Bonnaroo Day 2
June 19th, 2007This was our biggest, longest day. Since we weren’t camping there we had to factor a commute of about 25 minutes or so each way. I thought I would have time each day to recap and post a few photos from the day. I was mistaken. I also thought I’d have time to walk around and take photos, one of my favorite things to do when traveling. I was mistaken.
When we checked into the hotel, we were given a smoking room that had been previously inhabited by 30 ton bales of burning tobacco leaves. We kept at the front desk, asking repeatedly for a third bed so that the three of us could have our own space. The beds were full-sized, so co-sleeping was not an option. After the third shift change, the front desk guy scored a rollaway bed and gave us a new, smoke-free room. We were moved Friday morning right as we were getting ready to depart. Upon returning, we discovered the WiFi wasn’t so hot in the new room, making any updates an effort in futility. Apologies, gentle readers for the inconvenience.
Today was the most crowded and insane day of Bonnaroo. People everywhere, worse than Disneyland and four times as hot. Extra dust was trucked in at great expense. I bought a bandanna Friday night after I saw McQueen put his to good use as a cooling mechanism and other people using them as dust masks. It was one of the cheapest and best pieces of gear ever. Except the inflatable chair that also functioned as a nap mat.
Today we saw:
Old Crow Medicine Show–We got a nice open spot fairly close to the stage. We stayed for the whole set and it was a nice intro for the day. I wasn’t that familiar with them, but OCMS fit the vibe pretty well, and based on the ratio of Mid-South/Deep Southern accents to the Y’all Ain’t From Round Here accents, having some country flavor was like a nice slab of ribs cooked in the pit.
Ziggy Marley–Kind of accidentally heard a bunch of his set because we bought lunch ($4 pizza slice! Cheap for a festival!) and found a shade tent that had a steady mist flowing. I was half paying attention to Ziggy and half trying to hold my shit together for The Police. I napped for a bit. I guess late nights, sleeping on bad beds and drinking aren’t good cures for a cold.
The Hold Steady–We scored a spot inside the pavilion (they refer to them as tents, but it’s a stretch) where it was shady and about 10° F cooler. Unexpectedly fun set from this outfit with a seemingly Tourette’s infected lead singer. He put it to great use. We stayed for the whole set because we were in the shade and the music was good.
Ween–Heard 2.5 songs. The dust levels outside the pavilion were as heavy as the stage smoke inside. Couldn’t see a damn thing. I got some great photos of people at this point. Decided to head to the main stage to stake out our spot for The Police.
Ben Harper featuring John Paul Jones–Yes, that John Paul Jones. The bassist from Led Zep. He came out and jammed it pretty hard for a medley. One of the defining moments of the festival for me was when Ziggy Marley joined Ben on stage for a goosebump raising version of “Get Up, Stand Up” which even now raises the hair on my neck. Enough people left after this set that we were able to move a little closer to the stage for my precioussssss Police. Thank you, leaving people.
The Police–I had a chance to see them in the fall of 1982. I decided that my newfound love for all things prog (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Rush, Yes and King Crimson) would preclude purchasing a $18 US ticket to see them in Salt Lake City on the last leg of their Ghost in the Machine tour that year. What was the hurry? They were going to release a new album in the Spring/Summer of ‘83. I’d catch them on that tour. I had to see Rush at all costs. Smart. Then The Police hit mega-stardom and implode. Sting goes off on a jazz tangent (first two albums were very good) Stewart Copeland released The Rhythmatist and Andy Summers did a bunch of soundtracky guitar work with Adrian Belew. Which I bought on cassette in 1986 in the bargain bin. No tour for me.
As a high school drummer and aspiring pianist, the internal debate about rock drummers invariably centered on The Police’s Stewart Copeland and Rush’s Neil Peart. A few years ago Ozzy Ozbourne acknowledged that it takes a certain kind of person to sit in the back and pound things. We wasted a lot of time in third hour concert band talking about the contributions of Stewart, but observing that Neil had a much larger kit with things like chimes. CHIMES, people. And not wind chimes. Giant tubular chimes. Peart also had a cymbal rack that did more for Zildjian than nearly any other endorsement could have. I took the bait and pledged my support for Neil Peart. I still go back and forth, but I think in terms of inventive pop/rock drumming, Stewart did some really amazing things to make pop songs more interesting without the need for chemical assistance upon listening.
So I went to the Rush show that fall, and missed The Police, a mistake I’ve thought about far too much over the past 25 years. When a reunion tour was announced, I didn’t do a lot of analysis about the nature of reunions, about the politics or motivations of a tour, I started scheming a way to see them. I knew they wouldn’t come to Salt Lake City. There isn’t a stadium or arena big enough to make the stop worthwhile. I figured there would be some travel, some arranging, but that it would make a great reunion trip with JB and McQueen.
After doing the research and finding that Madison Square Garden nosebleeds were listed at $180 and that those were available only as single seats, the Bonnaroo alternative seemed the most attractive. This assured that the newly poor PhD candidate JB would be attending, as he only had to drive over from Knoxville, TN, while McQueen and I could shoulder the larger expense of flying out. Done.
I figured that if I got to see even one band that was marginally good, it would be worth it.
I knew that I’d be hearing an older band. I didn’t care. I wondered if they would be stripped down or add horns, extra players and background singers, They did not. There was no surprise all-star jam or embellishment. It was a throwback to those first two albums, Outlandos D’Amour and Regatta de Blanc where the music was made by a trio. I worried about songs from their later albums, but the strength of The Police has always been the melody. Sting really anchors the song, with the drums and guitar having a kind of textural interplay that made them stand out back in 1978 or whenever radio stations finally started playing Roxanne. There haven’t been many (any?) bands like them since in terms of texture, rhythm and melody.
The Police were a huge part of the soundtrack to my England years. One of the things that got me through my Mormon mission was the personal stereo with headphones. I would listen to mellow stuff, mostly, but there were times when I’d put on headphones and bury my head under a pillow with something a little more severe. When I had particularly intense 19/20-year old angst, driven by a rigidly enforced celibacy and abstention from typically 19-year old pursuits, songs like “Man in a Suitcase”, “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”, “Can’t Stand Losing You”, “So Lonely”, “Demolition Man”, et al became a perfect aural backdrop to my twilight teen egocentrism. The very act of listening to them was both a protest and a salve. Throughout my time in England, I had distinctive phases… I had the Ghost in the Machine two months and then a revisit to the love-torn songs on side two of Regatte de Blanc. I wish someone would invent a way to force someone to anticipate a second part to a listening experience. The sweet anticipation of hearing “Does Everyone Stare” or “Bed’s Too Big Without You” when I fell hard for a local girl was almost too much to bear.
Watching Sting play “Driven to Tears” on the Live Aid stage (on every television in Britain… we tried to be good working missionaries that day, but everybody was glued to their TVs so we gave in and watched as much as we could throughout the day) didn’t have the same power as it would have been had Andy and Stewart been with him, pounding it out.
I have waited 25 years for this day.
This is already a kind of bittersweet rumination on trying to right an adolescent wrong, but I’ll finish by saying that I sang every word of their set on Saturday night. Every word. I would look over at JB and McQueen and they were both in their own worlds, just as I was. We didn’t say much during the set, other than me hitting JB at the start of the show in a kind of “OMG” kind of a way and then stopping when it was clear my exuberance was ruining the space he needed to go back through the years, just as so many in the crowd were doing. A lot of people didn’t like this set. They are entitled to their opinions. I loved it.
They opened with “Message in a Bottle” and stopped twice for “encores”. Their set was about an hour and three-quarters, all told. They didn’t play “Canary in a Coal Mine” or “Demolition Man”. No rules were broken, but they played the shit out of their songs. I wasn’t as close as I’d have liked, but to get really close, we would have had to stand in line all day for a shot at the front pit. My photos were disappointing but I’ll share some on flickr over the next few days. I decided to not let the lack of Sting nipple shots bother me. Yes, he went topless. I believe it was because of the ego and the heat. Stewart gave him shit and played his bass while a stage person assisted in the removal of the shirt. Sting did not retaliate. I believe that Stewart and Sting were brothers in a past life. Or lovers jilted by one another.
Worth every sacrifice made to attend. Worth it.
The Flaming Lips–Since our purpose for the trip had been met, we took our time leaving the main stage area and made our way to watch The Flaming Lips take the stage in their amazing way. The problem was that we were about a quarter of a mile away and with post-show fatigue and dust levels that made me wish for an N100 respirator, we stayed for a few songs. The problem with The Flaming Lips isn’t really a problem. A lot of acts struggle with a festival crowd. They are used to smaller crowds and fewer free spirits. A band like the Lips seem contained on even a medium sized stage. Watching them descend on stage called for large-screen monitors and even more grandiose staging. We decided that this wasn’t the best way to see The Flaming Lips. Plus, we were dehydrated, dusty and tired.
The day was called and as we drove back to the motel, we debated rimshots missed (McQueen), Andy Summers guitar solo on “So Lonely” (JB), how much the hi-hat is Stewart Copeland’s bitch (me) and the merits/shortcomings of changed versions of songs in their set. Tempos were varied and a couple of songs were done better than on the recorded version. A great, great day. o
Tags: Ben Harper, bonnaroo, bonnaroo 2007, festival, music, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Hold Steady, The Police, Ween, Ziggy Marley
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June 19th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Jon, that is an AWESOME post and that 2nd picture is just the best of the bunch as far as I’m concerned.
You brought back a lot of memories for me [ELP, Yes, and OMG King Crimson!]
*sigh*
Thank you.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
Are you kids going to Austin City Limits Fest in September? Blows some of these summer fests out of the water this year, in my opinion.
June 20th, 2007 at 1:08 am
Really felt like I was there. Except for the dust and heat part.
Thanks Jon!
June 20th, 2007 at 3:59 am
Extremely jealous, people get to fly in from Utah to see the Police and even though I live in Knoxville I didn’t go. Slapping my forehead as I write. Anyway sounds like you guys had a lot of fun, great pics.
June 20th, 2007 at 7:25 am
you are welcome. i was one the many that cleared out after the ben harper show. we camped close enough to not have to fight the masses to hear the Police. glad you had a good time, i know we did!
June 20th, 2007 at 7:29 am
Thanks SO much for that vicarious ticket to Bonnaroo! Angst = Outlandos d’Amour + Regatta de Blanc. And your worked in King Crimson and Adrian Belew!!! Ah … welcome home.
June 20th, 2007 at 7:33 am
Love the photos. Thanks for sharing them and your experience at Bonnaroo.
June 20th, 2007 at 7:44 am
long-time lurker, first-time commenting.
i have heard the call of Bonneroo for so long, but i have not had the priviledge of attending the festival. thank you for sharing your experiance!
oh! and OCMS is fab! my favorite song is “wagon wheel”. [sorry, i just had to throw that in!
June 20th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Wonderful post. Love the photo of the girl (?) with dreds, haloed in dusty sun. Screams music festival.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Awesome photos and super write up. A++
June 20th, 2007 at 9:26 am
Fucking brilliant.
June 20th, 2007 at 9:41 am
I had a similar experience, as far as being exhausted and entirely too old to attend an outdoor music festival. I went to ACL about 3 years ago thinking how great it was going to be. I went with a fellow I had a MAJOR crush on, who turned out to be a complete whiny baby and total ass, but that’s beside the point. It was 109 degrees in the freaking shade and people were sick and smoking pot and whatnot. I was miserable and I just wanted to go home. But then the Pixies came on stage and I was mesmerized. It’s a beautiful thing what music can do for a day.
June 20th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Great description of the Police set. That’s pretty much exactly my story, except I last saw Rush in ‘79, and the Police gig I missed was in ‘80 on their first swing through western Canada.
Like you, I lost my mind when the tour was announced, and knew I was going SOMEWHERE, if I had to hitchhike to Miami to see them. Thankfully, I didn’t, and I got to see them twice in a week, one indoor and one outdoor. Since the indoor show was the first of the tour, which was the first in 25 yrs (ish), it was amazing to be in a room with 20,000 Police fans, who ALL lost their minds when the boys walked onstage. The energy in that building was great.
Your Rush references are also interesting (and timely), since they’re again touring, in support of their new CD, and I have 6th row floor seats here Jul 18. I’m almost as excited about this show as I was for The Police, since, as I mentioned, it’s been 28 years (that looks SO MUCH OLDER written out).
Neil is awesome, and is the greatest rock drummer ever IMHO, but you’re right about Stewart. The couple times he got up and did the chimes/percussion stuff behind his kit were some of the many highlights of the set.
What am I saying? The entire set was highlight from start to finish.
I’ll be sure to take hundreds of photos at Rush for you, though, providing I can. I’ve read that Neil is fiercely resistant to being photographed, so there’s a possibility of tight security. I’ll get my concert cam in for sure, but if it’s like Tool and they bring in extra security just to look for cameras…
Either way, this year is already one of THE best of my (apparently long) life as far a concerts go.
Rock on, old man.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:26 am
When the tour was announced, I knew that I would give my right arm to go see them, if I had to. Fortunately, I live in NYC and managed to snag tickets to the first Madison Square Garden show. Nosebleeds, yes, behind the stage, yes, but I have been in these seats before and had great experiences. And it’s the POLICE, for cryin’ out loud, I had to be in the building. And I will be. With my mom, who is also a massive Sting/Police fan. Thanks for the great description - I couldn’t wait before, and now I am on the edge of my seat with anticipation.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I am so envious of you for getting to go to this (damn being a poor college kid.) I’ve just recently gotten into Old Crow Medicine Show and heard they put on a great show. Glad you had fun and thanks for sharing the pictures!
June 20th, 2007 at 11:24 am
I’m very jealous as I’ve wanted to see The Police for eons, but it’s just never going to happen. Oh well.
But I am taking my 17 year old daughter to see Rush here in SLC in August.
June 20th, 2007 at 11:30 am
This is one of my favorite posts of all time.
June 20th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
i saw The Police a couple of weeks ago here in Edmonton (Canada) and the way you described it ~ yes!!! I thought it was amazing … still do
June 20th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
I saw the police in ‘83 during the Synchronicity tour. A Flock of Seagulls opened for them.
I can remember arguing with someone back in the mid-80’s that percussion was more than something to keep the beat for a band and gave Neil Peart of Rush as an example of a musician that contributed to the music, not just someone who pounded out the beat.
June 20th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
The Police are my favorite band, but being born when I was, I was robbed by my youth. I was only 10 during their last tour (actually could’ve gone to their Buffalo show as my older brother was willing to take me, but it was a school night and my Mom said no-”You can see them next time.”) and I think partially because of that, I didn’t know anyone else that liked the Police growing up. I had long given up on a reunion and I was keeping my shit together even up through the Grammys. But the day of the Whisky announcement I really lost it with excitement–I have reverted back to my 10 year old self. I am still waiting impatiently for them to announce a DC show, but bought tickets to the Cleveland show near my hometown-I am going to that one with my brother which is very fitting since I would’ve seen them with him in 1984 had my Mom let me! Then I managed to snag a pair of FRONT ROW seats to the special dress rehearsal show for 4,000 fan club members the night before the tour kickoff in Vancouver. And we live in Virginia. And I bought the tickets without discussing it with my husband (I did the Ticketmaster search to see what I could get and I figured I’d get fair to middlin’ seats and not buy, no harm no foul.) He was very cool about it and we made a little vacation out of it. I cried when they came out on stage. I have been so emotional about this reunion. A friend of mine recently said she was jealous b/c she didn’t have anything like this that she still gets really excited over anymore. The fan club website has all these links to great concert bootlegs and I just downloaded the Buffalo Synchronicity show I missed in 1984. I listened to it for the first time on my commute the other day and cried throughout the first two songs. Even though the recording kind of sucked, they were SO good. My head would have exploded had I actually been at that show. It is a little bittersweet though. I was overall very happy with the Vancouver show, but a couple of songs in particular were too Stingified for my tastes (I would have rathered they not play Don’t Stand So Close to Me at all than play it the way they played it and Truth Hits Everybody was way too slow). I can tell Stewart’s trying to be a good boy and not scare Sting off, but I think Stewart should smack him with his drumsticks and make him rock harder.
June 20th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Jon–I think this is my favorite Blurbomat post. Ever.
I saw the Vancouver show in May. Like you I was in another world as I sang every line to every song.
Thanks for making my day.
June 20th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Thanks for the terrific critique of the Police set. I’m seeing them July 2nd in St. Paul, MN, and my best bud is flying in to see them with me. I still remember how I felt the morning tickets went on sale for the Syncroncity tour in Charlotte, NC, the closest venue to my S.C. hometown. 102 degree fever, could barely swallow, puking my guts out, but determined to put my lovely Mama thru the hell of driving sick me for over an hour to purchase tickets. I was in the shower at 5 a.m. when it started sleeting. By 5:30, the Carolina roads were ice-covered and the three local channels were telling everyone the end of the world was coming. Needless to say, my mother put her foot down. the show sold out in less than an hour AT THE BOX OFFICE, people. (This was before Tickemaster. I’m old.) I was 18, and cried for over an hour at the doctor’s office while they diagnosed me with strep and shot me full of penicillin. They broke up later that year, and now, at 43, I plan to spend the first song of their set with my arms wrapped around Amy and the wonderful man I married who jumped through hoops to get me fifth row center stages seats to see the band that was my Elvis, my Beatles, and my Stones all rolled up into one package. I’ll probably shed a tear, and then sing until I can’t anymore.
June 20th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Jon,
I’m seeing The Police July 10th at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, and I can’t wait. (As a Dolphins fan, this is just shy of nirvana for me.) I saw them at Rock Superbowl ‘83 in Orlando, and I too have been waiting for this moment. What makes it even sweeter is that my husband, who saw The Police, The Fixx, and Flock of Seagulls in Boston in ‘83 (I saw The Animals instead of FoS) will be joining me. I didn’t get fantastic seats, but just the mere fact that I will again be amongst greatness again is all I need. I may even faint.
Thanks for sharing your Bonnaroo experience with us. I’m glad you had a wonderful time.
Shash
June 20th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I decided to catch up on your and your wife’s blog after quite a while of not reading them (for really no reason at all) and saw on Dooce that you were “at a music festival in Tennessee.” I immediately switched links. I can’t believe you went to Bonaroo. Insanely jealous, though a festival of that magnitude would probably be overwhelming for me. I went to Coachella this year and it was fantastic, though apparently the ONLY festival Spoon is not attending this year. Too bad you missed them. So great live. But the Kings of Leon are fantastic in person, aren’t they? And the Police and the Flaming Lips? I hate you.
June 21st, 2007 at 2:17 am
Police (The Ghost in the Machine tour) at Alpine Valley was the first concert I ever attended. I saw them a few times subsequently (remember that giant concert at Comiskey Park with Flock of Seagulls? Anyone? Anyone?) and saw Sting a few times as a solo act. I was such a lovestruck teen that I took a bus and then the EL from the South Side where I lived to see him at the premier of “Brimstone and Treacle” at the Chicago Film Festival. I’m over the lovestruck teen stuff, but to this day, I can put the Police or Sting playlist on and let it repeat all day. I never, ever get tired of it.
I debated on whether or not to see them when they were just in the Bay Area … money is a leeetle tight (two kids in private school) and there are so many good concerts here this season (Madeline Peyroux, Dave Matthews), that I didn’t take the plunge. I was worried that maybe my memories wouldn’t match reality. I’m kind of kicking myself. Shadows in the Rain is my favorite song … and it’s 1:15 a.m. and I’m babbling here and I’m going to listen to the music of my youth, which makes me happy.