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!!
Post by sparklybecca on Jun 25, 2007 14:23:41 GMT -5
illyb said:
When we got searched in line at the front gates they did a full search on just about every car including ours. When I got out I sparked up a conversation with one of the guys searching us and he told me that they were being very strict this year but that they were told to focus mainly on weapons and if people had ALOT of one thing because they wanted to really crack down on illegal vending. He said it didn't matter what it was but if someone had alot of it they were told to confiscate it. They almost took some squirt guns from us because we had like 9 of them. The guy told me it was because Bonnaroo was charging out the ass for vending licenses this year so they need to be sure that people buying licenses are getting there money's worth. He said the cost of a vending license this year was between $25,000 and $50,000 depending on location.
Post by strumntheguitar on Jun 25, 2007 14:29:37 GMT -5
illyb said:
When we got searched in line at the front gates they did a full search on just about every car including ours. When I got out I sparked up a conversation with one of the guys searching us and he told me that they were being very strict this year but that they were told to focus mainly on weapons and if people had ALOT of one thing because they wanted to really crack down on illegal vending. He said it didn't matter what it was but if someone had alot of it they were told to confiscate it. They almost took some squirt guns from us because we had like 9 of them. The guy told me it was because Bonnaroo was charging out the ass for vending licenses this year so they need to be sure that people buying licenses are getting there money's worth. He said the cost of a vending license this year was between $25,000 and $50,000 depending on location.
That could also help explain the apparent increase in prices for food this year. I haven't been any previous years but just from talking to others it seems food prices increased, yet I still found them to be relatively cheap considering it was at a festival.
I can't imagine people making too much of a profit if they had to pay $50,000 just for a good spot...
Post by stallion pt. 2 on Jun 25, 2007 14:31:02 GMT -5
ideoteque said:
Well, I was there and shakedown was not what it was in 2006.
I guess it's all a matter of where you were and your luck. I though that shakedown was pretty week in 06 and was bracing for a repeat this year. I'm so glad I was wrong. This year was a year of plenty from my personal experiences. It was a little rediculous at times. No complaints here, though.
John: We don't even understand our own music Spider: It doesn't, does it matter whether we understand it? At least it'll give us . . . strength John: I know but maybe we could get into it more if we understood it
Our search to get in to Bonnaroo was quite cursory. I got out and talked to the guy and he just asked if we had any glass, weapons, fireworks, and then looked in one of our 2 coolers. I actually found the people at the front gate quite helpful, our car started overheating and they said they'd help us get off to the side (this was right inside the gate) if we wanted so we could fix the car, but we just turned the heat way up and drove with the hood up until we cooled down instead.
Going into Centeroo the lines were long on Thurs night and Fri morning, but this seemed normal to me. It seems like every year they search harder on the first day or so and then get more lax, although I always emptied my pockets and just got a quick pat or was told to just keep moving. My friends told me Fri latenight was a lot worse though, but I didn't leave Centeroo after Tool so I didn't experience that.
The only thing confiscated was my friend's bottle opener off his keyring on Thurs. One of my friends didn't even realize she had pepper spray hanging on the side of her bag until during the Police, and not once did security even notice it or think it was worth mentioning to her.
I did notice a few cops around, but I noticed more in 2006, but that year I was in BFE and had to walk down Bushy Branch all the time and that was the only place I saw them in 06, and I guess that road is public property. This year I saw a couple of them on the grounds, but luckily had no issues.
When we got searched in line at the front gates they did a full search on just about every car including ours. When I got out I sparked up a conversation with one of the guys searching us and he told me that they were being very strict this year but that they were told to focus mainly on weapons and if people had ALOT of one thing because they wanted to really crack down on illegal vending. He said it didn't matter what it was but if someone had alot of it they were told to confiscate it. They almost took some squirt guns from us because we had like 9 of them. The guy told me it was because Bonnaroo was charging out the ass for vending licenses this year so they need to be sure that people buying licenses are getting there money's worth. He said the cost of a vending license this year was between $25,000 and $50,000 depending on location.
That could also help explain the apparent increase in prices for food this year. I haven't been any previous years but just from talking to others it seems food prices increased, yet I still found them to be relatively cheap considering it was at a festival.
I can't imagine people making too much of a profit if they had to pay $50,000 just for a good spot...
I can only speak from my own experience, but the gator tail basket I bought last year was $10 and the giant slice of pizza was $4, the same as this year. I do believe beer prices went up to $6 from $5, but I think this was offset by the availability of more micro-brews. Water was still $2.50.
Among the hippies, rockers, free spirits and other Bonnaroo revelers partying in Manchester today will be a less likely festival figure: the taxman.
In an example of Tennessee's controversial drug tax in action, state revenue agents plan to collect fees on the illegal substances that some concertgoers bring for personal use and sale.
It's not an effort to curb drug use — for some, a Bonnaroo tradition that has sent tens to the hospital and a few to the morgue — but to make sure state and local authorities recoup drug enforcement costs.
For an ounce and a half of marijuana, just above the limit for a misdemeanor drug charge, the tax amounts to about $165, said Al Laney, director of tax enforcement for the state revenue department.
"Naturally, these people will be arrested and their assets will be confiscated," Laney said. "We assess a person while they're under arrest and seize any assets that law enforcement may want to turn over to us."
The state tax on felony amounts of drugs — rates vary by substance — started in January 2005 and has sparked an ongoing legal battle over the fairness and legality of the fee.
State agents have collected $5.4 million so far, with an untold portion of that coming from their efforts at Bonnaroo, the only event in the state manned by tax agents.
147 arrested in 2006
Between 30 and 40 concertgoers in 2005 faced taxes and fines, estimated Laney, who could not provide exact statistics.
Coffee County sheriff's officers, who help inspect vehicles entering the concert grounds, arrested 147 people in 2006, many on drug charges. More than 200 were cited, Sheriff Stephen Graves said.
One of those was retired law professor Thomas Schornhorst's 17-year-old grandson from Alabama, who was stopped on the way into the show with a bag of plant material.
Tax agents took the $200 the youth had on him, told him he owed more than $5,000 and threatened to confiscate the truck he rode in on, his grandfather says.
Lab tests later showed that the bag contained no illegal substances and the fines were dropped. Still, Schornhorst bristled at what he says is the state's disregard for due process.
"They're just taking money from people on the spot knowing that these people won't be able to find lawyers to challenge them," Schornhorst said.
A revenue department spokeswoman confirmed that agents have confiscated vehicles in the past when dealing with large amounts of drugs or people from out of state.
Stamps not popular
When not working Bonnaroo, agents team up with law enforcement on drug busts or assess taxes by mail on arrestees regardless of whether they're convicted.
State officials placed a tax lien on the home of Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley this year after he was arrested on charges of illegally buying thousands of prescription drugs.
Drug carriers can buy stamps anonymously from the revenue department in Nashville. Tax officials are prohibited by law from disclosing the information to law enforcement authorities.
The stamps, when affixed to bags of drugs, prove to the state that the possessor has already paid taxes.
The program hasn't been popular, Laney said.
So far no drugs confiscated by police have carried the markers, and some speculate that the small number of stamps sold in Tennessee have gone to collectors, he said.
Twenty-five states levy similar fees on illicit drugs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. And in many cases — as in Tennessee — those fees have faced court challenges.
Knoxville lawyer Rick Holcomb defended a man convicted of federal drug conspiracy charges. Holcomb says the taxes are a thinly veiled punishment assessed on top of criminal punishment, breaking constitutional prohibitions against double jeopardy.
Assessing drug taxes at Bonnaroo is problematic, he said.
"There's a certain time allotted in which you should be able to stay the actual collection of the tax," Holcomb said. "Targeting Bonnaroo is particularly egregious because they're … taking your money right there."