How I Learned to Love the Farm – Bonnaroo 2009 – Part Five
Sunday was a bittersweet day. We were having such a fantastic time and knew we had some great acts to catch but we were also starting to get exhausted and looking forward to a shower and some air conditioning. (We hadn’t showered since Wednesday, just wiped down with baby wipes)
Normal morning routine, wake up, wipe down, cook breakfast/lunch, and head to Centeroo. This time we got a little distracted on the way in and decided to check out some of the vendors on Shakedown Street in a little more depth. We did a pretty thorough walk through admiring all of the wares and resisting the urge to buy anything, I have enough stuff as it is. Like I mentioned in the previous post, if you want it, you can find it. Outside of Centeroo there were more pipes for sale although I am not sure if they weren’t supposed to sell them or not because they were usually all the way in the back of the tents. Another popular ware was handmade hammocks, I know there were at least three or four different places selling them. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the vendor stands but I was so interested in looking that it just slipped my mind.
We made our way to Centeroo at around 12:45pm in order to score a good spot for “Ted Leo and the Pharmacists”. They have become another of my favorite bands as of late. They are a rock/punk/indie band from D.C. The band lineup has changed several times since it was formed but the front man, Ted Leo, has remained constant. Showing up early paid off, we were able to score a spot right on the rail to the right of the stage. It was right in front of the speaker stack so it was pretty loud, we decided to live with it. When we got there Ted and the band were setting up their own stage, I would have thought they were big enough to have roadies to help or maybe they just like to do it themselves. They actually finishing setting up a couple minutes early and decided to get the show started. The whole set was fantastic. Pulling songs from all (I believe) of their albums they can cover the gamut from pop rock, to punk, to indie rock, all of it very danceable. One of the funnier moments of the show was when someone knocked a giant beach ball on stage Ted head butted it right back into the crowd. That really shows how into the concert experience he is, all about making the fans happy. I also want to give them props for complimenting the tent staff, he mentioned how impressed the band was with the ability to make their festival experience a good one.
After the show, we decided to go ride the Ferris Wheel and check out the view from above. If you ever go to Bonnaroo this is something you must do. You get a really good view of just how MASSIVE everything is from up there. It is a typical carnival type wheel so if those scare you, avoid it. After the ride we strolled around and listened in on several other sets including Robert Earl Keen, and Andrew Bird. From the time we were at both, they sounded pretty good.
 Ted Leo and the Pharmacists |
 Lookout Tower from Ferris Wheel |
 Campground from Ferris Wheel |
 Centeroo from Ferris Wheel |
 I have no idea, this guy was there for a couple hours though |
 The Dirty Guv’Nahs |
The plan for the afternoon/evening was to catch Snoop Dogg’s first song and the jet over to The Dirty Guv’nahs. About 15 minutes after Snoop was scheduled to come one someone came on stage and said he was in his car on the way to the site. We stayed long enough to hear “The Next Episode” and then went over to the Budweiser Troo Music Lounge to see a band I have become very fond of.
My like of The Dirty Guv’Nahs started with a Twitter follow from the band. Before this I had never even heard of them. I decided to check out their MySpace page and instantly loved the music. They are a rock/southern rock band from Knoxville. I really think these guys should/will be big freakin huge. They have an infectious sound that just makes the body move and almost forces you to sing along. They are one of the most passionate bands I have ever seen play. Lead singer James Trimble is awesome to watch, you can tell he (and the whole band) is passionate about their music. If you get anything out of this blog, I suggest you check them out. They played most of the songs off their debut self titled album (buy it on itunes). My favorite of the set was “Brown Little Bird”. They also did a great cover of one of my favorite songs, the Rolling Stone’s “Loving Cup”. This was a good a version as I have ever heard, which is awesome because sound-wise I compare these guys to the stones. The Troo Music Lounge isn’t one of the main stages so at this particular time-slot (Snoop Dogg, Band of Horses, Neko Case, and Coheed & Cambria also playing) there wasn’t a big crowd in the beginning. The thing that impressed me was almost everyone who wondered through the area stopped and listened to the rest of the set. I had at least three people ask me who they were and say they sounded awesome. Toward the end of the show James jumped off stage and ran like a madman through the crowd, this just shows the energy these guys have, especially since it was pretty hot outside. Seriously, check them out.
After the Guv’Nah’s set we rushed back over to What Stage to get a spot for Phish. We ended up in the same spot as Friday night and had a nice conversation with the taper that was set up there. We sat down and waited the hour plus before Phish took the stage. I am not going to review the whole show, but I will talk about three amazing songs. Toward the end of the first set Trey stopped playing and told a story about going to his first concert and how energetic the band was and how much he loved the experience. He then introduced his “boyhood and still hero” Bruce Springsteen. When Bruce came out the crowd went into an uproar, cheering “Bruuuuuce”. Phish and Bruce played “Mustang Sally”, “Glory Days”, and “Bobby Jean”. All three songs were a hit, Bruce took over the stage almost directing Phish when to solo Trey and Bruce traded several fantastic solo parts back and forth. It really was a great experience and one that likely wouldn’t have happened anywhere except Bonnaroo. After the Bruce sit in, the band left the stage. They came back on stage some time later and played a great second set, closing the show with “Suzy Greenburg” and a reprise of “Tweezer”. (You can buy/listen to the show here) After that, the music at Bonnaroo was over.
After the Phish show, we picked up some of the trash people left around us, threw it away, and headed back to camp. We heard cars leaving and people partying well into the night as we drifted off to sleep. On Monday we woke up, broke down camp, said goodbye to the campground neighbors and headed back to Belleville. Its crazy how fast the whole experience went by, it seemed like we were planning forever and it was over in an instant. We will do it again, and besides a few minor packing changes, we won’t change a thing. Sometimes it is nice to just get away and leave everything behind for a while.
 This guys was wow-ing the crowd with his ball |
 Sunset through the crowd |
 Phish on stage – Sunday Night |
 We saw a lot of this, random guy passed out |
