Bonnaroo has been mind-boggling and yet fabulous. And exceptionally hot. It’s been a bizarre balance of experiences, hanging with Uncle Earl for two straight days as their guest with an all-access pass, meeting John Paul Jones (bass player for Zeppelin and producer of “Waterloo, Tennessee”), director Tom Krueger (director for Uncle Earl’s music video which starts tomorrow), seeing all sorts of stars, up-close, just from backstage, all over the place, etc. And having access to the “VIP booze tent”.
And then on the flipside, sleeping in Mike’s van, parked out in “Camp Hansel” from Zoolander, near Pod 5, in the massive parking universe that is the Bonnaroo audience campground; bathing out of a retro-fitted, cargo shipping container; canoodling with the members of “Camp A-Town!”, our neighbors from Atlanta that have constructed a marker weather balloon, 100 ft. in the air so we can actually locate our van. The parking area must be 10 times the size of the venues, and stretches for miles. I have never seen anything like it. So large.
When Mike and I rolled into Bonnaroo camping, on Day One, Thursday night, it took a while to get thru all of the traffic to a parking area. Once inside I got lucky, because they let me into the parking area, even though I had no pass or wristband. Either would be needed to get from camping into the venue area. I had to coordinate with Uncle Earl’s manager Holly, in order to get in the morning of Day Two for their first set. Having nothing else to do that first evening, except drink, while Mike explored the first evening’s events, I climbed on top of the van with a bottle of Applejack and my ukulele to relax, but not before first staking out our territory and my excitement with the exclamation: “I’M THE KING OF MY VAN!”
A small smattering of applause was echoed back in the distance. What hospitality.
Witnessed some amazing performances by Ween, The Black Keys, Lily Allen (who may have the phattest rhythm section I’ve heard in years), The Police, The Flaming Lips, Old Crow Medicine Show, and of course Uncle Earl themselves. One of the most memorable moments was standing in the wings for the “SuperJam”, a previously unannounced all-star set with Ben Harper, John Paul Jones, and ?uestlove, drummer for The Roots. Amazingly tight. My other favorite moment was simply an impromptu backstage jam session under the moonlight with Uncle Earl, members of The Biscuit Burners, Tom Krueger, and a few other assorted players, just having it at the world of folk. Marvelous.
As good as the trip was, it was also exhausting, taking an incredible amount of energy to stay rolling in the Tennessee Summer Heat and sunlight. I got sunburnt waiting in line for the cargo container bath, and witnessed a woman throw-up right next to me from heat stroke. Hard times, but we all trooped thru. Kristin Andreassen and her boyfriend Critter were nice enough to give me a late-night ride out of Manchester, Saturday night at about 1:30 in the morning, so I could recover for a day. I ended up being the one driving back to Nashville, because I seemed the most conscious. Partying like this takes it out of everyone I have now learned.
I also learned it doesn’t matter how big of a band you are, you still have to hump your own gear.
Also free booze tents are a gift from God. What a trip.