 Sting - The Police :: Bonnaroo 2007 by Rod Snyder |
Saturday
Let's get this out of the way: The Police just weren't very good. Couldn't call them bad but lackluster and unfocused fits their headlining performance pretty well. If you strip away the nostalgia and cult of personality underpinning their reunion tour, the music was mediocre at best, and far less satisfying than most of what happened on the Tent Stages earlier in the day. For the main event on the 40th anniversary of Monterey Pop – the originator of freeform festivals like this – it would have been nice to hear something special. The Police didn't provide it.
 Copeland - The Police :: Bonnaroo 2007 by Dave Vann |
Even if most were unaware of the Monterey anniversary, on a subconscious level it was in the air, and the initial rush of hearing "Message In A Bottle" live again for the first time in decades almost made me think we were in for a cool trip. Yoga has been very good to Sting, and '80s chart topping royalties appear to have treated Stewart Copeland and one of rock's most unfairly under-praised guitarists, Andy Summers, pretty well, too. Sting was in fine voice and the skeletal purity of their sound seemed intact until they began layering on unnecessary extensions and superfluous noodling to what are predominantly slightly sophisticated pop songs. There was something off in Sting's voice, perhaps disdain for his younger self or for the words he once sang so passionately, that created a distance between the singer and the material that showed far less reverence for the songs than the audience has. The only one who seemed to be playing WITH the other two was Summers, who occasionally seemed slightly perturbed at the incongruous rhythms coming from the drums and bass.
During "Driven To Tears" and the world's longest "So Lonely" my mind started to wander - "Sting is very tan. Can that be good for a man his age?" and "Wow, this really isn't loud enough" and "I wonder if there's anything to eat here that isn't fried or grilled?" The music wasn't compelling enough to stave off such thoughts. I wandered away during the overly busy "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," remaining within earshot but unable to look at them anymore, and eventually returned to hear Copeland say, "Sting is going to get naked and dance among you. And if he doesn't I will." This reference to Copeland's remarks at his 2006 Bonnaroo appearance with Oysterhead were met by Sting saying, "I'd like to see that, Stewart." In a way, I'd rather watch a messed up reality show about this reunion than listen to them play if the Bonnaroo performance was any indication of how they're treating some really treasured music.
Onto greener pastures...
 RRE :: Bonnaroo 2007 by Rod Snyder |
New Jersey's answer to Fairport Convention, Railroad Earth, kick started the day with acoustic instruments and high, clear voices riding a big beat. They are folk-rock that doesn't let the second part be an afterthought despite the fiddles and mandolins. Railroad swung with big touches and epic compositions that never feel overlong or overstuffed. In fact, it's this seemingly effortless flow that's the heart of their charm. Like a steady flowing river, they sweep you up and take you somewhere new. They are all very fine musicians but it's violinist Tim Carbone that really dazzled, his insightful, gloriously melodic bowing a sparrow lighting on the notes.
 Bonnaroo 2007 by Dave Vann |
Saturday's true pop parade, including excellent sets from Spoon and Fountains of Wayne (who proved much more diverse and '60s/'70s savvy than "Stacey's Mom") began with Dr. Dog, who shook with excitement from the minute they came on. Wearing sunglasses in the shade, they rescued "da da da" and "la la la" from the doldrums, reenergizing the fundamental joys of pop with a cappela outbursts, handclaps and pretty lil' riffs. Upfront, a curvy hippy gal shook it like it was an audition for the touring company of Hairspray, and on the slow numbers one halfway expected couples to dance cheek-to-cheek like it was a sock hop and not a dry grass field. If radio weren't a predominantly corporate wasteland that favors factory generated crap over great toe tappers then Dr. Dog would be on MTV's TRL instead of say the prefab Paulo Nutini (a Friday performer this year), who's still shaking off packing peanuts and manufacturer's stickers in his high rotation videos.
 The Slip :: Bonnaroo 2007 by Josh Miller |
Speaking of folks more talented than most of their peers, The Slip got off to a sleepy start, the touring miles and long nights surfacing most evidently in Brad Barr's voice. But a few minutes in, they came to life and unleashed a spiritual thunderbolt towards the end of "Even Rats" that woke the room up. The sonic turbulence gave "Rats" a ragged edge, which they used to cut a way forward. The Slip always manages to work in the moment unique to each stage and time. And it's tough not to feel infused by Bonnaroo audiences who generally offer nothing but real affection, even to unfamiliar acts. "If One Of Us Should Fall" had the feel of '70s Dylan, "Tangled Up In Blue" for the computer age, a paean to love's inherent difficulties and one's intrinsic aloneness. Repeatedly, the trio touched that kind of nerve – unvarnished truths most wither at. A fierce blues jam recalled Led Zeppelin's early BBC sessions and foreshadowed the amazing set-closing cover of "Heartbreaker" that brought the house down. You could see the strain and effort of making this music all over them but that makes one love them all the more. The Slip aren't waiting to play with the Big Boys, they are the Big Boys and we're just waiting for the world to catch up.
 Hot Tuna :: Bonnaroo 2007 by Rod Snyder |
The blues have rarely been better served than Hot Tuna's crushingly heavy afternoon set. Jack Casady, looking increasingly like Don Knotts, snapped his bass like he was backing a young Muddy Waters and they had something to prove. Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen matched him lick for lick, pushing his wonderfully rough voice into the dark places where the real blues meat lives. Tuna resisted the urge to pretty things up, leaving in the river mud and crop dust. Greatest showing of traditional tie-dye, joint-passin' hippies all weekend, too. Delightful.
 Bonnaroo 2007 by Rod Snyder |
At the risk of hyperbole, The Hold Steady were everything good and right about rock 'n' roll. I purposefully avoided checking out their critical smash Boys And Girls In America before Bonnaroo, wanting to see if the music moved me without any preparation. Boy howdy did it! The last time I saw that many beer bottles raised in salute after an opener here was the Drive-By Truckers' blasting 2005 performance. This is rock for dock workers AND cute girls in their cute girl glasses and their secret pot smoking intellectual boyfriends. Most reviewers are calling them a modern day Springsteen or Replacements - they are a natural fit for jukeboxes from here to Timbuktu - but there are also echoes of Graham Parker and the Rumour, The Stranglers and Jim Carroll's Catholic Boy. With 400 or more hardcore Steady-heads sparking the rest of us, it wasn't long before even total neophytes like myself were shouting the "hey hey hey" choruses and yelling, "I'm gonna walk around and drink some more" at the top of our lungs. What at first comes across as disdain in bandleader Craig Finn ultimately reveals a frustrated, disappointed romantic, as in the audience stilling "First Night." Finn introduced "Hot Soft Light," saying, "Did anyone's car get searched on the way in? This is a song about getting busted." In mood, their music reveres the vibe in say Rick Springfield as much as it does the craftsmanship of the Beatles. It's smart stuff but it never fails to make you feel alive and present. Since this set I've been immersed in their albums - which are mighty dandy - but it's the Everyman mojo of their concerts that marks them as truly special.
 Ziggy Marley :: Bonnaroo 2007 by Dave Vann |
Ziggy Marley was a consummate roots-reggae showman. He's grown into being the torchbearer for his father's legacy, perhaps by building one of his own instead of merely piggybacking on dad. The setlist cherry picked Bob Marley classics but Ziggy's own "Conscious Party," "Tomorrow People" and others from his 13 album catalog stood proudly with "Get Up Stand Up" and the like. Like his father, he made it look easy, steering a large, tight band full of vocal nuances and rhythmic curves with unusual grace. When he sang it came from a deep place and he put his back into both his singing and stinging guitar playing. His obvious calm and the inherent mass appeal of really well done roots-reggae carried over magnificently on the main stage during this afternoon delight
Would love to tell you about Keller Williams' WMD but after waiting almost 20 minutes past their start time while they fussed over the sound in front of an increasingly fidgety audience, and then spent the first 10 minutes farting around in aimless plunking worthy of the laziest Grateful Dead "Space" I simply lost interest. I'm told it got going after that by folks I trust but a half hour of nothing tests even the patience of the truly curious.
 The Flaming Lips :: Bonnaroo 2007 by Josh Miller |
While it's easy to walk by all the late night sets, sampling a bit of this or that, experience has shown that placing your chips on one bet usually pays the biggest dividends. Galactic assembled perhaps the greatest West Coast independent hip-hop MC line-up in history including Jurassic 5's Chali 2na, Blackalicious' Gift of Gab, Lyrics Born, The Coup's Boots Riley and more. The Flaming Lips descended from a spaceship and let their acid carnival loose. The goofy fun Girl Talk and DJ legends Sasha and Digweed tore it up for the candy necklace kids. But, gut instinct led me to Gov't Mule and what turned out to be a pure rock 'n' roll highlight of the weekend. Joined by a cavalcade of guests, the Mule really impressed. Since settling on this line-up a few years back they've grown by leaps and bounds, making a bold, bluesy sound largely lost after 1979.
 Haynes & Weir
Bonnaroo 2007 by Dave Vann |
One gets a sense of the scope based on the set's bookends. They began with a thick reggae take on the Rolling Stones' "Play With Fire," where Michael Franti dropped a smart, sexy freestyle. They closed with a double encore of Black Sabbath's beloved weed hymn "Sweet Leaf" that drifted into "War Pigs" followed by an especially tender "Soulshine." There may not be a better band at incorporating guests than Gov't Mule, who morph subtly to adapt to each person's strengths. In the first set they kept up with Bob Weir's idiosyncratic explorations on "Sugaree" and a great "Loser." There was a truncated visit from Lewis Black cut short by a jackass who threw stuff at him before he got two words out. The inarguable highlight of the first set was John Paul Jones slipping in during a "Moby Dick" tease in Matt Abts's drum solo and then lending his still jaw dropping bass to "Livin' Lovin' Maid," "Since I've Been Loving You" and showstopper "No Quarter." No complaints when the second set began with Hot Tuna's Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady for "Come Back Baby" and a stunning cover of Rev. Gary Davis' "Death Don't Have No Mercy." More echoes of Jerry Garcia arrived with a Luther Dickinson assisted "That's What Love Will Make You Do." Dickinson stuck around for a mean "32-20 Blues" and had lurked side stage the whole night drinking in the music. Yet, for all the high powered assists it was the core quartet that kept knocking it out of the park, especially on great new springboards from last year's High & Mighty like "Streamline Woman" and "Brand New Angel." Urgent and heavy yet capable of turning inward with real gentleness, today's Gov't Mule bears watching.
Continue reading for Sunday...
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