Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN - 6/11-14/2009

(Note: Photos are coming.)

Wednesday - 6/10/2009

The Bonnaroo adventure (my fourth) began Wednesday night with driving from Columbus around 6 at night and picking up my buddy Matt in Cincinnati at 8 that night. We trucked on down to Nashville to see some old friends and kinda/sorta rest up for the actual show(s). I had some trepidations going in (too old, too tired, etc.), but I could not resist the line-up and the chance to hang out with the guys for a few days.

Thursday - 6/11/2009

We picked up the third in our party, Michael, around 11 that morning, made a grocery store run and then hit I-24 towards Chattanooga. We were quite easily able to meet up with Matt's brother and two of his buddies at the (now infamous) exit 127, where major amounts of traffic were being diverted. So we got in line there (a caravan of 3 cars ... well, my car and their pick-up trucks) and, well, waited for about 6 hours. It was brutal. Basically were on line with small bursts of movement from 2:30 until 8:30. But everyone made merriment, chatting with neighbors and cursing our collective bad luck.

Once we got on the home stretch in (this diversion just filtered us all back to the interstate, where we then got off at the Manchester exit - unreal), it was fast moving but complicated by some torrential downpours. We all stayed together, thankfully, and set up camp in some pouring rain at Camp John Bender (number 61 on the map, miles better than when I ended up in Camp David Wooderson a couple years ago). We headed in that night and saw a bit of some reggae (Midnite) but didn't really stick around that long.



Friday - 6/12/2009

We had a long, slow morning hanging under my shade tent and enjoying the whole crazy scene. And it's a crazy scene alright ... very heavy on the hippie vibe. Not my normal scene but fun nonetheless. We finally got it together and headed in to start with Animal Collective on the Which Stage (2:45 - 4:00). The sound was very muddy, we were a bit far back ... it was not an auspicious debut. We collected ourselves and relaxed by the Other Tent for a bit of Bela Fleck and Toumandi Diabate doing some African/folky music. It was a nice change and a chance to catch our breath.

We proceeded to grab a great spot for Grizzly Bear in This Tent (5:00 - 6:15), as this was a show we were all amped for. I was not a huge fan of them as I was always a bit bored by their records, but my goodness ... live, all these songs made so much more sense and just killed. I was pretty amazed. Highlights included the obvious ("Two Weeks") and the epic ("Fine For Now"). Their performance of "Fine For Now" was true festival highlight for me.

Being old men, we needed a break after this and retreated to the tent for an hour. I saw about one song from Al Green ("Here I Am", which sounded amazing) but didn't have it in me at that point. We made it back in for a bit of Beastie Boys (sounded good, but we were far back) and then headed over for David Byrne. Wow. Really great stuff. He played the whole first half of Remain in Light, "Girlfriend is Better", "Take Me to the River" and a 2-song encore including "Burning Down the House". And he can really play guitar. He recreated some of those Adrian Belew solos in a big way.

We totally blew off Phish that first night, which bums me out a bit as they played some killer tunes that evening (including "The Divided Sky" and "You Enjoy Myself"), but we were dedicated to the rock and headed over to a pretty packed That Tent to see Phoenix (11:30 - 12:15). We had a great spot in front of the soundboard, and they sounded fantastic. Setlist is almost complete on this one (yes, it was short and sweet):

Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Consolation Prizes
Napolean Says
??
Run Run Run
Love Like a Sunset
Too Young
1901

I had had my fill for day 1. I felt like I could fall asleep standing up during Phoenix by the end. I just can't hang with the kiddies anymore. Again, looking at that Phish setlist makes me kick myself a little, but such is life.

Saturday - 6/13/2009

I felt refreshed and a bit more ready for a long day on Saturday, as there were a ton of bands I was looking forward to see. I was inside and at the Other Tent right at 1:30 to see Cherryholmes, a bluegrass band about whom I'd heard a good deal but wasn't prepared for great they were. Well worth checking out. They are the real deal and just devastatingly talented. (Photo at right.)

We grabbed a beer after this and then got in position at This Tent for Bon Iver, one of the big reasons I made it this year. I've been wanting to see him for so long now and just missing him by a hair on multiple occasions. Seeing his brand of ultra-depressing folk at a big, sunny, good vibes festival was a bit off, but he just killed. His band sounded huge, and his vocals/performance in general were actually better live than on the record, if that's possible. Another real highlight.

Creature Fear
Skinny Love
Lump Sum
Blood Bank
Beach Baby
Brackett, WI
Flume
Feel Like Going Home (Yo La Tengo cover !!!)
For Emily, Forever Ago (with the horns from Elvis Perkins in Dearland)
Re: Stacks (completely, mouthdroppingly devastating - saw a very young couple just standing in a sweet embrace for this whole song - could hear a pin drop)
Wolves (with the whole crowd singing the "what might have been lost" part very, very loudly)

We kind of had to recover from this set for a second. It was a big one. We had wanted to run over to catch a bit of Del McCoury, but instead we just slowly, dazedly made our way over to the big, scary What Stage for our first full set there, Wilco. They came out promptly at 6 PM and just laid it down. I was definitely excited by the new songs and some of the classics, but there weren't too many surprises. The usual killer tunes killed.

Wilco (The Song) / I Am Trying to Break Your Heart / Company in My Back / Handshake Drugs / Bull Black Nova / You Are My Face / One Wing / Pot Kettle Black / Side with the Seeds / Shot in the Arm / At Least That’s What You Said / Jesus, Etc. / Impossible Germany / California Stars / Misunderstood (32 “nothings” at the end) / Spiders (Kidsmoke) / Hummingbird / You Never Know / The Late Greats / Hate It Here / Walken / I’m the Man Who Loves You

We then held our position for the long, long wait until Springsteen took the stage an hour and a half later. I was excited to see Springsteen and had seen him kill in Columbus in early 2008. We passed the time talking to a true New Jersey soul, Gino, who was there with his wife and daughter and was smoking a joint and telling us all about the various drugs he was doing over the weekend. It was surreal.

Springsteen comes out 30 minutes late and opens with a wicked "Badlands." I was pumped. And then it just got cheesier and cheesier. None of us were feeling it, and by the time he trotted out "Outlaw Pete" (one of the worst songs of the last few years), we had to exit. Our thought on heading back to camp was to regroup and then head back in for Nine Inch Nails and some MGMT, but instead I fell asleep. Typical.

Sunday - 6/14/2009

As unreal as it seems now, there were still a ton of bands I was just losing it to see on this last day. I was also longing for things like showers and running toilets and a bed, but that's another story.

Got in right at 1:30 again to the Other Tent to see Ted Leo playing a very, very loud set with a ton of new tunes as well as some classics ("Where Have all the Rude Boys Gone?", "Me and Mia," "The High Party," and "Timorous Me" among them). We chilled and had some beers at the Broo'ers' Tent and then got in position for a killer twofer at the Which Stage - Andrew Bird followed by Band of Horses.

Andrew Bird was his usual fantastically talented self. I like how his band has coalesced around him and really seem in tune with his idiosyncratic delivery and pauses. It was great stuff.

Masterswarm
Opposite Day
Fitz and Dizzyspells
Nervous Tic
Fiery Crash
Oh No!
Effigy
Anonanimal
Imitosis
???
Tables and Chairs
Fake Palindromes
Skin, Is My
Why
Scared

Then Band of Horses came out to a very big crowd and launched right into some classics off the bat. The sun was setting, the weather was cooing off ... perfect. A truly perfect moment among many from this weekend. Partial setlist for this one included opening with Monsters, The First Song, The Great Salt Lake, Is There a Ghost? and Weed Party. Other tunes included a great cover of "A Song for You" by Gram Parsons and some required tunes (The Funeral, Ode to LRC, No One's Gonna Love You).

We finally made it to see Phish thereafter. It was quite nice, actually - all 6 of us in a very good yet comfortable, far back but not too far back spot. And Phish were pretty great ... very funky. I only made it through part of set 2 before I had to turn in, but it was an awesome time. And Springsteen came out, which was, well, interesting if not musically inspired.

AC/DC Bag
NICU
Gotta Jibboo
Punch You in the Eye
Sparkle
Bathtub Gin
Character Zero
Tweezer
The Horse
Silent in the Morning
Run Like an Antelope
Mustang Sally (w/ the Boss)
Bobbie Jean (w/ the Boss)
Glory Days (w/ the Boss)
- break -
Rock and Roll
Manchester Jam (left at this point)
Light
46 Days
Limb by Limb
Farmhouse
Backwards Down the Number Line
Prince Caspian
First Tube
- encore -
Suzy Greenberg
Tweeprise

By Monday morning, we were just ready to get out, eat some warm/clean food, shower, etc. I was on the road until Monday evening, which was rough, but it was worth it.

The great question remains ... will I ever do this again? Just not sure ...

Meat Puppets and Retribution Gospel Choir, The Summit, Columbus, OH - 6/3/2009

My buddy Jenn and I headed over to the Summit (our inaugural visit since this venue sprang up out of Bourbon Street Cafe) with very low expectations, truth be told, to see some legends bring their stuff. I had seen the Meat Puppets last year at ATP New York and also back in the early part of this decade when it was basically the one Kirkwood brother and bunch of no names on stage with him. The former was quite cool; the latter was lame except that my best friends were in town and we were getting drunk.

We walked in, got some beers and were basically right in time for Retribution Gospel Choir. Alan Sparhawk from Low fame is the main dude in this much more rocking power trio. I liked them. Nothing to just flip out over, but it was good and tight. And his guitar sounded awesome - like Neil Young-awesome guitar sounds. I loved that, of course.

A fairly long wait later, the MP's took the stage. It was pretty crowded, too, with a very weird mix of punks, college kids and 40-year olds who had obviously loved the Puppets in their heyday. The show was good and of course featured "Plateau," "Lake of Fire," and "Up on the Sun." But they were very tight ... much tighter than when I had seen them almost a year before. I didn't take a setlist, we left before the encore (which, apparently, was "Backwater," which makes me all the more glad that we left early), and it was a fine time.

Wish I had something more awesome to report on this one ...

Franz Ferdinand, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH - 5/2/2009

I can't pretend to be the biggest Franz Ferdinand fan in the world. I had not yet really seen them live (had kind of seen them at a festival many moons ago, but that doesn't exactly count), but I of course really liked the first album and have found the rest of their output to be quite consistent. I also really liked and highly recommend the singer Alex's book on eating while on the road ... good stuff.

We didn't do any major pre-partying but got to the Newport toward the end of opening act Born Ruffians' set. It didn't seem like we missed much, but again, that's not a band I'm a huge fan of or anything. We were down in the floor for the show itself (after grabbing some large beers, of course) and settled in for the rock.

And wow did they bring it. Very tight, very energetic, crowd was hanging on every song. It was one of the better shows I'd seen in a while in that sense. Everyone was on the same page, having fun, great sound (loud but not crushingly so) ... really nice.

I started to jot down a setlist but stopped due to having too much fun. Some definite highlights, though, included "The Dark of the Matinee," "Michael," and an encore that started with "Jaqueline" and ended with "This Fire." Tight.

Yo La Tengo w/ Girl Talk, Gordon Field House, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH - 4/24/2009

"If the venue is a 'field house,' I think it's not worth it." - Noelle, my special lady friend, paraphrased/speaking much wisdom
Oh, Yo La Tengo. You make such (and so many) beautiful records yet can be so, so spotty live. I have seen you scorch the earth and have also seen you just not quite bring it. Chalk this night up to the latter, though there were significant hurdles to be overcome.

Talk about weird bills ... Yo La Tengo + Girl Talk playing at a small Ohio college's fieldhouse for their Springfest. Delaware, Ohio is only about 20 miles from Columbus, so I had to check this out. We grabbed dinner at Northstar (spotting a trend) and headed up, thinking that YLT went on at 7. Well, there was some other dude opening at 7, as we found out on arriving, so we had about 90 minutes to kill in Delaware. Nice, small midwestern town with the gorgeous Ohio Wesleyan University at the center of things. We grabbed a drink at a dive bar with slow service and then headed in.

Yes, the fieldhouse was a big gym with huge, echo-y, reverb-y, terrible sound. We caught the opener's last song (I honestly don't remember his name) and waited for YLT as Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones played in its entirety. So YLT finally comes out and opens with, of all things, "Tom Courtenay," arguably their most well-known song. And the sound is complete mud. And it is LOUD. My Bloody Valentine-level loud. People holding their ears and walking out loud. Noelle made it to the second song and had to wait outside, as did many others. I had my earplugs in and was still shocked at the volume.

They played a pretty killer setlist with a slew of classics, but it never really came together. The venue was a big part of that, I think. By the time it was over, I was pretty done, as was Noelle. As we walked out after deciding to forego Girl Talk altogether, a rush of young folks (I think mainly high school, she thinks mainly collge) decked out in neon and generalized rave attire pushed their way in. That dude has officially left the tipping point in the rearview mirror.

Tom Courtenay
???
Stockholm Syndrome
Pass the Hatchet I Think I'm Goodkind
The Summer
???
Beanbag Chair
Mr. Tough
The Weakest Part
???
Autumn Sweater
Big Day Coming (fast)
Decora
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
I Heard You Looking

Neko Case w/ Crooked Fingers, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH - 4/23/2009

There was no significant dining pre-show tonight. It was all bid-ness. So I am a part-time fan of both these acts and a much bigger fan of their previous/other incarnations (Archers of Loaf, New Pornographers, etc.), but I had a good feeling about the evening.

Contiuing a recent trend, we walked in, got a beer and were right where we wanted to be exactly as the music started. Pretty cool. Crooked Fingers consisted of Eric Bachmann being tall and singing/playing guitar, a female bassist/singer and a drummer/keyboardist. The arrangements were quite spare, and most of the beginning of the set consisted of songs not too familiar to me. Talk about going out with a bang, though ... he ended with "A New Drink for the Old Drunk" and "Angelina," a pretty killer 1-2 punch.

Then it was time for Neko. She was backed by 2 guitarists (one standard, one more pedal steel and other odd stringed stuff), a drummer, a bassist and Kelli Hogan on vocals. The crowd was more-or-less perfect: loud and enthusiastic between songs, pin-drop quiet during the tunes. She seemed into it and, I think, into playing a smaller venue for a change. The Newport is a great-sounding, great-sized rock club that ought to get more shows.

I didn't take down a setlist, but it was very similar to her recent shows, so I'm posting one of those, instead. The big surprise (and clincher for me) was that she did a 2nd encore and played "Star Witness." It was gorgeous ...

This isn't a show I have a ton to say about. It was quite good, and her vocals are stunning live. I find her songs to be a bit "same-y" at times, though, so it all kind of runs together a bit for me. The stand out tunes ("I Wish I Was the Moon," "Star Witness," "That Teenage Feeling," etc.) are jaw-dropping, but her whole catalog doesn't stand up to that level. If her songwriting matched her vocal prowess, she'd be ready to conquer the world.

1. Maybe Sparrow
2. People Got a Lotta Nerve
3. Fever
4. Hold On, Hold On
5. The Pharoahs
6. Middle Cyclone
7. Deep Red Bells
8. I Wish I Was the Moon
9. I’m an Animal
10. Prison Girls
11. The Tiger Has Spoken
12. Margaret Vs. Pauline
13. Red Tide
14. Don’t Forget Me
15. That Teenage Feeling
16. This Tornado Loves You

ENCORE:

17. Vengeance Is Sleeping
18. The Next Time You Say “Forever”
19. Favorite
20. Knock Loud

2nd ENCORE:

21. Star Witness

Wilco, Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Auditorium, Athens OH - 4/17/2009

***Photo courtesy of bluet14 on flickr.com.***
I can't remember how many times I've seen Wilco now ... maybe 20? Something like that? I think in terms of total package - songs, musicianship, all around experience - live bands don't get much better. I could go on and on about their control of dynamics, tempo, etc. Sometimes, I do. But let's just say that I'm a fan. And when they're playing about 90 minutes away on the eve of my birthday, well ... I'm there.

My girlfriend, some friends and I ate a rushed but as always great (fairly light) dinner at Northstar Cafe. (I can't even express how lucky I think Columbus is to have this place.) And then we drove 90 minutes to Athens, OH, a fairly picturesque college town where Wilco would be rocking it quite soon. We were pushing it in terms of time and having a hard time finding the venue on campus, but a nice, granola-y student walked us to the front door of the place on our asking directions. And about (literally) 3 minutes after finding our seats (front row of the balcony), the lights went down and the show started. (We totally missed the openers, A Hawk and a Hacksaw.)

In the pantheon of Wilco shows I've witnessed, this wasn't an epic barnburner and wasn't a bust ... it was solid with a few fantastic moments, which I'd say is a typical night for them. They still blow almost any other band off the stage, of course. It's hard for me to be very objective with them at this point, as they're so ingrained and near/dear. Getting to know their catalog from back as a high schooler loving Uncle Tupelo has been so formative as to prevent me from having the same expectations or reactions as I would to "just any band." It was a blast.

I put an asterik next to some personal highlights. They went super heavy on material from A Ghost Is Born, which is great for me as that is probably my favorite Wilco record. Biggest disappointment was having both "Hate It Hear" and "ITMWLY" in the first encore. Ugh.

Hell is Chrome
Company In My Back
You Are My Face
Shouldn't Be Ashamed
Pot Kettle Black
Muzzle of Bees *(great, as usual - an underrated Tweedy tune)
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
A Shot In The Arm *(always epic)
Handshake Drugs
She's A Jar *(a nice, heartbreaking surprise)
Misunderstood *(midset? didn't see that coming)
Jesus etc.
Impossible Germany *(goosebumps every time)
Side With The Seeds
Poor Places -->
Spiders (Kidsmoke) *(this two-fer shows Wilco at their best right now)
----------
The Late Greats
Hate It Here
Heavy Metal Drummer
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You
----------
Kingpin
I'm a Wheel

***Photo courtesy of bluet14 on flickr.com.

David Burke's Primehouse, Chicago, IL - 4/14/2009

Usually all my gastronomical asides revolve around a concert experience, but this one was a stand alone (and, as it turns out, sit alone) thing all to itself. I went to Chicago for about 26 hours total for a conference on coagulation disorders (ROCK!) that included the flight, the hotel and $125 to spend on "incidentals." I figured an incidentally kick ass meal wouldn't be out of the question.

I had heard of David Burke's Primehouse on its own and then saw it featured on (forgive me) Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations television show on The Travel Channel. He seemed to like it, and since I was staying at the Allerton Hotel, about 4 blocks away, I figured I'd see if I agreed.

Sitting alone at a restaurant like this seemed a bit odd to me, so I offered to the maitre' d that I could just sit at the bar. He assured me that all was well with dining solo at this joint and proceeded to lead me to a fairly inconspicuous booth.

I started with a house cocktail called a flapjack - Dewar's on the rocks, maple syrup and (essence of) bacon. There was no bacon floating around in the drink, in case you're wondering. It tasted like slightly altered Dewar's (that means good). The appetizer was an on-special soft shell crab that was magnificent. And huge ... almost main course portions. Along with all of this was a light, slightly cheesy/Asiago potted roll (which I devoured in its entirety - click the link to get some idea of what this thing looks like - awesome). Between the appetizer and the steak, I sipped a heretofore unknown-to-me beer - the Goose Island Honker's Ale. It reminded me of a lighter Old Speckled Hen - very British and bitter. Again, thumbs up.

Then it was time for the steak - a 16-ounce, 55-day-aged bone-in ribeye (medium rare, of course). The aging gave it a smokey, almost bacon-y taste that I had not experienced in a steak before. I nearly went with an old school side (like creamed spinach or hashbrowns) but couldn't turn down the truffled French fries in the end because, as I've learned in the last few years, I'm a truffle slut. This was all washed down with a fairly economical glass of a Malbec.

I was fairly full but couldn't say no to a hazelnut creme brulee topped with coffee ice cream for dessert. Fantastic, rich custard that mixed beautifully with the ice cream. I was drunk on food thereafter but oh so happy - and impressed. The Primehouse does a very nice, modernized (but not overly) take on the classic steakhouse. Probably second to the Striphouse in terms of great steaks I've had in the last couple of years.

And yes, the coagulation conference folks picked up the tab minus the alcohol.