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!!
something everyone on this board has in common is having a first time at bonnaroo. so describe to us your bonnaroo noob experience?
mine. my first year was in 2006. i was 18 and just graduated from high school. my best friend really wanted to see radiohead so his dad bought us both tickets. so yeah i went for free. i was pretty indifferent towards the whole thing. i didn't know 90% of the bands playing. i really just went because it was something to do and i knew a few radiohead songs.
i had never experienced this festival culture before. i had only been to a handful of shows prior to this, the biggest one being The Strokes about a month prior.
completely unprepared in terms of supplies. the sun drilled me into the ground + experiencing with many a cob of corn for the first time = lying in the car with AC cranked making hours seem like minutes.
i only stayed up past midnight once, that was after Tom Petty to see a band some wooks camped next to us were recommending called My Morning Jacket. i stayed for about 2 hours and became exhausted and went to sleep with their show putting to me sleep at a distance. it went on for about another 2 hours. after Radiohead the next day i had no energy for another late night.
sunday was ok. we were contemplating leaving, but the people that gave me and my buddy a ride wanted to check out Phil Lesh. these people that gave us a ride were very acquainted with the fest scene. to make the show extra special for us, they introduced us to their friend Lucy. i had never met Lucy before this night. 3 hours of pouring rain later i was hooked on bonnaroo.
i went back three consecutive years: 07,08,09. 2007 being considered as my "perfect year".
Mine was in 05', I was fresh out of high school and very unprepared. To add to that, we brought our tent, but it was missing its poles, so, by some miracle, there was one rv in the GA camping and it happened to be parked right next to us. So we made a makeshift teepee around the rv's wheelwell. It was shade, but it got wet real quick when it rained, becoming uninhabitable.
I was familiar with the bands, but ate too much corn(very familiar with that as well, just didn't plan well at all) the first day and got lost for two days. I finally found a seperate group i knew and they helped me out a lot. I had the worst sun poisoning. My cheecks were literally goo. So, I missed the Roots and a whole day during Saturday. On top of that, my shoes were locked in my friends car, so I finally got the gaul to walk around the campgrounds barefoot to get some food, see the sights, etc. That hurt pretty bad too. I did manage to see Dave and the Mars Volta that night. Best surprise was Herbie Hancock that weekend.
When it comes to the perfect roo, it was 06'. I saw the most music, had a huge group of 20 something people with a fortress of canopies, and we were camped right outside the arch. The walk to centeroo can make or break you for the amount of shows you see all weekend. You can only eat so much corn before the delirium sets in.
Since then, I've been every year, but 08, and probably wont miss another. The atmosphere is just eclectic.
I had seen bonnaroo in the news the year before said I want to go honey he dissmissed it, in 2004 we had got are taxes and I said all I want is to go to roo, He bought the tickets and thought they were high at $139.50 each he was a litte apprehenvie about it all to get ready we went to rock island and stayed in our tent and hiked alot the night before roo this bus pulls up with th dead all over it and the sweet smell of corn pouring out of it I said honey I bet they are going he said yea I hope it is and I want on that bus! Thurseday morning @5 we woke up packed up and drove the 50 miles to manchester the bus passed us on the way we got in an hour were way back in woodlawn Had great young neighbors who shared party favers with us seen some shows but not to many styed at camp alot meet realy cool pepole had a blast and have been every year. Went vip the next two years but decited it was way cooler and friendly in ga. This will be our 8th. year and I always have fun and look forward to christmas in june every year
Post by ridebikesdrinkbeer on Feb 11, 2011 19:11:54 GMT -5
2002. Saw The line-up. Bought the ticket. Drove the company van without permission 250 miles to get there after work on Friday night. Drove right in. No line. Vehicle check went like this: 'Got any droogs? No? Too bad'. 'Where do I park? ' 'I dunno, that way?' Pointing towards the stages. I drove in, found a parking spot next to some trash cans, got out and onto the roof of the van, and was watching Panic.
last year was my first year. i think i was pretty well prepared for everything but the suns serious devil rays. i had shade and a fan for my tent and baby wipes (thanks for the tip inforoo). i, however, never conceived how the chafing would effect me. there was only one pair of shorts i brought that i could wear without being miserable...they could stand on their own by the end of the weekend. as cliche' as this all sounds, that one weekend changed me. bring on roo 2011! (with lots of glide leno for my thighs)
Post by fearthestupid on Feb 11, 2011 19:18:16 GMT -5
dustaroo 07 was my first and despite being woefully unprepared, i was hooked from the moment we arrived!! of course we were camped in austin powers, a spot so bad they closed it! brought terrible shoes, barely read the schedule so missed a bunch of stuff i wanted to see, and still had the time of my life!! will be returning to the farm every year forever and ever AMEN!!! i'm just glad i can help others now the way people helped me my first couple years...thanx to you all!
Post by Perennial Addict on Feb 11, 2011 19:52:06 GMT -5
My first Bonaroo was 2010. I took my son (15) and met up with the VIP Inforoo group. We had 19 car loads all camping together - it was a great little community. We helped each other out and shared, fed each other. I came well prepared - shade, cases of water & gatorade, comfortable shoes (comfy running shoes). I had been to one other festival so I had a clue. My son was pretty wiped out the second day & over-heating... but he bounced back.
We saw SO SO many bands... and still I could not see them all... I knew some and became a new fan of others. Schedule conflicts SUCK. I appreciated the diverse music & friendly people - which contributed to making it easy to get in the front of most shows or close to. I think at a regular concert or more focused fest where everyone likes everything... people would be more competitive for close up spots. We stayed out pretty late each night.... If there is ever a reason to use 5-hour energy drinks and the like - Festivals are it! I loved the late nights! The first night was a little hard to get to sleep with the bass beat going... but ONLY the first night. I can't wait to hear that sweet lullaby again.
It was freakin hot - 1 -2 daily showers, the ability to drive off and get some good coffee and supplies! VIP rocks! It would definitely be a different festival experience in GA.
Post by icantenough on Feb 11, 2011 20:23:42 GMT -5
it was my 2nd Roo and my friends 1st. his name is Rob. he is a great guy, but not really big on thinking. i guess the best way to describe him is by telling you that he once knocked himself out with a tire iron on the side of the interstate, trying to change a flat. WSP was playing the what stage. It had rained the night before so they threw sand on top of the mud and it felt like you were walking on a waterbed out in the What field. Rob had gotten into the corn pretty bad and freaked out thinking apocalyptic thoughts, ripped his bracelet off and started walking out of Roo. no one could stop him. I guess he went the wrong way and went towards that tent, along the way he ran through the fountain, got soaking wet, and spent the next 3 hours aimlessly walking around the campgrounds.
he eventually made it back to the campsite somehow but woke up the next day unable to move. he was chaffed from knee to taint so bad he couldnt walk and spent the rest of Roo sitting at the camp.
Gold Bond is a must. Last year, I overheard some chick saying she had some spare GB, and some random guy said give me some. He said he had needed it for about two days. Yikes! Anyways, she oblidges, and then replied that he was mistreating his testies and that was the biggest party foul of all. Only at bonnaroo.
I wanted to go to Bonnaroo for a few years but last year a lot of things fell into line: I had cousins who were getting older and becoming financially independent and able to go, I was able to get off of work that year (June starts my company's fiscal year so it was always difficult to get off in the past), and I was just willing to lead the charge, recruit people, and make it happen.
I decided in March that I was going and got two cousins that were definitely in. Over the next few months we recruited a traveling party of 6. I knew from the start that I would be getting an RV to make everyone feel comfortable with the trip (everyone in our party was a Roo-noob). I meticulously researched every detail of Bonnaroo and RVs, spending the bulk of my time on this very site. Needless to say, we were very overprepared; food, supplies, good RV, dry ice, etc. - everyone in my group pitched in.
The festival was a breeze, however I stayed with my group 80% of the trip (I was the only male so it brought them a level of comfortability), but the downside we spent way too much time at the What Stage - not the worst thing in the world, but I missed out on a few acts I intended on seeing. I even wrote for an online 'Zine although I didn't spend much time in the press area. I took time each morning before the members of my group woke up to write and sumbit my article.
Overall, easy experience even with the 17 hours drive from NY (which I did with no help), excessive heat, and being a Roo-virgin. The RV and excess food worked like a charm. Parking in the RV camp that was only a 10 minute walk from Centeroo was helpful too. This year I'll definitely spend more time away from the What Stage regardless of the lineup. Even if you love all the artists at the What Stage, the idle time in between sets hurts you from seeing acts at other tents/stages. I probably won't be as meticulous in preparing this year so I can just chill and go with the flow. I have experience now and knowledge of talking about Roo with for the last 18-24 months with others here and among other Bonnaroo veterans I've met.
Glad I'm not a Roo-virgin anymore but I hope to recruit new people in my traveling party for this year's fest. I'll feel like a wise Sage. LOL.
Post by plasticpepper on Feb 11, 2011 23:58:05 GMT -5
2007. Me and my three best friends at the time, including my best friend who flew cross-country to come with us even though she had only met me in person once and didn't know my other friends at all. It was the summer after sophomore year of college for me and the two guys, my best friend was fresh out of high school.
We didn't decide until sometime in May that we were going and didn't do much in the way of planning. Keavy had a nightmare and a half in travel arrangements and we ended up going to 'Roo without her bag because the airline flat-out refused to give it to us. (They did, however, mail it to the farm, so that worked out okay.)
We somehow set out on a 17 hour drive with just printed Google-maps directions to Manchester...I'm not sure how I thought that was an acceptable plan to get us to the farm, but it worked somehow.
Our campsite consisted of a tent that was really only big enough to fit three, and a blanket spread out in front of the tent. No shade, no chairs, no anything else. We tried to bring food - tons of snacks plus burgers and hot dogs and chicken tenders and stuff for sandwiches and chili. I was in shorts the whole time, having been too dumb to bring dresses. One of the guys got really badly sunburned the first day and ended up with an egg-sized blister on his back. We barely talked to any of our neighbors. I'm pretty sure I didn't go to a single late-night show. We were camped really close to Centeroo so we didn't get to see much of the campgrounds at all. I'm virtually positive Keavy and I went into Centeroo each morning to wash up at the troughs because we didn't realize there were closer troughs that didn't involved going into Centeroo. I don't think we realized that there was cheaper food outside of Centeroo either.
But all in all it was still possibly the best experience of my life.
Post by icantenough on Feb 12, 2011 0:12:13 GMT -5
oh, i would also like to add to my post this story about the same guy Rob. while waiting in line we met this guy name Key i think. im not sure as to his exact name, but that is what we called him anyway. he was a really nice guy and he had hitchhiked all the way from the nashville airport to Roo. So he was solo and we let him keep his stuff at our campsite. well Key and Rob had the same camelPak and Rob left camp on Sunday and grabbed what he thought was his CamelPak, but it was actually the other guys..... which had his return ticket home and a really nice bubbler and about 200 bucks. once he realized his mistake he came back and we tried to find the guy, but no luck. I still feel sorry for that guy to this day and imagine how shitty his trip back home had to have been.
Post by 4aRevolution on Feb 12, 2011 1:28:50 GMT -5
I don't remember what year my first Roo was, but I do remember that I had to talk my way in! I volunteered to work Kidz Jam so I had to make it to the vendor check in to get my wristband, but I caught a ride with a friend who purchased a GA ticket, so once we got to Manchester they routed us to a GA entrance and wouldn't let her take me to the check in! I was so nervous when we pulled up to the gate and I didn't have a ticket b/c I thought anyone who heard my story would think I was full of leno, but after I explained my situation the guy was super cool and let me right in! He did explain that I wouldn't be able to get into Centeroo, but I really had no clue what that meant. It was kind of a traumatic experience, I spent the whole next day wandering around the biggest crowd I'd ever seen, trying to get info from people who really didn't have any info themselves. I felt lost, like I'd never find anyone I knew. But once I got it all straightened out and I was walking through Centeroo to the KJ tent, I literally cried tears of joy, I was so relieved that I was on my way to find my friends, and I knew Bonnaroo was exactly where I was supposed to be!
Edit: I actually had to talk my way into my second Bonnaroo, also! Under the same circumstances, but this time I was more prepared to deal with it!
Post by Vw'ndeadchick on Feb 12, 2011 1:36:41 GMT -5
03 - brought tickets, borrowed a truck to get there. took one tent for three people that would comfortably sleep two and no shade... the only thing that saved us was the 9 gallons of water we froze ahead of time, we had a cold cooler and kept hydrated but it was rough
2002. Saw The line-up. Bought the ticket. Drove the company van without permission 250 miles to get there after work on Friday night. Drove right in. No line. Vehicle check went like this: 'Got any droogs? No? Too bad'. 'Where do I park? ' 'I dunno, that way?' Pointing towards the stages. I drove in, found a parking spot next to some trash cans, got out and onto the roof of the van, and was watching Panic.
The rest of the weekend was just as cherry.
02,03,06,08,09 vet.
Epic story. Wish I could've been there during the early days....
2009 - Arrived Thur morning, solo in Tent Only. I had been awake since about midnight the night before, so I went to bed halfway through the Crystal Castles set.
I was excited by the sense of community often communicated on these boards. Well, I show up and every tent around me ignores me. I offered free beer and tried to strike up conversation. I tried offering (well-made) margaritas. I chatted. I offered to help set camps up. Basically, nobody talked to me at my camp for the entire 4 days. I'm sure the periods of rain did not help.
But I think that set me up for 2010. I talked about this on the board and a tribe invited me to hang with them. I wound up meeting the coolest and warmest people ever. It was awe-some. They are probably the reason Bonnaroo is like my new religion.
'Roo-Noob experience was last year. I just remember being incredibly dehydrated. I think we will be much better off this year. But we definitely made some mistakes with food and packing. Went back to camp too often, didn't pack enough going into Centeroo. Wasn't completely prepared for the heat. But had a helluva time, can't wait for this year.
2009 - Arrived Thur morning, solo in Tent Only. I had been awake since about midnight the night before, so I went to bed halfway through the Crystal Castles set.
I was excited by the sense of community often communicated on these boards. Well, I show up and every tent around me ignores me. I offered free beer and tried to strike up conversation. I tried offering (well-made) margaritas. I chatted. I offered to help set camps up. Basically, nobody talked to me at my camp for the entire 4 days. I'm sure the periods of rain did not help.
But I think that set me up for 2010. I talked about this on the board and a tribe invited me to hang with them. I wound up meeting the coolest and warmest people ever. It was awe-some. They are probably the reason Bonnaroo is like my new religion.
i had a similar experience. wasnt my first year by a long shot, but all my friends backed out. I had to work thursday night so i didnt get in the gate until 2am and got parked way, way out. as lucky as i thought it was to have a cooler with wheels i grabbed as much stuff as i could and trekked what felt like 2 miles to the tent only area. I was supposed to meet a group of people from the shroomery but couldnt find anyone and cells werent working. i found some stand-offish people who were nice enough to let me set my stuff down next to them while i went looking for the group. nothing. so i came back, popped a xan and chugged whiskey until i passed out in my sleeping bag on the open ground. woke up incredibly dehydrated and hot, still couldnt find anyone in the group. went into centeroo and had an ok time, just felt kind of lonely being by yourself. everytime i would almost turn to be like "whoa you hear how awesome this band is" but then realized i didnt have anyone to share it with. i was seriously thinking about just packing up and going home. I figured i would take one more try at finding the group. turns out they were about 10 yards from where i was sleeping on the ground. after that the weekend was a blast.
Last year was my first. I got a bus ticket from Cookeville to Manchester since my original ride didn't pan out and I had been up all night from excitement. The ride to Nashville was smooth, arrived at the bus station, waited, smoked a few cigarettes and chatted with some people I met on the bus. Eventually I met a guy from Queens, NY, who was on his way there. The bus was late and the guy was tired of waiting so he decided to pay for a cab all the way to Manchester (I did give him $20 though, and the cabbie evened out the fare at $100). We arrived, got our wristbands, then went inside mesmerized by the entire thing. He let me keep his stuff at his campsite as I had no tent (or much of anything for that matter). The rest was a lot of wandering aimlessly around looking for stages (I was on autopilot, never slowed down), freaking out, getting a horrible sunburn, watching a few shows, and sleeping on the grass on the side of the road after two days, right after Stevie Wonder. I forget which road, I was dazed and confused. Just trying to find my way most of the time. I also failed to shower . . . This year, I won't be so ill-prepared. I met a good number of great people too, even if just for a moment or so. Life-changing experience for me.
Post by tangerinetrees on Feb 14, 2011 8:52:16 GMT -5
Last year was my first. I went with friends.
LIQUIDS: One of our friends she brought plenty of drinks . We however we were totally unprepared. We had more sugary (lemonade, iced tea, pepsi) than water, we did bring one gallon of water each and just filled it up every morning (with our kamelbacks) at the watering station and that was not bad. We also bought ice every day I paid for more lemonades than I budgeted for.
FOOD: We brought more food than we thought. We had lots of bread and pb&j - we ended up giving stuff away. The only thing we did eat that we brought was CANDY At night we gave away lollipops and such. We hardly ate as a combination of the heat and exhaustion just did not work with my appetite. I did eat more at centeroo once I was walking around it was better than being still at our camp. I tried every vegetarian/vegan food that I could - I lived off the vegetarian corn dogs, sweet potato fries!!!, I found a vegan caribbean stand which had delicious jerk tofu.
BANDS: Because there was so many of us. I just gave everyone in my party my schedule and told them depending on the time this is where I will be. Surprisingly we were able to find each other, despite so many people there.
FEETS: The first day I literally was big eyed smile ear to ear just walking as much as possible. Second day my feet were a little achy, by the third I had noticeable blisters - Thanks to all the advice on this forum I brought multiple shoes: sandals, birkenstock like sandals, sneakers, rain boots.
PACKING: We brought way too much stuff. I don't know what we were thinking we brought EVERYTHING that came to mind. I was so worried that I would forget "That thing" whatever it would be and bum out. We overpacked. I don't know if we thought that we would be mauled by bears because we bought a mini-pharmacy with us. Too much!
CLOTHING: Once again I don't know what was going through my mind but I had outfits for such and such date and time. None of that shit happened. My best friends were these dristar shorts that my exboyfriend begged me to buy at walmart (good purchase)
HEAT: We did "bonnaroo training" and walked 2 to 5 miles a day in the Florida sun for a month to prepare us for it. However NOTHING prepares you for it. It helped but it was still very challenging. I walked through the fountain every chance I could. ____
My BEST accessory for Bonnaroo: A WATCH!
I didn't realize this until I was at walmart buying the shorts that I don't know what time it is unless I have my cell phone, and since I wouldn't even deal with my phone that weekend I bought a $7 watch. The amount of people that came up to me to asked me for a watch warranted the purchase.
1-1-12 Bassnectar NYE SHOW! 1-21-12 G. Love and Special Sauce 3-1-12 Radiohead 3-9-12 Experience Hendrix 5-15-12 Jack White @ The Ryman 6-7-12 Bonnaroo 6-19-12 Roger Waters presents "THE WALL" 7-7-12 Ringo Starr's 72nd Birthday Party Extravaganza at the Ryman
My girlfriend is in contact with Les Claypool's office, and she emailed them to ask if he would be playing because we were thinking about going. They (more than nicely) sent us two free tickets. We convinced some friends to come with us and we drove for 12 hours to get there. As soon as we go off the highway one of our cars broke down. Since we were noobs we figured we would just load everything into the other car while the broken down one was in the shop (only ended up being a 12 dollar fix haha) and walk into the roo. We didnt realize how far it actually was to walk in. This really nice local lady gave us a ride on some crazy backroad way right up to the front gates. we were tired and sunburned and so we missed most of the first day. After that it was a blast.
2007: went with my husband, sister and our friend. Thanks to Inforoo we had a pretty decent camp - two tents with tarps over, an EZ up in the center. On either side were folks really not prepared and darn miserable.
We set up our site, and headed to Centeroo while the sun was setting. The crowd at the gate was overwhelming - so many college kids, trust fund babies, wannabe hippies with designer aviator shades. I started getting a bit claustrophobic and was feeling overwhelmed, very old, very out of place. Then I got in, realized there was much more space inside Centeroo than outside the gates and calmed down.
I didn't pace myself and never experienced late night. Remember falling asleep while hearing the Flips "Do You Realize" carry over the night sky.
Other than almost passing out from heat and dehydration on Sunday morning (DCBee got me pizza, fed me water while I crashed in a stranger's campsite to get shade), the rest of the festival was amazing. I learned about so many new artists, loved the sense of community, and even if you're not a vegetarian, the veggie jalapeno corn dogs are a must-nom!
Post by arlenefavreau1 on Feb 16, 2011 15:43:24 GMT -5
My very first roo 04 no paceing at all and never even made it past the mushroom? My second roo I had the pleasure to take Arlene along a total festie noobie and thanks to all of you here at inforoo and the great camper company we had she and I had a very pleasurable expierence . How ever do to her noobie expierence we never made it to late night so this year she knows to pace herself and we will make it to late night . I'm hopeing its as great as everyone has said it is .
Post by laughinglaughing on Feb 16, 2011 15:50:23 GMT -5
My first year 2004. I went with a group of about 12 out of New Jersey. Only one of us had any festival experience, which was Woodstock '99. I think we all know how that went.
Anyway, all of us were grossly underprepared for the wrath that Mother Nature would unleash that weekend. No canopies. Not even raingear. If any of you were at '04 you remember that monsoon right?
I have a couple of truly defining moments from that fest.
The first was standing in mud and pouring rain waiting for The Dead to play. The rest of my group walked back to camp. I sat down on a metal folding chair in the middle of the field and waited. Finally The Dead came on stage. They opened with Tennessee Jed. I fell in love with Bonnaroo.
Next, sometime during The Dead set, I walked over to the second stage. I wanted to get a good spot for Primus. Unfortunately for me Primus didn't come on until The Dead were finished. Much later than scheduled. Primus played a killer set and encored with Tommy the Cat. When I got back to camp everybody was asleep in cars. Being soaking wet already i just laid down in the tent. When i awoke i discovered the real reason everyone was in a car. Two mice were in that tent with me. We named them Splinter and Danger Mouse.
Finally, I remember walking into Centeroo to see Trey. The rainstorm was epic. Lightning, thunder, the whole nine. At one point I actually jumped from the feeling of the ground underneath me shaking. Trey was the last performance of 2004. He was also the only one that my entire group of 12 or saw all saw together.
After 2004, the same group plus a few others stuck around for '05 and '06. Then a couple of years off and several different festivals. I returned with a new group in '09, and hope to return again this year.
It has never been as good as it was that first incredible time, and i doubt that it ever will, but im still going to give it my best shot every year.
It has never been as good as it was that first incredible time, and i doubt that it ever will, but im still going to give it my best shot every year.
Your noob story was fantastic, but your quote above makes me sad. I think my second year was better than my first because I was pregnant so I had to take it in a completely different manner, different outlook, pace differently (and of course do it completely sober). Since then, I treat Bonnaroo each year as a brand new festival, new experience.
I hope this year kicks some seriously tail for you!
Post by Cold Roses on Feb 16, 2011 16:18:51 GMT -5
I was supposed to go in 2008 after graduating college, but our ticket connection fell through. We made it a point to go in 2010 after we established ourselves in the "real world". We got there late-ish on Friday and had to park what felt like the farthest away we possibly could have. My friend's Dad is from around Manchester, so he had the tent set up and ice cold drinks waiting (he also provided us our free GA tickets!). When we found our camp I realized that KOL was playing a cover of the Pixies' "Where is My Mind". I saw KOL in spring of 2010 and they had been pretty good (I know, everyone hates them, they are a bit sold-out, but they put on an amazing show) but what I saw/heard of/ from them at 'Roo was way better than at the Schott. We had a few drinks and decided to head into Centeroo to catch the end of their show, and to see what we could get ourselves into. I saw that the Flaming Lips were doing "Dark Side of the Moon" and I almost shizzed myself. We made it to the show and had a blast. Things got hazy there. We really just roamed about after that, mostly getting lost trying to find stages/ acts. We spent a very fun 45 minutes at the silent disco then roamed some more. I remember we made it to part of The Black Keys, which was cool (can't wait to see them this year), then we tried really hard to find B.O.B. this proved impossible. We were not in the right state to deal with "Which Stage", "This Tent", "That Tent", etc. We finally lost each other. The funniest part came after I lost my friend and I decided to try to find our tent. I ran into a friend of my brother's. I knew he was going, but we had never met in person, I recognized him from facebook, which still makes me laugh. He was with a guy wearing a Mario costume. It was surreal. I was excited to finally figure out what all the hype was about for Deadmau5 and found that to be one of the best parts of the trip. I have been a fan ever since. I spent Saturday hungover and miserable. I definitely didn't hydrate very well. The music was great, the people were amazing, but we were DEFINITELY under-prepared. Luckily (i guess) i was too hungover on Saturday to even eat, so that saved some bones. This year there are about 10-15 of us going. My friend and her dad are buying a white school bus they plan on spray-painting, and that will be our base camp. I plan on hydrating, avoiding booze, and buying as many self-cooling devices as possible.
'10 was my first Bonnaroo experience, but I had the good fortune to attend with savvy veterans and also, I am not unaccustomed to days long camping trips. Unfortunately, I got a bit of the big head and on the first day suffering a traumatic sunburn. My calves were so red that I looked like a freakin' walking lobster. Strangely enough, after the sunburn, I was perfectly fine during the day. But at night time, when the burned skin would constrict, I couldn't move. So I missed a lot of late night shows. Including the Black Keys, which was the one band last year I really wanted to see.
I never did experience any chafing though.
I think the USA-England WC match on the Lunar Stage was my favorite out of everything last year. This year, I am going to be even more prepared... and by prepared I mean that I'm going to reapply the sunscreen liberally!
as cliche' as this all sounds, that one weekend changed me. bring on roo 2011! (with lots of glide leno for my thighs)
At night we gave away lollipops and such. We hardly ate as a combination of the heat and exhaustion just did not work with my appetite. I did eat more at centeroo once I was walking around it was better than being still at our camp. I tried every vegetarian/vegan food that I could - I lived off the vegetarian corn dogs, sweet potato fries!!!, I found a vegan caribbean stand which had delicious jerk tofu.
