Bonnaroo 2010

About 2 weeks ago it was announced that the Rothbury Music Festival, held in Michigan during July, was cancelled this summer. After experiencing the heat of the Tennessee sun last summer during Bonnaroo, I had my sights set on making my way to Rothbury's cooler northern pastures this year. It is important to realize that had Rothbury not been cancelled I would not be writing this post.

Bonnaroo started out in the summer of 2002 as a festival that focused on jam bands. Widespread Panic, Disco Biscuits, and Moe were the big names that the festival attracted back then.

In the years since it's conception, Bonnaroo has moved it's focus away from these acts. While jam bands still play a prominent part in the festival's lineup, the focus at Bonnaroo now seems to lay upon more mainstream acts. Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, and The Police are all examples of the kinds of acts that Bonnaroo now depends on to draw a crowd every year.

I'm not complaining. Radiohead is one of my favorite bands, and seeing The Boss perform at last year's festival was one of the best live shows I had ever seen. In fact I like the big name acts of the latter years more than jam bands like Disco Biscuits and Moe. I think my point is that it's interesting to observe the changes that Bonnaroo has gone through in the last 8 years.

In my eyes this change has to do with the image that Bonnaroo projects in order to bring people to the festival every summer. As much as the festival planners entice people with the bands that are playing, they use the overall "Bonnaroo Experience" to draw in new kinds of festivalgoers.

The "Bonnaroo Experience" (at least in my mind) is as follows: step 1) procure a variety of illegal drugs 2) consume copious amounts of liquor (while under the influence of said drugs)

3) stumble around a southern farm for a weekend taking in all the freaks that cross your path (if you haven't been, believe me, there are freaks)

Exhibit 1: Can you count all the freaks in this picture?

This is the brand of experience that Bonnaroo is trying to sell to people in order to get them to come to their festival. The people that the festival is beginning to attract do not necessarily coincide with what the festival was all about in it's early years.

A perfect example is one of this years headlining acts, The Dave Matthews Band. Booking Dave Matthews as a headliner will attract a flock of college party hounds; the kind of people that would be looking for "The Bonnaroo Experience", letting whatever music may be going on serve as a backdrop for a crazy drug induced weekend.

I don't want to come across as a hypocrite; I indulged once or twice at last year's festival. Getting out of your head is a large part of the fun at Bonnaroo, but if you're going to forget about the music you might as well stay home and get high there.

Looking back at this as I'm writing, it looks more like a cranky rant than anything else. I think it's because deep down I know that I'm not that psyched about this years line up. I mean, come on...OK GO? Couldn't they get the guy that did "Chocolate Rain"?

The Flaming Lips doing Darkside will be top drawer, but other than that I'm underwhelmed. Oh well.