Day 2

Arcade Fire, photo by C. Taylor Crothers courtesy of Bonnaroo.

Hot. Feet hurt. Need to drink more water. Sleeping may be giving in, but at 4.30 a.m. your will runs out. It’s cold. Two hours later, the sun and heat gently caress you from your hole in the ground where you’ve unceremoniously passed out. It’s hot again. You’re always missing bands. You meet people who know people who you haven’t talked to in years. There is no shade. It’s dusty from all the footsteps. It’s hazy. It’s Bonnaroo, and I’m loving every second of it.

Matt And Kim: The dynamic duo from Brooklyn has enthusiasm down to a science. Matt And Kim‘s shows really don’t change much from set to set; there’s the singalongs, playfully obscene banter, the laugh lines, the almost-excruciating enthusiasm (“let’s make these next three minutes the start of the BEST SUMMER OF YOUR LIFE”), as well as the delightfully punky stylings of keyboardist Matt and drummer Kim. Friday’s was a fun set with few surprises.

Givers: Givers did enthusiasm as well, but unlike Matt And Kim, it wasn’t part of the act. Givers, a new band from Lafayette, Louisiana, carried a blistering set with massive smiles and excitement. After an exploded van nearly prevented the band from playing, a Bonnaroo set (on a small but absolutely packed stage) must have been exhilarating. Givers delivered its blend of zydeco and indie pop in multi-sectional songs with personality; from guitarist-singer Taylor Guarisco’s possessed expressions, to synth player Nick Stephan grinning as he busted out a flute, to the extraordinary technical proficiency of the rhythm section, to the interplay between singers Guarisco and Tiffany Lamson (are they friends? Are they dating? It doesn’t matter, as they may win the award for “Cutest Indie Couple of 2011″), Givers’ show was an absolute highlight of Bonnaroo.

My Morning Jacket: Few bands are as versatile as My Morning Jacket. This fact was demonstrated in a two-hour set to tens of thousands, as special guests like Ben Sollee, a Nashville brass band, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band ran through extended hits and guitar solos. Jim James, the be-haired, be-caped, be-ugg’d frontman guitarist, was a madman, tearing through high notes like vocal cords were Thin Mints.

Arcade Fire: I almost feel bad about writing this. I am fully convinced Arcade Fire is the best band on the planet right now, which isn’t really that courageous a statement; I mean, you’re reading this—unless you’re just being contrarian for the sake of killing yr idols or indulge in misplaced adolescent cynicism, you probably at least like Arcade Fire. Arcade Fire is stadium rock at its finest: universal, loud, earnest. Bonnaroo did nothing to change my opinion; the band’s set was mostly the hits, the light show was unchanged, Win Butler is a greatly awkward yet endearing frontman, “Wake Up” is the best encore song of all time—it was all there. I teared up at the right places. I danced at the right places. I sang along to all of it. It was nearly perfect and entirely unsurprising, and that’s all I have to say about that.

Around 2 in the morning, I was assaulted by bass in every direction. Three electronic groups and Lil Wayne were playing at the same time, with the heavy bass that they all used (because everyone knows there can never be too much bass) bleeding into each other’s sets. I hear “I wish I could fuck every girl in the world” out of tune with another techno song across the field. I checked out Ratatat and found a somnabulistic visual display and irritatingly dissonant music, sounding something like Thin Lizzy sped up and fed into the synth in “Harder Better Faster Stronger,” over tropical beats. Pacifiers were abundant, so I suppose being in more of an altered state would have helped. The bass was inescapable at Shpongle and Pretty Lights, to the point of the sets becoming indistinguishable. But that’s alright, because rather than be a display of musical talent, they were the soundtrack to a lively evening for all involved. That’s Bonnaroo.

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You know, back in our day, way back in the early 2000s when we took a 15-hour drive down to Manchester, TN, for some newfangled music gathering, Bonnaroo was all about throwing on your gender-neutral hippie skirt and vibing out to jam bands like Widespread Panic and String Cheese Incident. And while those bands are still on the lineup for the festival in 2011, they’re now standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Lil Wayne, Arcade Fire and Girl Talk. Hippies, meet the hipsters.

This year’s Bonnaroo, held June 9-12, is now sold out, but CMJ has got the hookup. Enter your information below for your chance to win two general admission wristbands to the festival.

We’ll pick a winner on Monday, June 6, so get in there while the getting is good. And in the words of Neil Young, appearing at Bonnaroo this year with the newly reunited Buffalo Springfield, keep on rocking in the free world, kids.

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Weezer at Bonnaroo 2010. Photo by C. Taylor Crothers

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The Drums: Jonathan Pierce struts like a diva. That basically informs all of the Drums’ live performances, which consist of the band playing post-punky riffs while Pierce impersonates a stuttering peacock. This plays well, however, as an animated frontman is always a plus—particularly when he has such strong songs to sing, like “Best Friend,” which he introduced with “This song is about my dead best friend.” Predictably, the strongest applause came for the strongest song, “Let’s Go Surfing”; during the breakdown, the entire crowd immediately started clapping with the rhythm, to which Pierce responded by strutting even more.

Sleigh Bells: Sleigh Bells came onto a gradually escalating series of fight songs: “We Will Rock You,” some metal song and then “Iron Man.” The said trio of anthemic ’80 metal basically defines Sleigh Bells’ sound; the duo is, essentially, what would happen if Queen only wrote songs like “We Will Rock You.” Four massive Marshall stacks filled the packed tent with lovely distortion, providing an avenue for ex-hardcore guitarist Derek Miller to deliver riffs over huge blast beats. Leading the proceedings on the mic was frontwoman/cheerleader Alexis Krauss, dressed in her trademark “Bells” jersey and shiny tights, alternately barking and singing wispily, sending the crowd into a frenzy. The audience quickly turned into a full-on mosh pit during indie hits like “Infinity Guitars” and “A/B Machines,” with elbows flying and the fallen helped to their feet, lest they be trampled. The only respite at all was the wavy “Rill Rill,” which provided a break everyone was grateful for. I began the show wondering how Sleigh Bells was going to fill an hour-long set with 35 minutes of material; actually, it’s good that they didn’t play any longer. When every song is “We Will Rock You” there’s only so much you can physically take before you fall on the floor.

Childish Gambino: Donald Glover’s side-project-turned-real-project has turned the actor-comedian into an actor-comedian-rapper-singer-producer who can command a crowd of thousands in a tent, with hundreds more necks craning to see from the sides. Instead of his half-comedy-half-rapping shtick that sold out twice in New York last month, Glover stuck entirely to his raps. With a full band behind him, Glover was a dynamo, jumping on every flat surface and running through most of his raps. While known for Derrick Comedy and his ensemble role on the critically acclaimed sitcom Community, Glover is also a really, really talented rapper. This makes sense, as the overlap between witty rap lyrics and comedy writing is pretty significant. It is a good trend when rappers mention Scott Pilgrim. And can I say that “everything I’m saying, I’m super-sayin’ like Goku” is the line of the year? Glover closed to massive applause with “Lights Turned On,” the beat-heavy standout from his last EP, showing that sometimes, you really can cross over.

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Flickr photo by Chris Friese

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If you can’t wait until September to see Opeth, you had better hightail it down to Manchester, Tennessee, this very moment to see the band play a one-off set at Bonnaroo tonight. Everyone who already has plans for the evening, or who can’t drive cross-country by 5:15 p.m., will find the dates for the group’s fall tour below.




Tour Dates For Opeth
09/19 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
09/20 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre
09/21 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
09/23 – Philadelphia, PA – The Trocadero
09/26 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
09/27 – Louisville, KY – Expo Five
09/28 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom
09/29 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend
09/30 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
10/01 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues
10/03 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
10/04 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Waller Creek
10/05 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre
10/06 – Kansas City, MO – The Beaumont
10/07 – Loop Station, MN – First Avenue
10/08 – Winnipeg, MAN – Burton Cummings Theatre
10/10 – Edmonton, ALB – Edmonton Events Centre
10/11 – Calgary, ALB – MacEwan Hall
10/13 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
10/14 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
10/15 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
10/16 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
10/18 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
10/18 – Los Angeles, CA – The Mayan Theatre
10/20 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues
10/21 – Pomona, CA – The Fox Theater
10/22 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
10/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
10/25 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
10/27 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
10/28 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
10/29 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
10/31 – Millvale, PA – Mr. Smalls
11/01 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live

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Photo by Nick Simonite

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