Festy Fun 2010 - Best of Bonnaroo: Re-living the Dream Part 3.

Welcome to the third and final post-roo installment. Yes, it’s been over a week later, and I’m still riding the high – figuratively speaking.

Highlights from Saturday, June 12:

Dead Weather - 10 mins of sheer neo-blues, rock, glory and sin:           Will There Be Enough Water…            watch and salivate.

Shortly before this number, White declared “I want you to remember which band on stage brought the rain   to Bonnaroo, all right?” Oh yes. The rains are here.

‘Roo Sideshow Alert- In other news regarding the Jack White + Conan O’Brien + Tennessee combo, the two entertainment giants collaborated at  White’s Third Man Records home on June 10. A simple jam session ensued, followed closely an LP.

Stevie Wonder – Two words: Stevie Wonder.

Photo credit: Samuel M. Simpkins

Who needs to see, when you have vision. This legend banged out decades of funk and dance tunes. What a soul. What a smile. What a man.

Jay-Z – He was allotted a 2hr performance. He played for 45 mins. Personally, I think the audience was kind of jibbed. Albeit, it was an amazingly intense 45 minutes ending with a “forever young” encore.

Yes, that photo just happened.

GWAR - This one goes out to fellow vag Jeff who recommended you all go see this “troupe of sadomasochistic chaos warriors” from 2.30 – 3.45 am. For those of you who made it out that long, I salute you!

Sunday, June 13. Day 4. 

John Butler Trio – Listen to the whole LIVE show here  (thanks to NPR). Keep your ears peeled for the ‘pots-and-pans’ style percussion breakdown amidst the 15-minute ‘Funky Tonight’ closing jam – The song starts at 01:04:50 in the live recording above, drum jam starts at about 01:09:40 – definitely worth a listen.

Blues traveller aided my Sunday afternoon recovery session covering radiohead’s creep ..check out this fan footage.

John Fogerty is a highlight for multiple reasons. Check out this pre-gig interview by Fader. Watch him talk covers. Then watch the legend himself cover..Pretty Woman.

DMB - I must be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of Dave Matthews Band. Not for any particular reason, I’ve just always felt somewhat indifferent toward them. That said, their electrifying performance managed to give me an umpteenth wind after 96 hours of physically demanding rocking out – and that’s got to count for something. They closed out the festival with a cover of Bob Dylan’s  “All Along the Watchtower” – a climactic choice but not original – Pearl Jam finished up the same way in 2008. Never the less, with the couple of extra horns that Mr. Matthews employed “to make the sound “a little bit fatter,” and the galaxy of sky lanterns balloons floating off into the infinite Tennessee atmosphere, all in all,

Until next year. Happy Roo! From my ears. To yours. With Love -k

Festy Fun 2010 - Bonnaroo- Manchester, TN

Recommendations from your trusty Vags on must-see bands at this summer’s hottest festivals.

In the first of our summer Festy Fun posts, we highlight MusicVagabond’s faves for this year’s Bonnaroo line-up. Over the year’s Bonnaroo has evolved to feature vastly different genres, varying just as much as our tastes here at MV.

L.Sizzle says… check out Thievery Corporation for some Dub Reggae goodness. No matter what your state of mind, you can groove. Grab some of your favorite mind altering treats and check out Lotus, you will NOT stop dancing. The Carolina Chocolate Drops will give you that southern experience- get your Bluegrass fix! 

Matt says… Here We Go Magic - Brooklyn-based band Here We Go Magic evoke a modern-day CSNY so they should fit right into the modern-day Woodstock. Listen to their song “Fangela” for a taste of what you can expect. Aziz Ansari - Though strictly falling on the comedy side of the Bonnaroo line-up, Aziz Ansari is currently working on a mixtape, so you never know what he could bust out. I’m just hoping that he continues to rip on BP.

Jay says… The Entrance Band - This three piece rock and roll outfit will get you going with a blast of sonic dominance. Look out as their highly ironic, 120 lbs frontman dominates the crowd with his growling voice and shredding guitar riffs. Miike Snow - Grab your favorite pharmaceuticals and get over to see Miike Snow if you want to dance your face off. This three piece quasi electronic band has all the right stuff to keep your glowsticks and imaginary balls moving throughout the night.

Jeff says… GWAR - what’s a summer music festival without a troupe of sadomasochistic chaos warriors screaming about their hatred of all things alive. go see it and be drunk. The XX - has this South London trio survived its tidal 2k9 hypewave? we think so. maybe Jamie (on the e-drums) will pull out some of his mix skills to beat up that big crowd.

Also, our very own Kylie will be rockin out at the festival so get in touch with her via @shallowleak on Twitter!

Music to your ears - from ours - with love

<3 MusicVagabonds