Most vivid Bonnaroo memories...

I was some fungus for the first time, with my good friends, it was my first festival of any kind, and I was waiting for this song and this moment since I bought my ticket that March. When the crowd erupts I cried tears of joy and sang the song at the top of my lungs. There was a middle aged woman standing next to me at the time, she seemed like she was probably a little messed up as well. After the song she turned to me and said "you really belted that one out." I said damn right, we embraced in a friendly hug, and she went on her way. 

I haven't considered missing a Bonnaroo since.

I have plenty of vivid memories from my first Roo but I'll just share the very first one.

When I first drove on the farm I wasn't in the best mood. I'd been beat down mentally by some of my car mates (I was being optimistic and positive, while they were being the exact opposite) so as we parked and got set up I was just...grumpy. I got in touch with a fellow Inforoo member and we decided to walk over and meet them for the first time. They were over in Access camping and the amount of love and excitement that greeted me upon rounding that corner is what sticks out to me.

We laughed, had a few drinks, hugged and talked for hours. I think it was about 1 am when I found them and we left after the sun had come up. Seeing the sun rise on the farm my first night while surrounded by wonderful people made me forget my anger and was the first moment I FELT what Roo was about. I still think of that moment often.

I feel I've already told this, but I love to share it.


After my best friend and I got all our supplies and tent stolen from an old lady after the gates opened Wednesday, we were incredibly miserable to the point where we thought our entire Bonnaroo was ruined beyond saving. The next day after looking everywhere with no luck, I was determined to have a good time with my buddy. We rode on the ferris wheel, ate great food, and saw some shows, but he still couldn't let yesterday go and he went off to look for her again.

We met up after Rocky Horror in the Cinema Tent, he had only saw a few shows, but seemed a little better about the whole affair. As we were talking about our day, he stops mid conversation and screams "It's quacking Jim James!!!!!!" We ran over to his side to talk to him, but I was to stricken with anxiety to approach the man, my friend went on and shook his hand and talked to him for awhile. Few minutes later, the tent blasted some R Kelly music videos and we were dancing alongside Jim while he spanked his girlfriend with a spatula. After it was over, I tried to pass Jim and said, "Excuse me" to get by, but he stopped dead in his tracks and just looked me in the eye. I was speechless. It was like meeting Santa Claus as a young man, he even had the twinkle in his eye. I could only say that i loved his music and couldn't wait to be front row for the Superjam. Jim said thank you and I made my way to friend again as we squealed like little school girls.

I can't explain the joy I felt seeing my friend so excited and happy and to hear him say that yesterday didn't matter and that we'd always be back here at Roo, no matter what. That was the day I knew Bonnaroo would always have a place in my heart. Jim even remembered me and winked at me at both the Preservation Jazz Hall Band and the Superjam.

The first few hours of 2012, my only time to go so far, is what always sticks out first to me. My wife and I had talked about going, but I was apprehensive of paying the big bucks for "a damn hippie fest." But after her really working on me, and me sitting at work on the Friday of Bonnaroo...watching some Bonnaroo sets on YouTube, I set "F it...we're doing this!" So I ran home, told her we were rollin' out and packed the car in record time. She drove, I hit refresh on Craigslist looking for tickets. As we looked to secure a deal, met a guy at gas station and bought two tickets, we knew we were almost to Bonnaroo...just a check point or two left.

As we rolled through check-in and got a parking spot, we set up camp. This was done giddily over beers. We could hear the music in the background, and felt the warmth of the sun on us as we set up the tent and grabbed our "walkin' beers." We were out in Pod 6, at Camp Zoolander, so it was definitely a 2 beer walk. As we approached Centeroo's walls, I was just taking it all in...my wife had been multiple times, but I was a Roob. I just remember seeing a girl sitting Indian style, face two feet from the wall, presumably tripping balls...who knows. I all know is that 6 hours before this, I was at my white collar job where the only thing people stare at that close are their computer screens! So between that, the clock tower, the Ferris wheel, the wall...I knew one thing truly stood between us and Bonnaroo and that was scanning our wristbands for the first time.

Once we were in, there was such a release, we walked straight over to Luda as he started playing "Glamorous."  The joy on my wife's face was worth every cent that way paid to get in. After that, it was just bliss until we had to go home on Sunday.

I bet I've told this story too.

Go see Jeff Beck in 2010. Watch him shred guitar from like three rows back. Head to a packed main stage for Stevie Wonder, but its so crowded that my fiance, friend and I spend most of the show navigating the crowd for a good spot for Jay-Z. Find it, but my fiance is just exhausted. It's Saturday night at her first Bonnaroo and she's running on fumes.

So we break for an hour, waiting. Then Jay-Z's 10-minute countdown comes up. As soon as his epic show starts, she's doing a little better. About half way through, we start to get a second wind. We end up having our mind's blown at the Jay-Z show and Forever Young became one of my favorite musical moments ever. Then we head for a good spot for Deadmau5, only to find that Jay-Z ended early and we have half a show of Dan Deacon to watch, and the tent's only half full!

So we get a good spot in front of the soundboard just in time for the group dance session which, if you haven't seen it, youtube it. Because it was just incredible to stumble upon completely unaware. Dan Deacon, who I hadn't enjoyed in pre-Bonnaroo listening, proceeds to blow our minds too.

Since we have three friends, and we're still damn tired. I have the idea to sit in a triangle indian style as soon as we move up for Deadmau5. So we're able to sit the entire 30-45 minutes waiting for his show and then when we get up, we have room to dance.

This was right before Deadmau5 blew up and he put on an awesome 90-minute set. Then we headed over to the lunar stage where someone who I'm still not sure who was playing house. Daylight was starting to creep in and the fountain was blood red from Gwar's show. We headed over to That Tent to see the end of The Disco Biscuits. We sat down on the lawn far back from the tent and just took the sunrise in.

Disco Biscuits said goodbye, but then a moment later came back, saying they still had some left in them. Very cool for the few thousand partiers still going. After listening for a while, we stumbled back to camp. But Jeff Beck>Stevie Wonder>Jay-Z>Dan Deacon>Deadmau5>???>Disco Biscuits was pretty much the greatest 12 hour stretch in Bonnaroo history for me. I don't think I could ever top it, but I still come back year after year chasing that feeling I felt when I watched the sunrise behind the disco biscuits on Sunday morning, Bonnaroo 2010.

In case you want to experience it again

Our first Bonnaroo experience was in 2010 before they opened the gates on Wednesday. We decided way late in the game that we were going to rent an RV instead of camp so pretty much all that was left to be rented weeks before Roo was either the top of the line or the bottom of the barrel RV. We ended up with one of the latter, an RV that has recently been repaired instead of "retired". We just wanted the beds and AC so whatever, right?

Everything was going well until we had to wait in line to get in after meeting at Stuckeys. Hours went by, which was no big deal to us because we were in the RV talking, drinking beers, taking turns in the RV and companion vehicle having fun waiting for the last half mile to end. Then the RV started overheating and smelled and wouldnt go unless I put the pedal to the floor and it still moved inches. We barely made it inside the fences coming off the interstate gravel temporary exit, but not the gate and were ushered to pull off to the side to not block the flow coming in. By now the RV is 150 degrees inside. One of the security guys there happened to also be a mechanic and after taking apart the console and looking around under the hood was able to tell us we were leaking transmission fluid. We had none. Its now about 9-10pm after getting to Stuckeys at about 4. My buddy and I had to run the mile+ up the interstate to the next exit to buy as much transmission fluid as we could carry from the gas station. It was probably about 12 containers. We thought it would be smart to cut through the grass and hop this fence we saw in the distance down to our left instead of go all the way back around and down the exit ramp to the interstate to run back. When we finally approach the fence, we see barbed wire. Its slippery from dew and I am sweating like a pig and as I climb over, I lose my balance a bit and cut my stomach and my wrist slightly. As we run back, I see holes in my favorite shirt, sweaty blood on my arms and chest and when we get back my wife and other friend look at me petrified like I had been in a fight By now, its probably about 11 and they had closed the interstate exit for the night and were forcing everyone to go to the next one. The guards were actually super helpful. We filled it up with transmission fluid and as soon as we tried to go forward we can see it leaking again but only when the RV is moving. The guards offered to do the search right were the RV was and check our tickets etc so that when we started the RV again, we could just pull it in through the gates, go around the fence on the left and park for the weekend.

I am a bloody mess, my shirt and shorts are ruined and after thinking we would get in at 4pm, its now after midnight. We finally complete this task at about 1:30am and another couple had a car that broke down so my buddy pulled him in with his truck and parked them next to us. By the time we get our levelers set, camp unpacked etc, our entire Thursday was a wash. My buddies were able to see Lotus LN on Thursday but I was too worked up. I had to contact the owner about the RV as the rental and insurance was all in my name. Wife and I went to bed knowing it could only go up from here, right? Wake up Friday to the sun and having not been there before, this was the first time we realize how close to the gates our RV is because of where they told us to park. In addition, because so many people saw our overheating RV inside the fences as they came through but ended up parking past we were were, there were dozens of awesome Roo goers that as they were going in on Friday,passed where we were and recognized the RV as the crappy one that was on fire and came by to see if we needed anything. The sense of community that is so often talked about was all around us and what an awesome feeling. We go on to have the most amazing time (some worthy of a seperate post in this thread like the amount of people we have pictures of drinking out of our Stanley Cup or the blow job fries story), meet the most amazing people, see the most incredible music and the silver lining in the whole Thursday was the now 5 minute walk every time we wanted to get in or out. Here we are four years later and anytime I need a reminder of our very first Bonnaroo experience, I just need to look down at the scar on my wrist which at the time sucked but now is a story that is forever woven into our Bonnaroo tapestry. I love this scar. I still miss my favorite shirt but the pictures taken with a beer in one hand and a bloody shirt with barbed wire rips in it have captured that moment forever. File this story under "Not funny at all at the time it was happening but now would never change a thing".

Most vivid memory? Bonnaroo 2010 when the state troopers sent us in the back way. I recently had a back injury and waiting in that car line for 8 hours was one of the most painful experiences in my life haha, not to mention having to pour 1/3 of our water supply on our engine due to over heating. But it was all worth it

I wasn't there and have never seen anything like this before. That is so pretty & cool. How did they do that? My mind is blown...

I remember that pretty awesome to experience. My personal memory would be Nin show in 2009. Waited 3 hours for a good spot and talked with some cool people. During the intense moshing taking shelter behind a larger gentleman who was cool with that. The show itself was vivid and amazing and at that time was suppose to be their last USA show.

Bonnaroo 2010 - 2AM
LCD Soundsystem
Us vs. Them

When the disco ball came on and everyone lost their collective minds. Awesome moment.