CAIHfBlNf lUH (
Itnbuting Writer
MANCHESTER, Tenn. - We arrived at Bonnaroo in the late evening, and, after a 15 hour journey, I was exhausted, sweaty and totally rea dy to spend the next four days of my life roughin it with 80, 000 awesome people. After unpacking, taking a few photos, and indulging in some good 01
Heineken, I was ready. The first bands I saw were Vampire Weekend, Battles and MGMT - and yeah, I danced like an idiot With the alcohol in my bl oodstream, I was invincible to exhaustion and embarrassment and the night carried on. My posse and I wandered around for the rest of the night, returning to ca mp only when we needed to renew our buzz.
Catherine Leth photos
We explored 400 acres of camping areas, a jungle of yarn (obviously a playground for people on acid), met lots of new people and eventually passed out I don't really remember what time it was w hen we finally went to sleep, bu t the sun was already coming up. The music continued to pump
from the festival area, and we were only out for about four hours. Tha t was the most sleep I got the re. The sun, hippies, loud
music and the irresistible charm of a good wake and bake session ke pt me up for the next three days with only an hour-or-two of sleep in between . Da y two's highlight bands were Tegan and Sara, M.IA, Wi llie Nelson and Stephen Marley. Zach Galifanakis, one of my favorite comedians, took the stage over at t he comedy tent as well. Waiting
for his show to start is one of my favorite memories from Bonnaroo. A few friends and I relaxed in the grass listening to Rilo Kiley perform. We smoked a few joints and just laid there in the sun. It was straight-up magical. It w as on this day that I discovered Bonnaroo's most convenient
attraction: a ridiculously large fountain that just spurts water into th e air whi le everyone stands/sits/
dances/makes out underneath .
12 · 08
ink
Bonnaroo took place in the threshold of summertime, so having this was exactly what everyone needed. I think I even took a few gulps at some point when the cottonmouth began to take hold ... fucking gross, now that I think about it.
I'd have to say the second night was my favorite. DJ Tiesto went on at 1:30 a.m. and a huge rave immediately ensued. I danced barefoot for four hours straight, glowsticks and all. It even started to rain, and no one cared. The jams didn't stop until the sky was getting light again . Day three was just a blur of the same insanity. I saw Iron and Wine, B.B . King and Jack Johnson, just to name a few. This was also when Kanye West decided to reschedule his show to 2 a.m., and then perform two hours late. People
stuck around, but the booing was immense. He put on a great show, but the morning sun began roasting
us around 5 a.m. and that put a damper on the overall atmosphere. The next day everyone was wearing handmade ''Fuck Kanye" t-shirts. It was pretty hilarious. Death Cab for Cutie was the last band I saw, and it was the perfect closing . It was cooler on the fourth day, and I just laid in the grass and enjoyed the breeze, listening to Ben Gibbard's voice. We spent the end of Bonnaroo coming down off of various illegal substances, finishing off the beer, and checking out all the vendors. It's safe to say that if you go to Bonnaroo, you'll come back with at least one awesome smoking device. I've never seen so many bowls, bongs and pipes in my entire life. It was awesome.
Bonnaroo was awesome. I'd give the experience an A+. When the whole thing was over, no one wanted to go home. People are already counting the days until next June, and the internet world is abuzz with rumors of who will be on the lineup for 2009. And hey - even if it doesn't sound like your cup of tea, give it a go(oogle}, because it's really amazing.
7J
