TENNESSEE Bonnaroo Festival draws in thousands

One spectator said the music festival was 'like a modern-day Woodstock.'
By JOHN PATRICK GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MANCHESTER, Tenn. -- If there's a positive outcome that arises from the uncertainty of chaos, then that could be found at the second Bonnaroo Festival over the weekend at a 500-acre farm near here.
More than 85,000 music fans traveled hours and even days to reach the premises. The rainbow at the end of waiting five to 15 hours on I-24 was to make it to their parking space/camp site, only to find much of the terrain muddy because of nasty thunderstorms.
For them, the event was more than 80 acts including Neil Young & amp; Crazy Horse, the Dead, the Allman Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson and many more performing on six stages from noon until the sun rose. Ekoostik Hookah and O.A.R. represented the Buckeye State.
Many of these same acts will be visiting Cleveland or Pittsburgh individually.
A few extras
The organizers even threw in a few bands playing Thursday for those who arrived early as well as a mini-Mardi Gras parade in the wee hours of the official opening day with the New Orleans funk act Galactic on board one of the floats.
For Dan Mincks of Boardman, it was his first Bonnaroo. Like other concertgoers, it's the roster of artists plus good reports from those who attended last year that enticed him to attend. "The overall experience, the hippie culture made it seem really cool to go. It's like a modern-day Woodstock."
His comparison to that historic concert is correct as far as the sense of community that spread as a result of close proximity as well as the easygoing fraternity that's created by those of a similar mind-set.
But Mincks' Woodstock reference doesn't work so well when you compare the comfortable amenities on the site -- washing stations, numerous food and beverage vendors, a record store and America Online promoting its music download service by burning handpicked compilation cds.
To a large degree, this year's festival displayed the musical connections between the typical jam-band style with other genres. What seemed odd on paper became some of the festivals highlights -- alternative rock acts the Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth and Tortoise garnered major appreciation from crowds that were willing to check out a bit of everything.
In addition to that, styles ranged from jazz, funk electronica, bluegrass, blues and country. In some cases, they're altogether in one potent musical stew.
A definite highlight
The Polyphonic Spree provided a breathtaking set of stellar musicianship and unending good cheer that will be talked about for years. Two dozen musicians and singers had the energy of 3,000 as the Spree performed numbers that sounded like the offspring of The Beatles' "Rubber Soul," "Good Vibrations," psychedelic pop and a gospel choir.
From the main stage, Young & amp; Crazy Horse delivered a ferocious set Friday. The fact that he started with a 25-minute version of "Love to Burn" gave an indication of the powerful sonic force that would follow. Widespread Panic, from nearby Athens, Ga., offered a lengthy incendiary performance Saturday that included special guests Warren Haynes of Allman Brothers and pedal steel player Robert Randolph joining the band at the end of its three-hour-plus set. (Throughout Bonnaroo, musicians would sit in with other bands.)
The Dead closed out Bonnaroo with nearly three hours of reworked versions of classics such as "Touch of Grey," "Sugaree" and, with full moon in sight thanks to a clear sky, "Dark Star."
The band, which features four original members of the Grateful Dead, continues to explore new dimension with tunes that some of its members performed more than 30 years ago.