Catching up

Well, let’s see…where was I when I left off? Oh, yeah, I was about to post Saturday’s Breakfast (it never materialized) when all the batteries, computers, and dumb phones freaked right out.  After many prolonged battles with chargers and magnetic fields, I gave up and decided to write about the weekend later – much later, as it turns out.

Saturday at Dustaroo

It would not be Bonnaroo if we did not complain about the weather. We’ve seen it boil eggs in the

fountain, we’ve had four days of rain and rock, tornados have skipped over in the middle of the weekend. This year, it’s been dry – very dry – and Dust was the big complaint. Not even enough rain fell to cause the mud-rinsers to turn the fountain to chocolate, but the dust was visible for miles around.

I started my afternoon with a walk around Centeroo and some Killer Kajun food! I checked out some great bands at the smaller stages, and got ready for my volunteer shift at the What Stage . Before the night’s big shows, I caught a bit of Black Uhuru, Alison Krauss, Portugal the Man, Gary Clark Jr. Bruce Hornsby, Mumford and Sons, and Lionize.  Then it was off to the main stage for the evening.

Wiz Khalifa started the evening with an energetic show that got us ALL bouncin’! The Black Keys flat rocked! I had previously only heard a couple of their    radio cuts, but let me tell you, these kids are Great! I managed to sneak off from my post and catch a few minutes of Buffalo Springfield, and then back to What Stage for Eminem. He’s not my favorite, but I truly respect the cat for all the crap he has endured. M is definitely at the top of his game, lots of class and style, his songs show a maturity and serious side you don’t often find, and the guy puts on one Heck of a Show!

After the main stage cleared out (yes, part of our job made me the last man out the gate). I headed back into Centeroo for some String Cheese! It had been about six years since I last caught them, and it was worth the wait! What fun! I suppose they used an ultra-light to fly the giant T-Rex around and chase the crowd, and I missed the good shots, having just turned the camera off to change the card… rats. I talked with a young fella from Michigan while there. He and his friends were blown away by the laid back hospitality they found here in Middle Tennessee. All I could say was, “It don’t get no more better’n this!”

I hung around about an hour, skipped over and caught the end of Dr. John with the original Meters, and headed back to camp. Lou Bahor of The Basement Studio in Atlanta and I jammed some guitar and uke till the sun came up and caught a little nap before the big finale, Sunday….