Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
Mr Bennett---You have echoed the way many people feel-yes. Could there be improvements ? -There have been EVERY year.
The complaints you have, COULD pass through the lips of nearly every ROOer and have probably crossed all our minds. HOWEVER, the complaints you have chosen to highlight here are more prevalently represented in the world OUT THERE--overcrowding, noise, careless or carefree people, etc. I think it is your focus that is off. The beauty of it all is tha sooo many people can come together, put down their differences, and accentuate the positive. CREATE a vibe. Most of what you posted spoke to the notion of what you were able to take from this experience. BUT WHAT DID YOU COME TO GIVE ? Did you stop for a minute to consider that when it was time for you to get up and move(or LEAVE), that YOU were THAT guy who was walking in front of someone else who was trying to hear or see the show. That's the Roo dynamic. Some people are able to notice the congestion/movement/crowd/heat/piss-----then REFOCUS, close your eyes if you need to, and dance. When you open your eyes, surely things will have changed. There will be something to inspire, or make you laugh, or etc.
Though we may not see you at Roo, we will surely see you out there in the world. And though I am not urging you into deep(er) denial, I WOULD LIKE YOU TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, and WHAT YOU MIGHT DO TO IMPROVE THINGS RATHER THAN BE THE VICTIM--the only guy that was hot and crowded. Sounds like your wife knows a little bit about how to roll with it. Try borrowing a bit of grace from her-----THEN PASS IT ON. At 46, you really ought to realize that ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING. 'til then, you're just another poopy pants. good luck with that....
Well sorry to hear you had a bad experience. Maybe Bonnaroo just isn't for you. Everyone has the right to their opinion and thats cool but I always try to make the most out of a situation and have fun.
In my upcoming paragraphs I will probably mention or point out some things that have already be pointed out. I will try to add to the debate and not simply just repeat things.
As stated before Bonnaroo is advertised as a 3 day Music Festival from Friday the 16th to Sunday the 18th. The fact that they allow us to come in even earlier than the 7am Thursday opening and the fact that they amuse us for Thursday is just an extra special treat.
I consider Thursday the Pre party day. It's a great day to get to know your camp neighbors, relax, set up camp, get some rest or stretch your legs after driving, Plan your Bonnaroo attack with your friends and get acquainted with your area. It's a great meet and greet time because less is going on.
I could complain that they didn't let us out of the jamesbond camp area until noon on Thursday but it gave everyone a chance to set up and chill with one another. So we didn't mind at all.
I think part of having a good time at Roo is going with the flow. If you get to wrapped up in plans, or aggravated because things aren't going your way then you're going to have a bad time.
Now I have this question for you. If you drove here then why did you go to tent only if you didn't want to be bothered by noise? Tent only is so close to the stages and if you didn't want to be bothered and since you came in on Thursday you probably were in the James bond area or at least farther back from centeroo.
We came in at about 5am on Thursday and where in camp Puss.y Galore. We had a lot of open space, the wind was nice and it was pretty quiet. I think you would have faired better out there if you didn't mind the 30 mins walk.
Yes it was a trek but it was something all of us camp neighbors could talk about together. Just like your 7am sound checks it's a good bonding point and whether good or bad it's something that helps make it the experience it is.
I will agree that it seemed more crowded this year, and that sometimes they gave festival goers a hard time when they shouldn't have.
The prices for food are typical festival fare prices. I don't know where you live but we would get good beer for 5 bucks a cup at the brooers tent and that is the same price as if we were buying from House of Blues, Hard Rock , and other places in Orlando. If you didn't want to pay those prices you can bring your own food and booze for your campsite. You are allowed to bring small snacks into centerroo. and they didn't even give me a hard time about the sandwich I packed when I went into centeroo.
You got lucky with the weather. I think this was the best weather Bonnaroo has ever seen. Cool at night even breezy in the morning, and no huge downpours until Sunday night. No problems with Mosquito's or bugs really. We had these cute little grasshoppers and then of course gnats or little flying bugs. No fire ants no mosquito attacks and no wasp or yellow jackets.
As far as your math concepts go I think you really need to look at some other facts. We can establish that the 180 dollar ticket plus the service charge takes the ticket to about 200 bucks.
There was a chance to buy them at 160 those sold out pretty quickly though and we bought ours for the 180.
So take two headliners like tom petty and radio head. Usually tickets for shows of that caliper are about 70 bucks.
so 70x2= 140. I've camped at camp sites that are 50 bucks a night in key west but for the sake of argument lets say you're paying about 20 a night. If you get there Thursday and spend the whole time its 4 days. 20x4 = 80. so 140+80=220. That means all the other bands and shows are just frosting on the cake.
You get to choose what you do and festivals aren't always about seeing the whole complete set of a band, it's about something larger, the experience as a whole, listening to music you wouldn't have ever have thought of, seeing some shows, and some great comedians. The friendships you make and the memories you create. The tickets are worth the 200 bucks regardless of how long or far you had to drive, the cost of food etc.
but like I said in the beginning maybe this isn't for you and you figured that out. Stick to the festivals you like and omit this one for next year. Maybe it wasn't a fun experience for you but it was a learning experience.
Post by wbennettjr on Jun 20, 2006 10:58:54 GMT -5
I appreciate the thoughtful attempts to broaden my perspective and I do agree that attitude is everything. My problem was that i was in a sleep and energy deficit and never really recovered. Pretty much everything that 'bothered' me stemmed from that. It's tough to enjoy yourself in a place like Bonnaroo when you have no energy.
It has occurred to me that maybe I just wasn't in shape for this, from an endurance standpoint. I really harbored expectations of going all night, and most of the music I was looking forward to was late night, and as it turned out I did not have the energy for it. If I can't find a way to remedy that, there is little point in going again.
We did bring our own food and bought very little centeroo food, but we did buy centeroo drinks and I thought some were priced decently and some were not. I thought $4 for a slice of pizza was excessive, and $3.50 for a dollar bag of ice was absolute robbery. And as I said, due to my low energy, all of this bothered me more than it otherwise might have.
Let me say this: in just one day since I started this thread, I am already thinking about what I could do differently next time, so at least I am still giving Bonnaroo the credit it deserves as a musical experience that I wish I could have taken better advantage of.
Just to repeat myself, I am not down on Bonnaroo nor on rooers. I definitely understand that many people had an amazing time. My thoughts are leaning toward, how can I make that happen for myself next year?
I'm 40, so I'm more in your demographic. And believe me man, I understand the wear and tear on your body. I was in bed at midnight on Sunday cause I was toast.
We did an RV and I think that's the way to go for us old geezers. The noise of my generator and AC kept out any outside noises. I had not trouble sleeping at all and the RV area was generally more chilled out than tent city.
You also have to do what I've been reading about on this board: take your Emergen-C, drink a lot of water, and don't over-do it on the booze. I didn't follow the latter idea, but the first two seemed to help.
As far as the crowds, duh, this is a festival. As far as the heat, duh, this is June in Tennesse. I was prepared for that.
Overall, I had a blast. My body was running on fumes for plenty of the time, but I just kept saying, "I can rest when I get back."
I am 48 years old and firmly believe the only way to enjoy bonnaroo is by going vip. I go with three or 4 people in an rv and that way you can get a break when needed. I saw music at every available slot.
With an airconditioned rv, you can take quiet catnaps and it makes all the difference in the world. I slept like a baby every night and woke up rested and with the showers, ready to go listen to music every day. Being able to have all your food and drinks refrigerated, We didn't have to spend money in centeroo.
The best part is not having to be patted down, just cut through the vip tent and your in. Stamina is the key and the older you get anything to regain it is money well spent. If you look at bonnaroo like a real vacation where you would be paying 75-150 dollar a night hotel bills then vip is the way to go. Actually when you factor in the hotel bills, restaurant food and entertainment for 4 days vip is at best a wash. I highly reccomend it.
Post by bluevelvet on Jun 20, 2006 11:33:34 GMT -5
It was my first Bonnaroo and it blew me away
Now having said that, we ended up on the outskirts and that walk to Centeroo really sucked and the walk for ice sucked. My feet are still swollen and blistered. One good thing about being out there was totally clean port-a-potties with toilet paper and no lines. I am also going to invest in a pavillion tent of some kind because we had no shade at out camp site and that sucked but it was my own fault for not thinking ahead. Next year I am looking at the VIP option, mostly for the closeness factor, but I am definitely going back.
Post by bluevelvet on Jun 20, 2006 11:35:49 GMT -5
fadero said:
I am 48 years old and firmly believe the only way to enjoy bonnaroo is by going vip. I go with three or 4 people in an rv and that way you can get a break when needed. I saw music at every available slot.
With an airconditioned rv, you can take quiet catnaps and it makes all the difference in the world. I slept like a baby every night and woke up rested and with the showers, ready to go listen to music every day. Being able to have all your food and drinks refrigerated, We didn't have to spend money in centeroo.
The best part is not having to be patted down, just cut through the vip tent and your in. Stamina is the key and the older you get anything to regain it is money well spent. If you look at bonnaroo like a real vacation where you would be paying 75-150 dollar a night hotel bills then vip is the way to go. Actually when you factor in the hotel bills, restaurant food and entertainment for 4 days vip is at best a wash. I highly reccomend it.
Yep I am 39 - although my boyfriend and his friends are in the late 20s and my daughter is 14, so they didn't have such a hard time as me This was my only vacation and probably will be next year so the extra money sounds worth it for me.
Post by famousblueraincoat on Jun 20, 2006 13:21:34 GMT -5
Hell...I'm 26 and I'll never go GA again now that I have a solid paycheck coming in. That said...I enjoyed it, I just prefer the convenience. Walking multiple miles a day even made me feel old.
Post by wbennettjr on Jun 20, 2006 13:39:47 GMT -5
Hey I admire the iron-man ethos, believe me, this wasn't "I think I'd prefer to rest and skip out on all that senseless jamming", this was "body shutting down and taking the brain with it".
And yes I am lightening up since the start of this thread. Most of the stuff I could control went very well, and I am thinking of some things I will know about next time that I can also handle better.
Getting some sleep the night before is a biggie. Coming in on Thursday morning on no sleep was a big mistake. Set me back for the whole weekend. Also just being in better shape, endurance-wise, makes sense. Also wearing a wet rag on my head was a big help but I didn't do it til Friday, next time I can do it on Thursday. Also, didn't try hard enough to find dry ice, didn't pre-freeze bottled water, and as a result everything got soggy to to insta-melt ice. I can do that better next time. Also, really understand the meaning of pacing myself. And somehow, someway, find a way to make it through some of the late-night music. Red Bull, perhaps?
On the bright side, the porta-pottie situation was quite passable. That was a pleasant surprise.
Post by sparklybecca on Jun 20, 2006 13:42:15 GMT -5
juggernaut said:
dudewhersmyinforoo said:
i saw 25 shows. got 6 hours of sleep total and loved every second of it. ya can sleep when yer dead!
The fact that the above quote comes from a guy who had been pissing and moaning about this year's lineup ever since it was announced re-affirmed my belief as to just how awesome Bonnaroo was.
Bet you're glad you didn't give your ticket away now, eh?
haha my thoughts exactly, im glad everyone had a great time
lol ya i spent time worrying for noithing. it was a different vibe this year though. i wouldnt say better or worse, jus a little different. it was my best roo yet. i went nuts. i have never danced that much in my life. i had a fan club yelling my name at radiohead. peopel were offering me shoes at GRAB because they saw me at radio head and drjohn dancing like a mad man. i had to duct tape my feet. i hate shoes. i was so wrong about radihead. the first 4 songs werent doing it for me and i thought about going to tishamingo. i stood up for the next song and the rolls hit me and i was a dancning machine! me and my friends wander danced from 8 - 5 in the morning fri and sat. and id have to say radiohead was one of my top shows of the weekend
Post by sparklybecca on Jun 20, 2006 13:52:55 GMT -5
my good friend wasnt too hot on the idea of radiohead but they blew him away.. im glad that people came around.. i remember looking around at the crowd during radiohead and EVERY person i saw was into it...it was great
I second the recommendation to go VIP. This was our first Bonnaroo and we did VIP/hotel. As a 50th birthday present to myself, I have been getting in shape this year and am fitter than anytime in my 40's. That helped with the stamina issue. With VIP we had Rebirth Brass Band playing for us and John Repp doing standup on the lawn Thursday night by the VIP tent. We also caught some David Ford and dios (malos), so we had our bonus music for the night.
We caught the 3:30 am shuttle back to the hotel each night, sleeping on the way, slept til 10, showered and got the 11 am shuttle back to Bonnaroo. Sunday night we strolled over to the shuttles as Phil's second set was starting. The security guy said it was going to start storming in 15 minutes. We could still hear the set, and when the first drops started falling we boarded the shuttle and the driver turned on Radio Bonnaroo for the ride home and we were off and dry, and got to bed before midnight for the first time.
For shows in the stages I either went out on the field, or stayed to the bleachers for the totally packed shows. From the top of the What Stage bleachers. I could finish clearly listening to the Streets in This Tent in time to turn around and watch Matisyahu on the What Stage. When it got too hot, or I needed a $3 beer or just plain food, the VIP tents were there. When the scene at the outhouses was too much, I went to the ones behind the VIP tent.
There's been a lot of discussion around don't do hotel because it's not the complete experience, but I think the hotel+VIP enabled me to coast through the rest of the Bonnaroo experience - namely everything that was going on within the gates during the hours I was awake. For me, camping and driving would have sapped some of that extra stamina.
I can see how wbennett would be annoyed by all of that. I have never been and I have complaints, but nothing against bonnaroo.
We drove all night and arrived about 7:00 local time. We drove right in. Our camping spot was great, right up against a fence on the border of the property (where that guy was selling showers) so we didn't have to worry about any foot traffic/loud people walking by. No one had slept, but once we got there and set up, that adrenaline kicked it. We stayed up until about 11pm and slept through the night.
I'm in florida so the heat during the day didn't bother me, but the heat combined with alcohol and walking 5 miles a day while eating greasy quesadillas from strange hippies will wear you out. The crowd didn;t really bother me (expect trying to move after radiohead finished). That being said, I didn't see as much music as I had planned, but I saw the acts I was there to see. I underestimated the walking factor. I did'nt want to keep walking back and forth from the campsite to see shows. Twice a day was enough.
If you stayed sober the whole time, that is a big reason why you hated it. Not that you need to be wasted to have a good time, but that is what everyone else is doing and that is the vibe that the whole festival has. It's like a neo nazi going to the million man march.
We had planned on staying until Monday, but woke up sunday and hit the road by 2pm. I was with my buddies that had been 3 previous years. They stayed and asked why we were leaving. I just said I had enough. It was great time, great experience, but it will wear you out. If I was a bum and had no responsibility, I could have enjoyed it more, but at my age (27) that was it.
I said at the time that I would never be back, but if there is a solid lineup next year, I will be there - in the vip area with an RV.
first off, its pretty funny you mentioned the soundcheck. that woke me up (camp inforoo was right next to VIP) and i headed off to the bathroom in a hurry. i heard the same thing on the way "shut that fucking radio off!@"... and later, when talking to others, they said they heard similar things. i thought it was pretty funny that no one would thing that they would be so stupid to soundcheck at seven-fucking-am.
anyway, i would go back (ill be 29 at the next roo), but I would go VIP. i would also love to hear from anyone that rented an RV in TN (i.e. fly in to nashville and drive down).
i was sitting down with some folks talking about the vip section, and i joked "what, are the bathrooms air conditioned too!" turns out, they were.
VIP is just not that expensive since they have free food. i probably dropped 200 bucks on water and food..
as far as the crowds - i guess i get it. for me, the issue was with all the w00ks and shitheads who arent content with showing up late and having to stay in the back ...and feel it is acceptable to just push ahead. that was really annoying.
and i couldnt stay up late either. just on friday night. and i really wanted to see sasha too...
Tell me more about the shuttles. How did that work?
They were part of the VIP/hotel package. The hotels were in Murfreesboro, about a half hour away. Buses (big new coaches with reclining seats) left the hotels every hour beginning at 10 am, and left Bonnaroo every hour until 5 am. They took the back entrance so were never stuck in traffic.
Holy Shiznit! How did you hook that up? How much did it cost?
The "Travel" link at bonnaroo.com linked over to Targetsports, who had a number of packages including airport shuttle, air+VIP, air+hotel+VIP and hotel+VIP. We used free Southwest tickets to fly to Nashville, so we got the hotel+VIP package. It included shuttle from/to the airport (though we came early and rented a car). It was $1590 for two, including the VIP upgrade (which is normally $1058.25 for two).
Post by happytrails on Jun 20, 2006 15:24:01 GMT -5
I'm 46; saw 33 different bands (not entire shows mind you) this weekend; stayed up til all hours, partied my ass off every day and night and had a stellar bonnaroo experience. In my opinion the weather was the best in the last 4 years - honestly it really wasn't brutally hot for the bulk of the event - cripes I was freezin Thursday night.
One big advantage I had is the KOA experience. Koa is located right behind the What stage. It has big trees; cool breezes; is absolutely quiet whenever you drag ass in there be it 10 PM or 5 AM. There is a pool; hot tub; showers; flush toilets and did I mention shade and quiet? This year the KOA went over the top - Limo's (YES Limo's) took us from the campground; through the backstage area and put us out next to the which stage OR if you asked nicely right down the road from the What Stage. The limos ran continuously 24 hours a day and we never waited for more than 5 minutes.
Now I know many of you will scoff at missing the big community camping vibe and I was hesitant at first too. I have camped at the Roo and had a blast but the point of Bonnaroofor me is to see as much music as possible - I don't shop( well maybe for a few minutes for the head ; eat as fast as possible; and try to stay in front of bands as much as humanely possible. When I wonder home at 5 AM I really just want to crash - not listen to the tanks whine and the kids scream. Don't get me wrong - thae noise doesnt make me irritated - its just that I'd rather sleep.
Last Edit: Jun 20, 2006 15:49:20 GMT -5 by happytrails - Back to Top
i would say that for me it would ruin the roo experience. but for poeple who dont enjoy that part of the experience it sounds like a good alternative. i have a friend who didnt enjoy the noise and rowdiness and maybe i can get them to come back under those circumstances. i agree parts of roo are tortutous. but honestly i think thats part of the fun. the were all in this togehter lets have a killer fucking time mentality.
this was our first roo. what brought me there was radiohead and clap your hands say yeah. sure, there are reasons the experience wasn't perfect. but there were parts of it that were -- the size, scale and acoustics of the what stage, for one, made moments gorgeous. inside centerroo itself, it was all about randomness and going with the moment, whether great or just ok. but because the experience is unreproduceable anywhere else i'm aware of, the calendar of artists would be what would pull me there again.
outside the event itself scared the * out of us, and all we had in the car was a SEALED PLASTIC bottle of bourbon. i have never seen that kind of police presence anywhere. from nashville to manchester, every car and motorcycle and dea van in the fleet had been commissioned to enjoy oysterhead, or * with someone who wanted to. we joked on the way back to nashville that the state symbol of tennessee should be the flashing lights on a sheriff's car.
but reliving favorite moments -- the 6:50 am sound check. no one has yet mentioned how * danceable that song was. does anyone know the artist and track?