Mud Pits and Tough Choices: Bonnaroo 2005

by Margaret Pitcher
photos by David Vann

In addition to Coachella, this year marked another festival first for me: Bonnaroo. A mega-fest of the first order featuring a countless number of performers from all different genres, Bonnaroo drew nearly 80,000 music fans to the rural Tennessee town of Manchester. Yes it was muddy, the sheer number of people was staggering, and it was often a difficult event to navigate. (Hence the large number of youngsters who've got the stamina to endure the environment and elements.) There were plenty of distractions to take your mind off the weather, and while it's a bit difficult to capture it all on one page here's a day-by-day summary of the three-day weekend. Kinda scratches the surface, but it will give you a sense of the musical offerings and the frenzied pace of this large-scale event.

Unfortunately we missed the pre-fest Thursday night performances, but by Friday morning were ready to roll. I caught an insightful press conference with Herbie Hancock, John Mayer (part of the newest incarnation of the Headhunters), Saul Williams, Hassidic rapper Matisyahu, and Ketch Secor from Old Crow Medicine Show. These five very different and very talented people shared their insight on what inspires them creatively and what they think of the whole jamband phenomenon, fielding intelligent questions from within the media tent. When asked what we could expect from his tenure as Bonnaroo's first-ever artist-in residence, Herbie said, "There are so many different groups and so many different directions. I love variety and I'm really curious… but I don't know what's gonna happen." Simple words that set the tone for the festival.

You could hear young soulstress Joss Stone charming the audience outside the media tent, but I scurried across the site to catch the last of The Gourds scorching set. Joanna Newsom was captivating – she's certainly an acquired taste, yet it was impressive to see and hear a woman hold an audience's attention with just a harp and a decidedly childlike voice. The Drive By Truckers were fantastic. They came on strong from the beginning and did not let up with their sweltering southern rock. Across the way, and on the other end of the musical scale, Jurassic 5 injected a heavy dose of top-notch hip-hop into the hippie crowd. Then it was on to The Allman Brothers Band who sounded mighty good. During the twilight hours I shuttled back and forth between Herbie Hancock's Headhunters and the Benevento/Russo Duo with Mike Gordon. The Headhunters were inspired with John Mayer (I give the guy credit and forgive his mainstream leanings as he can play a mean guitar), trumpeter Roy Hargrove and a stellar cast of musicians. I retuned to The Duo's set right in time to catch a sit-in from sitarist Gabby La La (of Les Claypool fame) followed by an instrumental version of the Phish classic "Mike's Song" that had the entire audience singing the words. One of the most moving experiences of my whole weekend. I was thankful for the break when the Dave Matthews Band took the stage. Granted I should give these guys a fair shake, but I needed to fuel up and save my energy for the late night shows. Saul Williams took the stage at midnight. I suppose I hadn't seen the guy perform in a while – last time he was doing a poetic acoustic solo thing and this time out he rocked it hard with a band. We ducked out to see Galactic's Krewe De Carnivale weaving its way through the grounds, complete with a giant Mr. T float and a shower of Mardi Gras beads tossed from the revelers in the parade to the revelers in the audience. Shortly thereafter The Mars Volta descended on us with a frenzied set that left me feeling possessed by the time they departed the stage. They too are an acquired taste; I love a trip to the dark side, yet it's amazing to me that they've gained such widespread devotion from such a large number of music fans. We caught the tail end of Sound Tribe Sector 9, a band I do admire but that I've seen quite a few times. And this weekend I promised myself I'd absorb as much new music as possible.

I woke Saturday morning to the bluesy rock of England's 22-20s emanating from the second stage. I rolled out of bed and gathered my senses as best I could to see Kings of Leon, yet another group of young southern rockers who are proving themselves worthy of the hype. Over to M. Ward's set which featured a sit-in from Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley, then Rilo Kiley took the stage and reminded me why I dug them at Coachella. The rains came down steadily in the evening, which didn't bother me as I was safe from the downpour under "That Tent" for almost the entire Iron & Wine set. Whether he was blowing full force with the band or performing solo, Sam Beam had the audience hooked. Widespread Panic played a great set, seemingly refreshed and revived after their one-and-a-half year hiatus with the soulful and ubiquitous Warren Haynes sitting in on a few numbers. As for the late night, though it was hard to top the previous night Saturday sure gave Friday a run for its money. One of the most unexpected highs for me was the Secret Machines. Sure their light show was incredible, but so was their gothic, psychedelic sound with just the right ebb and flow which hit the spot and kept me totally engaged for two hours. So much so that I missed most of guitar god Trey Anastasio's special late night set. By the time we got to Trey he was performing a number of Beatles songs, then he launched into a cover of Van Halen's "Panama" with a not-so-surprise appearance from American Idol runner-up Bo Bice. While I'm all for the idea of a southern home boy making it to the top, this cross-over into the mainstream commercial pop world was just too much. We turned right around to catch DJ Krush, whom I saw a bit of at Coachella and who impressed me even more so now that I got to see him in full effect. The guy is amazing to watch and he had "The Other Tent" grooving hard - the scene was like a good old-fashioned rave. After DJ Krush left the stage, humble and appreciative of the audience's love, we dropped in on Karl Denson who was still going strong after four hours, with his usual jazz-funk fury and added umph from a female vocalist. To top off the night we staggered by the tent where De La Soul was holding court. Upstanding fellas that they are, they gave props to the organizers of the festival and asked the audience to voice their appreciation at being part of this event.

On day three, I managed to drag myself up and out to see Umphrey's McGee's early afternoon set. These boys were a Bonnaroo break-out several years ago and the fans were happy to see them back. En route to RatDog I encountered another unexpected high: Heartless Bastards, a hard-driving rock trio from Ohio. Frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom was graciously signing autographs after their set; my friend said that was the first time he'd seen that at Bonnaroo, which in itself says something for this band. RatDog was well worth the trip. Bob Weir sounded great and the band delivered a thoroughly enjoyable set. Next up were three excellent bands performing at the exact same time. We started out at My Morning Jacket, who have become a Bonnaroo mainstay. Their highly anticipated set was compounded by a wacky conductor and larger-than-life puppets. We then tore ourselves away to catch the John Butler Trio, a band truly on fire. So drawn in was I that I never made it to our final Lake Trout destination. Such is the hazard of having tough musical choices. It was good to see The Word back in action. This all-star instrumental gospel group is another band that seems regenerated after taking some time off. From there it was on to indie rock heroes Modest Mouse. Though some long-time fans have accused them of selling out they sounded fresh and alive that evening. The bold climbers who were scaling an immensely tall tree in the middle of the field seemed like an appropriate accompaniment to Modest Mouse's set. After they finished, I was truly glad that there was only one remaining performance to focus on: night two of Widespread Panic. They topped the previous night's performance in a big way and sounded better than I've heard them in a long long time. It was a four-hour marathon with a slew of special guests including Bob Weir, Herbie Hancock, Cody Dickinson, Luther Dickinson, Col. Bruce Hampton, Robert Randolph, and percussionists Derrick Freeman and Marc Balsam. No set break - they played non-stop and with such fervor that the lack of an encore was not too disappointing.

Did I mention the Silent Disco, where folks put on headphones and danced to a seemingly inaudible beat under an open canopy? Or the Arcade Disco, where you could pop a quarter into your favorite games whilst grooving out to DJ dance music? Or the side stages and cafes, where you could encounter yet more unexpectedly pleasing sounds from both featured festival artists and relative unknowns. It was epic, a bit overwhelming, but overall a fun-filled weekend.

Next stop: Behind the scenes at High Sierra.