Roo 2010: Conclusion

"I ain't wanting to sling no mud,
I came to clean it up."
-Dr. Dog, The Rabbit, the Bat and the Reindeer




Another year in the books. A new notch in my belt. More posted proof of my depravity for you all to enjoy. I'm sure it was evreything you dreamed of and more. Right, well thanks for reading anyway. I have a ton of stuff I'm working on so I'm just going to get right to it. The best and the worst of Bonnaroo 2010 ...

Best Show: Always a tough call ... tie between Avett Brothers and The Black Keys. The Keys for their rawness and incredible sound output (just two bums from Akron). The Avett Brothers for crushing my expectations. I went in thinking sing-songy twang and got an in your face, balls to the wall punk rock 'n' roll explosion. Honorable Mention: Dr. Dog

Best Performer: This was easy ... Stevie Wonder. The man is a living legend and he was the biggest name on the line-up.

Best Find: A couple come to mind, Steve Martin and The Rangers, Dave Rawlings, but I'm going with Ok Go, a band I knew nothing about who put on a hell of a show with more confetti then Mardi Gras. I felt like I was in one of their nutty music videos, thoroughly amazed.

Best Cover: Reptilla performed by The Punch Brothers ... To Be Young performed by Dave Rawlings was also sweet but he helped write the song so technically it's an original.

Best Guitar Player: Despite the abundance of amazing Bluegrass pickers, I'm going with John Butler of John Butler Trio. Not a one trick pony, he had more all-around talent and showcased it.

Best Stage Show: I only saw it for about 40 minutes but it's still The Flaming Lips. They put Phishes light show (from '09) to shame. It reminded me of Avatar 3D, on hallucinogens.

Biggest Surprise: Has to be Steve Martin's banjo skills. Very, very, very impressive. I had to keep asking myself if it was really him.

Best Crowd: The dance party at Thievery Corporation was some of the craziest shit I have seen ... anywhere ... ever. PLEASE GO SEE THEM! (bring some Molly)

Best Stage Banter: The obvious choice would be Steve Martin, who "bantered" for a living as a stand-up comedian ... so I'm picking Frank Turner. I really felt like he was somebody I could enjoy a beer and a laugh with. Like an old drinking buddy you haven't seen in years, full of stories and jokes. A smidge narcissistic but humble and honest at the same time.

Best Way to Finish a Show: Dave Rawlings Machine covering The Weight by The Band. Perfect sound for them and the perfect way to end their set. That song is the best closer in the game.

Band I've Been Listening to the Most: Since returning I haven't been able to get off Dr. Dog. The more I listen to them the more I appreciate what they are doing. They write fantastic songs and their live performance was epic.

Most bummed I missed: I would have given anything to catch all of The Flaming Lips (doing Pink Floyd's Darkside of the Moon) without missing The Black Keys but shit happens. I also saw The Dead Weather's set on You Tube. They would have been fun too.

Biggest Come Up: Rising from the ashes of their '09 set, Phoenix showed everyone they deserved to be on a main stage. They were the only band I had seen the year before and they were even better owning it this year with the largest crowd they had probably ever seen.


... and now some hate. If it's in your heart, you have to let it out.


Worst Show: It pains me to say it, but Kings of Leon. I have to say Weezer was a close second but I didn't have high expectations for them. I want to like KOL live but alas, after two tries, it has not come to pass. There is still a bad taste in my mouth about it.

Biggest Jerk: Rivers Cuomo of Weezer. His hip-kid strut, pathetically simple song structure and beyond lack-luster performance made me ill. I would rather punch him in the face than ever buy any of his music ever again. Even his name is awful. What a douchebag.

Worst Fans: The Hardcore DMBers. They swear blind allegience, contending that Dave can do no wrong, even when old fans (like me) are dropping him like a bad habit. I respect what he's done but seriously people, shut the fuck up. No one cares how many times you've seen him and no one is paying attention to his new albums.

Biggest Cliche: The hippie couple, for example... "Oh Moonbeam, I love the earth and the sky above, my entire being is whole with you by my side ... " as he strokes her dreads, and she caresses his massive ear gauges. They'll rub down their children in patchouli instead of baby oil ... poor little guy will never have a chance.

Worst Line-Up: Same deal as last year, Day 1. I get it, no one shows up until Day 2 but at least act like you give a damn Bonnaroo. Give us one big name, or a great DJ, something. (Frank Turner and Sarah Jarosz saved the day)

Worst Blunder: Sharing a time slot for the The Black Keys and The Flaming Lips. Total bullshit, and I'm not the only person who thought so. I heard much grumbling about it. Why two of the headlining acts were on simultaneously will forever escape me.

Worst Encounter: Water station conversation with a Neo-Nazi. Still creeps me out. What the hell was he doing at a gathering promoting peace and unity anyway?

Worst Cameo: Heat and The Sun. You'd sweat your cloths wet, they'd dry and the salt (from the perspiration) would cake up in patches. Everything smelled like a locker room. It was terrible.


And that's that. I'm counting the days until February when the line-up for 2011 will be released. Stay tuned. These entries have been my best effort to put all of you right there with me but no one can truly know until they've been for themselves. So if you even remotely think it's for you, stop being a pussy, stop talking about it and just go!

Obviously Roo is "the" fest for me. However, it's also the only big one I've ever attended, so I am always down to put this notion to the test. Any suggestions are welcomed. I would also love to hear why you think it sucks or why such and such is better. Feedback is always welcome. Trying some new things in the near future with the Blog too, so I hope to see you all back here very soon. Take care fiends.


-J.R.