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My thoughts on Bonnaroo 2010 may lead me to write an article for the school newspaper if I get into graduate school.
First off, the music this year as like every year was amazing. Though I truly believe that I saw more downright amazing shows more so than any other year. Other than Jay Electronica cutting his short set (however the show was still real enjoyable) and thus only seeing the last part of Gaslight Anthem (still real enjoyable), every show I saw was amazing and I was still yearning for more after each set.
However, the crowd and culture of the festival has drastically changed and I fear for the worst. Mostly gone are the music loving people who frequent many music festivals including jamband festivals that are now replaced with people just going to Bonnaroo for the sake of it and just to experience everything BUT the music. Now that Bonnaroo has become the super music festival of America that alot of folk know about, it became in-fluxed with a lot of white trash, eurotrash, and just lame folk in particular just being at Bonnaroo to get trashed and go see maybe 3-4 shows all weekend.
In addition the commercialization has finally gotten a stranglehold on the festival and has become invasive upon the attendees. In years before, complaints about sponsored tents had fallen on my deaf ears since all the tents were relatively contained in Planet Roo and were out of the view of music goers. Now thats not the case. I mean really, was it THAT necessary to have 5 Ford Fiestas placed outside the Fiesta Garage and right outside That Tent?
Gone was anyplace to get a reprieve from the heat, i.e the Arcade Discotheque, a place with couches and A/C is replaced with crap like the the Chase Freedom Lounge where you have to be a Chase card member to enter or you can sign-up for one to get in. I told them, " this is a farking festival, not some damn city financial district". Also the Adult Swim area where the Arcade Discotheque used to be was an absolute joke. A bunch of real awful carnival games based on Adult Swim shows and the "majestic arcade" was five arcade systems of Robot Unicorn Attack in a small dark tent in the far back of the area. Overall the sponsored tents were nothing more than a nuisance than in past years.
Also the jamband community was vastly underrepresented in comparison to the past three years I had gone to Bonnaroo. Shows like Galactic, Umphrey's McGee, MMW, Jeff Beck, John Prine, John Fogerty were so under-attended and had such sparse crowds that it was really sad to see. Years ago all of these shows would have had people packed to the brim and would have been an absolute party to be at, i.e. Willie Nelson's show in 2008. That is one of the things that these new attendees don't realize that us avid festival goers do realize. It is 100% completely plausible to get intoxicated, have fun with thousands of others, and do all that at shows. Instead you saw thousands of folks not preparing themselves for the heat and just drink beer and pass out under the Tennessee sun.
The lack of attendance of the aforementioned shows was more apparent at Medeski, Martin and Wood. Throughout the entire show anyone who wanted to could have made it right up front to the show, and this was a headlining show for a tent albeit the smallest one. But that did not deter MMW for putting on one of the best shows all weekend. Like I said before, it was bothersome to see such a small attendance during this show, but towards the end when MMW was putting on this sick jam, I see out of the corner of my eye a dance circle of 20-30 people outside the tent just having the time of their lives, like I, dancing to their hearts content. It put a large smile on my face. Then when MMW ended their set, we went nuts, it was a fantastic set they concluded and we wanted more. We were all screaming at the top of our lungs. Which prompted my newly made friend beside me to say, "so far this weekend, this is the loudest I have seen a crowd, but it also is the smallest I have seen." Truer words could not be spoken about the power and love of these jamband folk and those of the like.
MMW finally came back on from the beckoning crowd to perform Hey Joe as their encore. As soon as they came back on, I ran as fast as I could from the soundboard up through the crowd to witness up close this special moment at the festival. I felt like I was 18 again when I went to nothing but jamband shows. To have that mutal feeling with the band, that the fans were not there for the band, but the band was there for the fans. It was a really special moment for me and something I'll never forget as long as I live.
As of now, I don't know if I'll be back at Bonnaroo for their 10th anniversary. Its gonna take a fantastic line-up to get back as I didn't feel at home anymore when I went to Bonnaroo this year. The people I met and talked with and hung out with in the three previous years were gone and in their place were a bunch of people who were just there just to say to their friends back home, "OMG I WENT TO BONNAROO, LIKE, OMG, THERE WAS A BIG PLASTIC BEACH THERE WITH A MASSIVE SLIP AND SLIDE, OMG BEST FESTIVAL EVAR."
I don't know, maybe I'm just completely jaded with how I feel you should experience Bonnaroo fully by seeing as much music as humanly possible. And seeing people like me being outnumbered by people who are more worried about staging a picture perfect Kodak moment with their backs to the stage than enjoying the moment of the concert just sucks.
Post by itrainmonkeys on Jun 14, 2010 17:07:19 GMT -5
I've read half of this and will read the rest.
I just want to point out that even in the "jam band community" there are plenty of people who go to festivals (like Roo) not for the music.....but for the druqs. There are people who could care less about who's playing and just use a music festival as an excuse to blast off out of this world with mind expansion. I'm not saying this is the case with every jam band fan.......just that there have always been people going to Roo who weren't going solely for the music.
Good article so far....i'll give more thoughts after I read the whole hting.
I agree on most of it. There seemed to be less people who knew a lot about music, thats obviously hard to prove, but it was just a feeling I gathered over the weekend.
-When I Hear My Name -Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground -Blue Orchid -Passive Manipulation -Red Rain -Death Letter -My Doorbell -Hotel Yorba -Same Boy You've Always Known -Lovesick -Little Ghost -We're Going to Be Friends -The Hardest Button to Button -Black Math -The Nurse -I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself
Encore: -Ball and Biscuit -Seven Nation Army -Screwdriver
Post by pondo ROCKS on Jun 14, 2010 17:15:07 GMT -5
in 2008, Umphrees had hardly anyone at their afternoon set, jam bands work better later in my opinion. To me, the trash this year was GAWD awful. I will be honest, it was hard to take you seriously after you said you listened to the last half of Gaslight Anthem and enjoyed it.
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Post by The Wookie Monster on Jun 14, 2010 17:15:51 GMT -5
Even the way how the acts play now do not indicate anything jammy. They are expected to be on stage on time and off stage on time. No more extending sets or collaborations. While fun, corporate America has taken over this festival and you will have more douchebags attending the fest next year simply to say they went to the tenth Bonnaroo. Unless we have Phish, Widespread Panic, Neil Young, The Dead, and My Morning Jacket headlining next year, that's the way it's going to be until people stop going altogether and Bonnaroo starts booking worse acts.
in 2008, Umphrees had hardly anyone at their afternoon set, jam bands work better later in my opinion.
Umphrey's rocked that set. Reasons why not many people were there are:
a.) early afternoon set - some people don't even go to Centeroo until the evening. b.) it was fuggin hot......and they were on the which stage and that offers no real shade
also, I remember it being pretty full. of course, and Umph late night slot is going to be more of a party and seem better because they have more time to stretch out and jam.......but I thought they brought it to that short day time set.
in 2008, Umphrees had hardly anyone at their afternoon set, jam bands work better later in my opinion.
Umphrey's rocked that set. Reasons why not many people were there are:
a.) early afternoon set - some people don't even go to Centeroo until the evening. b.) it was fuggin hot......and they were on the which stage and that offers no real shade
also, I remember it being pretty full. of course, and Umph late night slot is going to be more of a party and seem better because they have more time to stretch out and jam.......but I thought they brought it to that short day time set.
It definitely wasnt packed, but I remember a decent crowd being there.
I think most of the more exposed spots had smaller crowds. It was damn hot.
I just want to point out that even in the "jam band community" there are plenty of people who go to festivals (like Roo) not for the music.....but for the druqs. There are people who could care less about who's playing and just use a music festival as an excuse to blast off out of this world with mind expansion. I'm not saying this is the case with every jam band fan.......just that there have always been people going to Roo who weren't going solely for the music.
Good article so far....i'll give more thoughts after I read the whole hting.
Oh this isn't an article, just my own thoughts. Hopefully these collection of thoughts will be enough to make an article in the near future. I would never submit this as is anywhere.
But I do agree that jam band fans do the same as in getting trashed and not doing much else, but at least it was a small portion of that community. Plus the jam band community is one that is very friendly and kind and are just out there to have fun with others. The people that vastly populated Bonnaroo this year were to busy hanging with their own cliques and getting intoxicated with themselves. They weren't rude persay, just not very friendly. The festival had a real shiatty vibe to it overall and like I said before, I never felt so out of place at a place I called my second home in the years I have gone to Bonnaroo.
I agree on most of it. There seemed to be less people who knew a lot about music, thats obviously hard to prove, but it was just a feeling I gathered over the weekend.
It is hard to prove and sometimes in the end you look like a summers breeze trying to prove you are a "better" music listener than others. However the vibe of the place and other festival goers was that the music was not a part of the experience to these folk and they'd rather go do anything but go see music.
in 2008, Umphrees had hardly anyone at their afternoon set, jam bands work better later in my opinion. To me, the trash this year was GAWD awful. I will be honest, it was hard to take you seriously after you said you listened to the last half of Gaslight Anthem and enjoyed it.
Well enjoyable isn't the right word to use, lets just say bearable enough to sit through waiting for Umphrey's McGee.
Post by topofthemorning on Jun 14, 2010 19:08:39 GMT -5
i agree for the most part. the crowd this year was reminiscent of an arena rock show. people who didn't know what was up. also, it kind of felt that the festival was to constrained this year. i don't know how to explain it. like you weren't free to breathe or something.
Post by kikosanchez on Jun 14, 2010 19:51:08 GMT -5
I was saying the exact same thing to my gf. I've only been 2 years, but I remember many more wooks and fewer fratties, locals, and sketchy looking people. Now, the people this year weren't mean or anything, but many of them were just rowdy and obnoxious, mostly when waiting to get into center. It was like they had been pregaming all day for a UT football game and were now walking down to Neyland Stadium. We were literally camping beside one 40-year old local who did NOTHING but get fucked up out of his mind all day, he never even remembered any shows he did (or never did) make it to. Then 3 canopies in a row of college-aged guys playing flip cup all day and pounding beers till the late shows. My gf said that maybe it was because they have left Roo for smaller festivals. Possibly, but they were around more just a few years ago and Roo was just as big then. Personally, I think it's because they simply didn't book huge jam bands this year, then replaced them with fratty favorites DMB and KOL. It's easy to see where they went wrong and hopefully they can correct it next year.
Post by homerjjesse on Jun 14, 2010 21:04:20 GMT -5
Further proof of Roo changing: The crowd participation at Stevie compared to Jay-Z. Like night and day.
The upside: 3 of my favorite shows (both Medeski sets and Ween) were pretty uncrowded, and I got some great spots. It shows a lot that even though I got to both sets an hour early, I easily got a rail spot for Ween and could only get to about 5 rows behind the rail for Miike Snow.
Which is awesome. I mean me and my buddy who went are not either, but we came just for the music, nothing more. To me it was just so disheartening to see all these Bonnaroo mainstays have lacking attendance. And this year at Bonnaroo, I didn't feel at home like I did from 07-09. This year it felt like I was in someone else's house.
There were a noticeable number of first-timers there this year. Give them time, though, they'll figure it out.
Kids these days don't know about MMW and Galactic. The jam scene in general is smaller than it was a few years back. I'm glad Bonnaroo keeps booking these acts even though they don't draw many people, and I think they'll continue to. They clearly love these acts, and I don't mind that they book Weezer and Phoenix if that can help them sell enough tickets to afford Jeff Beck.
MMW is especially hard for kids to get into because of the lack of vocals and guitar, which is what most people focus on at a show. I'm glad the band didn't care and gave their all to the small but faithful crowd. You can tell they love Bonnaroo.
This was my first roo so let me throw down my opinion.
I dont like 'Jam Bands'. I have tried, i just cant get into them. Having said that i went to 'roo for the music the music the music. And i got everything i expected. I do agree about the commercialization of this festival, i was extremely surprised that every fucking tent was 'sponsored' by some company, im quite shocked BP was not present as a 'special sponsor'
So i agree and disagree with your assesment. If you are saying there were few 'jam band' fans then yes i would agree, i did not encounter many. What i did encounter was a fantastic energitic crowd at Mumford & Sons who knew all their songs and got way into the music. I did encounter Michael Franti blow the place up, it was possibly the best performance i have ever been apart of. I did encounter the Flaming Lips literally blow people off their feet (not sure if it was the drugs or the music but it worked).
My point is this, You will get fuck tards at jam fests (wookies) and fuck tards at fests headlined by KOL and DMB. But i did not go for KOL or DMB i went for the bands i went for and left with a tear in my eye. I am sad it is over, i met some shitty people and some really truly amazing folks, as is life, some good some bad. But Bonnaroo as a whole was an experience of a lifetime and if you get stuck only looking at the negatives you will not see everything else.
If you go for Umphrey's McGee or Phish then go for them, I went for Mayer Hawthorne/Mumford/Franti/Flips/Stevie/Edward Sharpe/The National/Dr. Dog/The Black Keys (which i missed)/The Dead Weather/ Deadmau5 (which i missed)/Ingrid - You get the point.
There were many like minded people as myself who i got along with, and some who were there for bands that i didn't so much care for, but they seemed likable enough. I got along with others, i recycled, i went to my shows and you went to yours. Thats why Bonnaroo was so great...If i don't want to see Les Claypool i can see Franti, if i don't want to see JBT i can see Calexico. To each his own and a happy Bonnaroo to you all.
My first Festival was a success, I learned hard lessons but came away with a new perspective on music. I feel i have expanded my music vocabulary...isn't that what bonnaroo is all about?
Post by flymordecai on Jun 15, 2010 5:28:05 GMT -5
My neighbors were super cool, most of them 5-3 year vet's. we ended up combining our canopy's for a nice extended campsite. Some neighbors that were down the street came by one morning with extra breakfast burritos. Everyone I met inside Centeroo and at shows were the same cool and decent people I've been meeting since 08. I overheard some roobies say "this has been a life changing experience" while washing off on Sunday morning. I had to pass by frat kids every day on the way to Centeroo who were always sitting on top of their RV blaring awful music and throwing their Natty Light's on the ground. I had just as much fun this year as I did the past two years and still love Bonnapeople.
the crowd did seem different then it has the last 2 years, but i wouldnt say it was necessarily a bad thing. i didnt see anymore sketchy people then normal, just a new type of fanbase, which is good to help bonnaroo expand and continue to be successful. the attitudes of the new attendees mirrored what ive experienced in the past. had plenty of conversations with people while waiting for shows. had a few people offering drinks, snacks, etc while waiting or walking around.
so while it was a new crowd, my experience was that they adopted the bonnaroo culture, and not that the culture changed to accommodate them.
First off the jamband community is probably worse than most for getting out to shows. Have you ever been to AllGood? There are people that never go in there, and there have always been people at Bonnaroo who do not either. It is not the jamband fans but the music lovers who are the ironmen who make it to a lot of tunes. All my neighbors at camp inforoo were great, we had two kids from MN next to us who had never done a festival before, and several others who were all easy enough to get along with.
Also one of the reasons that MMW had poor attendance was that Phoenix was scheduled against them. I like MMW, but I have seen them 10-12 times I go to Bonnaroo for stuff I would not usually see at home. Prine was also a huge conflict for people because of the Dead Weather, and people tryring to get a good spot for Stevie. I stayed and had a great time especially when OCMS and Kris came out to do songs, BUT I could not really get anywhere for Stevie because of this.
I do not really see all this as a decline in festival quality, but more as people getting jaded, and older and expecting the same thing every year. I am always there for the music, so I will not decide until I see a lineup, but I bet I make it back to the farm next year.
They've traded wooks for frat boys. I don't like either.
I think most of the change in scene had to do with the headliners. You couldn't pick 4 headliners that appealed to the masses while still staying somewhat true to the Bonnaroo tradition (2008 was close). Not to mention this is the first time that 'Roo and Phish have occurred at the same time.
I give it after next year before I'm convinced it's taken a turn for the worst. There were still a lot of "jam band" fans, but not compared to past years. There were also only a handful of bands that appeal to that community (DMB, JBT, Ween, Flips, Umphrey's, Bisco).
Give me Furthur, Neil, My Morning Jacket and Daft Punk next year and I'd think we will have the Bonnaroo tradition going again.
It is not the jamband fans but the music lovers who are the ironmen who make it to a lot of tunes.
Well said, Jess. It has nothing to do with what style of music the overall fan base is there for. The more diversity, the better. As long as the individuals are there purely for the music and people as opposed to planning their entire weekend around what shows to do what druqs at, then we are all good.
the crowd did seem different then it has the last 2 years, but i wouldnt say it was necessarily a bad thing. i didnt see anymore sketchy people then normal, just a new type of fanbase, which is good to help bonnaroo expand and continue to be successful. the attitudes of the new attendees mirrored what ive experienced in the past. had plenty of conversations with people while waiting for shows. had a few people offering drinks, snacks, etc while waiting or walking around.
so while it was a new crowd, my experience was that they adopted the bonnaroo culture, and not that the culture changed to accommodate them.
I agree with this 100%. I had a great time this year and thought the crowd was more friendly than in 08. If you want to see what a drunk fest looks like then go to Lolla. The vibe there is not even in the same ballpark as the vibe at Bonnaroo.
Also just because someone is not there for jam bands does not mean that music is not important to them. I was there for the music first. I saw over 30 bands this weekend and had the time of my life. I don’t enjoy listening to jamming. I “get” jam bands and why people like them but they are just not for me. Bonnaroo was a very Jam oriented fest last year and there is no reason to say that they will not have some great jam acts again.
^ Yep I agree, the Bisco, Phish, scene is the dirtiest nastiest one you will ever find. I have seen more needles at a '98 phish show than the 5 Bonnaroos I have attended.
I think the fact is, by bringing in a mainstream sort of audience with acts like Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band and Jay-Z, all these "frat boys" get exposed to lesser known acts like Local Natives, Dave Rawlings Machine, Carolina Chocolate Drops and Trombone Shorty. The same thing happened at the early Bonnaroos when headliners like the Dead and Widespread Panic brought in an audience that were exposed to Tortoise, My Morning Jacket, Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth. That's what Bonnaroo is all about, learning about new music. Since there were so many first-timers this year, there were more people with a lot to learn, but like I said, give them time.
Post by jimmyjamesx5 on Jun 15, 2010 11:59:16 GMT -5
Jam bands bring the the friendliest fans this is a fact, Roo will continue this route forever and ever, they are more worried about selling tickets then anything else. go to a smaller festival and it is a lot harder for people to be a dick and get away with it.
Jam bands bring the the friendliest fans this is a fact, Roo will continue this route forever and ever, they are more worried about selling tickets then anything else. go to a smaller festival and it is a lot harder for people to be a smurf and get away with it.
Boy, that's just not true. Jam bands don't factually bring the friendliest fans.