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 DystopianDream on Apr 11, 2008 20:22:37 GMT -5
I've read some posts on a couple of threads now about things people have done their first time at Bonnaroo which either they quickly learned was a rookie mistake, or looking back on it now would have done it differently.
For instance, someone mentioned pushing their way to the front of a crowd during a set instead of getting to the stage early, only to eventually realize that 'roo-goers generally weren't the pushy kind, leading him/her to feel quite badly about being so pushy his/her self.
Aside from the (seemingly) obvious things like bringing TP and extra sets of keys, what other rookie mistakes have people made? How long did it take you to figure it out? Were people generally cool about it, or did you get hazed out of doing it again?
Watchin' a stretch of road, miles of light explode. Driftin' off a thing I'd never done before. Watchin' a crowd roll in. Out go the lights it begins. A feelin' in my bones I've never felt before...
Post by DystopianDream on Apr 11, 2008 20:30:25 GMT -5
Yeah, what I'm looking for is not really a survival guide, or info about supplies-- I'm more interested in sociological mistakes-- like the one I posted as an example.
Here's another example: I was at Oswego (the Phish festival in NY), and a bunch of us were eating some really good corn, and this kid came up who had never been to a show before and asked if he could have some corn, too. We said "sure" and once the corn was gone, he offered to fill the plate again with some more corn, but it was really, really, really BAD corn, and he put it on the wrong side of the plate (now it's getting complicated, I know). I remember we were quite cool with him and did our best not to make him feel like an arse about it.
Watchin' a stretch of road, miles of light explode. Driftin' off a thing I'd never done before. Watchin' a crowd roll in. Out go the lights it begins. A feelin' in my bones I've never felt before...
um, well one universal one that people say all the time is dont party too hard during the day, cause then you miss out on late night (ive done this the first year and it sucked)
If it's your first time setting up a campsite, practice first. Know how to put the tent together and such. Make sure you have all of the pieces. This is especially important if you are borrowing any of the gear.
Lesson learned the hard way at The Great Went, when we were trying to set up a borrowed tent in the pouring rain, at 5 in the morning, after driving 17 hours to get there.
If it's your first time setting up a campsite, practice first. Know how to put the tent together and such. Make sure you have all of the pieces. This is especially important if you are borrowing any of the gear.
Lesson learned the hard way at The Great Went, when we were trying to set up a borrowed tent in the pouring rain, at 5 in the morning, after driving 17 hours to get there.
Post by plasticpepper on Apr 11, 2008 21:10:18 GMT -5
I think the most common things that I see people regretting are trying to do too much so you end up exhausted and miss stuff, or sticking with their group and missing good shows because they didn't want to go alone. Personally, I regret being too shy to talk to many people...the few people I did have conversations with were awesome, so I don't know why I didn't start up more conversations.
Personally, I regret being too shy to talk to many people...the few people I did have conversations with were awesome, so I don't know why I didn't start up more conversations.
This.
I'd also say that most importantly to take it easy during the day. It seems obvious, but it can't be stated enough. Don't drink too much or ingest any other substances too much. Take a short nap in Centeroo if your body tells you to. You don't want to crash out early during the late nights. I missed Primus my first year in 04.
Post by SouthGA_Festival Machine on Apr 12, 2008 0:15:10 GMT -5
slugme said:
I like to give myself guidelines to keep from overdoing it:
Thursday: Drink lots Friday: Start drinking gently at noon (lite beer only). At 5, go visit your friend, lucy. Drink more. Roll on in to the wee hours Saturday: Chill. Don't start drinking until 4. Wing it the rest of the night. Remember that Saturday from midnight until 4AM is the best part of Bonnaroo. Do whatever you can to be awake and having fun. Sunday: Analyze strength. Party hard, relax, or go home. All options are open.
I brought a moderate amount of an under-the-counter sleep inhibitor in '06, my first year. This was a rookie mistake. I finished it off quickly, with a little help from my friends.
As far as sociological mistakes, not talking to people more is a common one, especially with your neighbors. That and not screaming "Bonnaroo!" when someone else does.
As far as sociological mistakes, not talking to people more is a common one, especially with your neighbors. That and not screaming "Bonnaroo!" when someone else does.
*i like coconuts, you can break them open they smell like ladies lyin in the sun** *Hell I don't even know where I am** *for now I must sit here and ponder the yonder: The herbivores did well cause their food didn't never run** *We listen, if it feels good We shake** *You made a big impression for a girl of your size, Now I can't get by without you and your big brown eyes.**
*i like coconuts, you can break them open they smell like ladies lyin in the sun** *Hell I don't even know where I am** *for now I must sit here and ponder the yonder: The herbivores did well cause their food didn't never run** *We listen, if it feels good We shake** *You made a big impression for a girl of your size, Now I can't get by without you and your big brown eyes.**
*i like coconuts, you can break them open they smell like ladies lyin in the sun** *Hell I don't even know where I am** *for now I must sit here and ponder the yonder: The herbivores did well cause their food didn't never run** *We listen, if it feels good We shake** *You made a big impression for a girl of your size, Now I can't get by without you and your big brown eyes.**
I decided to use slugme's guidelines setup to outline my first year, in order to more effectively illustrate it for the rooks...
slugme said:
Thursday: Drink lots Friday: Start drinking gently at noon (lite beer only). At 5, go visit your friend, spanky. Drink more. Go on in to the wee hours Saturday: Chill. Don't start drinking until 4. Wing it the rest of the night. Remember that Saturday from midnight until 4AM is the best part of Bonnaroo. Do whatever you can to be awake and having fun. Sunday: Analyze strength. Party hard, relax, or go home. All options are open.
This is what I did (most of it is as backwards as it can get):
Thursday: Do not sleep for two days leading up to event. Feel surprisingly good anyway, even though everything's a little surreal. Drink. Finally sleep, miss all shows, continue sleeping.
Friday: Drink. Go see Ben Folds. Leave in middle of show to go drink beer at camp with friend. Miss Oysterhead (no, I'm not kidding) while walking on Shakedown (but I could hear it).
Saturday: Drink. Visit friends' camp, eat liquor-soaked watermelon, pass out and miss Buddy Guy. Wake up, drink. Drink on way to Centeroo. Intentionally lose friend in crowd at Claypool show. Watch Radiohead with some nice, randomly-met people, love it.
Sunday: Wake up, walk to Centeroo with water bottle, refill throughout day for free. Tell friend "ok, see ya" when he wants to go back to camp to drink beer. Love it.
So basically, my biggest mistake was missing shows. Don't do it! I didn't mention the late-night hijinks, either...but we shouldn't talk about that. Also, I've noticed that we're bringing less alcohol each year. Last year we had much less, and this year we're probably not even bringing any. Others on the board have mentioned the same thing, so take note.
Post by SouthGA_Festival Machine on Apr 12, 2008 2:00:30 GMT -5
oopsikillednana said:
^ Haha, that's not always so bad, though...
I decided to use slugme's guidelines setup to outline my first year, in order to more effectively illustrate it for the rooks...
slugme said:
Thursday: Drink lots Friday: Start drinking gently at noon (lite beer only). At 5, go visit your friend, spanky. Drink more. Go on in to the wee hours Saturday: Chill. Don't start drinking until 4. Wing it the rest of the night. Remember that Saturday from midnight until 4AM is the best part of Bonnaroo. Do whatever you can to be awake and having fun. Sunday: Analyze strength. Party hard, relax, or go home. All options are open.
This is what I did (most of it is as backwards as it can get):
Thursday: Do not sleep for two days leading up to event. Feel surprisingly good anyway, even though everything's a little surreal. Drink. Finally sleep, miss all shows, continue sleeping.
Friday: Drink. Go see Ben Folds. Leave in middle of show to go drink beer at camp with friend. Miss Oysterhead (no, I'm not kidding) while walking on Shakedown (but I could hear it).
Saturday: Drink. Visit friends' camp, eat liquor-soaked watermelon, pass out and miss Buddy Guy. Wake up, drink. Drink on way to Centeroo. Intentionally lose friend in crowd at Claypool show. Watch Radiohead with some nice, randomly-met people, love it.
Sunday: Wake up, walk to Centeroo with water bottle, refill throughout day for free. Tell friend "ok, see ya" when he wants to go back to camp to drink beer. Love it.
So basically, my biggest mistake was missing shows. Don't do it! I didn't mention the late-night hijinks, either...but we shouldn't talk about that. Also, I've noticed that we're bringing less alcohol each year. Last year we had much less, and this year we're probably not even bringing any. Others on the board have mentioned the same thing, so take note.
I think I only brought a 12 pack of beer in 06, probly a little liquor and wine. Last year a little more beer, but not that much, 5 liter box of wine, 3 200 ml bottles of liquor. I'll probably bring more beer this year, try to get some into Centeroo, which I've yet to try, that's what the 200 ml bottles were for. I think not bringing any is a little extreme.
[As far as sociological mistakes, not talking to people more is a common one, especially with your neighbors.
This is what I was going to say. Roo people are very cool, but, believe it or not sometimes a bit shy. Go ahead and strike up a conversation, even just in line for the Johns. You will be made welcome.
Post by rideincircles on Apr 12, 2008 8:59:29 GMT -5
I busted out the six pack I brang into Centeroo out in the open and got spotted with my beer and had it confiscated by upper level security before I opened any of them, rookie mistake, the dude at the gate gave me a warning to be careful. oops. bust out your own beers in the middle of a large crowd. THat and i didnt talk to many strangers, and we didnt hang out with all the people camping around us.
I couldn't go last year but my brother did and he made a rookie mistake I can share. After partaking in some mind altering substances the night before he lost his car keys and missed wolfmother cause he had to wait on the locksmith