Home Sweet Festival

June is always such a solid month for music. It's summer in the north, and people are psyched to be outside. One of my favorite activities in the world is watching music outdoors with friends. Thus, the summer solstice does not usually disappoint.

I spent June08 bouncing around my most nostalgic annual festival and two of my hometowns. Sometimes I feel more at home on the road as I've always had an appetite for constant new stimuli. But in reality, it's just knowing how to make anywhere your home.

Some of my favorite travel pastimes include taking over airplane rows, finding clean showers in production land @ festivals, scoring electrical outlets at airports, and locating wifi anywhere in the world.

I arrived in Nashville and a runner promptly drove me to Manchester. I dumped my stuff on our bus immediately and ran over to the Sonic Stage for The Fiery Furnaces. I worked with the band closely in 2007 with Kevin Morris and expected to see them onstage by the time arrived. Unfortunately, Team FF were stuck in golf cart traffic. Luckily, Morri had it under control.

It was so awesome to see Jason, Eleanor, Matthew, and Bob and a wonderful opening to Roo08.

I'm thrilled The Raconteurs were at yet another festival. Jack White is second only to Thom Yorke as far as this decade's rockstars go. AP/BV are up there too in Wizzle World. :)

Chris Rock sat sidestage and watched Patrick, the Jacks, and Brendan. Here he is checking out Ms. Rachel Seiden. Janeane Garafalo was also around and I was super bummed I missed both her and Reggie Watts' sets. Reggie is also performing at the Amanda Palmer curated tent, The Establishment, over 4th of July for anyone headed to Rothbury. Janeane is an obv teenage hero of mine ala Reality Bites. I once told her that Vicky changed my life, outside of the Middle East in Cambridge. That was good enough for me.

Nighttime sets from MMJ, Sigur Ros, Pearl Jam, and Metallica were all solid. Ghostland Observatory killed it, as did their light show. Speaking of lightshows, or lackthereof, most people know the drama that surrounded Kanye's set, no matter who's side your on (Superfly vs. KW's team). The tour manager geek in me loves that a concert production problem made national headlines and spawned internet parodies.



Kanye and the hippies did not and are still not getting along. Yes, he did hit damn late. The backstage gossip and rumors were rampant. Finally, Mr. West hit @ 4 AM or so. I vowed to watch 1-2 songs and then crash out on our bus. But, Kanye kept my attention for a good 45 min, right until the sun came up. My point is, everyone is complaining about the show, KW included, and I thought it was awesome! The hippies may not been convinced, but the show won me over. I see both sides' points, but in the end, live music is all about watching artists perform; often during unpredictable situtions whether it be weather, monitor issues, or avoiding bottles. Kanye rocked it under the circumstances, which to me, is the sign of a real-deal performer. Way to go Kanye West.

To me, Bonnaroo is largely about catching up with friends from the post-jam scene, but I was thrilled to see my Nashville posse as well. Ben Folds & Jared and Sam were AMAZING. Here's a shot of Mr. Folds striking a pose with always-the-rock-star Jared. Post-show, Jared was stoked to tell me about the new Lil Wayne, but sadly, Team Ben had to return to Nashville killing any hopes of reuniting our Langerado tour bus dance party. Though all was not lost as Joe Costa snapped an triple Emily shot while watching the band's set.

This was my 6th Bonnaroo, and I've come to expect and appreciate, the most European-style festival in America. Although the US festival market is hitting critical mass in 2008, post-jammers can still rely on the Roo for a world class experience. No complaints here.

Up Next: Amanda seduces Keith Lockhart and the WKAP season begins.

xo