Photo by Philip Cosores
In a press conference during Bonnaroo, Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz was asked what he liked about the festival and what made it special, to which Hutz replied that “you don’t see a lot of cops around.” This tongue-in-cheek reply, though, points to something about the festival that does make it different than the Sasquatches and Coachellas of the world: it feels like its own culture.
Sure, every large music festival has its merits, whether it is the location of Sasquatch or the fashionability of Coachella, but Bonnaroo literally turns a farm into a city for four days, complete with streets through the campsites, 24-hour food and activities, and shops selling everything from glass pipes to clothing to camping equipment. Rounding out the experience is the Southern hospitality that those of us from non-Southern states always hear so much about. Well, the rumors are true. People say please, thank you, and are generally cooperative. Over the course of the entire festival, I never witnessed an altercation or felt even the smallest presence of danger.
So, does this make Bonnaroo the greatest of all music festivals? Maybe. If nothing else, it makes it a still one-of-a-kind experience that no one can replicate. And, it seems like bands realize the extremity of the situation that campers undergo to see them, enduring heat, filth, and dehydration to get a peak at their favorite bands, with people waiting for up to ten hours to get front and center for bands like the Arcade Fire and The Strokes. Deservedly, mutual appreciation ran rampant over the weekend, with many first time performers just hoping to be invited back. At One Thirty BPM, we are hoping for the same thing. – Philip Cosores
Photo by Philip Cosores
The Head And The Heart:
For the two or three of you who read everything I write (Mom?), you may have noticed this is the fourth time I have covered The Head And The Heart since South By Southwest. Are they that good? In short: yes! Granted, playing the last day at noon didn’t offer a lot of choices for attendees or journalists, the turnout at The Other Tent was still remarkable considering the time-slot and general fatigue level. As far as the performance went, the Seattle band continued to do what they do best – smile a lot, have a great time, and play infectious, often beautiful, and always sincere songs. And on this day, Bonnaroo even got a special treat with Iron & Wine’s horn section (yes, apparently Iron & Wine has a horn section) helping out on “Ghosts.” After their set, I overheard the band talking to a journalist in the media tent, with the writer assuring the band that by next year, they will be on one of the large stages. I couldn’t agree more. – Philip Cosores
Photos by Philip Cosores
Smith Westerns:
The other band my mom is probably sick of reading about is Smith Westerns. But, like The Head And The Heart, I have not yet bored myself of seeing the Chicago youngsters. On this day, the Smithys seemed extra giddy, clearly enjoying the site of a full tent and video cameras, even noting to the audience that the show was being filmed and broadcast. Singer Cullen Omori even seems to be incorporating some more rock star moves into his on-stage movements, adding the foot-on-the-monitor pose, while guitarist Max Kakacek has begun holding his guitar away from his body for emphasized leads and solo moments. Yeah, Smith Westerns are growing up right before our eyes, and seem to be catching up as performers to their already undeniably accomplished recordings. – Philip Cosores
Photo by Philip Cosores
Junip:
Now, I love Jose Gonzalez’s music as much as the next guy, but the first time I had seen Junip was one of the worst concerts I have ever attended due to the fact that the band remained seated for a standing-room-only show with a short stage. So, though I was skeptical about checking out the act again, I am happy to report that the band is now standing up in concert and I now know what they look like. This is not the only change, as Junip grew to five members for their late-afternoon set, giving the performance a little more texture and oomph than their recordings. Undoubtably, Junip are not an ideal festival band, as they are mild-mannered Swedes with pretty mellow songs. But, Junip did redeem themselves as a live act and proved to be worth checking out in the right club or concert hall-type of atmosphere. – Philip Cosores
Photo by Philip Cosores
Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub:
So, at festivals you are supposed to expose yourself to new things, right? Right! That was my mentality going into the set of Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub, thinking I could decipher from their name what they would sound like. Wrong! There is nothing dub about the band, and very little that is black. Only now do I know about Lanois history as a producer and his work with U2. So instead, we got a blues-based project that I would very much associate with what I am deeming “the Bonnaroo sound,” meaning that it appealed to aficionados of cannabis, people that were “just looking to have a good time,” and folks whose tastes gravitate towards the instantly accessible and familiar. Basically, they were a pretty perfect festival band, attesting to why the name keeps popping up on festival bills. And their craft cannot be overlooked, with Lanois and assisting vocalist Trixie Whitley truly impressing with her brutally baritone pipes inducing shivers on the unsuspecting crowd, who were probably expecting something a little softer from a skinny blonde girl. Sure, Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub may seem like false advertising, but they were just about perfect for where they were. – Philip Cosores
Iron & Wine:
A band that I had been looking to check off my list for quite a while is Iron & Wine, and thus made it a point to catch their late-afternoon appearance on the Which stage. Unfortunately, it was one of the more disappointing moments of the festival for me. Maybe it is because I am so fond of Sam Beam’s project on record, or maybe it is because I had been looking forward to seeing Iron & Wine for so long, but their Bonnaroo set, as I am sure also applies to the rest of their sets with the current 11(!) person lineup, strips away what I love about the band and leaves them hovering somewhere between professional and generic. Iron & Wine’s strengths have always been in intimacy, how Sam Beam’s emotionally honest and direct songs can creep into your soul and comfort your weary spirit, but none of that is present in the big-band version of the group. Instead, we get solid showmanship (even in my most cynical of moments, I cannot deny the joy that shines from Beam when he is on stage) and clean musicianship. Yes, there is nothing technically wrong with the performance, and, in a festival environment, it might be more pleasing to hear this easier version of the band, but from opener “Tree By The River” to a nearly unrecognizable “Boy With A Coin,” the songs came across as a perfectly groomed haircut, the kind you see and want to run your hands in to mess it up. At this point, it is clear that Beam is distancing himself from the singer-songwriter horse that he rode in on, and while this change has produced some extremely strong material – “Walking Far From Home” for one – it mostly leaves me yearning for the old Iron & Wine, or wishing he’d take his new sound about twenty steps further. As is, we get what we got at Bonnaroo; a decent performance from a band who could have been anyone. – Philip Cosores
Beirut:
With the release of Beirut’s The Rip Tide rapidly approaching, I was uncertain as to what the interest level for Zach Condon and Co.’s set, closing out The Other Tent, would be. On one hand, Beirut had to compete for attention with The Strokes, the SuperJam featuring The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Explosions In The Sky, and Robert Plant and the Band Of Joy. But, on the other hand, Beirut’s upcoming album is one of the most highly-anticipated releases remaining this year. The turnout was somewhere in the middle, with the tent overflowing early on, and many people leaving throughout to catch part of one of the other bands’ sets. Regardless, Beirut delivered an inspired performance, with Condon grinning from ear to ear throughout as fans clapped along, danced, and sang to the tunes he has penned. Even a pretty enthusiastic Beirut fan like myself had to be surprised by both how many old Beirut songs play like radio hits in the live setting (“A Sunday Smile,” “Elephant Gun,” “Postcards From Italy,” “Scenic World” and on and on) and how the new material seems like it might be the strongest yet for Condon. The songs we have already heard, “East Harlem,” and “Golom,” can stand side-by-side with old Beirut any day, but another new track that Condon introduced as “being about his hometown,” titled “Santa Fe,” was pretty danceable and might prove to be a crossover success, depending on how it is recorded. Condon danced, nonetheless. And whether he was doing his sort of half-jig, playing the trumpet, or strumming his ukelele (which Condon hoped was “the first time someone had played the ukelele at Bonnaroo,” and at which no one had the heart to tell him was extremely unlikely), Condon held the center stage with a firm grip and the right amount of humility. Just the right formula for a rising star. – Philip Cosores
Explosions In The Sky:
Sure, The Strokes closed out the Which stage and Widespread Panic closed out the whole festival, but, Dallas Mavericks aside, I doubt anyone put on a show like Explosions In The Sky. My recent experience with the group at Hollywood Forever Cemetery was memorable, but it did not prepare me for what the Austin, Texas band is capable of when they are on fire. In front of rabid fans (Munaf Rayani commented before the set that their soundcheck must have been the most entertaining and well-received that they had ever had), the band wasted no time turning on their thrusters, beginning with guitar slaps from and accelerating trough peaks and valleys to the point that all the members were freaking out a good 5 minutes into their set. And when you think about it, maybe Explosions In The Sky are the perfect Bonnaroo band: a Southern indie band with epic and long jams. Either way, Explosions In The Sky ended my Bonnaroo with some of the most emotionally stirring, expansive, and just plain loud music that I had heard all weekend. – Philip Cosores
Photos by Philip Cosores
