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Post by macmusicjunkie on Jun 14, 2011 1:47:57 GMT -5
The Good: ;D
Lineup: It was good enough to sell out. Enough Said.
Opening The Gate Early: It took em' ten years, but it absolutely made the traffic bearable. It took me 9 hours to get in last year. It took a little less than 2 this year. Thank you Bonnaroo.
Which Stage Screen: They Listened! We finally got a screen on which stage. Hooray
Water Stations: I don't know if you noticed, but there were about twice as many water stations this year. The lines were never bad to get water. It was needed in this hot weather. Other than the traffic, this may have been the biggest problem last year.
The Late Night: It was so fun this year. The extras like the secret shows, the fireworks, and the giant balls and t-rex during String Cheese upped the festival a notch.
The Arch: Looked Awesome this year!!
& the vendors, market, and extras they get every year to make it a great fest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Bad: ???
The Porto Potties: I'm not one of these people who have never been to a festival and then gets grossed out by portos because I'm so use to a bathroom. That being said, they were beyond bad this year. You can't fool me Bonnaroo, I've been to the farm before. I know that there were half as many portos in centroo as there were last year. This is unacceptable for a sold out year.
The Dust: I get it. Manchester had a drought, but Bonnaroo didn't do jack to the roads. There are products you can lay down weeks before a fest on the roads to eliminate a portion of the dust, yet they did nothing. That's infuriating! As I say this, I understand there's not much you can do for the areas that were once grass.
Which Stage Sound: Come On Bonnaroo. You're going to piss your fans off if you don't fix this immediately. You should have seen the anger and disappointment in many of the Buffalo Springfield fans when they couldn't hear it. Which always seems to be a problem, yet the sound on that stage gets worse every year.
Art???: Bonnaroo Music & ARTS festival.....so where was the art in centeroo other than the graffiti wall and a few artist vendors? There use to be great art like the art of such n such, but you had to go and replace something cool like that with useless food trucks. Hell, there weren't even the cool decorations around centeroo like the lightning bugs around this tent that they've had in the past. We shouldn't have to go to each pod for art, there should be plenty in the main festival grounds too. Very disappointing this year
On Tap Lounge: I don't know if Bonnaroo or Miller needs to be blamed, but I miss the Troo Music Lounge. It was great having shade, misting fans, a unique sitting area, and a smiling guy spraying fans down with a hose. This year, the On Tap Lounge sucked. It was a desert with picnic tables. Once again..Disappointing
Other Small Issues that should have been fixed by now: Let's make this the best festival possible. Make sure the neon lights and Ferris Wheel lights work before the fest starts. Also, can that stupid river of mud ever get fixed. It's there every year and sinking pallets seem to always be the solutions. The lines were long for centeroo time to time, but they did move fast. Nonetheless, it's time to pick a spot for one more entrance.
BONNAROO!! Please fix these problems so we can have an amazing year in 2012
I logged in to comment for the first time in a few years just so I could completely agree with your post.
I've been to every Roo except 05 and my husband and I have been waiting for some of those improvements that you mentioned for many years (like the screen at Which and more water stations). I really felt that the organizers were making an effort toward improving the festival in so many ways this year and I truly appreciated it.
For what it's worth, I have a feeling that they may have been trying to improve the port-a-potty situation with the shade, but I agree that there seemed to be less stalls and people were simply being idiots about actually walking into the area to check if any stalls were empty. (I know this because I went in other entrances without a line several times and immediately found empty stalls.) They need to return to the original system, though. I would rather be sweating balls inside the stall and actually get to pee in a reasonable amount of time than wait in line 20 minutes to pee in the shade.
Overall, I thought that this year was fantastic. There will always be improvements to be made, but I thought they did a great job. It may be post-roo bliss, but this year ranks as one of my best Bonnaroos since 02 or 03. If the line-up warrants it, we will be back next year.
I logged in to comment for the first time in a few years just so I could completely agree with your post.
I've been to every Roo except 05 and my husband and I have been waiting for some of those improvements that you mentioned for many years (like the screen at Which and more water stations). I really felt that the organizers were making an effort toward improving the festival in so many ways this year and I truly appreciated it.
For what it's worth, I have a feeling that they may have been trying to improve the port-a-potty situation with the shade, but I agree that there seemed to be less stalls and people were simply being idiots about actually walking into the area to check if any stalls were empty. (I know this because I went in other entrances without a line several times and immediately found empty stalls.) They need to return to the original system, though. I would rather be sweating balls inside the stall and actually get to pee in a reasonable amount of time than wait in line 20 minutes to pee in the shade.
Overall, I thought that this year was fantastic. There will always be improvements to be made, but I thought they did a great job. It may be post-roo bliss, but this year ranks as one of my best Bonnaroos since 02 or 03. If the line-up warrants it, we will be back next year.
Friday for coming back here lol
Had a great time myself, definitely agree with these comments but I loved it! Only 360 days til the next one!
I am still digesting, but I will be contributing more to this post later.
In the meantime, a thought about the water situation: I completely disagree with the OP's statement there were never lines for water. I saw some pretty damn long lines in Centeroo for the water stations that looked like mini-mushrooms.
Having said that, I don't think people realized the water from the trough sinks tasted (to me at least) just as good as the "filtered" water, and I never waited more than 5 minutes to fill up at that in centeroo, even as 15 feet behind me people waited in a large circle for the "filtered" water.
Sulfur-free this year for the non-filtered water... so nice.
What "products" can they put down for dust? Do you have any other information?
I'm pretty sure they used to have big trucks that would wet all the busy roads to keep all the dust down. The dust was terrible this year, I've been coughing up so much nasty stuff all weekend. Aside from that I had an amazing time, and so did all my friends!
- Zero line upon arrival at the NE gate at 5:30 Wednesday evening.
- Landing in a new campsite that had some shade (Camp Bobby Brown in Pod 2). Why doesn't Bonnaroo plant lines of trees in the GA camping areas to help keep folks cooler?
BAD:
- Rivers of urine flowing from the "Men's Room" stalls Friday evening
- River of water separating What Stage from Centeroo. The handful of pallets are a crude enough way to move 100k people back and forth across a mote, but I felt horrible for the couple I saw in electric wheel-chairs who after circling drove through the deep puddle. There was absolutely nothing "accessible" about that.
Time to add a very wide bridge at each of the two paths that join Centeroo and What Stage.
So they should have water down the roads of the entire facility along with the grass areas around the stage/tent areas? How much water would that be? And with temperatures in the high 90's and sun how long would that last?
When the OP said "products" I thought there was a new "keep the dust down" product on the market.
What "products" can they put down for dust? Do you have any other information?
My dad's company deals with dust control so I know 1st hand. Their product glues rocks together and eliminates dust when sprayed on a dirt road when it's completely dry. Plus the EPA is all about it, so Bonnaroo can't use the "it's not good for the environment excuse." We're about contact all the festivals about this to try and get some business other than county dirt roads. Dust should not be on your mind during a festival, so if it is next year, just know Bonnaroo had an option and didn't take it.
Post by kikosanchez on Jun 14, 2011 15:45:50 GMT -5
The good:
- Left out really late, but drove right in at 5pm on Thursday, no wait. Had an 8 hr wait from 11 to 7pm last year. - More fan/ac places in centeroo. I loved the sports bar, it was cool inside and had games to play. - SAND!!! I don't think anyone is mentioning this, but there was much fewer potential mud areas because of the sand. I can only wonder why they didn't fill the mud pit between Which and What stage with sand instead of pallets.
The Bad: - Dust obviously, not a lot can be done about it though. - Which stage sound - Fuse barn. It is too small and limited seating. In '09 it was the xbox 360 place, which was really big, really cool, had seating to spare, plus a big screen good for late night dance music.
Now that they own the farm, I wonder if they've thought about completely reworking the entire layout. What about a circular design, so no one will be all too far from center? It seems the original design was built a bit haphazardly and they've just stuck with it. How about a complete reworking and laying down lush grass everywhere? I've coachella is like that and you can just walk barefooted everywhere you go. Do that and push the date back a couple weekends and I think the experienced could be improved quite a bit.
Post by c234567892 on Jun 14, 2011 15:50:34 GMT -5
I thought the porto potties were a lot better this year than last year. Last year it didn't seem like they ever got cleaned. I never walked into a bad one this year.
The dust was the worse thing for me. I've been coughing up black stuff since Friday night.
Everything else was good and I thought they did a good job on the improvements they did make this year.
GOOD: * No lines driving in on Thursday evening * New and improved Arch * Searched very little...car and entering Centeroo
BAD: * They planted all of that grass in Centeroo that was supposed to be more rugged. It was already an epic failure on Thursday evening. * not enough music for the giant crowds on Thursday evening....put bands on the Which Stage to thin out the crowds in the tents * plastic wristbands...bring back cloth * Where were all of these "shade structures" the art students designed? * The Tower/Cuckoo Clock....it was just a stupid wast of $$. The lights on the tower were way cooler last year. * Ferris Wheel .....make sure all of the damn lights work * Port-a-potties......epic failure and execution * fenced off VIP viewing areas on the right side of each tent. This in new and it sucks! * I never saw any water trucks used to spray the roads like in the past * Which Stage Sound.......sounds like crap up close but can be heard from Day Parking rather easily * No space dedicated for all night DJ's like the old XBOX Tent or the Lunar Stage * The Shakedown experience is all but dead * All of these bullsh*t rappers. I certainly love rap, can we please get some good ones again? I watched parts of Childish Gambino (stick with comedy dude), Lil Wayne (horrible) and Eminem (overproduced MTV-esque crap), Wiz Khalifa (on the main stage....are you serious!!!)
Post by macmusicjunkie on Jun 14, 2011 16:23:10 GMT -5
I just realized I left one good & one bad off:
The good I left off was the Adult Swim Aracade was cool as could be this year. The games were so much fun and the prizes were hilarious if you were an adult swim fan. I got my dad a Free Hat Limit One hat beacuse he loves squidbillies.
The bad I left out was the speakers on the cellphone/kookooclock tower. They were playing music for about 15 seconds at an extreme volume. What's the f'n point of that. Plus, it ruined the sound for a few Other Tent shows like Karen Elson. I don't need to hear 20 seconds of the Jetson's theme song while I'm trying to hear a band. Someone needs a boot up their @$$ for that one.
+ The post above also made me realize that there was no arcade this year (boo to that)
My fourth Bonnaroo and we had a blast as always. This year was a bit different though.
First, the not so good. Nothing at B'roo is truly bad:
Nooberoo- So many first timers the old vibe of B'roo was struggling until Sunday. Lots of young folks came there to see the hip hop acts it seemed. Thank God the Sports Bar was there for them to hang for the 90 percent of the other shows. Plus, most of them seemed to have left Sunday morning. They left a shit-load of trash on the ground in their wake though. Not cool.
VIP- Went VIP this year because my wife is 5 months pregnant and I didn't want her walking as much or using the Porto Pots. The luxuries are nice, no doubt. Being close, free showers, nice a/c in the lounge tent, etc. But the vibe sucked. We had cool neighbors thankfully but the place reeked of Suburbia. I come to B'roo to get away from all that. The folks hanging all damn day in the VIP Lounge talked about everything but music. One more thing is you get to hear What sound check every morning including the cowbell sound check at 9 am Saturday. I wanted that dude's ass! Ha!
Sound- Was very excited about Buffalo Springfield but left disappointed for the most part. I walked from one side to the other and back. It got a little better at the end and I did enjoy Mr. Soul. SCI was damn loud so I don't know it is day vs night, wind shifts, or whatever. Build a huge ass shell, mega tent, mesh walls, or something there.
The Good (Great):
Sunday- The B'roo vibe was back. It was a bit cooler. Not as crowded since the 'Bro-ners' hit the road with Eminem. I saw my first Wook (remember I was in the VIP biosphere) and even better the wild ass mini-Wooks . People were way more chill and it was lovely.
Line up- Great acts as usual. Great range of genres as usual. Every year I find new bands that I have never heard or heard of period. B'roo never disappoints with that.
Centeroo- I was happy to see Centeroo had been expanded a bit. The back of the Which field was larger along with the corridor to What. A lot of space behind the Cinema/Comedy areas. That was nice. Also loved the sod that had been planted in several places with That having the best. Very nice to stretch out on.
Once again. We came home worn out, blistered, and choking up dust but smiling.
- I thought the portos were much better this year. Then again, I never used the ones in Centeroo. We parked our RV next to a bunch of them and saw them being changed out multiple times a day.
- More diverse lineup; loved the undercard
- The arch was INCREDIBLE! Loved the super-bright beams of light!
- CELL PHONE SERVICE. This one was crucial...never had problems texting or even calling people. Having signal is so essential at this festival. Compared to last year, it was a million times better
BAD:
- Headliners were meh. Eminem disappointed; Arcade Fire didn't really grab me until the end, and I really don't care for the Black Keys or Panic
- It wasn't my first time anymore
- Water stations were a joke. Stood in a line 4 people back, waited 30 minutes, and left because I hadn't moved an inch. Give them some damn water pressure.
- No Lunar Stage!
- My damn party favor tolerance is so high now that the festival experience wasn't half what I wanted it to be. I don't know why either...I had taken a fairly long break recently.
- Picnic tables at the Ferris Wheel. I like last year just being able to sit in the field and watch the Ferris Wheel and meet random people. The table component isolated everyone and you didn't feel as though you were in a field with everyone. This will be the only time I complain about added conveniences haha.
I am still digesting, but I will be contributing more to this post later.
In the meantime, a thought about the water situation: I completely disagree with the OP's statement there were never lines for water. I saw some pretty damn long lines in Centeroo for the water stations that looked like mini-mushrooms.
Having said that, I don't think people realized the water from the trough sinks tasted (to me at least) just as good as the "filtered" water, and I never waited more than 5 minutes to fill up at that in centeroo, even as 15 feet behind me people waited in a large circle for the "filtered" water.
Sulfur-free this year for the non-filtered water... so nice.
So true. I learned this trick in 2010, seems like all troughs have been filtered now all over the farm. I wish they would indicate them a little better in Centeroo though. Not sure if there is 1 or 2 of them but I know its there somewhere
It may have been the heat and avoiding massive crowds but I can only remember passing the trough twice in Centeroo this time
Last Edit: Jun 14, 2011 16:40:31 GMT -5 by Deleted - Back to Top
I didn't know there were other water stations inside Centeroo other than the Mushroom shaped ones. There were no signs or indicators.
Waited 30+ minutes for water each time. Water pressure was a joke and there was no order to the madness. That's why water took so long. Oh, and because there were only a couple places to get water.
That's why so many people were dehydrated this year.
I didn't know there were other water stations inside Centeroo other than the Mushroom shaped ones. There were no signs or indicators.
Waited 30+ minutes for water each time. Water pressure was a joke and there was no order to the madness. That's why water took so long. Oh, and because there were only a couple places to get water.
That's why so many people were dehydrated this year.
To be fair, are the mushroom shaped ones adorned with signs or indicators? I honestly don't remember. One trough was literally 10-15 feet from one of the mushroom water things in Centeroo, and after waiting for 10 minutes in line at the shroom and not getting very far, I turned and saw the trough tent with no line... It looked exactly like the water trough station in our pod (pod 2).
Thoroughly enjoyed many of the shows; (in order of appearance) Band of Heathens, Bela Fleck, Grace Potter, Preservation Hall/Del McCoury, Big Boi, Dennis Coffey, Bootsy, Dr. John/Toussaint/Meters, Mavis Staples, Bruce Hornsby, Gregg Allman...
Dust was terrible, I saw no water trucks going around at any time, have seen them the other 4 years I've gone. You would think on a sold out year with one of the biggest turnouts ever they wouldn't cut out dust prevention measures. I felt bad for the people camped right next to roads.
Other tent sound was AWFUL! Many shows were delayed with long line checks, feedback was an issue at pretty much every show I saw there. Any decent sound company should be able to handle this (same frequencies always fed back at show after show), Bonnaroo will have big artists with elaborate set ups, and this was unacceptable. Was thrilled to hear Bootsy's impromptu bit about "no feedback in my funk"
Water pressure was weak at all the mushrooms
Would like to see more quality hip hop (and rappers that have good stage prescence) Big Boi was phenomenal in both respects, wasn't very impressed with anyone else
The crowd got very anxious after the long delay to Bootsy's set. This is understandable, and was partly because of the poor sound crew at the Other stage and his excess amount of gear, however another problem was that Golgo Bordello did an unplanned acoustic set before Devotchka's set. This in and of itself was cool, but it also caused his set to go way over. Unless there are no following acts, it seems like artists usually stay right on schedule. The combination of this and Bootsy's long set (which was amazing) caused me to completely miss Buffalo Springfield which was a big disappointment.
Finally while I have endless respect for the Meters, Allen Toussaint, and Dr John, I thought this amazing combination of musician's potential was limited by having to play the entire album. While its certainly a good album, its not one of this gangs best, and I hate to say it, I think it was kind of a waste of time. I've seen Dr John and Allen Toussaint before and found their sets much more enjoyable. I've never seen the Meters and was disappointed they were limited to only 4 or 5 songs. I feel like this was just a pipe dream of one of the festival founders that was a lot cooler on paper than it was when it was executed. A longer set would have helped. I just thought it was a shame Allen Toussaint never got to do anything besides play 2nd piano. Again their performance was still great, but I think they could have done a lot cooler stuff if they could have just done what they wanted and would have done naturally, and not had to play a full album that none of them have really touched since.
All in all it was a great Bonnaroo experience, just wanted to vent about what seemed to be some big issues that could have been easily fixed.
;D 
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