Friday, June 10, 2011
Off Beat Bonnaroo, Day 1: What I Wish I'd Known
Posted by Alison Loughman on Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 12:18 PM
On my way to Bonnaroo 2011, I sat in hours of traffic as I inched three miles toward the festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Going to Bonnaroo on a whim is not for the faint of heart, and not smart, either. One day later, I know what I wish I’d known.
Check out the photo gallery, which will be updated daily, here.
1. It’s hot. Unbearably hot. You will be extremely sweaty between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. You will be somewhat sweaty between 7 a.m. and 4 a.m. Between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m., you will be freezing cold. Repeat.
2. Props are power. Guys wearing speedos and capes, girls wearing neon wigs and bindis, signs requesting herbal refreshment in not-so-subtle slang: these people make Bonnaroo memorable. A guy with a spray-bottle generously spritzed the line as we waited to get to the stages, and the crowd treated him like a rock star.
3. Your weekend itinerary means squat. And that’s a good thing. New friends took me to see The Drums, a New York-based poppy indie rock joint that Amazon and iTunes have fruitlessly suggested to me. Taste preferences just don’t sell like a live show.
Athens-based Futurebirds kicked off the weekend’s performances, and their country-rock roots and deftly layered harmonies eased the eager audience into four days of shows. When the set ended with jubilant shredding, the crowd went wild, giddy with rock.
Atlanta’s own Deerhunter was the main draw on Thursday night, a low-key alternative to Friday’s star-studded lineup. In fact, two people approached me during their set to ask who we were hearing. But no matter: The indie-rock prodigies went pleasantly cerebral on a crowd too tired to do more than sprawl on the grass and nod.
4. It’s warm. No, I’m not being redundant. The people here are as warm as the Tennessee air. They say, “Bless you.” Your neighbors will offer to help when they see your sad, limp tent at 4 a.m. They will offer you a drink or a nap in the shade of their canopy, which, FYI, is a necessity, not a luxury.
I heard the crowd here at Bonnaroo described as “professional concert-goers.” These people might not be able to make a career out of having fun, but they sure can make a weekend out of it.
Tomorrow: Lil Wayne or Big Boi: A Dilemma
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