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Bonnaroo hasn't been that festival for a few years now -- not quite sure why people think they are suddenly going to book Phish, Widespread, SCI, Trey (separately, natch), Disco Biscuits, STS9, The Dead, Assembly of Dust, moe, Furthur, and Yonder Mountain String Band. They aren't.
Uhhhh... In case you havnt noticed tDB are already there. Loutus is playing and I bet you a beer Umps gets added as does YMSB. Its not a jam festival anymore but that has to do with the fact there just isn't any jambands left anymore. It would end up being the same bands year after year Make no mistake. There will always be jambands at Bonnaroo.
How dare they want jam bands at a festival that began as a jam-based fest.
Granted, you want to keep your customers happy to sell tickets.... but on the other hand, you want to sell tickets to a wide base of customers. From a business standpoint, it made a lot of sense to start with a lot of jam bands because that type of music already had devoted fans who were interested in festivals and were known to travel for shows. However, Bonnaroo also built up a great festival experience year by year, and that included diversifying each year in its existence. There are less jam bands now because there can only be so many bands in one weekend, and there are so many other genres of music well-represented these last few years. Having a wide variety of music draws in a broader base of people.
I've only gone to Bonnaroo since 2007, but in looking at past lineups, I probably would not have gone in many of those early years. I am a musician who plays and listens to a really wide variety of musical genres, and in looking at those past lineups, the number of bands I'd be really interested in seeing has gone up each year (16, 22, 27, 27, 42, 55, 64, 69, and for this year already 54 in just the initial lineup)...
I guess my point is, I for one would rather see a wider variety of good music represented, than see good music but in only a handful of types.
2010: 3/12: The Bad Plus/Happy Apple/Buffalo Collision/The Bad Apple 6/10-13: Bonnaroo 6/19: Rock the Garden 7/30-31: Mid West Music Fest 8/21: Los Hombres Calientes 8/31: Marijuana Death Squads 9/11: The Book of Right On w/ City on the Make 9/23: Of Montreal w/ Janelle Monae 10/4: Broken Social Scene 11/23: Grinderman
We have legends in so many fields this year. Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Cliff, Kris Kristofferson, and Johns Prine & Fogerty. In hip hop, there's classic talent like Jay-Z & Nas and great up and coming artists like Wale, Jay Electronica, B.O.B., and Kid Cudi. The late night will be SPECTACULAR this year with FLips, Deadmau5, Bassnectar, Thievery Corporation, LCD Soundsystem, Dan Deacon, and Chromeo. You have tremendously interesting groups like Mumford & Sons, Neon Indian, amd Mayer Hawthorne. The indie is very good - Phoenix, Tokyo Police Club, Dead Weather, Temper Trap and Miike Snow. It's a DEEP lineup. There's a TON of interesting acts -- and if you can't get excited about them then you probably don't really like music all that much - or at least more than one genre. It's deep because if you take the time to study the artists, the ones who are listed at the bottom thus far (Neon Indian and B.O.B.) are two really interesting and cool ones that you OUGHT to be listening to on repeat. That's getting deeper than Peter North, son.
How dare they want jam bands at a festival that began as a jam-based fest.
And those 30-40 acts! will be cafe acts and DJs. That doesn't change how weak the top of the lineup is.
Those 30-40 acts -- two years ago they included Chromeo, MSTRKRFT, Zappa Plays Zappa, Disco Biscuits and Cat Power. Last year they included Public Enemy, Ani Difranco, Heartless Basterds, Passion Pit, Dillinger Escape Plan, MURS, White Rabbits, Hockey, and Pretty Lights. Those are great adds and I'd love to see us get similar ones this year.
It may have started as a jam fest but it ain't one anymore. Get over that fact or go to Rothbur-- oh. Right. Hah.
The problem is not how many acts you want to see, it's the fact that this lineup has no imagination. Where Coachella has about 10 things you can't see anywhere else, Bonnaroo has Kings of Leon and Tenacious D (our rare acts)
-When I Hear My Name -Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground -Blue Orchid -Passive Manipulation -Red Rain -Death Letter -My Doorbell -Hotel Yorba -Same Boy You've Always Known -Lovesick -Little Ghost -We're Going to Be Friends -The Hardest Button to Button -Black Math -The Nurse -I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself
Encore: -Ball and Biscuit -Seven Nation Army -Screwdriver
We have legends in so many fields this year. Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Cliff, Kris Kristofferson, and Johns Prine & Fogerty. In hip hop, there's classic talent like Jay-Z & Nas and great up and coming artists like Wale, Jay Electronica, B.O.B., and Kid Cudi. The late night will be SPECTACULAR this year with FLips, Deadmau5, Bassnectar, Thievery Corporation, LCD Soundsystem, Dan Deacon, and Chromeo. You have tremendously interesting groups like Mumford & Sons, Neon Indian, amd Mayer Hawthorne. The indie is very good - Phoenix, Tokyo Police Club, Dead Weather, Temper Trap and Miike Snow. It's a DEEP lineup. There's a TON of interesting acts -- and if you can't get excited about them then you probably don't really like music all that much - or at least more than one genre. It's deep because if you take the time to study the artists, the ones who are listed at the bottom thus far (Neon Indian and B.O.B.) are two really interesting and cool ones that you OUGHT to be listening to on repeat. That's getting deeper than Peter North, son.
Those 30-40 acts -- two years ago they included Chromeo, MSTRKRFT, Zappa Plays Zappa, Disco Biscuits and Cat Power. Last year they included Public Enemy, Ani Difranco, Heartless Basterds, Passion Pit, Dillinger Escape Plan, MURS, White Rabbits, Hockey, and Pretty Lights. Those are great adds and I'd love to see us get similar ones this year.
It may have started as a jam fest but it ain't one anymore. Get over that fact or go to Rothbur-- oh. Right. Hah.
The problem is not how many acts you want to see, it's the fact that this lineup has no imagination. Where Coachella has about 10 things you can't see anywhere else, Bonnaroo has Kings of Leon and Tenacious D (our rare acts)
Do you really not remember the Flaming Lips playing DSOTM or Darryl Hall & Chromeo? Those are pretty rare shows.
How many other festivals have Gwar and Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers?
I don't agree with the "no imagination" argument. There are plenty of unique and different shows at Roo.
i find myself on both sides of this argument. part of me loves bonnaroo so much that i can see the greatness in this lineup and i am excited about going. it is a very diverse lineup. it's still a good lineup. maybe it's not as good as it has been in the past. but i guess there comes a time when you're just repeating yourself if you keep booking the same bands. i mean, really, tell me who they could have got this year to make people happy? neil young?, roger waters?, paul mccartney?, the who?, the rolling stones?, prince?, paul simon? i think all of these were just rumors and there was never any base to any of it, except for neil young. i think we all just had too many expectations. how do you expect that they top last year's lineup? we didn't get pavement or arcade fire or mmj and a few others that people were expecting. but those were just not in the cards apparently. what else could they have done?
Which is better? A subpar festival with a few good acts or no festival at all?
I'd say definitely a sub-par festival. Look at Langarado. They were going to have a "hiatus" type thing. I don't see them coming back any time soon. With something like a festival, you have to stay in the "public eye" for lack of a better word. If they were to take a year off, it would be harder to come back I would think.
Post by ParanoidAntelope on Feb 24, 2010 12:33:55 GMT -5
ITM---not that theres no imagination throughout the lineup, just that at the top of the bill, it is particularly uninspired (for my taste, and I assume many others) with the exception of Stevie, and I'll give you Jay-Z as well because even though he's not my cup a tea I think he deserves/has earned the spot and will probably put on a good show.
But other than that...I was more excited for Byrne and the Mars Volta last year than I am for almost anyone on this lineup. I'm still trying to decide whether Tenacious D, GWAR, or Weezer is our big comedy act this year.
“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?” -Bill Hicks
ITM---not that theres no imagination throughout the lineup, just that at the top of the bill, it is particularly uninspired (for my taste, and I assume many others) with the exception of Stevie, and I'll give you Jay-Z as well because even though he's not my cup a tea I think he deserves/has earned the spot and will probably put on a good show.
You missed the point of my post I guess.
I responded directly to what Airline said. He didn't say "there's no imagination at the top of the lineup". He said:
The problem is not how many acts you want to see, it's the fact that this lineup has no imagination.
Then he compared it to Coachella's lineup.
If we're talking solely the top of the bill.....the only true rare act we have is Stevie (i'm only looking at the top 4 names). I don't think he's playing any other festivals and don't remember him playing any in recent years. I agree the top 4 names don't have much imagination.
But I wasn't talking about the top of the bill. I was responding to a comment about the overall lineup.
Do you really not remember the Flaming Lips playing DSOTM or Darryl Hall & Chromeo? Those are pretty rare shows.
How many other festivals have Gwar and Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers?
I don't agree with the "no imagination" argument. There are plenty of unique and different shows at Roo.
I'll give you Hall & Chromeo but Flips DSOTM is not rare. They did the same thing in 03 and now that they have an album of it out, you can pretty much guarantee they do it at every show of this upcoming tour.
How many people can say they're really, truly excited about Steve Martin and GWAR? As in they're hoping they play certain songs in the setlist? Probably nobody.
The reason everyone is saying it lacks imagination is because the lineup looks like vomit. It looks like somebody gobbled up a bunch of bands then spewed them out all over the floor. It's completely inconsistent, random and gross looking.
I'll give you Hall & Chromeo but Flips DSOTM is not rare. They did the same thing in 03 and now that they have an album of it out, you can pretty much guarantee they do it at every show of this upcoming tour.
Here is the Flips 2003 setlist:
Intro Race For The Prize Fight Test The Gash Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt 1 Lightening Strikes The Postman One More Robot/ Sympathy 3000-21 In The Morning Of The Magicians, Happy Birthday She Dont Use Jelly Do You Realize Waiting For A Superman A Spoonful Weighs A Ton, Breathe Somewhere Over The Rainbow Us And Them What Is the Light > The Observer
Doing 2 songs from the album isn't the same thing.
The DSOTM show they put together for New Year's has a whole elaborate stage setup and design and videos all created just for this show.
They've only done it on New Year's and they plan on doing it at Roo. While you could be right that they could do it at shows in the upcoming tour I don't think that will be the case. They are headlining the Nateva festival and there's no mention of playing DSOTM there. I think they may play a song or two from the album but I definitely don't think every tourdate is going to just be a cover of the DSOTM. The following comments from Wayne in that Spinner article seems to imply that they want to do it at other shows but only in the right setting or place.
It had been previously reported that the band's New Year's Eve performance of the classic album would be the only time the Lips would perform it live, but Coyne says that was never the case. "We feared it could be because we thought, 'Well, if it's horrible we'll be glad we only did it once and it will grow in its infamy or whatever,'" he says. "But no, we considered if this record did in the end come out and people liked it and we were able to pull off this New Year's Eve thing, then we thought, 'Well, we could probably do that other places.'"
Coyne also believes that Bonnaroo creates the right setting to do Pink Floyd live. "We did it at the New Year's Eve show just knowing everybody's gonna be taking acid, staying awake until five in the morning. We might as well just be jamming on some freak-out music," he says. "I don't think it'll be that much of a stretch to think Friday night at 2:30 in the morning at Bonnaroo would be that much different than being in Oklahoma City on New Year's Eve. I'm sure people will be having their own party while we play this space rock or whatever. In that sense it's perfect for that."
Either way......to say that Flips covering DSOTM is not rare when they've only done it once just sounds silly to me.
How many people can say they're really, truly excited about Steve Martin and GWAR? As in they're hoping they play certain songs in the setlist? Probably nobody.
I wasn't claiming a ton of people were really, truly excited about these bands or the songs in their setlists. I was using them as examples of "bands you can't see anywhere else" which is what Airline said Bonnaroo was lacking.
Post by ParanoidAntelope on Feb 24, 2010 13:09:01 GMT -5
Fair enough. I agree with you mostly. I'm not sure the Flaming Lips are "rare" because they are playing multiple other fests (Hangout, Nateva, rumored for Lolla). They may not be doing DSOTM in its entirety (or they may), but you are still getting of full set of Lips stuff as well. Bonnaroo will be a special show, definitely, because its Bonnaroo. But the Lips have still played Bonnaroo three (?) times before.
I'll agree that Steve Martin and Gwar are rare acts...but neither one interests me much. Most of us were hoping for a name with a little more weight behind it.
Also, I'm probably in the minority, but I'd prefer Phish covering Pink Floyd.
“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?” -Bill Hicks
Am I the only one who thinks that the "its Bonnaroo so the show will be special" argument is stupid? I would almost always rather see a band at their own show than at a festival.
I would almost always rather see a band at their own show than at a festival.
You've had about 8 million chances to do that with Gwar.
Gwar is anything but a rare act. Sure this is probably the first time they've played a festival but to call them a rare act is completely ridiculous. It seems like they've been touring for 10 years straight. They're always everywhere. Them and Steve Martin are both festival novelty acts. Not great bands who rarely play and many people are genuinely excited to see like those that coachella and sasquatch got.
Fair enough. I agree with you mostly. I'm not sure the Flaming Lips are "rare" because they are playing multiple other fests (Hangout, Nateva, rumored for Lolla). They may not be doing DSOTM in its entirety (or they may). Bonnaroo will be a special show, definitely, because its Bonnaroo. But the Lips have still played Bonnaroo three (?) times before.
I agree the Flaming Lips are not a rare act. Again, I was directly responding to what Airline stated:
Where Coachella has about 10 things you can't see anywhere else
Flaming Lips covering DSOTM with guests is something that you (currently) can't see anywhere else this summer. If cornquacker is right (which I doubt....but who knows) and they cover DSOTM at every one of their shows then I'll apologize and eat my words and say I was totally wrong and it wasn't a special festival show.
I'll agree that Steve Martin and Gwar are rare acts...but neither one interests me much. Most of us were hoping for a name with a little more weight behind it.
Jeff Beck, John Fogerty, Kris Kristofferson. All names with a little more weight behind them. But that's just my opinion.
Post by ParanoidAntelope on Feb 24, 2010 13:23:23 GMT -5
^^ to an extent. I'd rather see a band on their own if they were playing during the day at Bonnaroo. The headliners and latenights are a different story, at least for me.
When a headliner (radiohead, pearl jam, phish) plays a knockout set for 3+ hours in front of 60,000+ people (bonnaroo people!) thats pretty special for me. When moe. can play from 1AM-whenever they decide to stop, that is pretty awesome as well.
“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?” -Bill Hicks
Am I the only one who thinks that the "its Bonnaroo so the show will be special" argument is stupid? I would almost always rather see a band at their own show than at a festival.
I don't think it's that stupid. Most bands don't really go out of their way to have an amazing bonnaroo show.....but a select number of bands do seem to put a little more effort or love for the Roo sets.
My Morning Jacket in 2008 comes to mind. It was such a special show. At a normal MMJ concert you wouldn't get 3+ hours of amazing music featuring multiple motown and other covers featuring guests. The only comparable show I have to that is MMJ on NYE but even that felt like it wasn't as "special" as the Roo show.
I would almost always rather see a band at their own show than at a festival.
You've had about 8 million chances to do that with Gwar.
Gwar is anything but a rare act. Sure this is probably the first time they've played a festival but to call them a rare act is completely ridiculous. It seems like they've been touring for 10 years straight. They're always everywhere. Them and Steve Martin are both festival novelty acts. Not great bands who rarely play and many people are genuinely excited to see like those that coachella and sasquatch got.
Looking at Gwar's official site with Tour dates makes it seem like Gwar's only 2010 U.S. tour date is Bonnaroo. The rest of the dates are overseas.
And again, only using Gwar as a band that you can't see anywhere else this summer when comparing U.S. festival lineups.
Post by awolfatthedoor on Feb 24, 2010 13:41:39 GMT -5
To me I rather see a band I love late night at Bonnaroo, then at their own show, then during the day at Bonnaroo. Late-night Which can be pretty magical, but would you rather see MMJ pre-headlining than at their own show?
Am I the only one who thinks that the "its Bonnaroo so the show will be special" argument is stupid? I would almost always rather see a band at their own show than at a festival.
I don't think it's that stupid. Most bands don't really go out of their way to have an amazing bonnaroo show.....but a select number of bands do seem to put a little more effort or love for the Roo sets.
My Morning Jacket in 2008 comes to mind. It was such a special show. At a normal MMJ concert you wouldn't get 3+ hours of amazing music featuring multiple motown and other covers featuring guests. The only comparable show I have to that is MMJ on NYE but even that felt like it wasn't as "special" as the Roo show.
As a Pearl Jam guy, PJ put more into their Roo gig than an ordinary show. EV really seemed to have a mind set of "wow, this is a special setting"
And wow, you're like a walking, talking infomercial to turn people away from Pearl Jam and Ohio State, aren't you? Before you started posting here I quite liked Pearl Jam and was indifferent towards OSU, now I find myself wishing that Eddie Vedder falls down a mine shaft or that Columbus is infested with locusts
To me I rather see a band I love late night at Bonnaroo, then at their own show, then during the day at Bonnaroo. Late-night Which can be pretty magical, but would you rather see MMJ pre-headlining than at their own show?
That's a good point. I can mostly agree with you're ranking (Roo Night > own show > Roo day).
MMJ as preheadliner wouldn't be as good. Which is why they will be headlining the festival in 2011 for Roo's 10 year bash.
I don't think it's that stupid. Most bands don't really go out of their way to have an amazing bonnaroo show.....but a select number of bands do seem to put a little more effort or love for the Roo sets.
My Morning Jacket in 2008 comes to mind. It was such a special show. At a normal MMJ concert you wouldn't get 3+ hours of amazing music featuring multiple motown and other covers featuring guests. The only comparable show I have to that is MMJ on NYE but even that felt like it wasn't as "special" as the Roo show.
As a Pearl Jam guy, PJ put more into their Roo gig than an ordinary show. EV really seemed to have a mind set of "wow, this is a special setting"
Yea some people just like it and realize it's something different. Trey is like that too. in the 2004 DVD you can see how excited he is about the festival. Eddie seemed to really like it.....even sat in with Jack Johnson.
Of course.....there are a lot of people who could care less about playing at Roo and look at it like it's just another show. Kanye West and The Police come to mind. While Copeland made it clear he likes Roo it just seemed like The Police were there to play and leave.
[/quote]As a Pearl Jam guy, PJ put more into their Roo gig than an ordinary show. EV really seemed to have a mind set of "wow, this is a special setting"[/quote]
I agree...ive seen them a few times and roo was probably the best
Bonnaroo hasn't been that festival for a few years now -- not quite sure why people think they are suddenly going to book Phish, Widespread, SCI, Trey (separately, natch), Disco Biscuits, STS9, The Dead, Assembly of Dust, moe, Furthur, and Yonder Mountain String Band. They aren't.
Uhhhh... In case you havnt noticed tDB are already there. Loutus is playing and I bet you a beer Umps gets added as does YMSB. Its not a jam festival anymore but that has to do with the fact there just isn't any jambands left anymore. It would end up being the same bands year after year Make no mistake. There will always be jambands at Bonnaroo.
6/18: Phish in Hartford 6/25: Phish in Camden 7/2-7/4: Nateva 7/17: God Street Wine at Irving Plaza 7/23-7/25: String Cheese at Red Rocks!! 8/17-8/18: Phish at Jones Beach 9/3: Rush at PNC
This Bonnaroo lineup is in dire need of some Rush.
Am I the only one who thinks that the "its Bonnaroo so the show will be special" argument is stupid? I would almost always rather see a band at their own show than at a festival.
If you're seeing the band at a small club, then yeah, that's obviously better, although occasionally you can get that club experience at Bonnaroo, like at the Troo Music Lounge, or last year's Delta Spirit show.
The What Stage has better sound than 90% of the large venues in America, so I'd much rather see a show there than at those venues.