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!!
My first 'roo was 07 so obviously I didn't deal with any mud then, which was great. This year I got to experience what a muddyroo is like, and this was fairly mild - if it had kept raining the way it did Thursday and Thursday night the mud would have been ridiculous. So something to help with the mud would be great. I don't know what it would be....I don't think I want to see paved walkways, but maybe there's something they could do. They tried throwing down a ton of hay this year which just made it work in my opinion. The hay just masked the mud so you'd pick up a good place to put your foot and then SPLOOSH, your foot sinks in about 5 inches and the mud comes up through the hay and soaks you anyway.
THIS. this was the worst in front of the showers/water stations in shakedown. the most annoying was when you'd pay 7$ for a shower, get out and step on what looked like dry ground and then a puddle of brown liquid seeps through.
also there was a mist tent next to the showers in shakedown that was useless because there was about a foot of ridiculously thick mud on the ground under it.
1. Bring back the water troughs in the camping areas instead of those tiny sinks. 2. Put at least ONE water trough in BFE so it's not a 20 minute walk to get to one (Better yet put a water trough by every line of port-o-potties). 3. Clean the bathrooms in the campsites more than once a day (We asked cleaning staff about this and the bathrooms by our campsite were cleaned once a day at 5 p.m.). 4. More drinkable water stations in Centeroo (We got lucky that this year wasn't hotter than it was). 5. Make the taxis electric carts (The exhaust on those was ridiculous, and it's a bit hypocritical to preach greening and then charge $5 for a gas powered taxi ride). 6. Get rid of the neon signs on the tents (waste of energy) and put the giant signs back up in front of the tents. 7. After years of complaints, finally nail down the sound on Which Stage. 8. Don't search people as thoroughly as they did at the Main Stage entrance, causing ridiculous lines (If they really care that much, they should search cars more thoroughly on the way in). 9. Bring back Phish.
Make sure all the POD lights work the whole time. It's not easy navigating the grounds without them. Also along with the POD situation, I know they have more than 9 balloons. They replaced 9 with 10 after Thursday. And yet POD 6 had to care for over 15 camps, while 7, 8, and 9(10) were all right next to eachother. I think having one over by the south tollbooths would have made things easier for the people camped there.
my campsite area had the pod balloon changed 3 times. from 9 on thursday to 10 on friday to 11 the rest of the weekend.
Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, The Mars Volta, Snoop Dogg, TV on the Radio, MGMT, The Knux, Crystal Castle, Julia Nunes, Tobacco, Portugal. The Man, Gomez, Animal Collective, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Santigold, David Byrne, Public Enemy, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Gov't Mule, Citizens Cope, Andrew Bird, Coheed & Cambria & Phish.
Post by questionablesanity on Jun 17, 2009 9:16:01 GMT -5
Let taxis roam the grounds freely. It was a pain to haul gear from BFE to taxi stand, then take a round about way to Centeroo, get dropped off and have to haul gear to tent only. It kinda defeats the purpose. It was nearly as fast for us to walk.
Taxis should also have their own "roads". It was a pain to get out of their way and it was frustrating to ride at a snail's pace because people wouldn't move out of the way.
Change the setup completely at Which and add screens.
A Thieve's Parade 2/24 Conspirator 2/26 Kevin Smith 3/11 Keller 3/17 Papadosio 3/18 JJ Grey 3/25 Bela Fleck/Edgar Meyer 3/26 Toubab Krewe 3/27 O'Death 4/11 Budos Band 4/22 EOTO 4/28 Summer Camp 5/6-29 All Good
Post by zacharia420 on Jun 17, 2009 10:03:23 GMT -5
THE FOOD. DEAR GOD THE FOOD.
Drop the prices and/or increase the quality. $5 for a slice of Pizza? Give me a break...
At lollapalooza last year, most food was $5 and very clean and tasty. At Outside Lands in SF, the food was the same price as ROO, but outstanding quality, with more healthy choices.
Whole foods was a nice start, but the organizers are still a few miles behind on this front.
^ I ate awesome festie food all weekend, including a steak and potato dinner for 8 bucks. For less than a double quarter pounder meal at Mc'ds you could have a variety of tasty non fried foods this year.
Drop the prices and/or increase the quality. $5 for a slice of Pizza? Give me a break...
$5 is really not that bad. It's lower than sports stadium prices.......and have you SEEN the size of the slices they give you? They easily equal 2 normal sized slices that you'd buy from a pizza place.
Post by starrynight on Jun 17, 2009 10:41:42 GMT -5
1. That hay smelled awful and made my feet itch like CRAZY. (I'm allergic to grass though, maybe I'm allergic to hay too).
2. Screens at Which stage, definitely. Wouldn't hurt at the tents too.
3. At first I wasnt sure about the neon signs at the tents (I thought those were new, glad I wasnt going crazy) but I did like that it made tents easier to spot far away through trees and stuff, but I like the signs out in the front of the tent, they make good meeting spots before shows haha.
4. A way to handle the mud, but I'm not really sure how that would be done. I know they put down plywood in some places.
5. More filtered water stations and cell phone charging stations.
6. The people parked in front of us were given NO room to camp and while trying to set up their ez up in a teeny tiny space, the guy directing cars was SCREAMING at them to move it, and literally came and picked it up, pulling it apart and threw it on the ground. In the meantime, we, and all the cars in our row and back (or forward, meaning closer towarsd centeroo) were given tons of space so of course once the guy left we backed up and gave them room, but man that guy was a dick and it was a little ridiculous.
The Which stage has a lot of bigger acts in a limited space, so a lot of times it ends up really cramped with limited visibility (depending on where you are) and very limited shade.
Maybe I'm just sensitive to the heat but a lot of times I'd post up somewhat early for a show to get a decent spot, wait 40 minutes or so for them to start and then only be able to handle about 3/4 songs because I'd get wayyy too hot and start feeling woozy. I'd then make my way farther out to some shade (beer tent usually) and not be able to see much.
That being said, Screens at the which stage and Shade Sails (or something similar) would be amazing, as long as the sails are placed well so that they don't cause more visibility problems. Maybe some sails on the left and right side of the stage that would extend basically from the front corners of the stage out to the surrounding wall.
As for mud, it seemed like the sand they had in some areas held up well. Maybe more sand in mud-prone areas?
Also, I think it would be a good idea to open up the Which stage on Thursday and have some acts play there to help spread people out. (Is it just me or did the tents seem extra cramped on Thursday?) This would also provide the option of giving a couple more bands better suited for night a night spot instead of having them play during the day.
Post by Britney's_Fears on Jun 17, 2009 12:04:45 GMT -5
Throw a few wooden trucking pallettes in front of the water stations to stand on so when the ground turns into a muddy mess you can get to the spigots and trough without going ankle deep into mud.
Post by notdarkyet on Jun 17, 2009 13:31:19 GMT -5
Go back to the tracking shots at the front of the stage instead of the crane that blocks viewing at the What stage. I suggested this last year too but I still think it would be incredible to organize a google earth flyover during the weekend so I could come home and find my site in the program.
I waited alot less time this year than I did last. Last year I waited in line for 6 and a half hours and this year I only waited a little over 3 hours.
Post by strumntheguitar on Jun 17, 2009 14:23:10 GMT -5
I thought it was really funny that the watering station in Centeroo was surrounded by a giant mud pit on Thursday night. Everytime I went to fill my water bottle up I'd wash off my feet, and then immediately step ankle deep into mud after leaving. It cracked me up everytime.
I thought it was really funny that the watering station in Centeroo was surrounded by a giant mud pit on Thursday night. Everytime I went to fill my water bottle up I'd wash off my feet, and then immediately step ankle deep into mud after leaving. It cracked me up everytime.
i was disappointed in how they didn't put in the artist info in the guide book this year. i really enjoyed having that to learn about the smaller artists playing the cafes, plus it was a great way of passing time waiting for a show to start
Post by Lawn Gnome on Jun 17, 2009 15:07:11 GMT -5
^ I was disappointed that I never got a guide. We showed up around 5:30 PM on Thursday, and they were out. We were then told at every POD and info tent that they were out. Then some friends of ours showed up around 3 AM and got one. WTF?!
Post by areyoukind on Jun 17, 2009 15:07:28 GMT -5
yeah it seemed to me that the only water in Centeroo was those filtered stations??? that was lame, luckily I had a full camelbak everyday. I NEVER would have poured my water out at the Centeroo entrance (they never asked me too... but that is LAME)
1. bring back the billboards behind the tents. Makes great shade and a great meetup spot. 2. re-arrange the Which stage so that there isn't a damn beer tent blocking the view. 3. get rid of the extraneous tents/attractions (ATT lounge, Arcade disco, etc). I was so pissed at Mule, I was chillin by the bobblehead, watching the show, waiting for my friends to come from Of Montreal so we could head to Wilco together, and the friggin sound bleed was so annoying!! they really should just leave out that area... the music kinda sucks anyways... maybe a speaker relay at that afforementioned Beer tent would help over power the sound bleed
*i like coconuts, you can break them open they smell like ladies lyin in the sun** *Hell I don't even know where I am** *for now I must sit here and ponder the yonder: The herbivores did well cause their food didn't never run** *We listen, if it feels good We shake** *You made a big impression for a girl of your size, Now I can't get by without you and your big brown eyes.**
More phish!!! I love the roo, my last one was '02, and roo '09 was even more amazing, but without phish I probably won't come back. I mean no disrespect to the other artists, attendees, or staff -that's just me and my priorities. Many many thanks for roo 2009!
Amazing: Phish, Bruce, Amadou & Mariam, Vieux Farke Toure, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Wilco, NIN Good to great: Animal Collective, NIN, Jimmy Buffet, King Sunny Ade, Tobacco, MGMT, Passion Pit, Kraak & Smack Glad to have seen: Oakenfold, Grizzly Bear, Beastie Boys, of Montreal, Snoop Dogg
yeah it seemed to me that the only water in Centeroo was those filtered stations??? that was lame, luckily I had a full camelbak everyday. I NEVER would have poured my water out at the Centeroo entrance (they never asked me too... but that is LAME)
1. bring back the billboards behind the tents. Makes great shade and a great meetup spot. 2. re-arrange the Which stage so that there isn't a damn beer tent blocking the view. 3. get rid of the extraneous tents/attractions (ATT lounge, Arcade disco, etc). I was so pissed at Mule, I was chillin by the bobblehead, watching the show, waiting for my friends to come from Of Montreal so we could head to Wilco together, and the friggin sound bleed was so annoying!! they really should just leave out that area... the music kinda sucks anyways... maybe a speaker relay at that afforementioned Beer tent would help over power the sound bleed
yeah i agree the sound bleed was very bad this year or at least more noticeable to me. i wonder if they could just move the Troo Music Lounge and Cafes to the campgrounds to clear up room in centeroo.
oh yeah please bring back the somethin else tent.
and make major improvements on the electronic acts. personally, i was vastly disappointed friday night after phish.
More phish!!! I love the roo, my last one was '02, and roo '09 was even more amazing, but without phish I probably won't come back. I mean no disrespect to the other artists, attendees, or staff -that's just me and my priorities. Many many thanks for roo 2009!
If all you came for is Phish, why would you go all the way out to Tennessee for a festival? You should go to Bonnaroo for all the great bands playing everyday, not for just one.
1. Have all my favorite artists ever play next year. 2. Bend space and time so that there are no conflicts. 3. Make the stages louder so that even when I'm standing really far back, I can hear everything perfectly. 4. Make sure there is no sound bleed, though. 5. Make sure you put down plenty of sand, gravel, whatever in every possible place where water might accumulate, just in case there's mud anywhere on the farm. 6. Make sure I can get whatever kind of food I want, at whatever price I want to pay. 7. Somehow figure out a way to get 80,000 people in all at once, so that I don't have to wait at all. 8. Basically, make it so that it's just like I'm sitting at home watching this concert, where I have every comfort and absolutely nothing goes wrong.
The Which stage has a lot of bigger acts in a limited space, so a lot of times it ends up really cramped with limited visibility (depending on where you are) and very limited shade.
Maybe I'm just sensitive to the heat but a lot of times I'd post up somewhat early for a show to get a decent spot, wait 40 minutes or so for them to start and then only be able to handle about 3/4 songs because I'd get wayyy too hot and start feeling woozy. I'd then make my way farther out to some shade (beer tent usually) and not be able to see much.
That being said, Screens at the which stage and Shade Sails (or something similar) would be amazing, as long as the sails are placed well so that they don't cause more visibility problems. Maybe some sails on the left and right side of the stage that would extend basically from the front corners of the stage out to the surrounding wall.
As for mud, it seemed like the sand they had in some areas held up well. Maybe more sand in mud-prone areas?
Also, I think it would be a good idea to open up the Which stage on Thursday and have some acts play there to help spread people out. (Is it just me or did the tents seem extra cramped on Thursday?) This would also provide the option of giving a couple more bands better suited for night a night spot instead of having them play during the day.
Those are some awesome ideas. They should hire you for consulting or something. What sense does it make to have the Which stage closed on Thursday, when Passion Pit could have easily filled the crowd at that stage?
I had an insane amount of fun this year i'm not complaining at all but two improvements I can think of are 1. Which Stae screens (seems this is unanimous) 2. Bring back Moonalice as a latenight so we can see the full show. THEY WERE GREAT which is not that commen for a cafe act at noon.
I don't now what everybody's problem with the filtred water stations was other than the mud I never waited for more thatn 1 minuet to get water and I always went to the stations right by the entrences.