Bonnaroo 2009, Day 3 and Music Review

After a solid night of rest (Earplugs are my new best friend!), we woke around 9am. When in camp, you do what you need to do in order to do the things you need to do. Understand?

Like wash your hair.
Or go tee-tee. In case anyone needs my services, I make an excellent poncho holder to shield you from view! Too bad your camp mates cannot be counted on to restrain themselves from trying to take incriminating pictures. Or from posting them on a blog.
Many in our camp were full-blown parrotheads so they made sure that they were in a prime location for Jimmy Buffett's appearance with Ilo and the Coral Reefer Allstars. The Manager and I made it for about half of the show. We just couldn't get ourselves in gear. As far as the music review, it was a fun show with lots of audience interaction. But nothing spectacular. Buffett is very true to his recordings.

Then I broke ranks and took off on my own. Most of the gang going to see Wailing Souls. I missed another great show according to them. But I took off in the other direction to get my fill of some bluegrass. Cherryholmes was on the agenda. They are a family band - Dad on upright Bass, Mom on mandolin, Cia on banjo, Skip on guitar, BJ and Molly on fiddle. All are self-taught. If you like bluegrass, check this family out and be ready to be impressed.

I caught the last 10-15 minutes of Allen Toussaint while heading to the next show. You would never have guessed from his high-energy show that he is over 70. Another of the times that I wished I could have been in multiple places at the same time.

Next up was another hard decision. For me, Rodrigo y Gabriela won out over Booker T and the Drive-By Truckers. Rodrigo y Gabriela each play an acoustic guitar. And that is all - no other instruments, no vocals, no backup. Sounds tame, right? They are far from it. The music that they can coax out of those guitars is phenomenal!!

Next we hurried over for Gov't Mule. They did not disappoint. Their cover of Radiohead's Creep will long be talked about. They were joined onstage by Grace Potter for an excellent rendition of Southern Man. This was one show that I am glad I did not miss!

Elvis Costello was next on our agenda. And to be quite honest, I could have lived another day without seeing him. To me, it was bland. It was like he was just trying to hurry through the songs he thought we wanted to hear. But maybe it was just me because I heard several people just raving about him, especially when Jenny Lewis joined him onstage. But I just wasn't into it.

Next, I caught the end of The Decemberists' show. Thankfully, they ran 15 minutes over!! I love the distinct sound of lead singer, Colin Meloy. I also love their story-telling songs, especially The Mariner's Revenge Song. At Bonnaroo 2007, they were one of my favorite shows from the festival. One of my favorite parts of this show was their cover of Heart's Crazy On You, which gave Jenny Conlee a chance to show off her vocal talents!

Next up was what many had been waiting on. Me? Not so much. The band? Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Yes, call me un-American. Whatever. I don't like Springsteen. I have never liked Springsteen. And his show did not change my mind.

Since he was a headliner, he was given a time slot where no one else is performing. So I was forced to go. I lasted an hour. He was trying to connect with the crowd and started talking like a preacher. About building a house. And good wood. And bad wood. About faith. And hope. And music. I just did not follow. And wasn't feeling the love. So when he started singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town on that hot, sticky June night, I couldn't take it anymore. I would rather have silence.

But I have to say that I think The E Street Band is excellent. And I love the vocals of Bruce's wife, Patty Scialfa.

So The Manager and I wandered around Centeroo, going into many of the shops. Finally, the chairs at Troo Music Lounge were calling our name. A band, The Giraffes - a punk band hailing from Brooklyn, were setting up for their midnight show. Just watching their antics while doing sound checks was a lot of fun. The lead singer was a real hottie. If we were unmarried and lots of years younger, that boy might have been in trouble! We watched about half of their show. They were loud, rowdy, and pretty hard core. Fun but a little more hard-core than a couple of middle-age women wanted!

Next up, Nine Inch Nails!! They were fantastic. Ranking up there for Best in Show in my opinion. Doing 2 encores! Trent Reznor is nothing if not intense.

After NIN, we listened to moe. for a little while. Good but it was 3am and we were fading fast.

And quite possibly, we were stoned.

As we were heading out, we went to day parking to retrieve The Manager's car. On our way there, we were walking along. Chatting. Talking about just how many people were there. Passing tent after tent after tent after tent.....then we were approached by this guy.

He, very politely, said, "Um, excuse me. But on your way over here, did you see my bubble machine?"

We stopped, thought for a minute and replied, "No. Sorry, we didn't see your bubble machine."

And kept on walking.

We made it about 10-15 feet before we both stopped dead in our tracks. The silliness of what had just happened hit us like a ton of bricks. We laughed and laughed and laughed some more. There may have been leakage involved!

The silliness of that moment stayed with us for several days. The Manager shall, from this day forward, be called Bubbles!!

All in all, the perfect end to a perfect Bonnaroo day!