn’t been I would lie and say that it was awesome because when you dis Snoop you dis yourself beyotch. Hellz yeah.

After Snoop I did my best gangsta stroll over to Coheed and Cambria, who were totally shredding their tent to pieces. They had a great crowd who were way into the set. I didn’t know much about these guys heading in other than that I wanted to see them. It turned out to be another unexpectedly great show. I love when that happens. The only song I know was a cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Rain,” which came off very well. The rest of their dark rock ballads were deep enough to make me feel their pain and angst, but just soulful enough to prevent me from putting my elbow into someone’s eye.

Finally, closing out Bonnaroo was our second serving of some little jam outfit from Vermont called Phish. With no other bands playing anywhere else, you could sense a family-like vibe in the air as friends all gathered together for this last show of a truly incredible weekend. Phish’s first set all the way up through “Antelope” was tight and very straightforward. It was entertaining but not exactly spellbinding or anything. It was cool to get a 100% old-school setlist even though I have been enjoying all the new tunes a lot. Then after “Antelope,” The Big Moment of Bonnaroo came. Guitarist Trey Anastasio began talking about the first concert he ever went to as a boy growing up in New Jersey. Throughout the story, he did a good job of not revealing what concert it was until the very last line when he said, “We’d like to bring up Bruce Springsteen.” I have to admit, my whole crew and I were literally jumping up and down with excitement, and this is coming from someone who skipped Springsteen’s show Saturday. I was pumped way beyond I thought I would be, I think because after seeing about 25 shows over 4 days, we all instantly knew this was The Big Moment that culminated everything. Of course, what better way to start a sit-in than with the most popular rock cover of all time, “Mustang Sally.” Trey had a HUGE grin on his face as he wanked away with his self-described “boyhood idol.” Everyone was having a great time both on stage and in the crowd. Yeah, it might not be The Most Epic Jam In History on the recordings, but when the specialness of a moment is instantly and unanimously evident to the people at the event, that’s what it is really all about. I’m not a Springsteen fan, but you better believe I was belting out “Glory Days” at the top of my lungs along with all the other fans. This was a truly great guest appearance. Whoever shelled out the 50 grand to get Bruce to play three songs on Sunday, it was worth it!

Second set turned first set on its head and really came out jam-heavy. “Rock and Roll” > “Light” > “46 Days” was money. Both segue jams were meaningful, extended, and melted smoothly into the next tune. Now that it is evident that the musicians are consistently tight on the songs they are playing, this is the aspect of their game that I’m looking for to fully come back. Excellent jams to start this set. The rest of the set was more on the mellow/happy trip with “Limb By Limb,” “Farmhouse,” “Backwards Down The Number Line,” and “Prince Caspian.” “Backwards” is really a nice addition to the repertoire, they just need to iron out the start a bit. It starts very abruptly and they’re 0-for-3 in nailing the start on versions I’ve heard. “First Tube” rocked but was out of place as the closer here. After four major-key, happy-jam rock tunes, it was not the time to suddenly move into the electro- jams and then close abruptly. “Loving Cup,” “Bug,” or “Theme From the Bottom” would have worked better here, to name a few. But anyhow, overall it was fine and the “Suzy Greenberg > Tweezer Reprise” encore was a fantastic way to close this amazing weeekend.

Overall—what can I say—Phish definitely proved why they were headlining two nights at one of the biggest, baddest music festivals in America. They gave us a huge moment with Springsteen. I thought this festival was the right time to pull one monster original back out of the bag that they haven’t played since coming back: namely “The Curtain,” “Harpua,” “Forbin’s Ascent,” or “McGrupp.” I guess we’ll have to keep waiting for those while they sharpen the saw on everything else, but overall The Comeback is going as well as anyone could have asked. There is even clear improvement from show to show. Having Phish around is already fun and only going to get better!

If this weekend taught me anything though, it’s that Phish better keep working hard to stay on top of their game, because there are a lot of great acts out there doing fresh new things who are hot on Phish’s tail and ready to steal attention if Phish slips. Girl Talk and Pretty Lights definitely drew people out of Phish early on Friday night, which isn’t that significant from a practical standpoint, but from a symbolic standpoint I think it means a lot. Phish is at or near the center of the musical world for a lot of people, but that world is much bigger, more interesting, and more accessible than it was just 5 years ago when Phish stopped playing. Options are unlimited and attention spans are short. I hope Phish realizes that once the novelty of The Comeback wears off after New Year’s, they will have to battle for people’s attention and ticket dollars. This is the best thing possible for them and for the fans, as it will force them get after this comeback 100%. I look forward to the second leg of tour. To everyone still working on getting to your first show since the comeback: Get pumped and get out there . . . you’re going to like what you see!

Finally, I have to say that I trekked 18 hours each way to Bonnaroo 2009 because for my tastes it looked like hands-down the greatest lineup of any festival of my lifetime . . . and that was BEFORE they added two nights of Phish. In the end, it was everything I hoped for and more. The Superfly Productions crew have always had the jaw-dropping lineups, but since I came to the first Bonnaroo in 2002 they are light-years ahead of where they were from a setup and infrastructure perspective. The fest grounds and all facilities were incredibly well-run and the sound and light production at all of the stages were superb. It was completely worth the time, money, and titanic personal energy demanded. Thank you to my traveling crew, all of the people who worked at the fest, and the all of the performers for one of the most rewarding excursions of my life.

If you’re considering attending this fest next year, my only advice is:

JUST ROO IT.

Bonnaroo review to your liking? You'll sweat:

True Roo Part 2: Bonnaroo Saturday Report (June 13, 2009)

True Roo: Bonnaroo Friday Report (June 12, 2009)

Thao Nguyen - Waterloo Park (SXSW 2009; March 21)

PHINALLY - Phish’s Triumphant Comeback Makes Life Complete Again (Hampton, VA; March 6, 2009)

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