|
Radiohead
Elvis Costello
Tom Petty
Ben Folds
My Morning Jacket
Beck
|
|
Bonnaroo Music Festival 2006
Manchester, TN
6/16/2006 - 6/18/2006
By: Lindsey M. Keen
|
Bonnaroo, the annual three-day concert series on a
700-acre pasture in Manchester, TN, launched in 2001 with
over 70,000 attendees and 100-plus musical acts. The initial
concept was simple; a summertime event that combines
jamband music, camping and...drugs.
Bonnaroo, like its west coast counterpart, Coachella (both
concerts that gross over $15 million), don't exactly bat an
eye about what actually happens inside their gates. The
cultural utopianisms allow young realists to check out of their
access to media and into a relaxing weekend of loud music,
staying up late and partaking in 'party favors.'
The security at Bonnaroo is a mounted patrol, canvassing
the lots looking for trouble - not police officers anticipating
drug raids. In this unobtrusive Eden, the mob isn't
threatened. So, the crowd is more likely to relax and enjoy
themselves. For instance...out of a crowd of 70,000, one
attendee will spend an initial $150 for a 3-day concert ticket,
purchase commodities like t-shirts, hand-blown art glass and
partake in some drug use. This person is more likely to
come back the next year because the festival provides a
safe haven for uninhibited bliss. And, year after year, both
Bonnaroo and Coachella rake in more cash away from
illegalities, as the crowd is fond of the lack of law
enforcement.
Picture a mob of 80,000 fans going for days with out
bathing; numbing their mind with downers and listening to
loud music until the wee hours of the morning.
Friday night's headliner, Tom Petty, proved himself as rock
royalty as he played his classics "I Won't Back Down,"
"American Girl," "Free Fallin'" and "Learning To Fly." But
what caught the crowd off-guard was his special guest and
former duet partner, Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, who
appeared for "Stop Dragging My Heart Around."
Earlier that day, recent Nashville transplant Ben Folds
dedicated "Rocking The Suburbs" to the neighboring city
Murfreesboro, home of aspiring music students at MTSU.
Memphis resident Chan Marshall of Cat Power, pulled out
poignant piano ballads from her recent release The
Greatest.
The evening hours are when the true music fans come out
and seek a late-night hallucinogenic experience. As the
obvious presence of marijuana hovered over the mob,
Bonnaroo veterans My Morning Jacket delivered a
three-hour set, playing crowd pleasers such as "Golden" and
"Dance Floors," and covered a few hits from the Rolling
Stones and The Who.
Different from its debut year, the 2006 Bonnaroo occurrence
on Saturday was much to be reckoned with. Highlights
included early 90's radio airplay kings Blues Traveler,
California's chronic-induced Cypress Hill, legendary
songwriter Elvis Costello and progressive artist
Beck.
"Beck's personified what it is to be a songwriter and
musician," said Skye Jones, 23, of Nashville, TN. "The man
can drop a pose like Jim Morrison in his prime and hold a
crowd in the palm of his hand like Robert Plant in
1972."
Beck first came onto the scene with his radio hit "Loser,"
garnering him success on the FM waves like sex on prom
night. Through the years, Beck has evolved by digging
deeper into his soul and penning Mutations,
Sea Change and Guero. Ironically
enough, Beck decided to play headliner Radiohead's
"Creep," stating [jokingly], "because they're not going to
play it tonight..."
"Radiohead's the reason I came here," said Mark Koeneman,
24, of Chicago, IL. "I've been a fan for such a long time, and
to now see them live is like a dream come true."
At 28 songs, Radiohead's set was the longest of their brief
North American tour. The highly psychedelic and
mesmerized audience was captivated by a set of songs from
their catalog and tunes from what some fans said are to be
on an upcoming 2007 album.
Sunday's heated line-up included Shooter Jennings,
Nashville's youngest indie band Be Your Own Pet, foreign
import The Streets, political activist Steve Earle, legendary
blues-ist Bonnie Raitt, Indie rock royalty Sonic Youth, and
all-time favorite hippie Phil Lesh, whose set proved to be a
great reason to stay and sweat it out until the end of the
show.
Bonnaroo harvests millions of dollars in concert
commodities, ground-breaking attendance records and is a
platform for the launch of new acts, as compared to their
much argued predecessor, the recent Woodstocks - which
hosted riots, fires and $10 bottled waters. What makes
Bonnaroo successful is inside the gates. The peace-loving
crowd is promoting good vibes, listening to some good ol'
rock-n-roll and partaking in a little bit of underground drug
trade.
The hippie mafia of jamband music made its presence, but
this edition of Bonnaroo's lackluster line-up of breakthrough
acts paled in comparison to it's past efforts. Nonetheless,
Bonnaroo 2006 did provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to see the coveted Radiohead and hip-hoppers The
Streets.
Bonnaroo is a place where happy hour never ends, music
lasts all day (if you include neighboring drum circles) and
homemade bongs are passed around like communion
plates.
"To me, Bonnaroo is a time to be free. You can be in a daze,
listen to music and drink a beer before noon without feeling
guilty," said Zach Reynolds, 21, of Tampa, FL. "It's like a
super all-star jam of musicians rolled into one weekend at
one place. It doesn't get much better than that."
|
|
|
|
|
|
