not_dark_yetThu 14 Jun – Bonnaroo 2007
SUNDAY
"It's gettin hot in herrre" 8:00
Take my Sunday communion ;) (drank a bottle of wine in the car's AC while listening to ipod) 10:00
Bonna Rouge (all 3 shows) 1:00
Wilco (5:30) - Being on the main stage, they were playing to a much larger crowd that they were used to (as Jeff Tweedy referred to atleast once or twice.) I don't think this rattled them, really, but the crowd wasn't larger due to the wider range that people had traveled but more due to the fact that it was the main stage and they were performing between Bob Weir and Widespread Panic. Now that is not necessarily an incompatible line up, but I can recall a younger woman turning to her older husband(?) and naively asked "What is that?", referring to the tirade of noisy riffs playing along side Jeff Tweedy's pretty, bittersweet singing. I got the sense that he didn't really have an answer to this as he awkwardly assured her that it was okay. This was my fourth time seeing them perform live and there is a familiarity and connection I sense while watching them play, and that was definitely there for me this time too. This was the first time I have heard a couple of the newer songs live and they worked fine. I look forward to them taking on a unique familiarity of their own as I will surely see them play again in the future. So, to sum it up, it was a really great set, despite its atypical venue.
White Stripes (7:15) - The White Stripes trumped all the other acts I saw this weekend making for a spectacular closing to an already incredibly remarkable concert going experience. They seemed to be very in their element performing in front of the largest crowd I'm sure the Which stage has ever hosted. Jack played up the brother/sister schtick like they've always done but he also more openly addressed his home-state crowd. Particularly thematic was their performance of Jolene by Dolly Parton. While this is a staple of their live shows it felt even more relevant and standout being played 50 miles from Nashville. Meg got in on the accessibility factor too by taking center stage for her performance of "In the Cold Cold Night". I've seen them 3 times previously and each lives on in memory in its own way and this performance too had its own distictions. For one thing it was the first time I've seen them play from "Icky Thump" which fits in with their repertoire very well. There wasn't as diverse an arsenal of instruments brought in as when I saw them after "Get Behind Me Satan" so in that sense the new songs are more a return to form. The new song set also featured a nice mix of wild, skull-bashing tunes ("Icky Thump") as well as honestly innocent but still with a sense of desperation songs ("I'm a Martyr for my Love for You") that I've come to depend on in Jack's songwriting. Along side the new numbers were many crowd-energizing favorites such as "Hotel Yorba", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" and "Seven Nation Army" and some personal favorites like "Black Math", "Ball and Biscuit" and "We're Going To Be Friends". And for some reason I was particularly moved by "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself". When they performed "Motherless Children" I couldn't help but consider it as some sort of twisted Happy Fathers Day wish. (Which similarly made me want them to play "Union Forever" though they didn't.) The only part of the set which was at all quizing was when they took time out to anonymously give some audience member the opportunity to propose marriage. Aside from that, from start to finish it was a completely captivating and invigorating show.
Shopping 9:00
Drinking 10:00
Done 11:30
MONDAY
Wake up <i>not</i> covered in sweat...oh it's 6:30
Decide to play the early bird 6:45
Break camp & outside festival gates in record time 7:30
Make it back to Lexington around 1:30 after repeating IHOP breakfast like last year on way into Nashville
Start looking forward to next year's Bonnaroo 1:35
SUNDAY
"It's gettin hot in herrre" 8:00
Take my Sunday communion ;) (drank a bottle of wine in the car's AC while listening to ipod) 10:00
Bonna Rouge (all 3 shows) 1:00
Wilco (5:30) - Being on the main stage, they were playing to a much larger crowd that they were used to (as Jeff Tweedy referred to atleast once or twice.) I don't think this rattled them, really, but the crowd wasn't larger due to the wider range that people had traveled but more due to the fact that it was the main stage and they were performing between Bob Weir and Widespread Panic. Now that is not necessarily an incompatible line up, but I can recall a younger woman turning to her older husband(?) and naively asked "What is that?", referring to the tirade of noisy riffs playing along side Jeff Tweedy's pretty, bittersweet singing. I got the sense that he didn't really have an answer to this as he awkwardly assured her that it was okay. This was my fourth time seeing them perform live and there is a familiarity and connection I sense while watching them play, and that was definitely there for me this time too. This was the first time I have heard a couple of the newer songs live and they worked fine. I look forward to them taking on a unique familiarity of their own as I will surely see them play again in the future. So, to sum it up, it was a really great set, despite its atypical venue.
White Stripes (7:15) - The White Stripes trumped all the other acts I saw this weekend making for a spectacular closing to an already incredibly remarkable concert going experience. They seemed to be very in their element performing in front of the largest crowd I'm sure the Which stage has ever hosted. Jack played up the brother/sister schtick like they've always done but he also more openly addressed his home-state crowd. Particularly thematic was their performance of Jolene by Dolly Parton. While this is a staple of their live shows it felt even more relevant and standout being played 50 miles from Nashville. Meg got in on the accessibility factor too by taking center stage for her performance of "In the Cold Cold Night". I've seen them 3 times previously and each lives on in memory in its own way and this performance too had its own distictions. For one thing it was the first time I've seen them play from "Icky Thump" which fits in with their repertoire very well. There wasn't as diverse an arsenal of instruments brought in as when I saw them after "Get Behind Me Satan" so in that sense the new songs are more a return to form. The new song set also featured a nice mix of wild, skull-bashing tunes ("Icky Thump") as well as honestly innocent but still with a sense of desperation songs ("I'm a Martyr for my Love for You") that I've come to depend on in Jack's songwriting. Along side the new numbers were many crowd-energizing favorites such as "Hotel Yorba", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" and "Seven Nation Army" and some personal favorites like "Black Math", "Ball and Biscuit" and "We're Going To Be Friends". And for some reason I was particularly moved by "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself". When they performed "Motherless Children" I couldn't help but consider it as some sort of twisted Happy Fathers Day wish. (Which similarly made me want them to play "Union Forever" though they didn't.) The only part of the set which was at all quizing was when they took time out to anonymously give some audience member the opportunity to propose marriage. Aside from that, from start to finish it was a completely captivating and invigorating show.
Shopping 9:00
Drinking 10:00
Done 11:30
MONDAY
Wake up <i>not</i> covered in sweat...oh it's 6:30
Decide to play the early bird 6:45
Break camp & outside festival gates in record time 7:30
Make it back to Lexington around 1:30 after repeating IHOP breakfast like last year on way into Nashville
Start looking forward to next year's Bonnaroo 1:35
