« Dispatches from Bonnaroo, Day 2 | Main | Dispatches from Bonnaroo, Day 4 »
June 18, 2007
Dispatches from Bonnaroo, Day 3
I think I'll work a little backward on running through this day. We'll start with me trudging the mile-plus distance back to camp at a late hour — late for me, though I was leaving a show that was just getting started. Sasha and Digweed were spinning minimalist madness, and the thump-thump-thump followed me most of the way back. It was like having my own soundtrack for the walk. I enjoy listening to (what we used to call "techno" way back when) when I have a repetitive task at hand. I didn't have it in me to stay, though I think quite a few others did have "it" in them, whatever "it" might have been.
Before that, I had been wandering around the outskirts of Which Stage (second biggest), where the Flaming Lips added to the greatness of this Bonnaroo by putting on one of the most visually stimulating shows I've ever witnessed. Their stage set was dominated by a UFO-shaped light rig, which did descend to the stage amidst spaceship landing sounds, and from which the lead singer proceeded in a large plastic bubble, which he then used to walk atop the joyous crowd. There were outlandish video clips projected to the back screen, balloons and confetti everywhere, more dizzying lights; and the front crowd all got laser pointers to shine at the stage. Musically, the band was very tight, but none more so than when they (acted like they?) tried to start their show an hour early with a verbatim cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs."
In addition to an amazing show, Flaming Lips also had a pretty cool opening band (The Police, who played the 9pm slot on What Stage). The Police are a "life list" item, so I'm glad to have them checked off.
That said, the only one who seemed to be enjoying the experience (including most of the enormous crowd) was Stewart Copeland. Sting and Andy Summers just were not present. From the botched opening of "Message in a Bottle" to the painfully syrupy, yes-I-can't-believe-they-played-it "Every Breath You Take," I cringed more often than I cheered at this one, but mostly I just stood there. "Synchronicity II," as a song, had so much potential to make up for the opener, but sadly fell flat as well in its second-place spot.
There were good moments; don't get me wrong. The trio stretched out a bit on "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" and sounded quite fine on "Regatta de Blanc"->"Can't Stand Losing You" (though I could have done without the sing-along part). They rocked "Next to You" with just a twinge of the old punk-ish edge.
Sting's voice was in good form, but his bass wasn't mixed well; Andy Summers played rather sloppily, and didn't seem to know what to do when the song would "jam" for a minute; and Stewart Copeland was energetic and impeccable.
Expectations were probably unrealistic on my part. I admit that. I have been a self-styled Police connoisseur for such a long time, it was inevitable to have been let down a little. But everyone else I talked to got the same distinct impression about the two non-drummers' lack of enthusiasm (and several pointed out that the band ended its set earlier than expected).
Let's see, backing up some more: I finally ventured out at around 6pm, having tried to escape the heat all day. I chose Franz Ferdinand over Ween or Ben Harper. I'm really sorry I did that. I was back far enough at Which Stage to be able to hear the crazy time they were having over in This Tent with Ween. The pavilion was crowded by that time, though, and moving would have meant leaving a shady sitting spot for standing in the full sun. Again. The problem I had with Franz Ferdinand was that every song, save one, had the same marching bass drum beat, and after a while it was merely silly. I think their hits work well as songs, and the band plays well. It's easy to be too picky when surrounded by so much great music.
I missed a lot of music, due to heat effects and simply due to the fact that even though the schedule looks like one can catch Act A, then B, then C, one really has to skip B in order to leave A and make it over to find a good spot for C. The RV or VIP route is the way to go to make the most of it, I think. Tent camping is the full experience, but a big part of that experience involves hiking and porta-toilets. And try to add videotaping and blogging to that mix.
Bonnaroo 2007 | By pulseblogger | 06:22 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://chattablogs.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/38266
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Dispatches from Bonnaroo, Day 3:
