Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
Post by Dave Maynar on Jun 12, 2012 20:28:40 GMT -5
How do we have a four page thread about disappointments without one about pleasant surprises?
1) Charles Bradley. I expected to like it, but I did not expect him to be so sincerely full of love and positivity. 2) RHCP. I had lowered my expectations due to some reviews of previous shows on the board, but they were really entertaining to me. 3) Grouplove. Haters be damned. I checked out the second half. Way better than I ever expected.
Post by itrainmonkeys on Jun 12, 2012 20:30:37 GMT -5
Bon Iver. Only because I was having trouble really getting into him. Even the first few songs weren't working for me. I was in the pit but crowded. Once I moved back a bit and got some room and the show continued I really, really got into it. Great set, but a different kind of music.
Post by musicguy1982 on Jun 12, 2012 20:32:06 GMT -5
Alice Cooper. I went to Superjam, which wasn't my thing, so I left. I thought Alice would be schlock...and he was, but it was the most entertaining schlock I've ever seen.
I would say ALO, my buddy NATEDAGREAT is way into them, but I never really have been too much. Their set turned around the miserable wet Sunday and made it happy and sunny.
I was really pumped to see Sam Bush because I play mandolin but I didn't expect to be so blown away.
Never heard of K flay but I was so impressed.
Didn't know Mariachi El Bronx but they were wicked!
I love Rodrigo Y Gabriela but had no idea they could put on such a great show.
I've seen and love Phish but I was surprised how blown away I was after that show.
SBTRKT was amazing
Finally I have never been to a rap show and Childish Gambino was pretty damn good.
Post by Arch Stanton on Jun 12, 2012 21:04:30 GMT -5
Dawes. Saw their Sonic Stage set. Wasn't really a fan of theirs beforehand (enjoyed them, but they didn't really stand out), but came out of the set a fan.
Definitely the Beach Boys. I was seriously expecting the worst. We decided to go into the pit at the last minute since the line wasn't that long and we had a great time. They still put on a good show and sounded great. I was really, really surprised in a good way.
Post by dreamingtree on Jun 12, 2012 21:46:23 GMT -5
Puscifer - I only went because it was Maynard but the show was awesome and the sound was wonderful. I LOVE his voice.
Mogwai - louder and heavier than I expected and I loved it.
The Devil Makes Three - it wasn't really a surprise because I love them, but they topped the last show I saw in Nashville and are totally in my top 3 shows of the weekend.
Radiohead - I never really "got" them before. I have always liked them but I didn't love them. This show totally changed that for me.
Sarah Jarosz - I knew I would love her show, but my friend cried and I was pretty close to it. Goosebumps! Just an amazing artist and so humble.
Post by barefeetblueyes on Jun 12, 2012 22:10:45 GMT -5
*ALO was super cool and had some really positive vibes to it. jammed to that on the rail waiting for grouplove (who KILLED it by the way) and *Little Dragon. little dragon blew me away. i thought it was super creative and intense and awsome sauce on top.
Rod Y Gab for sure. There are seriously very very VERY few bands that can play before Radiohead and hold my attention enough for me to not be constantly thinking "man I wish this band would be over so Radiohead would come on." They just killed it hard, and I was groovin' the whole time.
They did that to me at Mountain Jam last year, we intended to catch a few minutes before heading up to Mule, but I pulled out my chair and told them to go up without me and save me room.
Going in I had only heard Big Gigantic was good, had no idea whatsoever what kind of music or anything about them, but they did the same thing to me!!
Had some time to kill on Friday so I checked the Bonnaroo iPhone app which showed sample tracks of everyone performing and discovered a female rapper/electronic producer who was performing at That Tent, so I decided to check her out. I was blown away from the first track. She was producing on the fly with an Akai MPK, playing drums (and also had a fantastic back up drummer), and had the best flow of any rapper all week in my honest opinion. Ended up catching her two more times on Saturday, once in the Ford Garage (which was awesome cause there were only like 20 of us in there, made for a neat atmosphere) and once when she DJ'd a set at the silent disco.
Randomly popping into the small Ford tent and checking out Sister Sparrow and the dirty birds. She was breathtaking on stage and they totally rocked it in front of like 50 people max. Will check them out again soon for sure.
The Temper Trap destroyed it as well on the what stage. I liked them already, but they brought it hard and from the pit it was crazy good.
First time I saw Big Gigantic and they were great live and their intermission set for Umphrey's surprised and thrilled me. Pretty much destroyed me till 6AM and the rest of the weekend!! Amazing...
Post by hiddenzombie013 on Jun 13, 2012 1:22:37 GMT -5
In no order whatsoever:
The Beach Boys - Was one of my most-anticipated acts, but I wasn't thrilled when I saw them without Brian Wilson, and a friend saw them on this tour and told me they weren't very good. I lowered my expectations accordingly. Man, I was wrong! They sounded phenomenal, and I wish I had gotten there sooner. So glad I got to see them before it was too late. Only complaint was no John Stamos.
Big Gigantic - I liked these guys when I heard them before, but man they KILLED it this weekend. I couldn't believe how into I was. These guys came out of nowhere for me, and that's why I love going to Roo. On a side note, other than Radiohead and RHCP, I heard more people saying they were excited for this show than almost any other (this was Wed night), which I thought was VERY odd.
fun. - Was excited to see them, but they were way better than I expected for the whole 20-25 minutes I was there. These guys will go to bigger places if they keep the fire strong.
Danzig - I was disappointed at the lack of metal this year, but Danzig definitely helped make up for it. As a metalhead, it was refreshing to go to a good old-fashioned metal show at Roo. The stage production was great and everybody was spot on. The pit was pretty crazy too, especially during the Misfits set. Shout out to Alice Cooper for helping on the metal as well. Didn't see him (I was at Superjam), but I saw him last year, so I knew what an awesome show everyone was in for.
Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A. - While I did start to get a little bored near the end (although that's due in large part to Radiohead anxiousness), these guys were very good. Never saw a show quite like this, and I'm glad I did. Very talented musicians.
Dispatch - Didn't know a bunch of their stuff, but they had a great, clean sound. Plus, the crowd was very into them and sang back every word. The General was just fantastic. Also loved that they debuted a song live for the first time ever. This show made me want to be a fan.
Yelawolf - I was expecting this to be very generic, but he killed it. I was very impressed with how he did at a place like Roo. His DJ was really good too.
Phish - Now I know where they got their reputation from. So killer. I already elaborated on it in a couple other threads, but it's worth mentioning again. Easily a top 3 show of the weekend. Also, while I heard a lot of complaints from phans about the setlist, for someone who never saw them, it was pretty much perfect. They did more than half the songs I knew by them beforehand, which is awesome for a band with as many songs as they have. Would have loved to see Stash, Llama, and First Tube though.
I think I was the most surprised by Phish. I had never seen them before. It was phenomenal.
I was looking forward to the undercard acts and the one's I saw were all good but the headliner sets blew me away. Beach Boys included. Trampled By Turtles lived up to my already high expectations too.
Post by bonnaroodavid on Jun 13, 2012 7:27:50 GMT -5
Black Box Revelation's set in the stub hub lounge (or whatever it was called). I was walking by to see Sam Bush and heard them and thought the set was really good. I did catch about half of the Sam Bush set and he was pretty incredible, especially the jam with the electric mandolin at the end.
Also Dawes was better than expected. And I am probably in the minority and had no idea who D'Angelo was, but was really impressed with superjam.
Big Gigantic I went to that show only hearing a few songs, but they rocked my face off.. So much energy in the crowd and they fed that energy quite well.
Flogging Molly- I expected them to be good but I think this show topped all my headliner experiences lol
Also, while I heard a lot of complaints from phans about the setlist, for someone who never saw them, it was pretty much perfect.
True Phish fans will find something to complain about from every show. I think a well-placed YEM or Guyute would have quelled a lot of these complaints. I'm glad to hear they converted another skeptic this weekend. Hit up a show on summer tour to get the full experience.
Post by elmorejames on Jun 13, 2012 8:12:16 GMT -5
Janka Nabay & Bubu Gang. That show would make an excellent late night set. African electronica, dub, dancehall and a frontman in leopard skins that looks like he was chiseled from stone.
Post by Claytonator on Jun 13, 2012 8:30:44 GMT -5
Went into the Phish show knowing nothing at all, came away craving more. I'm getting a bunch of live tapes from my buddy as we speak, then probably catching a show with him this summer.
Santigold surprised me as well. We were getting a spot on the outer rail for Roots -> RCHP, but she was a straight up dance party. Had a great time! Same with Rod y Gab.
Electric Guest - Great way to start off my Saturday. They were really tight and very upbeat for a noon hour start. Thumbs up to these guys
Ben Howard - Killed it! Very talented musician and seemed to really appreciate the support the crowd was giving him. Im glad I chose to see Ben instead of the Tune Yards.
Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr - Great energy on stage, great covers of the beach boys and whitney houston. I also thought the Dom Parignon Champagne that they put in a porto potty was really cool of them!
There were a few that just really made my weekend: 1. Rubblebucket - stayed for a few about half of Radiohead and then left becasue as with all the headliners it was annoyingly packed. On the upside caught this band and they were great! I was really getting into what they were putting down. Perfect way to warmup for the throwdown that was The Word. 2. The Infamous Stringdusters - I wouldn't say that they surprised me because I've been a huge fan of their stuff and seen them quite a few times, but they absolutely killed it on Saturday morning. The sheer joy that was coming off that stage insaine and they were hitting on all cylinders from note one. 3. Sara Jarosz - Was introduced to her through NPR and have listened to some of her stuff but she was just great. One of the above posts mentioned how humble she was and it was borderline scary how appreciative she was to be playing there and to have everybody show up. The sound that is produced w/ the fiddle/cello/mandolin trio is very unique to her and is really something to see.
Post by James Baxter on Jun 13, 2012 10:31:05 GMT -5
Bad Brains. HR was totally lucid and in a crazy cowboy outfit. Left for Das Racist after the second reggae song, and they played a great 3 songs as well.
(1) Damon Albarn (2) Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (3) King Khan & His Shrines (4) Ty Segall (5) Ms Lauryn Hill (6) Darkside (7) Kanye (8) Janelle Monae (9) Goat (10) Meshuggah.
I think two bands this year gave it everything they had. First Valient Thorr. They gave every inch of energy they had in their body to the crowd. They were on fire that night. Alice Cooper really was excited to play Bonnaroo and I know that he went out of his way to give the best show he could. I have seen Alice many times in Detroit & Phoenix. His Bonnaroo show was a big sup-rise to me.