Much like the day before, Friday started off bright and early with our last volunteer shift starting at 630 am. There would be no beer can castles or airport shuttle trips for us. Instead after a few hours of waiting we were directed to walk around centeroo and pass out fliers for other festivals like Camp Bisco & The Harvest Fest. Of course I took this opportunity to go see everything I wanted to see while occasionally handing out the little pieces of paper. Honestly volunteering for Bonnaroo has been one of the best ideas we've ever had. As I walked around the grounds doing my 'job' I came across the Third Man Records truck. I waited with a small crowd in hopes Jack White would come out and perform a song or two but sadly he never did.
After 3 hours of walking around and promoting I was let go to do as I please. I tried to enjoy myself at Matt & Kim but the heat and crowd size were too much for me. I ducked out to the air conditioned cinema tent to recharge my batteries and cool off. The theatre was packed with people eager to watch the My Morning Jacket/Preservation Hall Jazz Group documentary A Louisiana Fairytale. According to the schedule, Jim James himself would be playing a couple tunes with the PHJG after the screening. The movie was enjoyable and felt like a love letter to the timeless musical traditions of New Orleans. Sure enough when the film ended the Preservation Hall Jazz group made there way to the stage. After two songs however the group left the stage and the house lights went up. A women then grabbed the mic & made the announcement everyone feared. Jim James had canceled. Disappointed but not angry (it was a good film after all) I walked back to the campsite to get ready for the night.
Jim James surely made up for his earlier cancellation with a spectacular MMJ set that was nothing short of epic. "Holding on to Black Metal" and "Smokin' From Shootin" were my personal favorites of the night. The Preservation Hall Jazz Group also came out for a southern rendition of "Highly Suspicious" that was fun. From there it was on to Primus. To sum it up in a couple of words, the Primus show felt nostalgic and odd. Primus has always had a special place in my heart and yet I almost forget they even existed. New songs were scattered through out the show between classics like "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "Electric Uncle Sam". I left the Primus show a little early so I could get right up front for punk garage rockers JEFF the Brotherhood. The duo raged through their material with such speed and intensity it felt like a 15 minute set. Good music like that has a way of making the time fly by.
After 3 hours of walking around and promoting I was let go to do as I please. I tried to enjoy myself at Matt & Kim but the heat and crowd size were too much for me. I ducked out to the air conditioned cinema tent to recharge my batteries and cool off. The theatre was packed with people eager to watch the My Morning Jacket/Preservation Hall Jazz Group documentary A Louisiana Fairytale. According to the schedule, Jim James himself would be playing a couple tunes with the PHJG after the screening. The movie was enjoyable and felt like a love letter to the timeless musical traditions of New Orleans. Sure enough when the film ended the Preservation Hall Jazz group made there way to the stage. After two songs however the group left the stage and the house lights went up. A women then grabbed the mic & made the announcement everyone feared. Jim James had canceled. Disappointed but not angry (it was a good film after all) I walked back to the campsite to get ready for the night.
Jim James surely made up for his earlier cancellation with a spectacular MMJ set that was nothing short of epic. "Holding on to Black Metal" and "Smokin' From Shootin" were my personal favorites of the night. The Preservation Hall Jazz Group also came out for a southern rendition of "Highly Suspicious" that was fun. From there it was on to Primus. To sum it up in a couple of words, the Primus show felt nostalgic and odd. Primus has always had a special place in my heart and yet I almost forget they even existed. New songs were scattered through out the show between classics like "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "Electric Uncle Sam". I left the Primus show a little early so I could get right up front for punk garage rockers JEFF the Brotherhood. The duo raged through their material with such speed and intensity it felt like a 15 minute set. Good music like that has a way of making the time fly by.
Arcade Fire was terrific as expected. My only complaint would be the encore choice of "Wake Up". It's such a predictable selection & I'm personally just sick of that song. After Arcade Fire I traveled to the tiny Sonic Stage for the semi secret deer tick show. Earlier in the day the band had tweeted that they would be playing a special Nirvana covers set at 1:30. I would never pretend to be a Nirvana specialist but Deer Tick front man John McCauley is the perfect Kurt Cobain impersonator. His raspy voice is a dead ringer for the late musician and his stage presence has that grungy i-don't-care attitude perfect for a Nirvana cover band. From there is was off to see Big Boi who played a set heavy on Outkast tunes. I ended the night with a brief stint at the Ratatat show. It was a good show and all, but I thought I remembered their music to be slightly more danceable. Oh well. It was still the best night of music so far and it set the bar nice and high.~Bw
Sweet recap dude. However, Wake Up is, and always will be, EPIC.