Before I knew it, the last day of Bonnaroo had arrived and I knew it wouldn’t be too long before I was back home wishing it was 2011 and that I was back on the farm. At the same time however, I was so worn out both physically and mentally, that I just couldn’t help thinking about how much I wished I was back home, able to take a long, cold shower and sleep for hours (or even a full day or two) in the comfort of my own bed. By Sunday morning, I had adapted to this routine of waking up at sunrise to unbearable temperatures and the challenge of changing into new clothes. So once again, I was off to the press tent for a somewhat healthier meal and some much needed shade. I actually spent more time backstage in the press area on the final day, because this was clearly the hottest and muggiest day of the festival and it actually became hard to drag myself away from the air-conditioning. Temperatures came close to one-hundred degrees, but I know the heat index had to be well passed that. I also spent a lot more time on the final day running around back and forth from the press tent to all of the fifteen bands I caught on the last day.
I didn’t get to witness a lot of every band’s set I saw, but had put together quite an eclectic musical platter for my last day of my Bonnaroo 2010 experience. I kicked things off with Truth and Salvage Company’s set on the Sonic Stage, followed by the African blues ensemble, Tinariwen, who had quite a disappointing turnout if I may say so myself, on the festival’s second largest stage, the Which Stage. Only two shows into the day, and barely passed noon, I was already headed back to the air-conditioned press tent for a breather. After maybe fifteen or twenty minutes back there, I decided to head back out into the trenches, and make the trek to This Tent, where the Canadian, garage-rock/blues duo, Japandroids, were already into their set. Believe it or not, after catching a bit of their show (about half) I was headed again back to the press tent, stopping along the way, to catch of bit of Calexico, who had this Latin/Alt.Country thing going on.
The day was progressing quickly (although the heat made it seem like forever) and it was just about time for one of the lower-tier acts that I was most excited about. Harper Simon (son of Paul) had played the previous night (against Stevie Wonder) but was playing an intimate, thirty-minute set on the Sonic Stage. I caught nearly every minute of this show from right up against the stage, and it actually became (musically) a highlight of my entire weekend. Harper and his band have this psychedelic/country-folk thing going on, and at times, Harper’s voice even sounds like his dad, not to mention it would appear that he’s got a similar writing style and way with words. At one point during their set, Harper looked off in the distance, asking his mother how the set was sounding so far, at which point everyone in attendance had turned their heads in sync to try to see which person was his mother. I on the other hand, was hoping to spot Paul somewhere nearby.
So I left the Harper Simon show a little bit early, and made my way to the main stage for the John Butler Trio. Oddly enough that it was the last day, this was the first day time look I would get at the main stage. The giant lawn was already filling up, but I was able to walk the surrounding walls and grab a spot up close for bit. I arrived somewhere about halfway through their set, able to catch older songs like “Treat Yo Mama”, “Zebra” and my personal favorite “Ocean.” It’s probably the best acoustic, instrumental song I’ve ever heard, which often goes passed ten minutes, with Butler’s unique and intricate strumming patterns and rhythmic beats, pulsating on the wood of the guitar. After a brief stint at Butler’s show, it was back to the press tent again, this time passing along Russian singer/songwriter, Regina Spektor, who was playing on the Which Stage. I found a spot backstage, where I briefly relaxed underneath the trees in the shade to the soothing sounds of Spektor’s voice and piano.
Before I knew it, I was making a trip all the way to the other side of the festival grounds, where Blues Traveler were playing to a very large crowd at the other tent. I didn’t stick around for a very long time, but was there long enough to catch classics like “But Anyways” and “Run Around” but unfortunately not there for their cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.”
The sun was certainly getting the best of me today, as I was once again making my way back to the press area. It was here where I ran into Cincinnati Ric Hickey again, and after a short break in the A.C., we decided to head off to the John Fogerty show together. We caught maybe the first twenty or thiry minutes, and heard classic CCR songs like “Travelin’ Band”, “Green River”, “Lodi”, “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” and “Born on the Bayou”, but unfortunately neither of us stuck around to hear CCR songs like “Midnight Special”, “Down on the Corner”, “Bad Moon Rising” and the two closing numbers (“Fortunate Son”, “Proud Mary”), as well as covers of Ray Charles “The Night Time is the Right Time” and Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman.”
Ric was off to the Kris Kristofferson set, while I was interested in catching a bit of They Might Be Giants. Pretty unfamiliar with the band, I ended up staying for at least half of their. Timing was also a good friend to me, because I arrived just in time to hear my favorite and probably the most known Giants song, “Particle Man.” After that they played “Boss of Me”, the theme song from the television sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, which I actually had no idea was them. Other songs you might know (but I don’t) included “Doctor Worm”, “Clap Your Hands”, “What Is a Shooting Star?”, “We Live in a Dump”, “The Mesopotamians” and the Four Lads cover, “Istanbul (Not Constantinople.” At one point in the middle of their show (I believe it was during “Shooting Star”) two of the Giants members incorporated a puppet show into their set while hiding behind a drum kit, as well as shooting off just as much (if not more) confetti than the Flaming Lips.
Once again I was back off to the press tent, assumingly what would be the final time of the festival, before the bigger bands would play, I was actually sidetracked by the Dropkick Murphys (who had just launched into “Johnny I Hardly Knew You”) and Ween (who god only knows what kind of disgusting, perverted tune they were singing about).
The day was quickly coming to a close, as we were nearing 6 pm, and only a handful of shows remained. I caught most of Zac Brown’s set on the main stage, which (as much as I hate country-pop) blew my mind. I’m still having a very hard time finding what makes this band country-pop, and while in the end it may not matter, all I know is that these guys have come a long way since going from playing in tiny Georgia bars to winning Grammys. I stuck around for about 3/4 of their set, in which I got to see a lot of new material (as Zac announced the moment he took the stage) as well as a lot of their hits (“Who Knows”, “Highway 20 Ride”, “Toes”, “Free”) and even a few covers like the Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, CSNY’s “Find the Cost of Freedom”, Charlie Daniels “The Devil Went Down the Georgia” and Bob Marley’s “One Love”, which was incorporated into Zac’s hit “Where the Boat Leaves From.” Like I said before, I’m not sure what makes this a country-pop band, as most of what I heard was reggae-style guitar riffs, jazz-style keyboard playing and a lot of fiddle playing, that only proved Zac and his band were among the best of a new breed of jambands.
From there, I made my way through the “secret media shortcut” which led over to the Which Stage, where I arrived just in time for the beginning of one of indie’s hottest acts, France’s Phoenix. It was so packed though, and extremely hard to get a spot where I could see the members onstage, so I probably only saw thirty minutes of their set, catching songs like “Lisztomania” and “Girlfriend.” Dark storm clouds began rolling in above, and in no time the sun would be down, and that’s about the moment I decided to end it. I just couldn’t bare staying another night inside that tent with all the heat. I just didn’t want to wake up in the morning and make the drive home on Monday. I just felt I had to get out of there as quick as possible. I ended up missing one of my favorite bands of all time, the Dave Matthews Band, but having seen them somewhere around thirty times (and after I looked at the setlist and from what I heard from others) that I really didn’t miss that much. It would’ve been great to see them one last time, seeing that they’re taking 2011 off, and would’ve also been cool to see all of the lantern balloons that were released into the sky (as well as Dave’s solo cover of Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done”) but if you’re a person like me and have done a music festival like Bonnaroo before, you can understand that I was just anxious to get out of there, off of the farm, back on the road and at home into my bed. There’s so much I love and respect about an event like Bonnaroo (and of course all the people who go into making something like this happen), but I just don’t think I was prepared enough physically or mentally for what I endured over this four day period. It was an awesome time as always (probably the best experience I’ve had out of four) but because of the large crowds and excessive heat, I have officially overcome my obsession with this festival and am not sure whether or not I’ll return in the future. Thanks for everything Bonnaroo!