Bonnaroo Music Festival: Day 2
Manchester, TN
June 11, 2010
Words & Photos by Diana Wong
Despite hitting the hay at a reasonable hour, I slept for only five hours or so because, at a certain point in the morning, the Tennessee sun relentlessly beams into your tent, effectively making it a sweat lodge. So I woke up promptly at 8 a.m., and I know I’m in for a long one―my second day at Roo will end around 4 a.m.! First, I caught a special acoustic performance by Dr. Dog at the press tent after a media orientation. I guess it was a little special something for all us overworked photographers and writers.
I made my way to The Other Tent for Tokyo Police Club’s early afternoon set. I’ve held a girly place in my heart for these lads since I heard “Nature of the Experiment” from their first record. I was pretty amped for this. Tokyo Police Club delivered a sharp and urgent set, totally at east playing for the festival crowd. Good going, boys! You’re Champs!
On the way out of the tent, I saw a monk and two nuns.
I spotted Reggie Watts back at the media compound. He was performing at the Comedy Theatre with Margaret Cho later that day. This awesome dude was kind enough to pose by some haystacks.
After some refueling with veggie corndogs and some fresh lemonade, I made a quick walk to the Gossip. Somehow, I’ve never seen them live despite loving “Standing in the Way of Control” since forever. Beth Ditto started out strong with “Yr Mangled Heart” before getting a bit political with banter (“I was worried y’all was gonna be those ‘God hate fags’ people. Finally, the fags hate God people. I love baby Jesus.”). Outspoken, yes, but you have to admit Beth is in a league of her own with those pipes of hers. Amazing voice, amazing set.
After this point, I was pretty thirsty but the line for filling up your Sigg and Nalgene bottles was heinous. Sweet tea it is.
Change of pace: up next was Damian Marley & Nas on the What Stage. Conan O’Brien, who performed earlier at the Comedy Theatre, introduced the duo. I admit, I’m not well versed in reggae and hip-hop, but I was pretty entranced by Damian and Nas’s lyrical dexterity. The smoke wafting through the crowd (and onstage) was pretty distracting, by the way.
It was sad how I had to carefully schedule time to eat during this crazy fest. I was planning to scarf down some samosas before shooting She & Him. However, the photo pit was over-capacity so I took that as a cue to recline with a plate of samosas and take in Zooey’s quirky croons.
Tori Amos followed She & Him at This Tent, so I was at the photo pit way early. Having secured a cozy spot for shooting, I chatted with pretty diehard fans who waited all day at the tent. One lady actually had a VIP pass but chose to forego the comfort of a special side stage viewing area in order to be right up front. Intense. I had to leave Tori Amos’s tent early, but not before hearing her chilling rendition of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers was one of the names on the Bonnaroo lineup that made me do a double take. Remember that SNL performance? I thought it was a skit at first, but I realized that Steve Martin is serious about the banjo. And skilled. He did play the comedian at times, making a few jokes about how he actually wrote his own songs and how he was tweeting “laughing out loud.” Jokes aside, Martin was undoubtedly earnest when he said that playing bluegrass at Bonnaroo was “a dream.”
These adorable boys were in the photo pit with their shutterbug dad! Baby earmuffs!
Come midnight would be my favorite set of the fest: Daryl Hall & Chromeo. This collaboration came out of Live from Daryl’s House, a series of must-see webisodes where Daryl jams with friends. This Bonnaroo reunion made all my dreams come true! Not to be hyperbolic, but this set was seriously a joy to watch and shoot. Everyone onstage was all smiles, and those good vibes were contagious. Daryl and Chromeo alternated between their respective tunes. There is indescribable joy in watching everyone rock out to “Tenderoni”. And I mean everyone— the crowd, photographers in the pit, and those on stage were all shaking their thang.
By the way, Daryl had a fan blowing at his hair, making him look epic and all. Mark my words, this was an amazing set. I don’t regret missing Flaming Lips or Black Keys.
At this point in the night, I was so exhausted and dehydrated that I made my way out of The Other Tent to get some more sweet tea. I happened to passed by the Lunar Stage, where Hercules and Love Affair held a DJ set. I spotted Pat Mahoney, Nancy Whang, other members of LCD Soundsystem and Aziz Ansari chilling out. Then a raver asked me if I was “holding” anything… so I quickly made my way back to Daryl Hall & Chromeo.
Still with me? I know, that’s how I felt at 2:30a.m., when LCD finally took the stage. James Murphy and crew started out with some tracks from the latest record, most notably the infectious “Pow Pow”, before easing into older favorites like “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” and “Tribulations”. Beatmaster Murphy repeatedly thanked everyone for staying up so late but I’d like to think the feeling was mutual. Only a supercharged set like that could have given me the energy to dance ’til four in the morning.
