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Post by mattlikesrock on Jun 14, 2017 8:25:43 GMT -5
I was able to see 29 sets. Top 5:
1.Lorde (Pit) 2.U2 (Pit with some Inforoosters) 3.Francis and the Lights (Pit) 4.The Front Bottoms (Pit) 5.Rainbow Kitten Surprise (Pit) Next up: Superjam (Nothing overly special, no amazing guests, but good song choices and just a lot of fun.), Bluegrass Superjam (Same), and Future Islands (Pit).
I didn't plan to go until last Tuesday. One of my best friends from college (who I haven't spent much time with in a few years) texted me and asked me about it. We ended up going for the whole weekend. It was great catching up and making some new memories. Overall a great time.
In line with what people before me have said, this year ended up being an absolute unforgettable blast. The atmosphere was great as always and it was awesome meeting so many enthusiastic roo-kies. Also, despite my initial impressions of the lineup, it was actually extremely difficult to narrow down my top 5. Here it is, though, as well as a long winded list of honorable mentions.
1. U2 (pit) - Incredible experience. I don’t think that I could’ve imagined anything better. Was in the center extremely close to the front of the stage extension. When they came out for ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, I lost my mind. Everyone singing along at the end of ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ was beautiful. Whole Joshua Tree was excellent, and then the encore set was a party. Listening to the Joshua Tree on the way home admittedly got me a little bit emotional - would love to relive that show. 2. Lorde (pit) - I had planned on doing pit for Lorde, but ended up getting in line pretty early in the day (during Royal Blood) when I saw that it wasn’t too long yet. Ended up front and center, 2 people back. Jesus, she was phenomenal. Beyond being incredibly entertaining, the show felt really sincere. Loved all the new music especially, and ‘Perfect Places’ and ‘Liability’ really pulled me in like few other performances this weekend. ‘Greenlight’ was also a hell of a finish. I honestly forgot about the delay at the start of the show until I read some other posts mentioning it. She made the wait more than worthwhile. 3. Chance the Rapper (pit) - Third time seeing Chance, and he just seems to be putting on a more epic show each time. Was in the dead center of the pit, and surprisingly had a ton of space to dance and party (the past two times I’ve seen him I’ve been either pressed against the rail or packed in like a sardine). The show was extremely empowering and, of course, just a ton of joyful fun - it being at Bonnaroo made it all the more special. 4. Angelique Kidjo’s Remain in Light - Rolled up right at the start to a very small crowd. However, those of us who were there got to see something really special. Her performances of the Remain in Light tracks were phenomenal, but it was ‘Afirika’ that was easily the most memorable for me. I mean, I got to dance with freakin’ Angelique Kidjo. So glad I decided to make my way over for her show. Ended with an extremely fun surprise rendition of ‘Burning Down the House’, and left me ready for the rest of what would be an amazing night of music. 5. The Front Bottoms (pit) - Just an extremely fun time. Spent the whole time singing and moshing with complete strangers - even took a random picture with them mid-show. I think this show may have been where I started to lose my voice, because I was going absolutely mad. ‘Twin Size Mattress’ was a highlight of the weekend.
Like cdevaney, I omitted superjams. That said, both were fantastic. Hey Ya was my favorite single moment of the weekend, and the Bobby Osborne/Lillie Mae duet was beautiful.
Honorable Mentions: Portugal. The Man - Was on a bench the first half of this set with a good view of the screen before Modern Jesus sucked me in. Face-melting show all around. ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ & ‘The Wall pt.2’/’PYRB’ as highlights. Great conclusion to a fantastic string of performances on friday night. The Orwells - Crazy show. Lost my phone (but got it back). Made for a great thursday. River Whyless - Have not seen enough praise for this group. Great songwriters and musicians. Caught them twice, at BGS stage and at solar stage. The Lemon Twigs - Extremely entertaining. I love their music, and they delivered live. James Vincent McMorrow - Surprise performance of the weekend for me. His vocals blew me away. Car Seat Headrest - Just a fun rock show. Cowbell moment was very cool. Cage the Elephant - Did the same thing I did with Portugal. Glad I got closer for what was a great tail end of the show.
Bonnaroo '15/'16/'17/'18/'19 - ACL '13/'14/'15/'17/'18 - Fun Fun Fun '14 - SXSW '13/'14/'15 - FPSF '16
2019 Shows: 4/30 - Vampire Weekend 6/28 - Father John Misty & Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 9/6 - Cardi B w/ Teyana Taylor 9/28 - Vulfpeck w/ The Fearless Flyers
Post by funkymunky on Jun 14, 2017 10:53:27 GMT -5
Let me start with an observation of Bonnaroo. This flies in the face of a lot of peeps of Inforoo, but there is nothing broken with Roo. They may not draw 85 K anymore but the Farm itself is a joy and a damn blast. Gripe about "programming", lineups, blah blah but Roo is just fine and isn't going anywhere.
2017 was a well-oiled machine, minus sound issues but that is every fest.
1. U2- Epic, beautiful. Exit and Bullet gave the performance some heat. The sing alongs were fun, tears were spilled, the visuals were on point. 2. Chance (first time)- his set was bananas. Biggest crowd of the fest. Energetic, genuine, authentic performer. Deserves the title of "Mayor of Roo" 3. Gallant/xx split- Able to get about 20 feet from stage right when he hit the stage. Beautiful vocals. Caught second half of xx- really f-in good. On Hold was top notch quality. 4. Future Islands (Pit)- Sam and I sang together- he is so engaging with their fans. Tight music, and the setlist was stolen from my brain. Perfection 5. Royal Blood- These guys are a polished machine. The drummer is a motor engine, and that lead singer is the total package. My wife called "hall pass" midway through the performance. I don't blame her.
HM- Francis and the Lights (pit)- most energy all weekend and chance dance routine was cool to see from just off the rail. Lorde- I didn't really love the performance but she is so endearing. RHCP- whoa, that is not the same band I saw at Lolla in 2012- perfect setlist too. Crystal Castles (pit)- I think they could have heard that set in Nashville. Loud, moody and fun to watch. Pleasant surprise.
Caveat- I was stuck day-traveling this year so missed late night and wasn't there Thursday.
May Tycho May Phoenix June Rooo July MMJ and Margo Price August Queen with Adam Lambert August Roger Waters (Bucket list #1) August Spoon and Portugal the man Sept Depeche Mode Sept Pilgrimage Fest
Post by klimfactor on Jun 14, 2017 11:15:20 GMT -5
For me, it was:
1. U2 -- I can't say enough about how epic The Joshua Tree performance was. Those screens created a seemingly vast backdrop, and the band brought the energy from start to finish. The singalongs to With or Without You and some of the other well-known songs were goose-bump-inducingly good. 2. Portugal the Man -- Now that's how you do a late night. 3. Preservation Hall-led super jam -- We bounced along; we sang along; we had fun along with the rest of the crowd. Kudos to everyone involved. 4. Cage the Elephant -- The huge crowd spread out in front of the Which stage caught a heck of a show. Unrelenting from start to finish. 5. Margo Price -- I had no idea who she was before the fest. I just happened upon her show on Sunday, and I was blown away by her and her band.
1a. U2 A #1 headliner in the truest sense. At this point, who is even bigger than them? McCartney, Stones, Wonder, Waters.. That's probably it. According to people i know that've seen them on most of their tours since the 90s, they've never sounded better together. The opening 3 songs built things up. The Joshua Tree performance was spectacular. The visuals were gorgeous. I'll never forget looking to my right for my friends during Elevation, only to see they had ran off to the roochute 20 yards away. Running under that thing made me feel like a 10 year old again. It was one of the dopest live music moments i'll probably ever expereince. Even the fireworks were set off at the right time. We can say we saw U2 headline a U.S. festival for the first time, during some very intense divisive times in history.
1b. Portugal. The Man What more could you ask for? This set was everything a top festival set could be. Covers that were made into their own style, special guests, extended jams of their own best songs, proper audience interaction, lasers, psychedelic oil backdrops... Having Danny Clinch do guest harmonica was random and dope. The Cage The Elephant guys were a nice addition. I missed For Whom The Bell Tolls, but Don't Look Back In Anger & Another Brick In The Wall, as well as the little outro of I Want You (She's So Heavy) were highlights of the weekend for me. It was a perfect late night tent set at Bonnaroo.
2. Superjam Some people seemed very skeptical about this a week prior to Bonnaroo. Understandably, considering the lineup didn't boast the big names it used to. Then they added Chance and people still seemed on the fence. Flashforward back to the show, and every song bumped, large part to Pres Hall's horns. Jon Batiste the passenger role was right. Ben Jaffe could possibly be the best person to front a Superjam. All of the names i didn't know before this, i sure know now. Each song had it's own new identity because of the guests performing on it. Then when Chance came up, it completely took it to another level. Nothin But A G Thing was awesome but Hey Ya was EPIC. There wasn't a better place to be on the farm at that moment.
3. BADBADNOTGOOD Holy shit these dudes have really stepped up. I've been listening to them since i heard them do songs with Tyler The Creator on YouTube in like 2011 or 12. When i finally saw them in 2014 at Sxsw opening for a slew of acts like ASAP Mob, Nas, Thundercat, and Flying Lotus, they didn't really impress as much as i had hoped. That was definitely due to the rap crowd that was mostly there for ASAP and Nas. This show was exactly what i wanted from a BBNG set. The drummer has grown into a legit jazz band leader. I felt like i wasn't even at Bonnaroo at one point, like i was dropped into a NYC 1950s jazz bar. The visuals were weird and hilarious. Serious music never feels so un-serious like that unless you've seen Tool or Primus. And to think i was going to get up close for Travis Scott instead..
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers I've always heard that their shows are kind of boring, but after seeing them for the second time, i'm really starting to question that. Both times they fucking killed it. I can't imagine how fuckin rad it would've been to see them with Frusciante, let alone Hillel. Other time i saw them was ACL '12, so i've only expereinced them with Klinghoffer. He's really meshed into his own on this round compared to then. The intro jam was sick. If the Stooges cover broke the chain, going right into Right On Time they way they did made it come off the chain. And then, they didn't play the 2nd most overplayed 90s rock song of all time, instead opting for the hit b-side Soul To Squeeze. That soldified this as a top 5 show for me. I guess i can understand if others don't agree with me, but for me, this was the 4th or 5th best show i saw at Bonnaroo 2017.
5. Big Gigantic Had to include the best edm show i saw, since edm has taken such a forward lead at Bonnaroo. Otherwise i'd put Chance here. They just jammed hard. Not many can blend edm and swing and soul like Big Gigantic. Those 2-3 AM Other crowds are massive too. Helped add to the experience in this case. Everyone all the way back to the Oasis and food trucks were dancing. It was a damn good time.
HMs. Chance (epic crowd and great vibe but too Christian-y for me and the not finishing lines part gets old), Gallant (what a fuckin voice this dude has, The Weeknd has nothing on him), G Jones (2nd best edm show i saw), Travis Scott (i still managed to see most of his set after BBNG because he went on late)