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I would like to hear from people who have been to more than 2 Bonnaroos, including 2008. How did this year compare? What are the differences? Best year? and Why?
Well, it was a little quieter, crowd-wise. You could tell that it was 10-15K sparser. Lines were more palatable but the crowds at the smaller stages were often noticeably less attended than in previous years.
The Kanye situation was unprecedented and embarrassing for all parties, IMHO. An anomaly.
I enjoyed the music a bit more this year, although there was less jamming amongst artists than I feel there was in years past. I missed having Warren Haynes on the farm, for sure.
The late night sets get more solid each year, I think. (Again, Kanye excepted.) They are truly the place to be.
Administratively, it seems that they still can figure out how to get guidebooks to everybody and that's been an issue since my first year (04). They are still struggling with consistency from their security teams as well, though I didn't really have any issues per se -- just a much slower moving line than all of the ones around me on one occasion.
Overall, it keeps improving but it seems to be a bit more business-as-usual and less "How are they going to pull this off?!@?!" each year.
Still, I continue to have a good time and this may have been my favorite year, musically.
I've been to three in a row, starting in '06. I came to my first Bonnaroo as a skeptic, mostly for the party, but also for the music. I had a friend in our group who came in with similar mindset, and by Friday morning we were already talking about "next year."
We were blown away by the vibe, and how cool everyone was...and the music was pretty good, too. Still, as different (and great) as the vibe was for us, we had a lot of veterans telling us how the scene had completely changed.
Last year was an off year for me, as I got sick while still at the festival, but I still noticed a big change in the vibe. Now, for all I know, there has been a change in the scene every consecutive year, because things do change.
The biggest difference to me was the lack of the"Bonnnaroooooooo" screams. Yes, I know people still do it, possibly just as frequently, but the difference is that now it's maybe two or three people doing it...and sometimes it won't even get answered. I swear I remember it getting so loud before that the whole crowd under the arch would be doing it. It would literally shake you. It also used to travel in waves throughout the campsites, and that does't happen anymore, either.
The disappearance (relocation) of Shakedown Street was also disturbing, but I got over it. Much bigger spectacle in '06, though. The MUSIC, by the way, was awesome, but I didn't dig last year as much as '06 or '08.
This year, we were more prepared than ever, had a bigger group than ever, and had better time than we've ever had before (although we also had lower low points than we'd ever had). The MUSIC this year was definitely the best (for me, and besides the headliners) of the past three years.
The vibe didn't seem to change that much from last year to this one, which was neither bad nor good. At least it didn't get worse (for me).
We met a lot of really cool people this year, probably more than ever before, but I think that was a byproduct of having so many people there that had clearly never been there before and didn't "get it." When I'd respond to someone's Bonnaroo cheer or vice-versa, it was definitely an instant connection, and provided some of the cooler "saucer-eyed" moments of the weekend. Lots of love.
I'd like to add that despite all the disappointments, and the fake things going around the campsites - we even moved our canopies and tents to let a kid out on Friday morning whose dad had died, and right before he drove away, he got out to offer us "compensation," totally on his own, and it was bunk...wtf was the point in that, man? - the music was incredible this year. I didn't see a single band that wasn't good. That's more than I can say about previous years, and I saw way more bands this year than I ever have.
I encourage anyone who hasn't gone to go, at least once. I'm choosing other, smaller fests from now on (partially because I graduated from UT and will be moving back to Florida, and partially to find something new), but I encourage everyone to go. It's getting incredibly mainstream (especially here in TN), but it's still the biggest party of the year. And you might get your mind blown.
Oh, awesome side note, I took a first-timer this year, and he was floored. He's been a metalhead for a long time, and he now absolutely loves Ghostland, the Dead, Claypool, Back Door Slam, My Morning Jacket, and the list goes on.
His friend, who he were planning to meet up with and never got to, is an even better story. I met him after the fest, and he looks like exactly the kind of guy that the stereotypers were complaining about. Metal fan, young, the works. His first two stations programmed into his car radio now are the local bluegrass station and a classic/soul/something station. He totally got down and boogied to some Solomon Burke.
That alone makes me feel good about what Bonnaroo is still doing.
bonnaroo is the best festival ever. but... and feel free to call me and idealist or whatever but the vibe has totally changed not for better or for worse but IMO there are a ton more people coming to roo that don't understand the values and ideas that roo was built upon(and I blame superfly for this). And for me thats what I go to festivals for. Everyone has a bad day tho, we'll see what the lineup looks like next year. Also while there were a ton of amazing bands on the lineup this year one of my favorite things about roo was the anticipation of some amazing experimentation by all the artists and they are adding less and less bands that embrace that(call it diversifying if you want).
08 was my 4th Bonnaroo. I've been trying to quantify the differences with little luck but here's my $.02 I went in 02, 03, 06, and this year. Every year it changes a bit, some would say for the better, some would say for the worse. In 02 and 03 it was easily an extension of the Phish /Dead tour scene. Peaceful hippies and Freaky hipsters intermingling. The artists seemed to be thrilled to be there and colaborations were happening on every stage. A few years pass and I got older but the kids have stayed the same age. Hardly any of the attendees have had the opportunity to go on Phish tour (even less have been to a genuine GD show) so they bring to the fest their own ideas as to how to behave in the fest atmosphere. I found in 06 and 08 the scene has deteriorated into more of a state fair on acid than a gathering of like minded music lovers. The music is high quality for sure, the attendees are all having a great time, but.... everything has shifted a bit.... I think there are folks there that are just there to take advantage of those that are having a good time....
I was a first timer. My gf wanted me to go. I wasn't really looking forward to it. But I loved it and have been addicted to this site. I loved the refugee vibe, and the comaradary [sp?]. The music was great of course. I did expect more of a hippie freak show and was a bit disappointed that it wasn't (I use to love hanging out at the Dead shows), but as my gf pointed out, Tennessee isn't California. I was also a bit disappointed with corporate booths like Major League Baseball and Jansport and such. I will definitely be back next year. I'm glad they ditched the Bonaroooo chant thing. I heard it a few times and thought it was obnoxious.
Last Edit: Jul 9, 2008 19:27:29 GMT -5 by chad - Back to Top
Been to all but '06 and every one is different. As mentioned above, the first two were Dead/Phish festivals basically with a hippie vibe. Since then it has gotten more mainstream with more @ssholes and a few more police but Roo is always very cool. The line-up is also getting more diverse every year.
This year was a little calmer, probably due to the smaller crowd. And the police were more visible. As for if it was better or worse, I cannot say.
Personally '03 and '07 were my best years just because everything came together for me those years.
To repeat myself, every Roo is different. It's enough to say I'll be back in '09
4th one for me this year (05, 06, 07, 08)... I probably should have written my thoughts down before reading what others put because now I feel like I have to justify feeling good about the fest. Regardless, here's some points I really want to get across:
Even as "late" or "recently" as 2005, it was a hippie fest -- heck, Widespread headlined TWO nights! As someone who sees a change in overall jam and hippie vibe as not such a bad thing-- i.e., change away doesn't mean a change for worse, I also see less of some stratosphereic, total change as I do a larger group of niches and less of a general commonality in come-to-the-table musical cultures. But Roo helps those people all come to the same table where outside of Roo they rarely, if ever, would.
And I think that's where we all need to take a grain of salt with all the chatter about what has changed. The entire music landscape has fractured in the last 5 years with the general death of the "typical" music industry-- it's all become niche markets to the nth degree, and I don't think that's such a bad thing. If you like gypsy punk, you now have an outlet that has like-minded fans. Same with bluegrass soul or bluegrass goth. The splinters are popping up everywhere. But what's interesting is watching festivals like Roo act as a great mortar and pestal to get these people together. Does that mean that Bonnaroo is attracting many people who wouldn't ordinarily come? Well, of course. And I think it'd be smarter of us not to act so exclusive as to not accept them.
People like to use Metallica, Kanye or others as easy examples of genre or niche-playing, but there's been actually far better examples in the last few years. Jazz and blues are two of the most well-represented niche genres that have really come into their own at Roo in the last few years. These do not attract an exclusively hippie vibe by any stretch but can and do include people of all stripes. But you could concievably come to Roo to hear nothing but blues, jazz or roots music and leave sated and hopefully exposed to a lot more bands-- ironically if you came to Roo to hear nothing but hippie/jam bands, I have found those audiences the least forgiving on message boards about the additional exposure.
Another example? The DJ's. I've met many who come to Roo for the electronic music alone, to be in the Roo atmosphere and get their dance on with some extra activities. Pointing to Metallica is easy, bothering to notice the all-night raves that have been going on for years and somehow NOT separating them as playing to a different genre than jam takes work.
So I see Roo as reflecting very much the niche attitude of music today, although playing the role of a burning altar where they all get exposed for all their glory. I feel that there is a tremendous music appreciation going on, but that the self expression is far more fractured and diverse (more diverse than the music). For interesting proof, look at the crossover bands who loom large like dirigibles over several genres and see the weird charisma they exude, using Roo as their catalyst for shows of their careers: My Morning Jacket, Raconteurs... Look at the young ages mixed with old enjoying the heck out of Willie Nelson. Watch as the toughest of Metallica die-hards enjoy Stephen Marley as they wait for a good spot, suddenly able to respect a genre some probably never voluntarily listened to.
So has the vibe changed? It better always change, else it risks becoming as stale and unmoving a beomoth as the music industry itself now. But it's very amorphic and bright. Always has been. You can easily have a bad or good experience as any type of music lover at any Roo in history; there are just too many variables that play into vibe and personal, anecdotal experience (my first Roo I witnessed some of the only violence and stealing I've seen-- so am I to ascertain that hippies fight and steal? No, that would be silly.)
Does that mean Roo can do no wrong? No way. But the sooner we stop acting like Roo is a single-minded diety and start taking responsibility for it's vibe, we'll see upon further inspection that there's always been plenty of diversity and that in some ways it's we, the industry and the culture that has changed as much as any festival in middle-TN.
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At every Roo I've surprised myself by getting to actually meet artists. My non-Roo friends don't understand how i can go to a festival with 70,000+ people and end up meeting so many artists.
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This Roo I heard more appreciative comments from band members than any Roo previous. From Charli2na to Death Cab to Metallica to Serena Ryder to Swell Season... all stripes were downright jubilant and very vocal about their enjoyment and support of Roo.
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I felt this Roo was filled with very "smart" fans as Ben Folds said about 07. I met more people that could speak eloquently about their tastes and music old and new-- it was refreshing. And all ages too.
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The corporate and mercantile Centeroo vibe has creeped up a bit with booths to the point that some rows feel like some sort of weird Deadhead trade show, but it still hasn't reached the stage-naming point of Lolla and many others-- still feels like arms length.
Post by themaninblack on Jul 10, 2008 1:03:57 GMT -5
What an amazing post^ sir.
Well you may not want to hear this from me because Bonnaroo 08 was my first one, but leading up to this all I heard about was how Bonnaroo isn't Bonnaroo anymore. A lot of the people I associate myself with have been and I have never been able to go whether it was because of money issues, age, or other logistics this was the first time I have been able to make time to go. That said, from my perspective Bonnaroo is one of the most amazing experiences I have ever been a part of in my time. I sit here today still having flashbacks and I have a feeling of almost homesickness being back in the real world. Bonnaroo has really opened my eyes, which I thought were pretty wide open to begin with. I met the most wonderful people who I will never forget and I will probably never speak to those individuals again(arghh). I didn't think such an event were possible in todays world and I probably went in with pretty low expectations in retrospect. But, the best thing I can say to close out this schpeel is that I WILL try to do this as many times as I can as I am TRULY hooked. Bonnaroooooo you sold me!
^^iSkew, here's some karma for making lots of sense!
This year was my second year, so I've been 07 and 08 and I had a way better time this year! A lot of it was due to simply being more prepared, so that's personal, but I also enjoyed the music a lot more this year. Like others said, every show was great and most of them blew me away. I felt like the artists really brought their A game. We were also surrounded by really great neighbors and made some friends that we are still in contact with and plan on seeing again soon. I felt much more camaraderie this year, and just had more *fun*. Again, that could be personal because I wasn't so overwhelmed this time around, but I met so many more wonderful, kind & fun people this year that made my Roo. I also enjoyed the smaller crowd- just felt more comfortable. The one thing I did notice was less hippies of the wook-leaning variety and more frat-boy types/bros. Some of the bros were pretty obnoxious. I would much prefer a wook outta his mind on druqks than a drunk frat boy. But I still met way more people from more different walks of life in one place than I have at any other sort of music outlet, and I was pleased to see there were still plenty people in their 40s and up. I love the diversification of the lineup though because like iShew more eloquently said, it just creates more opportunity to have different kinds of people experiencing new kinds of music with friends they might have not made any way else.
Last Edit: Jul 10, 2008 7:57:32 GMT -5 by Deleted - Back to Top
Post by slobpatttop on Jul 10, 2008 10:44:42 GMT -5
This was my 3rd time going to Bonnaroo and I did like this year very much, but I think I only liked this year better than 06 is because of the weather, it made it much easier to keep going when it wasn't a million degrees outside. I have to agree completely with herecomesthesun about the frat boys. I asked one in the other tent waiting for Superjam if he was going to be hot in his sweatshirt and he said no, but that I would be hot in just about anything. I just thought that was rude.
Post by BonnarooDetective on Jul 10, 2008 11:09:55 GMT -5
This was my 4th year in a row, and basically I would like to echo some of the comments made by cdevaney and lakai.
The vibe has undergone a very palpable shift over the past two years. In '05 and '06 there was a much more communal, collective consciousness feel. The crowds were better, friendlier, and there simply seemed to be a good energy flowing throughout the farm (if you believe in those kinds of things). However, recent years have made Bonnaroo seem more like a random amalgamation of people than a good vibes music festival. The festival has obviously become more mainstream, and with it, have come more "mainstream" people. I'm talking about this kids who come to hang out all weekend, get wasted, and only go see 4 or 5 shows. These are the kids trying to push their way past you 5 minutes before the show is supposed to start. In general, the experience of feeling like a collective community of fun-loving people has deteriorated.
The smaller crowd this year obviously had a noticable effect. It simply wasn't as crowded, and once inside, the lines were shorter.
That being said . . . they still have not figured out an effective tollboth strategy. This year I spent more time than ever waiting to get to my campsite. It boggles my mind as to why they cram all the cars into one line after the go through the tollbooths. Moreover, they didn't have anyone attending to the clusterfuck. Lots of people standing around, no one directing traffic. I has a "safety" official yell at me to not stand on the roof of my car, but they can't figure out how to park a line of cars.
While I'm complaining, the lack of schedules/guidebooks is senseless. I got one this year, but last year my car was asked to share one because they were running low. This year I know some people that didn't receieve any at all. This is simply idiotic. They know how many people will be in attendance, it shouldn't be hard to resolve this issue. What bothers me more, perhaps, is the way they handled the Kanye situation. The made a massive change to the schedule and did a horrible job of disseminating the information about it. I expected there to be a little insert in the guidebook explaining the changes - there wasn't. But what really got me were the big signs announcing the change in Kanye's set time. What about all the other artists that got bumped around? I thought it was rather rude to inform the crowd the one show had changed, but fail to mention all the other alterations.
Everything slowly becomes more corporate, I'm just waiting for the day when "The Other Tent" becomes "The Coca-Cola Zero Stage".
Obviously something in the management has changed. The same festival that I went to in '05 would not have cut Phil Lesh short in favor of Kanye (sucks!) West (Did I mention that his show was horrendous?).
Frankly, I think the festival needs to do a 180 from this year's shenanigans. From the line-up to the crowd to the logistics. Don't get me wrong, I'm still planning on going in '09, but Bonnaroo is on the downhill right now.
Of all the people on this board, I think BonnarooDetective is one of the ones I trust the most, and I have to agree in many ways with his post above. The vibe has certainly shifted. This was my fifth (03, 05-08) and there has been a definite impact of the "mainstreaming" of Bonnaroo. I'm not saying going mainstream is completely bad, but maybe I just have a preference for the days when there weren't so many sponsored tents in Centeroo (Stubhub, Fuse, Nokia, etc.), and more of the general "go-with-the-flow" vibe. I don't know that Bonnaroo will ever change the names of the stages; it's too fun and now a tradition to have it the way it is.
Musically, overall, Bonnaroo never disappoints. It will be VERY hard for a year to compare musically with 2006 for me, mainly Radiohead. However, most, if not all, of the artists bring a crowd that can appreciate the diversity of the festival. I think most people there this year actually did enjoy the diversity. I was worried about Metallica fans before I went this year, but once I got there, there were no issues. They took a chance with Kanye and it failed. I don't mind that they took the chance, but I hope and pray they've learned their lesson. (Side note: There were a lot of things that upset me about the Kanye situation, but the biggest was the fact that he didn't even give Bonnaroo a chance. He treated it as another show rather than the opportunity he should have looked at it as. I mean, when you're partying in Atlanta the night you're going to play, rather than being on the farm, interacting with other musicians, and really soaking in the communal vibe, no wonder you don't address the crowd or seemingly have any idea what it's all about. Fin.)
I do have issues with the ridiculous amounts of bunk stuff and money-hungry dealers/stealers. Maybe it was our camping spot out by the silo, but I thought the pushiness of the dealers was a little overwhelming this year. It also didn't help that a guy right next to us freaked out on some bunk stuff early Friday morning, and his friends didn't take care of the situation, so my group had to. And I caught three guys snooping around and looking under cars for stuff to steal. Kind of left a sour taste in my mouth.
The weather was a lot nicer this year than the past. Saturday evening was the best weather I've ever witnessed on the farm, which made the Jack Johnson set kind of fun (I wasn't necessarily looking forward to the set, but the weather made it a highlight for me).
Overall, different, and probably not to my preference. I really enjoyed the vibe from 2006 and before, as the last few years have moved away a little bit. I'm going to be a little more choosy next year about which festival I choose, as now there are a myriad of options to experience. I'll be waiting for the lineup (though it will probably blow me away, so...)
i agree with pretty much all of this post, and will explain further in my reply.
bonnaroo '08 was actually my first one, but i've been to lots of music festivals over the past several years (from austin city limits to ultra music festival to coachella to langerado and many others - i've just always had some kind of schedule conflict with 'roo until this year. not trying to brag btw, i'm just hoping that despite the fact that this thread is for multiple 'roo attender, i can bring a perspective here.
i know most people here realise this, but bonnaroo has basically become america's premier music festival. there may be bigger names: lollapalooza, austin city limits, but in terms of overall stature...at least for now, i'd say bonnaroo is considered #1. even if you disagree, you'd at least have to put it in the top 3. sometimes it can be easy to forget this; i know i often did while i was there. this does come with certain limitations, especially as the artist lineup diversity increases. one of those is a reduction in hippie vibes, a "singular purpose" among festival goers, etc. it's unfortunate, but it is a reality. so if that is a top concern, i can totally understand preferring a smaller festival, such as all good or something.
however, given bonnaroo's premier status, i thought it was great that corporate sponsorship was generally unintrusive, and what sponsorship there was mostly contributed to the enjoyment of festival goers. at least no corporate naming of stages, etc. i was also impressed by bonnaroo's overall commitment to issues of social justice compared to other festivals of its size.
as far as the crowd goes, i did notice a decent amount of the fratboy types. i hate to stereotype cause i bet plenty were cool, but i also don't doubt that more than a few of them were there just to get wasted and only see a couple of bands. this is one of the downsides of being the premier festival. but overall, i saw people from all sorts of subcultures, plenty of hippies, hipsters, and whathaveyou. and plenty of regular-looking people just looking to have an awesome time. by the way, the bonnaroo chant initially confused me, but by friday night, i was responding. and really i gotta say, for every douchebag, i still encountered at the very least ten cool people. imo, bonnaroo did very well in this area compared to festivals of competing size/stature.
oh yeah, and nothing i got was bunk. but it does appear that other people's mileage may have varied here.
okay, now here's where i really agree with the post i'm quoting. although this was my first 'roo, i've followed its festival line-up basically since its inception, and i've noticed its transformation from a jam band festival to probably the most musically diverse festival in america. although you may lose the "hippie vibes" (and don't get me wrong; i think they are a good thing), you gain an intermingling of musical cultures/attitudes unlike what i've seen at any festival. and with the advent of the internet, i think this is important. people are getting their music from a variety of sources and having a greater variety of tastes. at bonnaroo, i got far and away a more diverse vibe than i did with any other festival, with so many music cultures combining to create one incredible experience. people get exposed to so much at bonnaroo these days that it really is mindblowing. i've never had a festival touch on so many corners of my record collection as bonnaroo '08. i really hope superfly continues to facilitate this.
and on a personal level, i'm a huge fan of a variety of electronic music. although i listen to many genres of music, it constitutes a significant percentage of what i listen to. and so i thought it was awesome that i could see tons of rock/blues/jazz/soul, etc during the day and early evening, but then by midnight there was so much electronic/hip-hop available for me that i even had to miss a couple acts i really wanted to see. i couldn't believe it basically transformed into a crazy rave upon hundreds of acres! of course, this led to me getting very little sleep, but quack it, it's bonnaroo! and i bet that a ton of people who maybe listen only to rock music had even more of a chance to get exposed to different stuff, even if perhaps some of them just needed to dance to something while they were all loved up. and that was just one example of the awesome musical intermingling going on.
i agree of course, that there are improvements superfly can make, as there were a few glitches. the obvious one is making sure something like the kanye incident doesn't reoccur, and being more consistent with things like security. it's our job to make sure they strive to improve. oh yeah, and i also didn't get a festival guidebook so yeah they need to work on that, but i did manage to ground-score one.
still overall, for being in my opinion the premier music festival in the united states, i was impressed at how bonnaroo has apparently adapted to changes in the music scene over the years. and how they balance their popularity with generally keeping the festival a liberal, vibrant, musically diverse, grassroots thing. especially compared to other music festivals of similar size. it's a pretty awesome thing - can't wait for june '09!
(again, although this was my first 'roo, i was hoping that my attendance at many other festivals could provide a perspective).
I have to agree completely with herecomesthesun about the frat boys.
I totally know what everyone is talking about, but you'll have to pardon me while I laugh. When I was in college (undergrad, 94-98) the only people obsessed with Phish and the jam band scene WERE the frat boys. So I've always associated the jam bands with dirty white hats and khaki's.
Funny how our personal anecdotes and experiences can color our views of an entire festival (and therefore it's hard to blame a festival for our complete cultural experiences).
I would like to clarify what I personally feel is a shared remark of, "learning their lesson with the Kanye West debacle" (we have all said it in some form lately).
The lesson to me, has to do with any performers with egos that big and a desire at the relative last minute (final two weeks) to radically change the schedule. THAT IS THE LESSON (to me). I am trying to very carefully parse that because I'm getting a vibe from people who feel that the lesson is booking rap acts, which is completely counter to Roo's mission or even longstanding practice. Anyway, just saying.
Post by hibouxdufromage on Jul 11, 2008 11:52:26 GMT -5
It definitely isn't booking rap acts that is the lesson. We've never had a problem with The Roots, Talib Kweli, Cypress Hill, Kid Koala, Mix Master Mike, etc... The problem is booking doosch bargs that think they're doing their audience a favor by showing up at all. Theoretically, if Snoop Dog had been there instead of Kanye and had the same technical issues, he would have probably come out 10 or 15 minutes late, and said something like "We're having a hard time getting all this stuff set up, so if you guys don't mind I'm just gonna grab a mike and freestyle until my road crew finishes setting everything up."
Post by bamadancer on Jul 11, 2008 18:00:11 GMT -5
To put it into perspective, when my thumb got shut in a port-a-potty door (really long, kind of hilarious story) at Ultra Music Festival I went, in tears, with my boyfriend to find our nearest security personnel.
I was sobbing, and thought it was broken. My finger was purple from the minute the door shut on it. When my boyfriend tells the guy, "My girlfriend might have broken her finger. Can you help us?" He responds: "The only thing we can do is take you to the hospital." Then he took us (not so nicely, mind you) to get me a bag of ice. That's all the help I got.
If that had happened at Bonnaroo, I would've gotten medical attention, ice, etc. You don't really know the differences until you go to another festival.
I've been 3 times..06, 07, and 08...and I'll write a longer response soon, but I thought it was something people should know.
I'd like to amend my original post slightly by encouraging anyone who has never gone to Bonnaroo to go. There's really nothing like it, and it's an experience you won't ever forget.
and that was just one example of the awesome musical intermingling going on.
