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!!
Life affirming or not, Lightning Bolt is one of those bands who's live act will leave an impression for its raw in-your-face intensity. I'll never forget seeing them play at the MassArt back in 2006 when I was a bright eyed freshman at Northeastern. You'll definitely need earplugs for their show.
(I'm the guy in the very top-left corner, probably just after I emerged from the mosh pit that surrounds the band)
My flight leaves tomorrow and hope to be in Knoxville by 5-6pm. Looking forward to seeing great friends and avant-garde performances!
If you guys want some Techno late, this event goes until around 3am. I'll be playing earlier in the night but Chris Powers is playing that late late slot.
Post by Dave Maynar on Mar 22, 2018 17:48:45 GMT -5
Guys... Guys... ICE is set up in the middle of the floor of the mill and mine. They have a lighting rig installed above them. That shit with four tet may happen still!
Post by Mensch Maschine on Mar 23, 2018 8:08:23 GMT -5
Thursday Recap:
Wine Tasting w/ John Medeski (of Medeski Martin & Wood) -- A "VIP" bonus, and was a lot of fun; great to hear Medeski's take on wine, and the "snacks" at J.C. Holdway's were REALLY good (this is definitely going to be a restaurant I add to my yearly visits).
Blake Williams' Prototype (Experimental 3D-Film) -- Brilliant... absolutely brilliant experience. 3D used in a way that created visual sensations I had never experienced before. It was like living in Episode 8 of the latest Twin Peaks season. Definitely the highlight of the festival for me so far. Many of the films being shown this year are really unique, and are ones you won't easily find online (especially when they require 3D glasses)... Try to fit at least one of these into your schedule this weekend.
Anna Thorvaldsdottir: 'In the Light of Air' Performed by ICE -- I love these performances that are in the center of the Mill & Mine. The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere and the lights were subtle and perfect. I hadn't been that lost in a musical performance at Big Ears since "Drone Mass."
Susan Alcorn -- I appreciate her talent, but the pedal steel guitar take on Messiaen wasn't really doing it for me.
Susanna w/ Bonnie “Prince” Billy -- She's a terrific songwriter and singer, and though I thought the amplification of the piano sounded flat (acoustics? mix? my location?), I really enjoyed her performance.
Jaga Jazzist -- If you haven't heard them before, the easiest (or at least laziest) point of reference is Tortoise. Rock-grounded Jazz with fantastic lights. They have a great reputation for good reason... I definitely recommend catching them when they play again tonight.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - This was my second GY!BE show in 6 days (the same set, though Moya, instead of Dead Metheny, was played here), and I would happily see them again. One of my absolute favorite bands... but the show should have been at the Tennessee Theatre (for aesthetics and capacity).
Kelly Lee Owens put on an excellent set. Four Tet had a good thing going too, but with the light installation from his recent shows missing his set left more to be desired. Fortunately it doesn't really matter now that I'm nearing hour 6 of the 12 hour drone session. For some its just noise, but for me it's like a warm blanket.
Post by Mensch Maschine on Mar 25, 2018 7:25:07 GMT -5
Friday Recap:
Associations (Short Films) - Really glad I got to see this... experimental 16 mm films that you won't find on YouTube or Netflix I said it before, but I'll say it again... the film curation this year was an absolute highlight for me. They really put a lot of thought into making this section of the festival competitive with the live music.
Rova: The 'Sound in Space' Project - Let there be reeds! The scores I was able to see showed some unconventional notation, so I'm assuming there was a great deal of improvisation happening. The musicians moved separately all around the floor, behind, in-between, in front-of, the audience. Free-Jazz-sounding-bliss.
Chroma Depth (Short 3D Films) - 6 short films. 4 required 3D glasses, and 3 different styles of glasses were used (Red/Cyan, ChromaDepth, and Fireworks). Two had slight 3D effects without the glasses, due to optical illusions/manipulations. Really interesting experiences.
Jenny Scheinman w/ Nels Cline & Scott Amendola - Holy hell... this is not what I was expecting. I thought the set would be traditional old-time/folk inspired work... and instead it was an all out violin-led fusion/psychedelic explosion. Totally brilliant and one of the most musically inspired sets of the event for me.
Secret Show: Jessica Moss (of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-la-la Band) - I love Mt. Zion even more than I love GY!BE, so I was really happy that this was one of the secret shows. First time seeing one in the four years I've attended, actually! Jessica had some technical issues during the final part of the piece, but watching her trace through the line of cords to solve the issue, added some wonderful tension to a beautifully layered piece. She's fantastic; I hope she's brought back to perform next year! Great to see some Inforooers there!! garageland, Dave Maynar, and tronik
Medeski Martin & Wood w/ Marc Ribot - I'm not totally familiar with their music, and the albums I've heard have often fell on the side of JAM that I'm not big into. But this set was spacey, noisy, ambitious, adventurous, and w/ Ribot appearing (without introduction), another highlight of the festival.
John Gibson's Visitations - A wonderful performance of a landmark minimal-but-not-THAT-minimal composition. Can't believe I was able to experience this live!
GAS (Wolfgang Voigt) - At some point, my consciousness was balanced between the point of starting to dream and remaining awake - my brain stopped processing the sounds as music; it felt like a form a language... And honestly, I consumed no drugs at the festival, folks
Post by Mensch Maschine on Mar 26, 2018 11:22:16 GMT -5
Saturday Recap:
Rhiannon Giddens (Listening Session) - One of the most amazing vocalists and banjo players I've ever heard. Her talent is RIDICULOUS. If there was a Rhiannon-only festival, I'd be there... and this is coming from someone who lost most of his interest in traditional folk music years ago...
Drowsy with Ions (Short Films) - Collage and cut-out animated art... loved it! Did I mention that I loved the film track of this year yet? Yeah, I guess I did...
Kid Koala's 'Satellite' Turntable Orchestra - SO. MUCH. FUN! First off, Kid Koala is hilarious, so he could have just told jokes and I would have loved this set... but being able to sit and perform with him was an added bonus. Really minor gripes: I had trouble telling the difference betwee yellow, orange, and red w/ the led configuration they had (colors were used to tell us what records to use). Also I couldn't see the conductor from where I was sitting... and the sign-up list meant NOTHING (we almost didn't get a turntable, despite signing up right when they announced it). But again, super minor gripes; this was great.
Rushes Ensemble - I love the idea of an ensemble being formed to perform a single work. I even love it more when they encourage the audience to move around the room to experience the frequencies and rhythms in different ways. Wonderful.
Bang on a Can All-Stars: Julia Wolfe's 'Anthracite Fields' - I loved a lot of it and didn't care for a fair amount as well. That's a reasonable definition of art, right?
Aine O'Dwyer Performs William Eggleston's 'Musik' - Aine was completely obscured during this performance (like a church organist typically is)... but there was this wonderful moment where she was looking for the next piece and all you could see was sheet music being frantically thrown around. She eventually explained that she couldn't find the next part and had to run back to another room with her belongings. These are the live moments I love in art I definitely dug the music as well.
John Waters' Polyester (w/ Odorama Cards!) - I've seen this film a bunch of times (and even attended the inaugural Camp John Waters in Connecticut last year) - but this viewing included the Odorama cards and an absolutely beautiful print of the film. If you haven't seen it before... I highly recommend it. My absolute favorite Waters film.
Diamanda Galás - I've only seen Diamanda once before... and that was 27 years ago... but it left a tremendous impression on me. This performance only served to strengthen that impression... Fucking brilliant.
That show should have been in the Tennessee Theater!
