Bonnaroo 2013
Thursday, June 13 – Sunday, June 16 in Manchester, Tennessee
Bonnaroo is the best/worst experience that a human being can have.
Bonnaroo 2013
Thursday, June 13 – Sunday, June 16 in Manchester, Tennessee
Bonnaroo is the best/worst experience that a human being can have.
The worst parts are mostly physical. This year’s weather was in the upper 80’s, which meant no matter how long you stayed up the previous night, you were awake around 8am, aka the time the tent turns into a sauna. It usually rains at least once, which turns areas around the campsite into massive, shoe-consuming mud pits. Waiting for a band on the What and Which stages during the day can make a person feel as if they are literally being cooked in the sun. Also, getting a good view in the tents means getting closer to strangers than you would ever be in a New York subway during rush hour. You will sweat like never before, and I have come to the conclusion that taking a shower is mostly for the reminder of what clean feels like.
But the best parts last forever. The unforgettable acts that you would never be able to see in the real world, the variations of food you can try and the most kind people around you. I definitely have felt more comfortable with strangers waiting for a show at Bonnaroo than strangers I share my classes with every day.
Day 1: My friends and I arrived around 4am Thursday morning, immediately set up our tent and crashed until sauna time. We got in line for Centeroo around 12pm and people-watched until we made it inside.
The first act we saw was twenty one pilots in the Other Tent. They came on in skeleton suits and jumped into their first song full of energy. At one point, the lead singer climbed to the top of the stage and encouraged a few chants from the crowd. I only knew a few of their songs before the set, but by the end I was cheering just as loud as the die-hard fans.
Next was Araabmuzik, and my friends and I managed to get a closer spot to the stage as the previous crowd exited the stage and the new crowd filled in. Araabmuzik was supposed to start at 6:15, but he did not set foot on the stage until 6:45, which annoyed me and the crowd as a whole because it cut his set in half. Either way, he put on a good show and had everyone jumping to his trap beats and drum pad solos.
My friends and I were sweaty and needed fresh air after battling the pit, so we left the Other Tent to check out Ariel Pink at This Tent. The crowd was unusually sparse, but it helped me get a good view of his performance. Ariel Pink played some songs from his latest album; however, most of the show was a series of jam sessions.
It was dark by the time Ariel Pink ended and the temperature had dropped to the 60s, so my friends and I went back to the tent to grab our jackets. On the way back to Centeroo I had the unfortunate opportunity to witness a naked man standing near the arch. Some people brought it to the attention of the security guards, who reluctantly walked towards the man to figure out which drugs he was on.
Eventually making it inside, my friends and I caught the end of Purity Ring, which I only remember as being relaxing. The next performance by Paper Diamond cranked the energy level of Bonnaroo right back to a high. We danced, jumped around, screamed and rambunctiously sang along as he ended the show with “Get Low” by the Ying Yang Twins. Even though there weren’t any acts at the large stages, Day One in the tents had Bonnaroo off to a good start.
Day 2: With the main stages open, my friends and I headed over to the What Stage to check out Local Natives perform at 2:30pm. I was surprised and very happy the band was scheduled on the largest stage, and took it as a sign of their growing success. Their sound filled the stage just like their albums, and the crowd sang along to every word. I was hoping they would play “Who Knows Who Cares,” but even though that was left off the set-list, other songs like “Columbia” were just as powerful.
I split off from the group and darted off to get a good spot for Earl Sweatshirt at the Other Tent. Walking up, I saw that DIIV signs were decorating the stage. At first, I thought I was in the wrong place and frantically grabbed a security guard to get more information. He told me Earl canceled his set due to illness, which was a big letdown. I decided to use the extra time to figure out the Comedy Tent because there was no way that I would miss Daniel Tosh’s performance. In a way, I’m glad that Earl canceled because the line for Tosh was already in place and I would have definitely missed the show otherwise. In line, I met a family from Philadelphia and a man from Canada. The Canadian told me in a cool accent that he left Monday evening, and drove into Bonnaroo around the same time as my group had Thursday morning. And I thought my 10-hour drive was extreme.
After receiving the laminated pass for Tosh, I ran back to the What Tent to catch Passion Pit. Their set was fun, especially during “Sleepyhead,” but I wish they played later at night–the sun was too distracting for me to fully enjoy their set. Once Passion Pit left the stage, I made my way back to the Comedy Tent to see Daniel Tosh. This was my first year seeing a comedy act and I was in awe walking into the giant, air-conditioned tent.
Jerrod Carmichael opened for Tosh with the statement, “I can’t wait until I’m rich enough to become a Republican”. He had a sense of humor very similar to Tosh, with jokes about sensitive subjects such as rape and homelessness. Carmichael had everyone laughing the moment he took the stage, and got the audience to a dark mindset for Tosh’s performance. Tosh began his set to roaring applause saying, “You know when you’re at a show and a girl yells ‘WOOO’ really loud in your ear? Yeah they need to die horrible, painful deaths.” He followed with jokes about lazy Americans (“look at how many are in a tent right now, smoking weed”), rape and even 9/11. Tosh defended himself by saying, “There’s something funny about any situation if you can write a good joke”.
My face was in pain from laughter by the end of Tosh, and some audience members had to wipe the tears from their eyes.
Refreshed by the cool Comedy Tent, I met my friends again to see Paul McCartney at the What Stage. Even though McCartney is 70, he put on an amazing show filled with energy that had my friends asking what age he really was. He performed Beatles classics such as “Hey Jude” and “Blackbird” and had the audience singing along word for word. In between songs, McCartney told stories about his life. One was his experience watching Jimi Hendrix perform. “It was cool to meet someone famous,” McCartney joked. McCartney also performed a song he wrote after John Lennon died, “In the form of a conversation that me and John didn’t have”. By the end, I was in tears and I heard several sniffles from people around me. McCartney ended his set with “Live and Let Die” with fire shooting off behind him and fireworks bursting around the stage.
Paul McCartney returned to the stage for several encores, but by the third encore my friends and I left to try and catch a good spot for The xx at the Which Stage. The xx were scheduled to start at 11:30, but we all realized they couldn’t begin until McCartney ended. As soon as the last firework went off, the band took the stage and jumped into “VCR.” I only stayed for a few songs, because a “superjam” with Wu-Tang Clan, Solange, and Schoolboy Q just started in That Tent.
This was my first year seeing a superjam, and my expectation was for all the performers to freestyle together. Turns out, an artist would perform two or three of their own songs then move on to the next act. It started off a little slow and there were awkward breaks between each singer, but Wu-Tang, Solange, and Schoolboy Q joined together and had the crowd going crazy by the end.
Day 3: The goal was to get as close to Matt & Kim as possible. In order to do this, my friends and I camped out at the Other Tent all day. We get to the tent around 1:30pm, right as Clockwork ended. Next to perform was Death Grips. I had no clue who Death Grips were at the time. My friend asked me about their music, and I casually described them as, “Some rock group.” Then the road crew started to set up a turntable. They came on stage with the lead singer shirtless, glaring at the audience. A guy next to me said, “I’m scared.” The band member on the turntable matched the intensity of the lead singer’s glare and dropped a beat. I’m still not sure what to think about what happened afterwards. The singer was screaming into the mic with fury, but the beats were upbeat. I felt like the music unleashed the primal instincts of the audience, and I was instantly on push-everything mode in order to stay standing.
I managed to hold on to one of my friends, but the other one was pushed away. When Death Grips finally ended, I was sweaty and on edge. They were easily the most intense group that I have seen at Bonnaroo.
After the Death Grips came Four Tet. I quickly learned Four Tet was electronica, and a completely different vibe than Death Grips and Matt & Kim. The music just flowed from song-to-song and was danceable, but several people were left wondering about the drops. The drops never came. Overall the performance was good, but no one was screaming for an encore.
When Four Tet ended, my friends and I regrouped and found an ideal spot less than 10 feet away from the stage. By this time we had been standing for three hours, but the front was too crowded to comfortably sit down. At 5:30, I looked around to see the Other Tent was completely packed. I told everyone to brace themselves. Matt & Kim walked onstage to a roaring crowd, and everyone went wild as soon as the first beat dropped. At one point, Kim gave out baby wipes so “people could clean themselves before getting laid.” [perhaps a reference to this?-ed] I was dripping with sweat halfway through the show, and I noticed that my hands were getting pruny. People were crowd-surfing left and right, and we were covered with confetti and balloons.
Matt & Kim performed all the hits, including “Daylight,” “Now,” and “Silver Tiles,” but I was surprised that the super upbeat “Cinders” was left out. Looking back, I feel the crowd was already full of energy and “Cinders” would’ve caused an overload. When Matt & Kim left the stage, I grabbed my friends and we practically crawled out of the tent.
My friends wanted to check out A-Trak and Bjork, but everyone agreed that we needed a break from crowds after Matt & Kim. We ended up just laying down in the Which Stage field, and listened to Bjork from a distance.
We moved closer to the stage around 8pm to get a good view of The Lumineers. The band opened with “Flowers in Your Hair” and continued the folk-rock vibe. I danced and sang along to their songs, but I was still exhausted from Matt & Kim and couldn’t participate as much as I wanted. When The Lumineers ended, my options were to see Jack Johnson, the replacement artist for Mumford & Sons, or get a good spot for R. Kelly’s 11:30pm show. I chose R. Kelly.
I was able to get a front-row spot to the Which Stage, so I finally sat down and fell asleep. I woke up around 11 to the drunken babble of an audience member. He professed his love to a random girl in front of him and told her he would get a kiss. I was dying with laughter at his antics and slightly felt bad for how awkward the situation clearly was for the girl. Thankfully, there were a few people between the guy and his “true love” and he was too drunk to actually make a move. Fireworks went off around the What Stage at 11:40, which were most likely meant for Mumford & Sons. When the display ended, a voice came on the loud speakers and announced the next show would begin in “R-minus 10 minutes”.
All of a sudden, R. Kelly sang the chorus to “Ignition.” The girls in the audience went crazy, but R. Kelly was nowhere to be found. Turns out, he had climbed to the top of the stage. But he didn’t seem to think the whole plan through, as he couldn’t find a way back down. A crane was raised to help him down, and there was a hilarious awkward pause while the crane slowly lowered. Finally back on the ground, R. Kelly jumped on stage to finish the song and had everyone groovin’. He jumped from hit to hit quickly, and girls lost their minds.
Eventually, he paused and sang, “I’ve been going strong for 40 minutes now, with no breaks” and had the crowd chanting “No breaks.” Some people next to me were screaming, “Pee on me.” For some reason, I did not imagine R. Kelly as a great singer. I was completely wrong. He gave each performance his all and did many impressive vocal runs. Of course, “I Believe I Can Fly” was saved for last. R. Kelly brought out a Southern Baptist-style choir and plastic birds were released during the song. I hadn’t heard the song in years, but I still sang every word with the rest of the crowd. We expected a “Trapped in the Closet” encore, but instead the song was played through speakers for anyone interested in listening. I called it a day and headed back to the tent.
Day 4: I am beyond tired of hearing “Thrift Shop” on the radio. However, my friends and I still wanted to check out Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at the What Stage, for we heard they put together an energetic performance. We arrived halfway through the soul-filled Lee Fields & the Expressions and found a great spot in front of the stage gate. The band brought Bonnaroo back to the 70s and had everyone feeling their inner old black man. One of my friends said, “I feel like I have to say ‘Amen’ after every song.”
After Lee Fields, the sun came out and cooked us. We talked to a guy near us that resembled James Franco, and he helped us form a bandana tent to shield everyone from the intense rays. After a hot wait, Ryan Lewis took his spot behind the DJ stand and got the crowd roaring for Macklemore. They jumped right into songs from The Heist and had everyone jumping and clapping their hands to the beat.
Macklemore spoke about drug and alcohol addiction and rallied the crowd for equality before performing “Same Love”. Even though it was ridiculously hot, one crowd member wore a “Thrift Shop” inspired fur coat. Macklemore noticed, and had the coat crowd-surfed to the stage. Next, he put on the “Tennessee Bobcat” and performed an energetic rendition of “Thrift Shop” complete with Buffalo Madonna gracing the stage.
Macklemore quickly exited the stage and returned donning a purple cape and wig to perform “And We Danced” in a British accent. It was one of the stranger parts of his performance, but everyone went along with it and jumped to the beat.
Macklemore’s performance put me in a great mood for the next act, Kendrick Lamar. This was not the first time Lamar and I shared a Bonnaroo, but at the time I had no clue who he was. Now, I was giddy with excitement to see him perform. Lamar hit the stage to “The Art of Peer Pressure” and we screamed like schoolchildren.
The crowd roared every time Lamar shouted “Bonnaroo.” He performed hits such as “Money Trees” (ya bish) and “Backseat Freestyle”. At one point, Lamar even played Asap Rocky’s “F*ckn Problems” to sing his iconic verse, “Girl I know you want this —”. Before Lamar played “m.A.A.d city”, he demanded that the crowd lose their minds. My friends and I obeyed his command and moshed while doing the “pull up” dance (see 2:48 if you’re confused). Lamar ended his set with “Swimming Pools” and walked out with the crowd shouting “Drank” as loud as they could.
As soon as Kendrick Lamar ended, my friends and I sprinted halfway across Bonnaroo to catch Tame Impala at the Other Tent. We were able to hitchhike closer to the stage, and Tame Impala started the set with a tent filled to capacity. The Australians brought their psychedelic sound to Bonnaroo, and had everyone bobbing their heads to the beat. They performed songs from their latest album, such as “Elephant,” and the older hit “Solitude is Bliss,” and filled the set with a few jam sessions. Tame Impala is one of my favorite bands, and their set almost seemed too short even though they performed for over an hour.
The next act was A$AP Rocky, and I knew that not all of the Tame Impala fans would be interested. When Tame Impala ended, my friends and I pushed our way to the front, but so did several others. We were only a few feet away from the stage, but people still pushed forward. It got to a point where there was no way physically possible to get closer to the stage. I was literally sandwiched between others around me, and some people had to be crowd-surfed out because they couldn’t push people away. A girl a few feet away from me was throwing up, and a few people passed out. All this was going on before A$AP even took the stage. I grabbed my friend and held her backpack in an attempt to stay standing. Security tried to get people to step back from the stage, but there was no way.
Finally, Rocky took the stage and started the show with “Long Live A$AP.” I battled the crowd to stay standing, and I was covered in sweat before the song ended, with my fingers once again wrinkling up. A$AP performed “Goldie”, “F*ckn Problems”, and “Wild for the Night” from his latest album. He also brought out his older singles such as “Purple Swag.” At one point, A$AP brought out Schoolboy Q and performed “Brand New Guy.” Rocky ended the show by requesting for all the topless girls to crowd-surf to the stage as he sang “Peso.”
I watched people try to find various articles of clothing as they walked out of the tent, and I reunited with my friends who were torn away during the set. “I thought I was going to die,” groaned one of my friends. I was just as glad I made it through the set. We grabbed a few much needed tacos and a half-gallon cup of lemonade on the way out of Centeroo.
As quickly as it began, Bonnaroo was over. We had survived. My friends and I were sad to leave, but the prospect of an automatic toilet was calling us. Until next time, Bonnaroo.
