I was intending on including some pics with this... but alas, I think my camera must have fallen out in doug or dave's car... anyway though
So although I have been to Bonnaroo three times now, it was hard to know what to expect from this weekend. Very few bands I knew, and only one band I'm really into, in addition to the fact that none of us going had any idea of what to expect since we have never been to anything besides the 'roo. Coupled with the fact that I had spent money I didn't have on this festival and would not be returning until late at night the day before my theory placement exam, I did not think it was going to be a great experience.
I could not have possibly been further from the truth.
This was, bar none, the best concert experience of my life, and I'm going to do my best to try to explain to you all the wonder that was Bisco 2007.
We arrived at the Indian Lookout Country Club at around 1:00 in the afternoon to be greeted by short lines (reason #1 this was better than b-roo) and one of the most lax security checks I've ever seen. Essentially they just wanted to make sure nobody had nitrous or glass - but they didn't check very hard since they checked inside my backpack and didn't notice Thumper in the front pocket. We received a welcome letter from the management of the country club, which it turns out, is a bunch of bikers (which explained the fact that all of the security guys sported grizzly beards and bandanas. The welcome essentially said that bikers understand how easy it is to be stereotyped and how they were happy to provide a place for us to congregate, and said if we didn't get it right this year, they'd keep inviting us back til we did. Oh also the letter expressly stated that no cops would be on the premises. We parked our cars right by the children's section, which was initially a little disconcerting, but there were like 2 kids there out of 6000 people. We were maybe a half mile from the main stage, and about 200 yards from the side stage, which allowed us to listen to bands while just at our campsite.
We then began preparing for that evening's Umphrey's Concert. Namely by drinking a shit ton of gin and tonic and smoking a bit. We went to the concert, where we were pleased to find ample room to jam out and NO SECURITY WHATSOEVER. All they said was not to bring cans onto the field. Umphrey's put on an amazing show, by far the danciest grooves I've heard them play, in addition to playing their new song "wizard burial ground" - my new fav song of theirs. I drank way too much for this concert, danced like a fool, and promptly passed out in a chair at our campsite, before moving at some point to the inside of doug's backseat, on top of all of our cargo. Sadly, my passing out caused me to miss the Infected Mushroom concert, but I heard it wasn't as good as some of their others, so life goes on. It cooled off considerably, and I eventually climbed in the tent with Dave and Jess.
The next day was very windy, but once the sun was shining it was wonderful. We threw the frisbee around for a bit and listened to some of Indobox and King Britt (both phenomenal concerts). I pause in the story here for a moment to explain something about myself. I have a lot of trouble enjoying myself at concerts where I don't know the band. Sure, going to 311, Incubus, Muse or Radiohead is always gonna be awesome for me, because I will probably recognize 96% of what they play. But usually at concerts where I don't know the artists as well, I get bored and tired - even at my first umphrey's concert I had trouble with this. However, every concert I saw this weekend that I say I like immediately was totally accessible to me, and insanely fun to go to. I listened to Holy Fuck for a short time and came back to the camp to partake in some fungus digestion. We went to STS9's PA set, a band who I saw for the first time at Bonnaroo this year. It was well worth the trip to see them again (haha, get it? trip?). As my regular world dissolved away I was pleased to hear new versions of some favorites from the previous concerts, as well as some groovy new tunes I couldn't help myself but to dance my ass off to. I sat for a moment to look at clouds with Jess, but that was too intense and I just kept bursting out laughing hysterically at the way they pixellated and morphed unnaturally across the sky. By the end of the concert all four of us were out of our minds, and we returned to the campsite.
Shortly after STS9, the psy-trance group Hallucinogen started playing at the main stage. I listened for 4 songs or so at the camp, and I enjoyed it so much that I became very concerned that when the next band started at the side stage, it would hurt my ability to enjoy Hallucinogen. After much debating, I went it alone to the concert (after sitting back down again deciding I would stay, and then after listening again for a few seconds, immediately standing up and saying "no way, I'm going"). I'm going to set aside the next comment for dramatic effect.
It was the best concert of my life.
I creeped closer and closer to the stage throughout the concert, drawn almost hypnotically to the sounds. Their music went from being slow and calm, to sick grooves, to fast paced industrial type dance music, and everything was executed with the type of perfection that I wish EVERY band could achieve. Simon Posford (the head of Hallucinogen, and almost a member of Shpongle) is a genius. The music was also abound with ethnic sounds, especially wonderful Indian voices which only added to the trip. I danced like a fool some more, all the while considering going back, but finding it simply impossible to tear myself away. It began getting a little chillier so I put back on the shirt and jacket I had shucked earlier (putting on the shirt was a joke - I had no idea what I was doing and couldn't find the right holes, so I kinda made an ass of myself, but I don't think anyone around me was with it enough to care).
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a freak wind came careening from behind the stage bringing with it a downpour I had never experienced at a concert, especially in the state I was. The winds honestly must have hit 40 or 50 mph easily, as they RIPPED STRAIGHT THROUGH THE TAPESTRIES HANGING ON EITHER SIDE OF THE STAGE (that's cloth, mind you - and they were like 100 feet tall each). I stayed at the concert to the bitter end, amid cries of "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON???" and "Where the FUCK did this fucking COME FROM?!?!?!" It had now dropped about thirty or forty degrees in a matter of fifteen minutes, and I wandered, cold, wet and disoriented back to the campsite, where I found Jess in the middle of a bad trip (probably more spurred by stress and anxiety than by the actual drugs). We listened to the Disco Biscuits play from the safety of David's car, and at their set break, another of Posford's projects "Shpongle" played. Although there were certainly differences between it and Hallucinogen, the same knack for combining world sounds with blisteringly fast beats was present, and I found myself shaking my ass in the car with the music. We all stayed there til morning.
The next morning was almost unbearably cold, so I read some Harry Potter til a little after noon, still under a blanket in the car. Eventually, the sun warmed things up a little bit, so it was time to start drinking again. After I got really drunk again, we went to see Bustle in your Hedgerow, a jamming Led Zeppelin cover band, who were, not surprisingly, amazing. I began drinking again after the concert to ensure that I would be really wasted for STS9's live set that night. As a brief adventure by myself, I went to see Bassnectar, a really fucking awesome DJ who largely made remixes of popular songs - his dance-y "Strawberry Fields" was amazing. STS9 that night was again, incredible, although a much different experience since I was drunk this time.
And I danced like a fool before going to bed again.
We left early the next morning, amid a lot of drama, but I don't need to go into that here.
In short, I had truly the time of my life. I never though this type of essentially Electronic festival could appeal to me, and it was truly an unreal experience. I would go again in a heartbeat, and unless Bonnaroo's lineup is unmissable next year (we'll see who headlines), I would probably be more likely to look for smaller festivals like this.
