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June 12, 2006
Random Riverbend Observations: Weekend One
You can pay $2 to use a clean, air-conditioned restroom one time (or pay $5 for an unlimited use, evening-long “potty pass”) at the Courtyard by Marriott just outside the festival gates if you want to.
No matter how they position the stage from year to year, the heat at any Covista Stage show before 8 p.m.—the Lovell Sisters’ Friday night appearance being a highlight of the festival so far—is almost unbearable. Don’t let this stop you from checking out some great music, however. Take advantage of that convenient misting tunnel right around the corner. The cardboard hand fans that everybody and their brother are passing out this year simply do not help.
If the whiffs of patchouli and the number of noodle dancing teens is any indication, Infradig’s set on the AmSouth stage on Friday night was a hit, as the band zipped through a bunch of new tunes and old faves (DJ Shadow’s “Organ Donor” and Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” among them) in a sort of warm-up gig for this week’s Bonnaroo appearance. Watching Al Di Meola’s band and crew set up for 45 minutes afterwards was not nearly as exciting. Things did pick up when he started to play, however.
Historically, Riverbend’s redneckiest acts draw the biggest crowds, and Friday night’s Hank Williams, Jr. show was no exception, as crowd estimates topped well above 100,000. An interesting phenomena was observed, as well: More and more people are abandoning any attempts to see the stage at all, instead opting to stand around the several large video screens strategically placed near to Coca-Cola stage.
Kenny Rogers may be close to 70, but his face isn’t a day over 54, and his catalog of hits—many of which getting a well-rehearsed, abbreviated treatment Sunday night with the CSO—goes back almost 40 years. Rogers was a tad put off by the bars on the front of Coca-Cola barge and occasionally gently chided the audience for their lack of participation, but was genuinely likable and entertaining during his 63-minute-long set. (Though news of a young man leaping to his death from the Walnut Street Bridge Sunday night put a damper on an otherwise beautiful and enjoyable evening.)
For full, colorful coverage of this year’s festival, read next week’s edition of The Pulse.
BlogBeats | By pulseblogger | 03:09 PM
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