Final Bonnaroo Recap: Saturday and Sunday

It’s hard to believe that Bonnaroo was almost a full month ago, but for entertainment value, I offer you my notes from Saturday–highlighted by Bruce Springsteen and of course MGMT. The day started off with the last-minute line-up addition of Jimmy Buffet, who I heard from across the fair grounds while waiting in line for a shower, but which was nonetheless unmistakable.  Though it was a late start on the day, Paige Smith and I had Bon Iver and Of Montreal as background music for a trip to the Brewers Tent, which houses about a dozen “small” breweries which offer samplings and full cups on a pay-by-the-ticket basis. It was great to see such a representation of small, local, independent breweries, from Pisgah Brewing, to Asheville Brewing Company, to Michelob and Bud Lite.

Paige Smith surveys Asheville's finest

Ever heard of these guys?

…Alright, so maybe the range of breweries was more important than the degree to each was “indie”. Much to their credit, Magic Hat had set up a bean-bag-toss tic-tac-toe board, offering various Magic Hat items as prizes. With a little luck and inspiration I was able to pull off some lass-toss heroics, but we’ll save that story for now.

After the Brewer’s tent we headed to the Cinema tent (another new experience) to watch a new film by and interview with Don Hertzfeld (most well-known for his film “Rejected”). While I didn’t make it all the way to the Q&A, it’s hard to imagine what kind of questions one would ask Mr. Hertzfeld, other than those born from pure bewilderment.

And then there was Bruce Springsteen, making his three and a half hour set at THE Bonnaroo (as he referred to it), launching what was in my mind the most professional show of the weekend. Though wild stage antics are amusing, and can certainly captivate the audience if used effectively, the timing and unity of a band as practiced and experienced as Springsteen and E-Street is difficult to top. Even when Bruce is at his wildest, climbing around the audience or otherwise putting stress on his 50-some year old body, the band stays in perfect time, and there is no hesitation (just as James Brown or Sharon Jones emphasize, the frenzy and energy of the leadman or leadwoman only stands out if the best of the band is a background, restrained, allowing the start to shine).

It seemed that while the average Bonnaroo-er wasn’t exceptionally well versed in Springsteen songs, his show was viewed as one not to be missed, and for the die-hard Bruce-fans of course it was just frenzy. I, like many others I’m sure, got most of my Springsteen exposure through driving around with my Dad, and around Christmas when Bruce’s “Santa Claus is coming to town” was a necessity. With this said, it was certainly a historic moment for me when Bruce honored “Santa” as the first request, despite the heat and the time of year. After playing another two hours after that, he pulled out the all the top-hits to end on, Thunder Road, Glory Days, Born in the U.S.A., Dancing in the Dark…reminding everyone there that the Bruce Springsteen show is still one of the finest shows around.

An abrupt departure from the classic rock of The Boss, the next big act of the night was MGMT, at That Tent, drawing out the hipsters instead of the Jersey-ites.  Though it turns out The Boss himself was watching MGMT (maybe they could start another project together…Board of Directors? CEO? SuprVizers?),

the fans that packed in proudly wore their pink and purple body paint, ties around the head, and torn up trendy-wear. Despite being somewhat tired of the E-d up couples chewing eachothers faces off, MGMT put on a great, action-packed performance, and revealed three new songs in the midst of running through their new infamous lineup of Kids, Weekend Wars, Time to Pretend, etc. The two new songs they revealed before their encore (all set to come out on the 2010 album)

MGMT

were very poppy, more so than their electro-pop hits off of Oracular Spectacular, but potentially just as catchy. The new song revealed in the middle of their encore, called “Celebration”, was quite different, and  had more of a “jam” feel than the tightly-constructed pop-model.

Their show was great fun, though I do pity whoever the girl in front of me called during “Electric Feel”–and who she proceeded to shout all the lyrics to. Ah, hit me like an electric feeeeeel..

As Sunday morning came around that the week of mayhem and music known as Bonnaroo was near its end, everyone was a little slower to crawl out of their tents, the layers of mud and grime began acquired while rolling around the mud during last nights trip no longer seemed so life-changing, and in general the 70,000+ audience was realizing that before long  they would have to again enter the real world. And yet, for me the morning started out unreal, as I heard, rolling over the fair grounds, a song that is trademark to the Rebirth Brass Band and almost every other New Orleans band, “Feel Like Funkin’ It Up”. Checking the schedule, I couldn’t figure out who was playing it, or where, but Paige Smith and I raced towards Centeroo in hopes of getting a little dose of N’awleans. Of course, as soon as we reached the stage they finished their set, as they had been a list minute add-on (another argument for keeping the computer/internet handy during the week…). Having just missed that, the day began musically with singer/songwriter Brett Dennen (who I first saw in New Orleans, coincidentally, and who toured through Chapel Hill last fall). While he has certainly changed his image some, Mr. Dennen continues to fall in the soft/smooth indie pop that Jack Johnson rules the throne of. What Mr. Dennen probable had not realized, however, was that he had captured the frat-boy crowd as well.

Brett Dennen performs for an unexpected fan?

Trying to find something a bit more upbeat than Brett Dennen, Andrew Bird, and Band of Horses, Paige Smith and I decided to try out the Silent Disco, which had too long of a line leading up to that point. The DJ for the afternoon was Motion Potion, who did a fantastic job–combining mash-ups, transformations, drop mixes, with ease, and (in my mind) creating a more dance-able blend than either Girl Talk or Paul Oakenfeld had on Friday night.

Motion Potion

The true sign of this, of course, was the variety of ages groovin’ to Mr. Potion’s concotion–

You can never be too young to break it down...

After that, Andrew Bird performed at Which Stage, wrapping up the tour he began in Chapel Hill last fall with his concert at Memorial Hall in October. The premier show of “Michael and Michael Have Issues” was going on in the comedy tent during the end of Andrew Bird and beginning of Band of Horses, and that proved to be a nice way to conclude the Bonnaroo 2009 experience, before walking around one last time and taking in the sights and smells (for better or worse) of a Manchester farm transformed to music-festival capitol of the world.

Until next year, keep on keepin’ on Bonnaroo, and we will see you soon.

Bonnaroo Recap: Friday

Friday began with a trip to the press area for “media orientation”–which mainly focused on the rules and regulations for access to the various media pits at the front of the stage, and also made very clear that certain acts (Beastie Boys, Bruce, etc) would not be open to all of the credentialed photographers. Again, I felt displaced, as the attendees of this orientation were mostly typing away on their laptops, checking their PDA’s, and doing this all in the midst of an air conditioned tent in the overnight city of Bonnaroo. The press area is markedly different from the rest of Bonnaroo, with the glass-walled radio station, wireless internet, “media cafe”, massage tables, mulched ground (instead of mud), and perhaps most importantly its own set of portapotties (portapotty’s? port-a-potty? port-o-paw-tee?).

And so, quickly enough, it became very clear that in order to truly cover Bonnaroo, it would be necessary to spend all of your time in the press area, checking your email feverishly for last minute updates, attending all the press conferences and exclusive interviews possible, charging your camera while eating your gourmet salmon wrap and sipping on a mocha latte, with whipped cream and cinnamon…

…Maybe next year.

But, being unprepared for this, I headed back out of the press area to join Paige Smith and the rest of Bonnaroo in order to arrive early for a good position to see Gomez, Animal Collective, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, and TV On the Radio–all at Which Stage. Of those bands, I was only familiar with Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and TV On the Radio, but Gomez seemed promising, and of course the presence of Animal Collective would put me at the center of the hip universe for a few hours, an invitation I could not decline.

Gomez, an English band from Southport, has been touring extensively through the U.S. for the last few years, and recently released their sixth album ” A New Tide” on March 30th, 2009.

Gomez

Falling in the “indie/rock/folk” genre, the sound of Gomez may be familiar, but is so in a comfortable way: While I wouldn’t choose them first if I wanted “totally new and breathtaking” music, I would happily listen to them while driving. The tempo of their set picked up dramatically with their cover of the Led Zeppelin song Bron-Yr-Aur–while Gomez lead singer Ben Ottewell’s voice is a too deep to truly imitate Robert Plant, their cover was fun, and for me was the high point of their performance.  

And then came the Animals…

I apologize in advance, for in all honesty I have almost no experience with Animal Collective,  and so any kind of review I may give of their performance would be uneducated and misguided. From a performance standpoint, however, it was obvious that they would have greatly benefitted from a night performance and an accompanying light show. For, like most other electronic groups or DJ’s, the music making itself might not always be the most enrapturing spectacle. Contuining the drum-machine trend of Chairlift and Hockey from Thursday night, Animal Collective made heavy use of their subwoofer, which from my position drowned out almost all other sound. If I had been better positioned rather than right in front of the subwoofers, and if I had been more familiar with their material, I would have likely enjoyed their show much more. Instead, I attempted to salvage my hearing by plugging my ears, and looked around in order to play Hipster Bingo (yes, I won multiple times). As you can see from the video, the security team at the front of the stage was also perhaps overwhelmed by the Animal Collective.

Following Animal Collective was Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, a band I was excited to see due to their new album “It’s Blitz”, which is a noticeable departure from their usual raw-guitar and vocal style, instead utilizing a more synth-heavy dance feel, especially with the single “Zero” and it’s B-side “Heads Will Roll” (both of which have been extensively remixed). Lead singer and front woman Karen O

Karen O.

arrived in full form–drinking beer, an unknown substance, and using water to wash out her mouth between drinks, spraying it everywhere like a whale. And how did the crowd react? Well, it went nuts. Her energy alone was enough to make it a fun performance, even as the bands unfamiliarity with live performances showed as they miscued on their old hit “Maps” and struggled at times to stay together eary in the set. Moving between new and old material, the set was well constructed, but the transitions were sometimes rough or particularly raw, generally looping the end of the previous song into a wall-of-sound which would chisel its way into the next song.

Despite their miscues, the performance Yeah Yeah Yeah’s put on made their show well worth waiting for, and the breadth of songs they played left both the casual-fan and long-time-diehard satisfied.

After their show, having stood in the same spot for six hours of the hottest day of Bonnaroo, Paige Smith and I wandered away from our front-row spots for food, and also to check out Asheville-based poetry group “The Poetix Vanguard”, which includes founder Graham Hackett and my friend Tim Cook, who recently received his MFA from the Warren Wilson graduate program. While their crowd may have been a bit thinner than that for Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, it served as a much needed break from the music.

…But it was not a long break, as we then headed over to the main stage to hear the Beastie Boys, who had been preceeded by Al Green. Unfortunately, it seems that the balance and EQ never was quite properly adjusted for the Beastie Boys, as they lacked both volume and balance. Regardless, Mix Master Mike’s intro using Led Zeppelin’s Trampled Underfoot, which he then beat juggled masterfully, was an incredible start to their show (which you can download a full mp3 of here ). Due to the sound problems though we abandoned the Beastie’s about 20 minutes in, and went even further back in time to see Talking Heads front-man David Byrne, who thrilled his audience by giving in  and playing the Talking Heads hits which he had distanced himself from for so many years.

In his performance, as in Bruce Springsteen’s the next day (we’ll get to that..), the professionalism and experience of the performer immediately stands out, and makes the less-sure, angsty bands seem almost chilidish in comparison. As anyone who has attended a show can attest, simply having energy does not necessarily make a performance stand out. Rather, being able to capture that energy and use it to produce a show that goes along with the music, or that is the music itself, is much more effective.

And, energy would be the subject of the rest of the night, with Phoenix, Crystal Castles, and Girl Talk all playing at That Tent.

The French band Phoenix recently exploded with their album “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”, which was released May 25th, 2009. An alternative-rock-pop band, Phoenix’s songs may show some signs of having been constructed with a formula, but it is impossible to deny the catchiness and success of singles “Lisztomania” and “1901“. The show itself was great fun, not tremendously over the top, but a strong mistake-free performance.

As fun as Phoenix is, theyclearly benefitted from a night performance slot, as the heat of the day makes it easy to become impatient with a band (atleast for me). At night, in the cooler air, with all the lights, it becomes much more tempting to dance, to soak in the sound, and to really allow the performance to dominate your attention rather than thinking of sunburn, dehydration, heat, heat, heat. Maybe I’m not hardcore enough for this. The drummer for Phoenix is certainly hardcore enough though, as he repeatedly would stand up in order to, well, snack the bejezus out of the snare.

Phoenix is taking off, or continuing to take off, and their performance at Bonnaroo and the success of their show did much to validate their success and growing popularity.

With Crystal Castles scheduled to come on next, the set began to change, equipment moved, mics taken off and brought back on,

and then, all the lights went off.

For five minutes, the entire tent was pitch black aside from camera flashes and glow sticks, and was progressively filled with fog, while some digital pattern repeated itself from the obscured stage.

And then, there was Crystal Castles.

I had known nothing about Crystal Castles, but their bass-induced frenzy led to an explosion from the crowd. Composed of a drummer, synth-player, and female-vocalist, Crystal Castles is some kind of insane dark disco. After being completely blown away for their hour-set, I couldn’t help but feel that I had sold my soul, or done something wrong, in order to dance to them. Moving past the music and light show itself, the lead singer was made-up to look as if she were …dead, and floated above the first few rows of the audience, body held limp as if completely taken over by the spirit of the music. Or electronic. Or whatever it was.

A Canadian group, Crystal Castles has been around since 2002, though only with one full length release “Crystal Castles”, which came out in 2006. Listening to their album does not accurately portray the sound they give off in their live performance, as no CD could capture the amount of bass and frenzy they create. Again, the energy is what matters. Recently Crystal Castles cancelled a performance on-site the night of the performance because there weren’t enough sub’s, and while that may seem trivial, after attending their show it seems understandable that they would be so determined to have the right ingredients to create a true “Crystal Castles” experience. I would like to point out that I was entirely sober for this show, perhaps the only such person there, and that on any kind of drug it would have been either life-altering (if it wasn’t anyway), or the most terrifying experience of my life.

But the frenzy would only seem to increase after they finished, as a whole new wave of fans seemed to arrive, eager to push as far forward as possible in order to “better enjoy” Girl Talk, the finale of the night. Perhaps I should have taken this as a sign of things to come, but instead I let myself be pushed forward to, wondering how in the world Mr. Talk could top Crystal Castles. But, in terms of party madness, top them he did.

Almost immediately he got as many people as would hit on stage, crowding him, grabbing him, unplugging his computers (twice in the first 30 minutes the music came to a dead stop due to members of the audience dancing on the table), and generally creating a scene of absolute havoc. The Rolling Stone and New York Times both described this as one of the best shows of Bonnaroo, if not the best, but I’m curious as to whether or not their reporters were standing in the midst of it, having crowd-surfers in giant inflattable chairs (provided by Mr. Talk) fall on them, having thrown glow-sticks hit them in the eye, and on and on. Most interesting to me, the visualizer he used stated plainly “I’m not a DJ”, having the words twist around, grow smaller and larger, and generally become the center of attention. I’m not sure whether this statement is mocking those who degrade him by saying he’s not a DJ, or is hoping to ward of such criticism by removing himself from that genre.

What Girl Talk is, among other things, is a party–there’s no way to deny that his ability to mash-up and mix together snippets of immensely popular songs creates a mayhem not otherwise seen before. In many cases, DJ’s use more and more “DJ music”, obscure remixes, bassed-out-songs, and tailor their style and song choice to the venue and what they believe their audience may or may not be familiar with. Part of the genius of Girl Talk is that rather than fall into these various obscure or unknown tracks, he simply uses the most familiar songs possible, regardless of genre, to create the worlds ultimate club anthem. With every lyric widely known, every beat well rehearsed, Girl Talk plays the fastest hitlist there is. While this may seem too fast or too difficult to some, the truth is that his music has captured an audience who never before payed attention to DJ’s of any variety–because even if you just listen to your local pop radio station, you can get into Girl Talk and his samples. And so maybe his most recent album title, “Feed the Animals”, is a cynical name for the world as he sees it. I can’t help but wonder, though, to what extent he’s in control, or if he has created an animal too large to be fed…a DJ? a new genre? Whatever Mr. Talk may or may not be, he has found his niche, and it is coming to encompass the whole world.

But no, I didn’t make it through all of Girl Talk, as someone fell on my ankle and it began to immediately swell, and my frustration was only increasing–but it’s Bonnaroo! And Paul Oakenfeld and Pretty Liights were playing at the same time. After a brief visit to Mr. Oakenfeld, who seemed to be doing mini-10 to 15 minute mixes, I hobbled back to the tent, feeling grateful to have survived the most live performances in one day of my life.

-Reed Turchi

Bonnaroo Recap-Thursday

As  pre-festival volunteers, I and fellow attendee Paige Smith had been at the Bonnaroo site since Sunday afternoon, preparing hundreds of RV beds for VIP’s, high level staff members, and celebrities. While this may sound like ludicrously easy work, it’s important to point out that the AC was not on in these RV’s, resulting in inside temperatures around 110 degrees. With six beds in each RV, it was not a fast job, and resulted in some frustration–but overall, I give a big thumbs up to the Bonnaroo volunteer program. Though it’s hard to believe that  Bonnaroo really gets much out of it, the experience itself is a good time, and serves as an excellent orientation to the wild days ahead.

While Thursday brought the beginning of the music and the continued onslaught of 70,000 campers, my first job was to find a way offsite to the local Manchester radio station in order to retrieve my much coveted Media Pass. While in the van off the Bonnaroo grounds, the thunderstorm that had been threatening all morning broke and dumped its contents all over the freshly prepared campsites. Somewhere, a certain tent was being flattened and soaked…but that’s irrelevant for this story.

Paige Smith enjoys some natural cleansing

After waiting out the storm at a hotel, Paige Smith and I made it to the radio station, and began the wait to pick up the credentials. I felt rather out of place in this line of reporters, photographers, and official “press” folk, all tweeting, texting, and emailing away–but a grilled cheese sandwich, sweet tea, and fries with honey mustard put all my fears to rest.

We managed to enter Centeroo not long after it opened, and were able to enjoy the various activities scattered around that are generally over crowded. The “Fuse barn” was offering vinyl records (hey, that’s us!) to turn into spin art, a paint company was offering temporary tattoos, and most importantly: Paige Smith and I both had time to experience and graduate from the Bonnaroo “Scratch DJ Academy”. While all of these activities were a little silly, getting to partake in them without the usual crowd was great fun.

Mixing, spinning, painting...

But what you care about is the music, which began a few hours later. Thursday at Bonnaroo seems to routinely pick out bands on the rise, and this seemed to be the case once again with Hockey, Chairlift, and Passion Pit all playing at This Tent.

Hockey (with their single’s “Learn to Lose” and “Too Fake”) put on a very fun show, with an electro-indie-pop style and a captivating energy to their performance.

Hockey

The lead singer was by far the most fun to watch, though he may may have taken it a little too far when he managed to unplug his own microphone in the midst of “Learn to Lose” (disaster averted, however). Hockey’s full length album “Mind Chaos” is set to be released August 25th, off of Virgin Records, and will receive a full review on Vinyl Press as the release date nears. 

Following Hockey was Chairlift, known best for their song “Bruises” which was featured on an iTunes commercial. Featuring a drummer, guitarist, and the front-woman vocalist, Chairlift

Chairlift

did demonstrate an impressive range in song composition and textures. From songs that sounded like they were straight from the 80′s (synth guitar and wispy female vocals), to traditional “indie-pop” songs such as “Bruises”, to songs with rapped versus which utilized a drum machine rather than the standard drum kit.

Both Chairlift and Hockey broke into rap verses at times, with the each song temporarily derailing in order to encompass a more “hip-hop” percussive quality and offer the each lead singer a beat to rap over. Is this the new direction of indie-rock? The heavy bass and drum machines featured in ultra-indie bands such as Animal Collective (or Hockey and Chairlift) proves the hip-hop influence to some degree, while simultaneously many new hip-hop releases such as Rick Ross’ album feature “synths” that come from the electro world. What does all this mean?

Well, it’s hard to know, but my night ended with a visit to the Dutch DJ’s Kraak and Smaak (who, if we’re really seeking to make cultural connections, made heavy use of the hi-hat rhythm traditionally found in Baltimore Club tracks).

Next up…Friday! With Gomez, Animal Collective, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, TV On the Radio, Phoenix, Crystal Castles, Girl Talk…

Bonnaroo Update: Sunday TurchiTweets 5.0->6.0

Sunday’s Bonnaroo Updates from Vinyl Records field reporter (Mixtur)Reed Turchi

TurchiTweet5.0 (3:06am): “So far, Girl Talk and MGMT win for most obnoxious fans. I am both impressed and alarmed. Let’s put on more sparkles.”

TurchiTweet5.2 (5:16am): “MGMT may have a larger following, but in my mind Hockey won best performance for an indie electro pop band.”

TurchiTweet5.4 (3:45pm): “Rebirth Brass Band makes an unscheduled appearance and I get there just in time to see it end. Missed the best show here!”

TurchiTweet5.6 (4:01pm): “Brett holding it down right now, then Andrew Bird and Band of Horses.”

TurchiTweet5.8 (8:28m): “Comedy tent hipsters have ironic sex. Like how’s this? Whatever.”

TurchiTweet6.0 (9:28pm): “Snopp Dogg: ‘What’s my mothafuckin name? Snoop Dogg Snoop Dogg, are you ready for Phish?!’ How many times do you think he’s said that?”

Relevant Grateful Dead quote of the day:
“Almost aflame still you don’t feel the heat, takes all you got just to stay on the beat.”

Bonnaroo Update: Saturday TurchiTweets 4.0, 4.25, 4.5, and 4.75

Saturday’s Bonnaroo Updates from Vinyl Records field reporter (Mixtur)Reed Turchi

TurchiTweet4.0 (9:56pm): “Phoenix gets a thumbs up, Crystal Castles was outrageous and stole my soul, Girl Talk was out of control and repeatedly unplugged. Tonight is The Boss and MGMT!”

TurchiTweet4.25 (9:58pm): “Crystal Castles was really another world. A guy fell 8ft onto my ankle at Girl Talk, so I struggle on! Of course aided by the one and only Paige Smith.”

TurchiTweet4.50 (11:05pm): ” ‘We’re about to build a house of sexual healing in this field, right now,’ says The Boss. Long live.”

TurchiTweet4.75 (11:36pm): “Request time begins with ‘Santa is Coming to Town’. “

Relevant Grateful Dead quote of the day:
“The fields are full of dancing, full of singing and romancing, ’cause the music never stopped.”

Bonnaroo Update: TurchiTweets 3.0, 3.25, 3.5, and 3.75

Friday’s Bonnaroo Updates from Vinyl Records field reporter (Mixtur)Reed Turchi

TurchiTweet3.0 (12:57pm): “Went to the press meting and I must say I’m overwhelmed. A lot to learn for next year, need to be more prepared.”

TurchiTweet3.25 (1:03pm): “Today’s lineup- Gomez, Animal Collective, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Beastie Boys, Phoenix, Crystal Castles, and Girl Talk.”

TurchiTweet3.50 (3:07pm): “Front row for Animal Collective, which puts me at the hip center of the world for the next few hours.”

TurchiTweet3.75 (4:08pm): “It must be Animal Collective, seeing as its 95 degrees and everyone has a damn scarf on. Security just tore the head off an inflatable flamingo.”

Relevant Grateful Dead quote of the day:
“Dressed myself in green, I went down unto the sea. Try to see what’s goin’ down, try to read between the lines.”

Bonnaroo Update: TurchiTweets 2.25, 2.5, and 2.75

More of Thursday’s Bonnaroo Updates from Vinyl Records field reporter (Mixtur)Reed Turchi

TurchiTweet2.25 (1:08pm): “It’s confirmed! Jimmy Buffet will be here Saturday afternoon”

TurchiTweet2.5 (1:15pm): “Standing in line for press credentials and Paige finds grilled cheese, sweet tea, and fries with honey mustard at local diner. Morale boosted.”

TurchiTweet2.75 (10:09pm): “Hockey does a great show until the vocalist gets too into it and unplugs the mic during ‘too fake’ “

Relevant Grateful Dead quote of the day:
I ain’ ready yet, it ain’t complete, that’s why I am headin’ down to Alleycat Street.

Bonnaroo Updates: TurchiTweets 1.5 and 2.0

TurchiTweet1.5 (8:03pm):
“work shifts over, guy with two 40s strapped to his hands, 300 brownies in a cooler, and way too many acoustic guitars. Campers arrive tonight at 12.”

TurchiTweet2.0 (11:08am):
“Thousands still coming in, 7 hours until the first music, and now it starts to pour-and there is a tornado warning. And now lightning everywhere.”

Grateful Dead quote of the day (1.5):
“Such a long long time to be gone and a short time to be there.”

Grateful Dead quote of the day (2.0):
“A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through.”

Reed Turchi’s Bonnaroo Updates: Day 1

Its that time of the year again, when you can hear “Casey Jones” blaring from one out of every thirteen car along I-40 all the way from Wilimington, NC to Manchester, Tn. Some are drivers, others passengers. Some are bros, some flower children, some too-hip-for-school, and others merely go for the “experience.” The Roo bell has rung, and many are answering its call.

One such comrade is Vinyl Records’ own Reed Turchi, who in his second year of attendance is doing double duty as both an officially registered volunteer staffer and a registered member of the Bonnarro Press circle.

Each day, Reed will be sending along a twitterific message via our Vinyl Press webspace, keeping us updated on who he interviews, who he helps through a bad trip, and who he’s rocking his socks off to.

Without further ado, and I apologize for any anti-climaticism, here is TurchiTweet number one:

TurchiTweet1 (10:48pm):
“Made 100 beds in rv’s, 105 degrees and now watching someone that is on a double dose of e”

Be safe, stay hydrated, and have fun, Reed.

Grateful Dead quote of the day (1):
“Well everybody’s dancin’ in a ring around the sun, nobody’s finished, we ain’t even begun. So take off your shoes, child, and take off your hat, try on your wings and find out where it’s at.”