Bonnaroo 2009: Day 2

After the complete debacle that was day one, it would be more than obvious to say that my spirits weren't too high when waking up on day two of the 'Roo...not to mention that I had slept in a puddle of water all night. But that was soon fixed after a nice breakfast of peanut butter sandwiches and trail mix, when I cracked my first beer around 9:30 a.m. Hey, I guess it was 5 o'clock somewhere. My friends and I loaded up on beer and smoke before heading into Centeroo, the 'place where all the shit is,' in the early afternoon.

Our campsite was a perfect 10-15 minute walk away, in which I got to see all the guys selling pipes, Jerry Garcia merchandise, and more pipes. It was the first time taking everything in, and it was pretty much what I thought it would be: Hippies trying to relive Woodstock, whether it be 1969 or 1999. But hey, hippies are all about love, and I knew at least that if I was too wasted and acted like a jerk all weekend, I wouldn't get my ass beat. As we approached the magical Bonnaroo arches, the line cheered and the guys frisking everyone let just about the whole crowd through. Thank god for Camelpacks, cause that Tennessee sun was burning ma' biscuits.

Animal Collective



Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Geologist were all headbanging when I arrived to see them at the Which Stage (the second biggest) at 2:45 in the afternoon. They sounded great on Merriweather Post Pavilion standouts "My Girls" and "Summertime Clothes," but then took an unexpected turn. AC turned into a jam band, banging the shit out of "Guys Eyes," Panda Bear's "Comfy in Nautica," and a barely recognizable "Fireworks." Goddamnit, why did they have to jam "Fireworks"!? A little too much jamming by the Collective may have hindered their performance, not to mention the fact that they were on in broad daylight, and their light show and downright trippyness didn't exactly translate well. But, that didn't get them down, as they closed with a rousing version of "Brother Sport" that got just about everyone in the vicinity dancing.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

They were on right after Animal Collective. Karen O is crazy. She was screaming and yelling at the top of her lungs, and wearing some crazy dress. They also had some giant eyeball behind them that seemed to hypnotize me when "Zero" came on, the first recognizable song, about two-thirds of the way through their set. This is where it started to get interesting for not-so-much fans like myself, and just as they busted into "Maps," Nick Zinner's guitar fucked up. Karen O repeatedly apologized, and the trio performed their closest thing to a top 20 hit ACOUSTIC. Man, what a buzzkill. Yeah, dude. They proceeded to do "Y Control" and closed with "Date With The Night," but there was no recovering after the "Maps" faux-pas.

TV On The Radio



Damn. I had heard that TVOTR was great live, and were 'they' right. Frontman Tunde Adebimpe has the moves, and slithers around stage with the greatest of ease. This was the band that really got me moving and completely kicked my experience in gear. They powered through excellent Dear Science tracks such as "Halfway Home," "Crying," "Dancing Choose," "Golden Age," and "Red Dress." Despite the open atmosphere, TVOTR still nailed it and sounded great. Maybe some of it had to do with the fact that the sun was going down and everyone in the crowd instantly felt better. After the opening hammer of chords for "Wolf Like Me," the crowd was all about it. Thank you TV On The Radio, you were one of my favorites.

The Beastie Boys



This was a qualm. The B Boys were on the main stage at the same time as David Byrne. I know, I know...not fair, right? I took a deep breath, went with my gut, and my friends and I pushed through the immense crowd to get up front to see one of my childhood heroes. The setlist was incredibly varied, with classics from Check Your Head such as "Time For Livin," "Gratitude," "Pass The Mic," and "So Whatcha Want." And holy shit, it Mixmaster Mike one incredible DJ. Mike D, Adrock, and MCA played some instrumentals from their last album The Mix-Up, some of thier old hardcore songs, Hello Nasty standouts "Body Movin" and "Super Disco Breakin," and even something from one of my favorite albums ever (Paul's Boutique), "Shake Your Rump." One of the high points of the show came when the trio played a new song from their upcoming album Hot Sauce Committee with a special guest... Nas! Yes, Nas! He made the trek to the middle of nowhere Tennessee to play two songs with the B Boys!

The 3 MC's and one DJ closed with "Sabotage," and I was able to check one off on my "Bands to See Before You (Or They) Die" list.

Phish

Yes, I stayed for Phish. I was really messed up. They played a lot of songs, or maybe they played 3 songs that lasted 45 minutes. I wasn't really into it, and was falling asleep. I headed back to camp and rested up for the next day.