Sharing in the Roo
I've been back from Bonnaroo III for almost a month now and feel like its time to reflect on such a great experience.
One band and one pedal-steel player highlighted my Bonnaroo 2005 experience. The John Butler Trio and Robert Randolph.
JBT, Australia's own roots rock band, reminds me a lot of Ben Harper. Apparently, he is half Aussie and half American. I finally picked up his CD last weekend and it is badass. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys good music.
Then there's Mr. Randloph, who played with almost every act (with the exception of Warren Haynes who actually did play with everyone). The man can seriously get down on any song. He rocked out with his side project The Word. He highlighted DMB's Lousiana Bayou and Watchtower performances. He even took the stage with Widespread Panic to close Sunday's action.
Actually, I really enjoyed a third band that weekend. It was Saturday afternoon and we were just walking around when I saw Karl Denson's Tiny Universe on this small stage. They completely jammed out. I need to scoop up some of their CDs. They have a great jazz groove feel to them.
The weather was actually pretty accommadating as well. It was really hot Thursday morning when we pulled up to the campground. Its hard to beat the Summer Tennessee heat. Friday ended up being partly cloudy, which by all means suited me just fine. I'm not a big fan of sweating balls all day long. Saturday was overcast before it turned to rain and basically it just drizzled all day. This of course means one thing, lots of dirty wet hippies and mud. And we all know how much hippies love mud. However, a bit of rain didn't stop the grooves, so I rocked the poncho and continued the jamming.
Since the weather was so moderate, I actually got to do some pretty decent drinking, either sitting at camp throwing down the frostys or at the shows/beer tents. It was a lot different from the Roo in '03, where it was so ungodly hot every day. That year, you could drink like 3-5 beers and start to feel good but then you would so damn hot you had to suck down like 3 bottles of water to kept from dehydrating.
The only debacle of the weekend was my excursion to Walmart to get a contact case on Friday morning. I apparently forgot mine and decided to walk to Walmart rather than have my eyes burn for the next few days. The walk should have been OK because it was around a mile away and basically the other side of the campground. I thought, no big deal right. Wrong. I decided to take the long way around. I walked 4 miles before a sheriff pulled over and gave me a lift. I have never been so happy to see a police officer in my life. That morning totally sucked ass.
For Posterity's sake, here's the breakdown of what acts I saw at Bonnaroo 2005:
Friday
- Parts of Gov't Mule/Yonder Mountain String Band
- Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
- Parts of the Black Crowes/Jack Johnson
- Parts of Keller Williams/O.A.R.
- Will Hoge
So that was my Bonnaroo experience. Lots of relaxing, eating carnie food and listening to great tunes.
On a side note, my friend Jill sent me this link and I think its great that a Thank You has finally been said to all the Happy Hour Heroes.
I can be loud man, I can be silent
I could be young or I could be old.
I can be a gentleman, I can be violent.
I could turn hot or I can be cold.
I could be just like the calm before the storm
Waiting for all hell yeah to break loose.
I could be innocent or I could be guilty
Doesn't mean that I man believe in no noose
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