The beasts of Bonnaroo never let you sleep. The music fades; you lay down in your tent and, only moments later, the sun slaps you in the face. Wash, rinse, repeat. Though Saturday brings another wave of great music to feed the fire, it’s still a good thing to look back on Friday’s fun.
Santigold
Hipster heads were spinning mid-afternoon Saturday, forced to choose between Indie/ avant garde acts Grizzly Bear, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Santigold. The latter, notorious for her vibrant outfits and pop style seasoned with punk, electro and hip-hop, dressed for success and thrilled a packed tent with songs from her debut album. America’s unofficial answer to MIA proved she has what it takes to electrify fans on stage.
Al Green
As professional and energentic as ever, the lengedary Al Green showed love to the main stage crowd by showering them with roses at the start of a energy-packed set that delivered gem after gem. After all these years, he never fails to impress everyone who witnesses him.
TV on the Radio
The New York rockers, bestowed with the album of the year by Rolling Stone and others in 2008, delivered amped-up animated versions of songs from Dear Science, including Halfway Home and Dancing Choose, proving to be one of the best of the newer live acts booked this year at Bonnaroo.
Beastie Boys
DJ Mixmaster Mike hyped up a packed house as the sun began to fade on the main stage. Then the three MCs from NYC tore through a laundry list of classics, dropping science from No Sleep til Brooklyn through Intergalactic. The set seemed somewhat dated, however, with few choices from latter albums. But a surprise appearance by rapper Nas was well greeted by the packed crowd. A start-again, stop-again closer of Sabotage probably looked better on paper than it came across on stage. However, the veteran hip-hop pioneers donned electric guitars on several occasions, belting out several originals that honor their punk roots, a definite highlight.
Phish
The jam band considered a primary influence leading to the creation of festivals such as Bonnaroo arrived eight years late to the party. But they paid their cult of fans back in full, plus interest, with a groovy three-hour set capped by a stellar version of Stash, a fireworks-included You Enjoy Myself and covers of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell and The Beatles’ Day in a Life. Since a half-decade hiatus, the band known for its unpredicabile sets and lengthy improvisations, slammed out a littany of fan faves in a tight, well-constructed three-hour show. More than two decades into their collective careers, and the Vermont foursome is playing some of ther best music ever.
Late-night shows
The freaks come out at all times during Bonnaroo, but the late-night shows bring out the people that even the freaks call freaks. With three stages of electro-turntablism from which to choose, thousands of festivalgoers danced and partied halfway to daybreak.
Girl Talk spun bass-heavy mash-ups as a host of crazies danced on stage, mixing in some Bonnaroo acts and typically throwing in a Jay-Z lyric in whenever possible. He kept his tent gyrating until 4 a.m.
Meanwhile, Pretty Lights performed improvized, grinding trance beats as a live drummer played along. His energy spread to the crowd as he proved why he is a rising star. UPDATE: Pretty Lights will play at this year’s Forecastle afterparty.
Paul Oakenfold, an obvious influence to Pretty Lights, also performed simutaneously Friday night, mixing beats while standing in front of a massive array of giant TV screens. The mixed media of sound and image generated cheers for the electro wizard until nearly dawn.
With all that, what will Saturday bring? The best thing possible. Even more musical madness.
Photos by Alisha Eli / Words by Joshua Coffman