BONNAROO 2006: A CITY IN THE HILLS

Infradig deserves a mention. Having seen and spoke to them a time or few when they play Knoxville. I was so happy and estatic to see them get the warm welcome that they did. Along with playing some Radiohead covers to get the kids ready for Saturday. I have never seen the front of the Troo Music Lounge filled with happy faces and busy feet. Guys you rocked Bonnaroo and Ate some Faces as Carl said he was gonna do. Hopefully they will grace a tent at this festival cause they and Pnuma Trio are the new faces of jazz/electronic. ROCK ON INFRADIG

what a big event to try to tackle in an article. this is all pretty accurate out of what of the article i decided to read. namely two things...

BECK SUCKED!!!! no matter what anyone else tells you he was awful, listening to the cds is much better, and i'm glad i left. if someone says the performance was good, chances are they haven't seen a lotta good music live ever. he seemed like he hated to be there and there wasn't one moment that could even lift an eye brow, except his video on the monitor of puppets pantomiming the music which was tired by the end of the first song, and to me was only compensation for a lack luster performance, from a huge act on a major slot at the festival.

and brothers past fucking kicked ass.

bonapoo goood artist but not the right seen

Fellow readers, while I was not at this year's 'Roo, the author of this article comes off as unnecessarily bias to me. I realized that the rest of his article must be taken with a grain of salt when the author made the claim that Scofield outshined his earlier works by playing with Phil Lesh and Friends. Scofield has played with the likes of Miles Davis, as well as many other exceptional musicians in a variety of different genres, and to say one performance with Phil Lesh outshines his previous works is ludicrous. I spoke with people who went to the show and are familiar with Scofield, they told me Scofield played great and that his performance showed his tremendous versatility...not that it was the best Scofield performance ever. Potential Scofield fans, please heed my advice and listen to his other albums, including "Uberjam," "Trio Live," and "A Go-Go", which was recorded with MMW, and see for yourself.

Awesome, spectacular, great, unforgettable, moving, inspiring, sick, glorius, beautiful, and yes Joan Osbourne made my balls tingle(sorry, but she did)! It was....... BONNAROO!!!

Whoever wrote this article defintely went down to Bonnaroo for the opposite reasons I did. I guess that is why bonnaroo is so great (there is something for everybody to go see), but this guy just isn't interested in a good jam. He dismissed both Umphrey's and the Biscuits (possibly the best combined show at bonnaroo) far to quickly obviously not realizing Umphrey's amazing technicality and the Biscuits ability to jam tighter than any other group. He called Brothers Past jams weird and said that Joan Osborne was as much a leader in his band as he was. Don't get me wrong a enjoyed her presence throughout the entire show, but I don't recall her playing any instruments. I shouldn't criticize too much though because I guess everybody has their personal preference, I just wish somebody wrote this article who was more in line with my musical tastes.

Well done Mr. Cook. I though that your descriptions were right on. The section for MMJ really hit the nail on the head. Seeing them were a conversion for myself into rooted rock bands. Although I did not go this year in lieu of going to Wakarusa, which for my taste was the right choice. I am torn. Is Bonnaroo too big? Can it continue to grow like it has in the last few years? Or will this monster continue to grow and get so big that the naysayers will throw in the towel and cough up the money and time to see things like Oysterhead in the upcoming years? It's all about opportunities. But, if opportunity abounds it is unlikly one will be able to take advantage of every opportunity. What's the purpose of having a mountain of berries in front of you if you cannot eat them all before they rot. I would like to hear peoples opinions about this.
Neal in MO

Terrible article all the way around. Why didn't jambase send out a team, say 3 or 4 people, with differentiating music tastes and allow them to collaborate on the article? Mr. Cook has way too many opinions on what he feels is "good" to write a synopsis on something as big as Roo. He disrespected a lot of artists in his review, and by doing so I feel like he's alienated a lot of jambase's visitors. Oh well, it wasn't my article, thank goodness.

well to address the comment beneath me who was talking about bonnaroo getting bigger and bigger each year...well all festivals do that. wakarusa, summer camp, all good, all getting bigger this year then the last.

also, everyone seems to be overlooking the fact that bonnaroo cut capacity by 10,000. technically this years bonnaroo was smaller...

Yeah Beck was just all right, his gimmicks i thought was funny, but would have rather seen Les Claypool who was playing at the same time. Things that were aweseom that got glossed over, Dr.John, Andrew Bird, no mention of how long Petty played 1 and half hours, Radiohead played thier whole time slot, MMJ will always just be all right to me, i know they have a huge following, but Andrew Bird was the best part of that show, Matisyahu was awesome, why spend so much time telling us how bad Jr. Gong was and how great Matisyahu is. Scofield was sweet, but Joan just didn't do it for me, when she went on about the rambling with the ice pick, for me that was the worst moment in the show, i didn't come to see joan osborne sing about how she isn't getting laid, i wanns see Phil and Scofield, her one saving grace was a "nice" rendition of "all along the watchtower

Good article... lots of bias but anyone who's passionate about music will be on some level. SPOT ON about Phil and Friends... Joan had my heart in the palm of her hands, she was perfect.

Dennis -

Wonderful tidbits from an eclectic weekend of music! You undertook a monumentous task covering this alone. In my humble opinion you did the work of 3. I especcially like the DR.John segment and would love to hear your take on just that show in a full article.

As long as you keep writing - I'll keep reading!

Cheers,
Jake

this article pretty much summed up my bonnaroo experience:
everywhere and nowhere at the same time

I didn't really feel like Bonnaroo was unique to itself this year. I don't know much on how to explain that more, but I didn't see where it took itself to the next level, even for Bonnaroo. Maybe it was a year of regrouping, thinking ahead to '07, I don't know, but on paper, everything had the makings of being the biggest thing this summer. Now, having actually listened to it all play out, I don't know.

I don't think there was too much to mention on the part of the major acts. Toubab Krewe & Matisyahu were 2 of the few acts, in my opinion that were trying to make the most of their appearance in front of so many people. Dumpstaphunk dropped the hammer on us late night, Oysterhead played their crazy instruments to much thanks, Bonnie made some strong political statements, and the Hip Hop late night had me noddin' my head all the way back to the camp, but even still, it just didn't seem like people carried the inspired vibe about them, like..... "THIS is Bonnaroo, let's give 'em something new/different/the best yet/our hearts"

Lucky for me, next week, I will totally feel All Good about it in WV with side by side stages.

okay lets face it. nobody would give two rats asses about damien marley if he didn't have the family name. you know it's true. and as for matisyahu, he is a phoney hippocryte. he speaks about peace,love, and all good things but time and again he has dodged journalists questions regarding where he stands on the systematic campagin of atrocities that the APARTHEID nation of isreal is committing on the long suffering palestinian people. it's time for him to speak up. and all of you dumb heads are forking over your cash to him becasue you like his music. i smell a gimmick and a whole slew of misguided people who take time to see him.

the article did seem pretty biased

to stevie - t ....

when we say bigger, we mean more mainstream. many fests get bigger in size but they still keep the wonderful 'unknown' bands on their bill (not to mention, ignoring radio friendly bands... nothing wrong w/that if its your thing though). thats why many of us stopped going to bonnaroo and now go to these fests... like all good, waka, and summer camp. i am not interested in seeing all these new indie rock bands like death cab and especially not mainstream radiohead or tom petty. but instead of complaining about how bonnaroo is no longer a decent fest, i simply spend my money elsewhere.

I think the article was alright but hopefully there are more perspectives out there that someone would like to submit?

I'm not sure why there are so many comments saying that the article is biased; what does that even mean?

Not everything at bonnaroo was good this year, just like last year and the year before. Is it wrong to point out that some acts were disappointing, or is it only wrong if the band being denied excessive praise (in a paragraph-long review) happens to be your favorite?

I am not one to argue with another but, Stevie_t must of had a great time. All I was saying is basically the same as the comments below about, "THIS is Bonnaroo." It HAS gotten too big for its own britches. It is a great time, been there done that. I just want to go to festivals with no more than 20,000. There are some out there which limit there admittance. The festivals you mentioned still were no where near the amount that Bonnaroo was. I think the closest one was still 1/4 the size. Not really that large. If they do I will be looking for a true festival experience not a money making machine. When you can see the artists eating at the Chinese Food vendor you are there. If they are in air conditioned builiding-esque areas you might want to rethink next years experience. Plus you can almost get a two for one price and see more music for your dollar. And you won't get musicians who "hated to be there and there wasn't one moment that could even lift an eye-brow" You could see Brothers Past in many different places.

id like to point out the reason this years roo sucked might have a little to do with the people in attendence. when people are yelling at the band to "Do something! Make that shit work for you, son!" you know its a shitty place not just to listen to music but play as well. maybe the indie kids wanted everything to be 3 minutes and radio friendly, and people who wanted "jam" music were pissed off about, i donno DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE??!! i think because some bands were trying to capture both, or some not at all *beck* nobody really did what they were best at. all in all unless bonnaroo cleans up its act ill never go again.

also on a side literary note; the article is SOPPOSED to be "biased" since its a review. if this were a straight newspaper article it would just say who played there and when. quit bitching and write your own article if you dont like it or agree with it.

I was honestly beginning to wonder if Jambase even covered the event. I was checking everyday and was actually surprised to find the review today. Indeed, it is a tall order to have one person cover this entire festival (from a writing perspective,) so kudos to Mr. Cook for passionately tackling the task. I must respectfully disagree though with the Damien Marley/Matisyahu comments. Though I was not at Bonnaroo, I have seen both performers before, and as a true fan of reggae and as one who has studied the culture, I found myself oddly offended by the Marley comments. Granted the Marley name speaks volumes, but I do not listen to Damien because he is Marley's son. I listen to music because it moves and inspires, because it is fresh and creative... and I don't listen to Julian, Kymani or even newer Ziggy Marley. But I have listened to Damien Marley since the day his first album came out and have been taken by his unique spin on the genre and his passion. Regardless of the privilege you claim Damien was born in to, his message isn't diminished as a result and/or his ability to illuminate native conditions is not negated. I'm not saying Matisyahu is not talented, because he is. But I view his Hasidic schtick as just that - a marketing ploy as transparent as a breast exposed in a wardobe malfunction (particularly considering he dosn't even speak Hebrew and is truly either ignorant of or afraid to illuminate his REAL ROOTS AND CULTURE.) No offense Jambase or Dennis, but that opinion, which I view as ignorance, really made the entire article a bit hard to swallow even though Mr. Cook was and continues to be one of my favorite music journalists and a tremendous asset to Jambase. I really look forward to some spectacular 10KL coverage since it is this year's true Jambase festival... and since I won't be attending. Jambase was and is the only place to get the awesome pix and in-depth coverage of the music community I consider myself to be a part of!
Namaste,
John

Excellent piece. I think the writing was professional and VERY informed about music of all kinds (opened my eyes on numerous fronts). I was not present at 'roo 06, but I feel like a got a great sampling of the many things that went down. I guess I don't know what people want out of these articles. How exactly does one write a review like this without some bit of personal bias? It's not like he is meterologist or writing for the Financial Times or something. It was an arts and music festival. Art and music are subjective things. And it was ONE guy handling the duties. Anyone else out there capable of however-many-thousand-words this was? If Bisco or UM didn't get enough love from the writer it doesn't mean that YOU can't still love them. Or tell us why you love them without having a chip on your shoulder. Even us old guys know those bands kickass. Tons of people read these articles and pleasing every fan of every band is impossible. Thank goodness someone as capable as the writer cares enough to submit these things for my FREE entertainment. Aside from that, I thought Joan's ice pick rap was a little weird (although she looked amazing) and the New Speedway Boogie was the best post-GD stuff I have heard in ages (I watched the webcast of P.L. and F). Thanks to the author and jambase. Cheers.

Wanted to say that my Bisco/UM remark wasn't directed at anyone personally. Just was on my brain as I was typing.

Scofield was so turned down in the mix he was barly audible. Best performance ever , yea right. I thought he played scard. Grab sounds lighting years behind 95 Phish come on.

>>"Why didn't jambase send out a team, say 3 or 4 people, with differentiating music tastes and allow them to collaborate on the article?"

I couldn't agree more.

decent review, although i gotta disagree on a couple of points. first, i love radiohead, have seen them on 3 different tours, 9 times, not including the roo. the roo show was the WORST show they have ever put on, in part because the crowd was so out of it. I was towards the right of the stage, a little ways back, and more than half of the people around me were just sitting on the ground, no energy, lifeless.. secondly, the author skipped over the two best parts of the weekend for me, the disco biscuits, and the superjam. at the superjam i closed my eyes and seriously thought phish was playing in front of me, I was as giddy as a school girl. and the biscuits just straight out rocked. the encore was amazing (basis for a day i think its called?) other highlites, twobob krew, those dude from fayettville really know how to put on a show.

Too say that Jr Gong is a only worth his name is pure bull shit have any of you even heard his first few records. his latest record is his best you all need to see him for who he is and not the name. have any of you even been to Jamrock you don’t have to be poor to see the struggle these people go thru. I think more respect should be paid. The writer (if that’s what you want to call him)of this artical SUCKS BIG fill in the blank. more about the music and less self indulgence and opinions. JAH WILL SORT IT OUT

While I enjoyed reading this article, having not attended Bonnaroo, I was shocked at the author's dismissal of Junior Gong Marley, as a "pose(r)" and his embracing and promotion of Matisyahu.

Wasn't it only a few years ago that Matisyahu was just another wookie touring with Phish. That doesn't sound very kosher to me, but who am I to judge.

And during all this time Marley and Ziggy were deep in the studios honing their production skills and developing their sound. All reggae groups give praise to Bob Marley, hell I was just at Little Feat the other night and they did Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up". Does this make them posers and unoriginal?

As for Matisyahu once he gained his fame he fired his managers who had been with him since the beginning in favor of a larger, more commercial firm.

Hmm, who is the bigger poser now?

a step forward for the mainstream but those of us who grew up in the garden know enough about these apples to bite but we know better than to swallow. when this festival first blew up i saw oppertunity for musicians like myself but now i see alot of BS. dont get me wrong, i have endless respect for most of the artists there and it looks like tons of excelent care went into the event. i dont really blame anyone for going - i bet i could have alot of fun there myself. when i was blind sided with a boneroo pop up ad i was also happy for the folks in accounting at jambase (jambase keeps it real, they deserve the dough - hopefully they got lots of it too). so, i dont really hate the game just the player. what im really trying to say here is boneroo, who ever you are personally - fuck you. when i was a kid all of the assholes were either at home playing video games or at the mall starting fights. i kid like me could go to a jam fest or a jam show and get away from all of that but now that you have reduced my scene to an out door shopping mall complete with an X BOX booth. i feel poorly for the youth who think they are learning the scene through your festival. fuck you, hipster. fuck your bullshit money maker.

on a brighter note...THE ALL GOOD FESTIVAL has the ARU REUNION and GRAB. lots of other cool stuff too. what if we all just gave our love to ALLGOOD? i dont know the people who present the festival but i recognize what they are doing, and have for years.

boneroo thinks it wanted to bring hip hop into this? fine - they get battle! thank you, jambase for giving me a voice.

I saw Marley's Show I left Marley's show nuff said

There is place for opinion, but it's nice to let others form their own opinion based on your reportings. I suppose those are two different ways to review a show, just different angles. Also, it's great to crossover into other areas of music on JamBase (namely indie music), but please respect what got you to where you are and why people have come to JamBase for years. If you don't know or understand what a jam band is, as you stated, then maybe you shouldn't write for JAMbase.

best shows at bonnaroo 2006
1. radiohead
2.my morning jacket
3.bela fleck and the flecktones
4.damian marley
5.G.R.A.B.

worst shows at bonnaroo
1.matisyahu

that is all

I think it's abundantly clear that a large portion of you have no idea what a review is.

The fact is that one person can not make every show at a festival. It's impossible. I have covered Wakarusa the past two years, and it just can't be done when there are multiple stages with musicians on them simultaneously.

Second, the writer's job is to call it like he sees it. Perhaps you're looking through a different set of glasses than Dennis but don't call him out for speaking his opinion, because that's what he's been asked to do.

Maybe you agree with his point of view, and maybe you don't, but as someone here said already, if you don't like it, write your own review. I'm sure Jambase would love to have your contributions.

Folks, I suppose Bonnaroo is like any other experience... you will get out of it what you bring into it, and what you put into it... I'm a long time deadhead, festival goer and fan of music and this Bonnaroo (number 4 for me) was amazing. The people I went with, the people I met, the sense of community, partacking in the benefits of the obvious evolution of the Bonnaroo experience, the eye candy, and the music... so much music! Granted, there were bands that I wasn't interested in seeing, so I didn't and there were bands that I had no clue that I should have been interested in seeing and now I know... initially I was a bit turned off by the lack of bands know for extended improvisation, but I was quickly knocked out of that funk by the hours and hours of wonderful sounds. My only complaint (not a serious one at that) is the same one that I've always had... so many choices and so many overlapping schedules... I missed Um/Bisco because I was locked into the heart thumpin' booty shakin' sounds of Lyrics Born/Common/Blackalicious and damned happy with the choice that I made (get the Blackalicious set if you can - WOW)... I'm sorry to hear that some of you didn't have a blast... I for one cannot wait for my chance to see number 5

21Gooch, please explain to us what a "jam" band is. I started this website and I still can't figure it out. ;)

-Andy

p.s. Nice job Dennis - your review was entertaining and captivating, just like a good storyteller should be.

bassdrum200 says "when people are yelling at the band to "Do something! Make that shit work for you, son!" you know its a shitty place not just to listen to music but play as well."

....it sounds like these people have confused the music and art festival with a sporting event. where are these people coming from and why are so many of them keep showing up lately? who is marketing my scene to these people and why? most importantly how? what of this phenom? the sooner we all understand it, the sooner we can deal with this crap (we need to deal with this crap)

mojofolk says "I was a bit turned off by the lack of bands know for extended improvisation"

if bands at boneroo arent 'jamming' it is because they arent 'jambands'. too bad. when i talk about what we fought for in the past few decades while we were making this whole jam scene happen i was refering to stuff like the right to the 8 minuite guitaur solo. i am just one of these people who wants to hear long imporov. hey, i know! lets start a new genre for artists and fans who like jambands. lets pick a better word than jamband just in case the word has any kind of traction.....(we love you dean b.)

I couldn't agree with you more Mojofolk.

Ok the review was what it was. I wanted to see a lot of shows that i didnt see. probably the same as this guy writing and i wouldnt want a review from someone who just heard about the show and not seeing for themselves.
secound, although this was only my secound roo i will not be back, it wasnt the music(the music was awesome) but the people that went were not my cup of tea. thier were not as many hippies there,i would say half or more than the previous years. It would take a phish reunion at bonnaroo next year to get me to go. By the way my buddie got a "simple possesion" ticket for $800 + sooo. have fun at Cohellaroo next year. I will see ya at all good and 10klf

Nice review, and I'm glad to hear that I wasn't the only one who thought Beck's performance fell flat, and Phil's was majestical. The Disco Biscuits late night set made me a believer, and My Morning Jacket seems on their way to playing arenas. Overall festival organization gets an A+.

In defense of Joan:

She did not say she had "an ice pick" in the other hand. She said she had "a nice big spliff."

Joan, if you're reading this and want to show me your appreciation in person, let me know.

Great article overall.

Yeah what is a "jamband"? The last time I checked this is a MUSIC festival. Now I don't enjoy listening to some of the bands that were there, but a majority of them I did. I had never even heard a Radiohead song before bonnaroo, now I have and I can say they're not my cup of tea. I not gonna bash them or their fans because of it. As far as the unruly crowd that shows up at shows and who is marketing this scene,(not my scene because this thing belongs to the music not us or the bands) I think we marketed to these unruly kids. They see how much fun and how free one can be at these shows, but don't understand why we are. It's the music. Drugs is the other, and probably bigger reason they show up. Lets be honest here, drugs are becoming the main reason people show up to festies more and more these days. Drugs do nothing for the scene but bring it down, music is what should be setting us free at the shows. Drugs put up walls and breed anger and hatred, music knocks down those barriers that a 60 year old hippie from Boston who likes kick back and bob his head to the beat and a 26 year old country boy Tennessee who likes to stomp his foot and groove to some tunes might would have. Give the scene back to the music, and stop claiming it as your own, that only creates tension. "one good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain!"

I completely disagree with the Jr. Gong review. I saw him twice in Boston before Bonnaroo, so this was my third show, and I have to say it was by far the best. Jr. Gong in a festival atmosphere is as good as it gets, from his thunderous beats, amazing energy, his genuine conversations with the Bonnaroo crowd to his strong, sympathetic desire to flow slow enough so the audience can understand what he's saying, to his secret weapon--his dancers. You can't tell me during "Move" you expected his backup dancers to do what they did. They remind you of Bob's backup dancers, except they actually do stuff. Damian Marley's not a poser, he doesn't have to prove anything...the Grammys he's won for "Welcome to Jamrock" say it all. I honestly don't see how you can criticize someone who is able to fuse reggae and hip hop so well--he pays tribute to his father but at the same time, makes a name for himself. And soon everyone will know how good he really is.

In regards to Steel Pulse: It's "Chant a Psalm a Day", not "Chant a summer day". Just thought I would clarify.

t bone.... if we have to discuss substance abuse on the scene why dont we use more specific terms than "drugs"? i really dont see a problem with some of the substances we often like to lump in that category being openly used (and performing other healthy functions) on the scene but when it comes to hard drugs im ready to stink about it also. i do feel like we should make a strong distinction between the more troublesome substances and a few other cultural sacrements that i feel have a strong and healthy place on OUR scene. i like how Phil Lesh deals with this in his book - he seems to cop the the obvious truth about hard drugs impact on the Gratefull Dead's plight while at the same time he tells fun war stories about who showed up when with what kind of smoke. i feel like this is a more than reasonable message (phil being good family in my eyes).

also, i dont mean to claim the scene as yours or mine. you make a good point about that. what i mean to say is that we have cultivated somthing special and specific here and i see big money forces beginning to influence that in alot of ways. i belive this influence will undermine the verry music you and i love so mucth in the long run. i cant express how gratefull i am that there was some kind of counter cultural thing going on in america as i was growing up. i am happy that this thing is growing but i realize that what made it in the first place was all of OUR influence, not AT&T or X BOX. so, when i hear of 13 year old festival goers are having video game controllers put in thier hands in the name of art and music i feel like i need to give somthing back by kicking and screaming as loudly as i can. boneroo wants to go out like hustlers and i got somthing to say about that - BATTLE!

"The Scene?"

Commercialism has engulfed the scene. All I have to say is MTV. Thats right, my once considered underground music scene made it on MTV. I had hoped it would never happen but it did. Just last week I was flipping through the tube and there was a story on MTV news about Bonaroo documenting a group of teens at the fest. It just goes to show what happens when the potential to make big money exists. I guess all good thing must die but I never thought it would turn out like this. A commercial spectaclte covered up behind the contemporary definition of a "hippie" and counter culture. After the first Roo I knew it was only a matter of time before I saw or heard such things in this music scene. Well people I think the lines have been blurred and now have crossed. Now "OUR" once small and very special scene has gone commercial. A good enough reason why I will never attend Bonaroo or most other major commercial festivals. Many good points were made in a number of the posts on how things have changed and if you have been following things for the last 7-8 years you probably agree. The corporations have taken contol and we all know they will screw it up promoting what bands they think "WE" should be listening to. So here is to this years 10,000 lakes fest and the only remaining bit of what I fell in Love with.

Steve Berg
Minneapolis, MN

Great article, Dennis. You saw and remembered about four times more artists than I did over the weekend.

My Top 3: MMJ, GRAB, Gomez.
Bands I wish I saw: Dungen, Grace Potter, Electric Eel Shock, Cat Power.

So much good stuff, so little time.

This is for JamBase Andy and all others asking what does "Jam" mean...or what is a Jam Band?
Andy I believe we had this conversation at Langerado.....Being a musician I always thought that "to Jam" means to get together and play some music. I don't think it is genre specific.
I have always thought jam Bands were bands that at any time could have folks step in and "jam" just take the tune where it decided to go.
Hell, what do I know? I supposedly play in the "jam" genre, but truly, it has gone so many different directions, it is like Pizza. You never know what your getting until it is right in front of ya! Even then it still can be a bit surprising. *grin*

As for this review.....well I was there as well. I took half the photos you all see in this piece. I hear/see so many bands and shows that I try really hard to be open minded to it all. Sometimes I feel like I am sonically being abused. And, usually at that point I will look over and see 10 to my one digg'en the hell out of it.
I do believe that anyone who went to Bonnaroo this year expected to experience the diversity in the music. I also believe that there a few that never left the campgrounds.

We all like different things.
I would think most folks that would be reading this, enjoy hearing other folks points of view. Sure as hell can disagree. I do on some of the reviews of bands in this piece, but I just have different tastes.

I do know one thing for sure....Dennis, Dave and I worked hard to bring this back to y'all.

You got em all stirred up Dennis!
Good Job!

~Pamela
Jamtography.com

bonnaroo was the ish. Ilive in Nashville and have looked foward to it for a while. Highlights had to be Moe. and Rusted Root. Biscuits raged until sunup. And Radiohead was dope, though i enjoyed Phil Lesh alot more. i dont remember if the article covered Rusted Root but they played amazing. Hope to see everyone there next year

Did anyone catch the band Tishamingo.I believe that they are out of North Florida or someone said Athens,ga.The interguitar p;ay was amazing and the 2 vocalist also pretty amazing.a very exciting young up and comming band. Does anyone know more about this band Tishamingo!!

hey sandytowne - it's not "twobab krew" its Toubab Krewe, and they're from Asheville, not Fayetteville. Anyone who missed them at Roo needs to check them out, they are by far the best group of immensely talented musicians around today.

I love Bonnaroo, especially the feeling when you get back to the "real world" and remember what a special thing it is.
Stangers stopping stangers

so how were the e- bombs

Everything I saw I liked. I had a great weekend. So did the writer of this review. And if that gigantic 80000-voice roar at the end of Sunday night is any indication, so did a hell of a lot of other people. I'll come back for more.

Great article, by the way.

It's like we were at different shows. Jerry Douglas was to me the best musician at the Roo. Buddy Guy doing an all acoustic set is not only RARE and historical it was amazing. Bonnie Rait's impromtu songs with Jerry Douglas were as well historical. Bisco's late night set put more smiles on faces than any other band I had seen. Cypress Hill did all the great hits in a row. I have beento all but the first and by far this was the best time I had. Just thought all bandfs are worth mentioning not just what you got to see......

V I V A L A I T A L I A ! ! !

Point well taken EVILFUNK. I should have been more specific in my post, afterall my motto is BE FUN HAVE GOOD! So I do agree with you there. The heavy drugs that show up at all the festies are a major problem, and also draw attention from law enforcement agencies. But as in all things in life if you continue to feed something it will only get bigger until it finally collaspses under its' own weight. Coporate America isn't blind and they have seen the possiblities of these festivals and they will only become more and more visible at them. One day this culture will become obsolete and spawn a new one, and history will repeat itself and that's a fact. Luckily for us music lovers pop culture's attention span is shorter and one day they will got tire of this scene. Hopefully it will be before they bleed it dry.

Third and last Bonnaroo.Yes there is no commercial tags on it YET but the crowd seems to ooze "frat guys".No more for me, thanks for the great times but the last person i talked to at this years 'roo said "I think some guy named Phil is closing on Sunday so we are leaving early....."How bout some ALL GOOD not a cash-cow festival yet. By the way anyone heard from the "famous naked guy" at 'roo.I bought him some toilet paper.

i am still pissed at radiohead for putting me to sleep and making me miss all the other music that night.
the festival had a billion stages and still everyone was forced to listen to that shit for THREE HOURS with no other music to be found. i want thom yorke to give me my money back NOW!

i would like to thank Toubab Krewe for simply being in existence. i've known those guys for years and i think that first night at 'roo was just what they needed to show everyone what they are really all about.

Moe. Tore it down on the Sonic Stage... With a cover of the Violent Femmes song Blister for an ENCORE... Oh yeah and did I mention that this set was acoustic!!! It was an awesome show... The best I seen at Bonnaroo.

andy,

not being able to define a jamband makes us averege around here. using the loose definition as an excuse to try to sell us bubble gum is somthing only greedy high-roller showbiz asswipes like boneroo would do. jambase says "go see live music" so i dont intend any diss on you guys or to say that you are fronting at all about jam-anything. all i know is that a moment or two before phish.net or any of the jam sites there was somthing to ARU, Shockra, Phish, (dare i mention) Max Creek, WSP, the greatfull dead and lots of other bands that i see in the music and culture surrounding many of the bands covered on this site today. this is a consistent evolution of a culture and a loose evolution of a 'sound' or 'antisound', however we will have it. jambase has played a huge part in this evolution without ever claiming to be about any thing but "live music". dare i say that before jambase and the other sites we were not really a huge reading and writing croud - not to genaralize - but if you compare the old Relix with the new Relix you will see that over all there has been a positive evolution here. i have seen it with my own eyes. this is a legacy we have all been a part of and if we dont sell out now we can continue to evolve with out shame.

so, you and yours have managed to create somthing real here, andy. a website so many people have used in so many ways for soooo long. by now you must have learned what many of us who put standards first and profit last in showbiz in order to keep it real learn eventually. - doing the right thing for music and culture are one thing, earning a living doing this is another. now that big keeps getting bigger and real keeps getting more and more real (some of our parents expect us to make some money now that we have been out of college a few years) the urge to take money form people who sell violent video games that teach youth to kill, kill, kill will grow. we all have bills to pay. i would mutch rather that you do work with boneroo or anyone presenting 'live music' than go for broke. honestly, i think boneroo has every right to this kind of media attention as my comments do.my opinion- it is ok to run the boneroo ads but only if fans like myself get to make an issue of the festivals jive buisiness moves.

so my piont in all of this is to say that if you are any where at any time on our fine planet and you are approached by a snake who would like you to run an x box ad on your site, choose your integrity. you have worked hard for it. trust me bro, just because the masses are happy with this shit does not mean it is ok.

im so sorry to hear about the death of your sponsors integrity - all for a buck. thank god you guys arent willing to go out like that. i hope you never do.

(im so tempted to put my real name on this one)

boozoo -- Someone told me that Tishamingo was from Alabama. They did put on a nice show but who was that dude on stage left who looked like Keith Moon and danced like Austin Powers? He was amusing for about two minutes and then became wholly distracting.

Nice posts everyone. I can't really add much to what's been said. Bonnaroo will continue to go mainstream as it drives away some jamband purists and older Heads while catering to a younger demographic. Yeah, it's gone corporate but did you really think that an 80,000+ person festival could resist the urges to appeal to a wider audience base.

I generally prefer smaller festivals (i.e. Smilefest, NW String Summit, etc) but the huge festivals are a nice break once or twice a year. Maybe Bonnaroo doesn't have the cohesiveness and bonhomie of the smaller festivals but its sheer diversity is also part of its appeal. For the most part people got along remarkably well for the diversity of musical tastes and backgrounds. I'll definitely be back next year -- unless, of course, I see Korn and Slipknot on the menu.

Dennis Cook needs his heart spoon fead too his young republican azz!!what he wrote about jr Gong Marley was big city white boy B S!just cuz you know 1,000 adjetives does'nt mean you should be a writer{biast at that}clearly he was way way in the back of the croud of thousands thats we're jumpin with the intensity of a Real root rock preformance!!Damian clearly shines brite enuff to not be in his fathers shadow,but idiots like cOOk can't resist compareing him to his father.We were drowning in Jr Gong and his band empires vibe which streached across 700 acres sat.
And trus this,his art is for real,unlike this Sears sucka suit wearing cOOk.

Jam- to find music before the record labels do.
Jam- listening to a group who knows how to play their instruments.
Jam only happens live. Jam only happens when people break it down, and improvise.
Jam is not a genre, it is a style of playing, and not all bands jam, and not all bands jam all the time. I saw Gov't Mule here in VA a few weeks before Bonnaroo, and I thought it was a very lame show, like they were going through the motions- they did NOT jam. Yet, I have seen them before, and they jammed their arses off. Jam is not about playing the song, it is about playing your instrument. It is about liking what you do to the point where you can't control your enthusiasm anymore. Think of all the wonderful faces you have seen Trey make while killing that guitar. He is jamming (whether it sounds good or not). My girlfriend says "feeling it". Same thing. You feel jam, you don't listen to jam.

you know you are jammin' to music when you start bobbing your head, wiggling your butt, tapping your foot, or any other rote type behaviour that happens when you are not thiking about it.

Rock music can jam.
Jazz can jam, just ask Michelle.
Country can jam.
Emo can jam.
Afrobeat/Mali music can jam, ask Toubab Krewe, or Antibalas.
Bluegrass can jam.

There isn't a genre of music out there today that can't jam, but jam isn't the genre, it is the playing.
I don't think I have ever had a muddy view of what a 'jam' band is. I always thought a jam band was one that got out of playing their 'song' to play their 'instrument' and show us their musical knowledge. That to me is why almost EVERY jazz band is a jam band, because passing around a solo, and showing off your chops is standard procedure.

Just my couple of pennies. (which may not be around much longer)

Remember folks, mainstream isn't bad, it is just isn't our preference. If you don't want to see something that has gone commercial, then get out and support local live music.

"craikes13 :: 7/11/2006 9:19 AM
Jam- to find music before the record labels do.
Jam- listening to a group who knows how to play their instruments.
Jam only happens live. Jam only happens when people break it down, and improvise.
Jam is not a genre, it is a style of playing, and not all bands jam, and not all bands jam all the time. I saw Gov't Mule here in VA a few weeks before Bonnaroo, and I thought it was a very lame show, like they were going through the motions- they did NOT jam. Yet, I have seen them before, and they jammed their arses off. Jam is not about playing the song, it is about playing your instrument. It is about liking what you do to the point where you can't control your enthusiasm anymore. Think of all the wonderful faces you have seen Trey make while killing that guitar. He is jamming (whether it sounds good or not). My girlfriend says "feeling it". Same thing. You feel jam, you don't listen to jam.

you know you are jammin' to music when you start bobbing your head, wiggling your butt, tapping your foot, or any other rote type behaviour that happens when you are not thiking about it.

Rock music can jam.
Jazz can jam, just ask Michelle.
Country can jam.
Emo can jam.
Afrobeat/Mali music can jam, ask Toubab Krewe, or Antibalas.
Bluegrass can jam.

There isn't a genre of music out there today that can't jam, but jam isn't the genre, it is the playing.
I don't think I have ever had a muddy view of what a 'jam' band is. I always thought a jam band was one that got out of playing their 'song' to play their 'instrument' and show us their musical knowledge. That to me is why almost EVERY jazz band is a jam band, because passing around a solo, and showing off your chops is standard procedure.

Just my couple of pennies. (which may not be around much longer)

Remember folks, mainstream isn't bad, it is just isn't our preference. If you don't want to see something that has gone commercial, then get out and support local live music."

yep. I think it was Keith Richards who said any band can be the best in the world on any givin night.

Also, one of my favorite's from William Burroughs,

"A rock concert is in fact a rite involving the evocation and transmutation of energy"

"but who was that dude on stage left who looked like Keith Moon and danced like Austin Powers? He was amusing for about two minutes and then became wholly distracting."

Was it Beatle Bob?
http://www.wrlt.com/lifestyle/gallery/displayphoto.cfml?picID=607

If so, he was at Jazz Fest and Wakarusa as well. From what I can gather he gets paid to watch music for a living, but im really not sure by whom.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2003-03-14/music_feature23.html

"As far as the unruly crowd that shows up at shows and who is marketing this scene,(not my scene because this thing belongs to the music not us or the bands) I think we marketed to these unruly kids."


I think we need to do everything we can to welcome all these new folks to our ever more disjointed community. There has always been a compromise to the corp side, ever since, or even before Bill Graham. But what we share is alive, well, and free.

Some shows were lack luster, and some shows were amazing. The headliners this year could have been replaced. Tom Petty?? Radiohead?? Both great bands! But with Tom Petty I felt like i was in a dive bar listening to a juke box. And for Radiohead i felt like everyone was falling asleep or freaking out. Oysterhead, Disco, Umphreys, Ivan's Dumpstaphunk, Trey Gordo Duo (SuperJam), Now these are headliners!!! Bands that aren't afraid of playing for more than three hours. Or how about the Flaming Lips? I know they weren't there, but i saw them at wakarusa, and damn!!! can they headline a festival.

my 2nd year @ bonnaroo. i'm lucky enough to just live 2 hours away in TN. Radiohead was amazing. i had never gotten into them before, and went to see what the buzz was about. and i was in awe the whole time. quite possibly the most chilled out concert i've ever been to. and so true even with the amount of people in attendance. beautiful.

All of these comments are worthless. How could you guys not enjoyed the Radiohead set? I could understand the misunderstandings beforehand, but if you were up in that Radiohead show, you would have realized how amazing it was. The fans waited for up front and that's who Thom was playing too. I had an amazing time and Saturday night at the 'roo 2006 was the best night of my life (i've been to 2 roo's, this and last) and to other festivals (waka, det. jazz fest etc.) and to see Radiohead, followed by Dr. John (as Night Tripper), followed by superjam (The Duo with Trey and Mike G.), followed by Dumpstafunk (the best funk show I've ever seen, they layed it down), followed by Sasha blowing my mind till sunrise.

Grow up and enjoy the music. Hating gets you nowhere.

IONDONKO, why do we have to like RADIOHEAD? This is a place for people to express their views. You know opinions are like assholes, everybody has one. I personally didn't like RADIOHEAD, but I'm not "hating" they are great musicians. They just didn't do it for me. It's okay for people not to like a band, don't get your panties in a wad. I respect your passion for the music though. Go take a smoke and chill out(or whatever you do to unwind), people don't like to be force fed music so you're doing more harm than good. That's just my opinion though!

your bit on radiohead gave my the same chills in had on that sat night

You have got to be kidding me! Beck was the best performance of the entire weekend. I was not a HUGE fan before, but this show has officially established me as a Beck admirer for the rest of my days. It was humorous, touching and fabulous talent!

Tom Petty is always a favorite, he never lets me down and The Neville Brothers....out of this world!

Radiohead was, in my opinion a lame headliner, I like to see them in Europe but for a Bonnaroo vibe, it's just too whiny and depressing. So many amazing attributes packed into the show but for outdoors festivals in the heat of summer, the line-up could have been more mellow-jam, but who am I to complain? It seems to me Bonnaroo is turning into another bandwagon Lollapalooza MTV event, which really makes me sad. But hey, then, for the die-hards, off to another "low key festival" until a corporate monster decides to buy that one out too!

All in all Bonnaroo was fun but it has lost it's charm.

nice/ not so nice to read the article/ the comments on the article. Sad but True/Exciting and optimistic. So nice to see people getting fired up about live music. Nice to imagine musicians earning money for their work. So sad to read people not respecting other people and their tastes.
I really appreciated the subtitle of the Frisell review. he's the man. I said to myself, that if I did go to the Roo, I would try and distance myself from childish people and relax with Frisell, Buddy Guy and Bonnie Rait. Was she there? Any review of her set? That makes me sound old doesn't it. I guess 24 is old. Anyone going to hear Frisell w/ Kenny Freekin Wollesen and Tony Scherr in Brooklyn August 3rd? Free show. They're playing to short, silent films. T'will be lovely. Peace.
Some dude in Brooklyn

hippie chick I don't think that it was Bisco the band that was putting smiles on faces...from what i could see it was bisco the pill

from here on im going to shut the fuck up and let crackies 13 do the typing.......most worty of another round.........this is so beautyfull.........

Sled4now :: 7/11/2006 2:56 PM
"craikes13 :: 7/11/2006 9:19 AM
Jam- to find music before the record labels do.
Jam- listening to a group who knows how to play their instruments.
Jam only happens live. Jam only happens when people break it down, and improvise.
Jam is not a genre, it is a style of playing, and not all bands jam, and not all bands jam all the time. I saw Gov't Mule here in VA a few weeks before Bonnaroo, and I thought it was a very lame show, like they were going through the motions- they did NOT jam. Yet, I have seen them before, and they jammed their arses off. Jam is not about playing the song, it is about playing your instrument. It is about liking what you do to the point where you can't control your enthusiasm anymore. Think of all the wonderful faces you have seen Trey make while killing that guitar. He is jamming (whether it sounds good or not). My girlfriend says "feeling it". Same thing. You feel jam, you don't listen to jam.

you know you are jammin' to music when you start bobbing your head, wiggling your butt, tapping your foot, or any other rote type behaviour that happens when you are not thiking about it.

Rock music can jam.
Jazz can jam, just ask Michelle.
Country can jam.
Emo can jam.
Afrobeat/Mali music can jam, ask Toubab Krewe, or Antibalas.
Bluegrass can jam.

There isn't a genre of music out there today that can't jam, but jam isn't the genre, it is the playing.
I don't think I have ever had a muddy view of what a 'jam' band is. I always thought a jam band was one that got out of playing their 'song' to play their 'instrument' and show us their musical knowledge. That to me is why almost EVERY jazz band is a jam band, because passing around a solo, and showing off your chops is standard procedure.

Just my couple of pennies. (which may not be around much longer)

Remember folks, mainstream isn't bad, it is just isn't our preference. If you don't want to see something that has gone commercial, then get out and support local live music."

yep. I think it was Keith Richards who said any band can be the best in the world on any givin night.

Also, one of my favorite's from William Burroughs,

"A rock concert is in fact a rite involving the evocation and transmutation of energy"

this is the 1st year I didn't go to the Roo and for a good reason...the lineup blew. Cept for the late night and a COUPLE of late afternoon shows. I heard Beck SUCKED, as he did at Vegoose. his shit was lame. but I am not here to review the festival...I heard that there was a lease on the farmlands that Superfly holds Bonnaroo on and that their lease is up this year. Any truth to that??? I hear they may have it in upstate NY next summer?!?!?!? Hope so...

So what the fuck people. I went to bannaroo for one reason. Ive been to the others and couldnt pass it up. But no one has touched upon what I belive was the best show that weekend. OYSTERHEAD. It was sick. And yes poor bannaroo is fading

Bonnaroo was sweetness this year, no doubt. Nearly every single act i saw was great and i'll gladly say that i enjoyed the slightly less jam oriented line up. That is coming from a person who loves jam tunes, you people have to just listen to the music and like it if you do and move on to another act if you dont. There were so many great shows and memories... Devotchka,Bettye Lavette,G Love, Oysterhead's fierce return(sadly i had to miss Robert Randolph). Tom Petty is damn good rock and roll. The Heartbreakers can kick out some rockers with a much richer sound than their studio work. And when they were finished up it was time to see mmj and umphrey's/bisco. the nevilles were good, buddy guy had a definite standout performance (my only complaint being that he wasnt given more time to work his mojo). And then.....Elvis Costello, Amadou and Mariam, and MMW. After that I get to change gears w/ radiohead and then rush over to see a group of a 1000 ppl huddled around the incredible visual display of the art of such n such while the funky new orleans stages are being prepared. .... Dr John the gris gris man, Rebirth, and Dumpstaphunk make music while the superjam turns out tunes of a completely different flavor. whats not to love people. Onward i go with the music as my guide..codetalkers, refugee allstars, bela fleck sounded great, matisyahu had his moments(mostly mediocre moments) Next comes something far from mediocre, 5 straight hours of near bliss... MOE. Bonnie Raiit and Phil Lesh to close out four incredible days. I would give highlights ther but the entire lesh show was just that.

andy...are you the same guy who owns 10klf???? i met someone there who knew you. if thats you. well he knew the guy who put on 10k and said his name was andy. haha that would be cool if it were you. i would love to meet you, i have great ideas...we would be unstoppable together.