Bonnaroo 2014: Day 1 & 2

      What is there to say about Bonnaroo that hasn't already been said? This annual gathering on "The Farm" has acquired the most loyal fanbase of any festival in North America. Bonnaroo fans return to Manchester, Tennessee every June for their "family reunion" regardless of who is playing the festival. That's not to say that Bonnaroo 2014 did not have a great lineup, but the announcement of Kanye West as a headliner was certainly polarizing amongst Bonnaroovians. At the end of the day however, one headliner does not a Bonnaroo make. That being said, here is what we saw on Thursday and Friday of Bonnaroo 2014.

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The ride up from Atlanta was going smoothly until we were about 3 miles outside of Manchester. This is when we were "politely" asked by Tennessee State Troopers to enter the line of cars waiting to gain entrance to the festival. From here, it took us about an hour to get to the "toll booth", where Bonnaroo staff check your car for any contraband and usher you towards one of the camping pods. We made our way to Camp Zoolander in Pod 6, which ended up being a 10-15 minute walk to the back entrance to Centeroo, where all the Bonnaroo magic happens. The biggest tip we can offer in setting up camp at Bonnaroo is to claim your space and create boundaries quickly. Our tent was larger than most, so our goal was to have enough space to make the most of our time at our second home. Once camp was set up, we set up our folding table emblazoned with the YOTHT logo and commenced a game of ales (beer pong). This was followed by our first trek into Centeroo to buy our merchandise. Another piece of advice: buy your merchandise early so you don't have to worry about it later. A trip to Centeroo and back is worth it in order to secure what pieces of memorabilia you want, because some merchandise sells our quickly.

The first time we exited Centeroo, we were treated to something you don't always see on The Farm. It had been raining pretty heavily in the days leading up to Bonnaroo, so a rainbow was a welcome surprise. The rainbow actually ended up being a symbol of our good fortune, because weather wise, the worst was over. Other than a light sprinkle on Friday morning, the rain never came back, but the weather system that brought it gave us a much milder Bonnaroo than usual. This made the experience much more enjoyable, because we weren't having to prepare for the severe heat that usually accompanies a summer in the heart of Tennessee. After merch was secured, we were ready to experience our first taste of the music that Bonnaroo 2014 had to offer.

The first act we saw was Real Estate. Nothing against them, because they were really good, but we likened it to swimming in the shallow end, and we wanted to kick Bonnaroo off by doing a cannonball into the deep end. Their version of dream pop just wasn't the start we were looking for. After Real Estate, we went to check out Ms Mr. They were the first of a number of different bands that covered the Arctic Monkey's hit "Do I Wanna Know" before wrapping up their high energy show with their hit single "Hurricane". This set was extremely fun and was definitely the start we were looking for to the festival.

After Ms Mr, we stayed at The Other Tent for Break Science. This Trip-Hop duo really brought it and the live drummer was pretty fantastic. One addition to The Other Tent this year was an LED screen behind the artists. This really enhanced the experience at this stage, because in the past, the most you would get was a tapestry with the band's name on it. Particularly for EDM/electronic shows, where lights and stage production are so important to the flow of the show. Ms Mr and Break Science back to back was really an amazing way to end Thursday at Bonnaroo, as after this, we just wandered around did our reconnaissance in order to plan out the rest of our weekend.

                                                                  

Friday at Bonnaroo started off with St. Paul and the Broken Bones. In what turned out to be one of the surprises of the weekend, this was definitely a top ten show for us. This big band soul revival act blew us away and greatly exceeded our expectations, that were already high to begin with. This was by far the largest first act of the day crowd we've ever seen on The Farm. Lead singer Paul Janeway really endeared himself to the crowd by talking about his time working as a volunteer at past Bonnaroos. He told a story about getting urinated on by a fan while working security. At one point he said, "I was just like you guys, and this is a dream come true for me to be up here performing for you." You could tell that it really meant a lot to him, and this was clearly seen by how passionately he performed. One of the highlights of the show was when they completely reinvented Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees". If you ever have an opportunity to see this band live, we strongly urge you to do so. You will not be disappointed. 

After St. Paul, we decided to go check out some of the World Cup on the Kalliope stage. During the day, there was a large screen dedicated to showing games, and at night, this stage became a giant dance party and DJ area. The game we took in was Netherlands vs Spain, which produced one of the early shock results of the tournament. The Netherlands won 5-1, and the crowd watching was mostly stunned. While this was going on, we were able to listen to some of Sam Smith's set that was going on at a nearby stage, and he also covered "Do I Wanna Know". We cannot say enough about how awesome it was that Bonnaroo provided this outlet to watch World Cup games, because as much as we love music, the World Cup only happens once every four years. 

After this, we went to see emerging hip-hop artist Danny Brown. This young rapper had one of the rowdiest mid-day tent crowds that we've ever seen. It had late-night intensity, which is very rare for a mid-day crowd. The audience at this show definitely skewed younger. Once this show started, the crowd was moving the entire time and it did not stop until his set was complete. This stage was jam packed all day, as this was the same stage that hosted St. Paul and the Broken Bones, and the next two acts that we will discuss. 

The Naked and Famous were up next, and they were an act we had seen before in Athens at the 40 Watt Club. This New Zealand synthpop group is really fun to see live, and they certainly brought it for this show. We got a spot right in front of the soundboard, so not only did we have a great view, but we were also treated to exceptional sound. This is where another piece of advice comes in. Unless you really want to be right up front for a certain band, the soundboard spot gives you the best of both worlds. Close enough to have a great view and fantastic sound, but enough distance to be comfortable, and that is vital at Bonnaroo, where temperatures can definitely make things uncomfortable. The Naked and Famous did a great job of blending in their hits from their debut album, Passive Me, Aggresive You while also playing songs from their latest album In Rolling Waves. Highlights from this set included the song that made them famous: "Punching In A Dream" and their other smash hit "Young Blood", both of which you can watch right here:

 

One of the YOTHT family broke off to catch Seattle-based folk-rock band The Head and The Heart at the Which Stage. The pit line was not very long, so accessing the pit proved to be pretty easy. The band played a mix of their two records, sprinkling in banter with the crowd of how appreciative they were and how much they loved the Bonnaroo vibe. A lot of times, folk rock is considered mellow. The Head and The Heart tend to be the exception to that rule, rocking out and keeping the energy high.

After The Naked and Famous at The Other Tent, Scottish synthpop trio CHVRCHES took to the stage and they were amazing. This was another one of our favorite shows of the weekend, breaking in to the top 5. Lead singer Lauren Mayberry was very playful with the crowd, even making a World Cup joke as she kicked a beach ball back into the crowd. Talk about high energy, this show had plenty of that. Highlights included "Gun", "Lies", "Recover", and their smash hit "The Mother We Share". They will be coming to Atlanta in October, and we will most certainly be there to see them again, because they showed that they are a band that you do not want to miss.

After CHVRCHES, we headed over to the Which Stage for its headliner of the evening, Phoenix. This French Indie Rock group was definitely a top 5 act of the weekend and were were absolutely blown away by their set. We were fortunate enough to snake our way into the pit for this show, and we were right up on one of the side rails, which, having previous knowledge of their shows, would prove to be a great decision later on. One of our contributors had seen Phoenix three times previously, and he said that this was by far their best show that he has seen. They opened with "Entertainment", the lead single off of Bankrupt!, their most recent album. This was a great decision, as the high energy song really set the tone for the rest of their set. Other highlights of this set included: "Chloroform", "Bankrupt!/Love Like a Sunset", "Listomania", and "1901". They ended the show by reprising the opener "Entertainment". During this reprise, lead singer Thomas Mars jumped into the crowd and crowd surfed from the end of the pit back to the front of the stage. It really capped off an amazing performance of what amounted to a greatest hits off their last two albums plus some older songs show. Mars mentioned how much Bonnaroo meant to them as their 2009 show at the festival helped launch them into superstardom.

 

After Phoenix's jaw-dropping set, we headed over to the What Stage for Friday night's much anticipated headliner, Kanye West. The stage production was amazing with a massive LED column that distortedly showed his movements on stage. This was to limit West's exposure to digital media, as he is extremely selective on how his image is used. The Bonnaroo fans realized this, as many totems, wall art, shirts, and port-a-potty graffiti were directed at lampooning West, with many nods to the infamous South Park fish sticks episode. Now, we try to stay positive on this blog, and while he was actually performing songs, the show was great. The problem was, he did not perform for his full time allotted, and during the 90 minute set, much of the time was spent ranting. Despite the negativity, highlights of his set included opening with "Black Skinhead", "New Slaves", the Daft Punk sampled "Stronger", "Clique", "Run This Town", "All Falls Down", "Jesus Walks" "Touch the Sky", and "All the Lights". He closed with "Blood on the Leaves" and his show kind of just ended. There was no thanks to the crowd and people were left to wonder why there was still 30 scheduled minutes in his allotted time. In what was an already light headliner crowd, this number steadily dwindled in half as the rants mounted. 

The hip-hop continued on Friday night as after Yeezus, legendary west coast MC Ice Cube took to the Which Stage. This one time gangster rapper turned pop culture icon really did put on a better than expected show. He opened with his and Dr Dre's hit "Natural Born Killaz". He also brought out two inflatable hands that were molded to make the "westside' sign. He paid tribute to the fallen west coast icon Nate Dogg by playing the Westside Connection's "Gangsta Nation". Other highlights included "Check Yo Self", "Go to Church", and he ended with "It Was A Good Day".

 

Friday night ended with dubstep maestro Skrillex. This show got started a little bit late due to technical difficulties with his extremely intricate spaceship stage setup, but once it got started, he reminded everyone why he is one of the most popular EDM acts today. Unlike a House EDM act, Skrillex's dubstep style allows him to be very creative to the point of being innovative. He plays his popular songs, but he also invents new sounds almost on a nightly basis. He is not a "press play" DJ, which has been a point of contention in the EDM world today. No two Skrillex sets are alike. He is extremely interactive with the crowd, with his only desire being to provide the audience with a night they won't soon forget. One of the highlights of this set was when he brought out Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley and they played a mix of their song "Make It Bun Dem" and Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock". This show provided an excellent end to Bonnaroo Friday and increased anticipation for the following night's Skrillex Superjam. 

This concludes our look at the first two days of Bonnaroo 2014. We leave you now with some pictures of some of our favorite totems from the weekend, and don't forget to look back here soon for our review of Bonnaroo Saturday and Sunday.