Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Bonnaroo / The Spin Phoenix, Wilco & Yeasayer at Bonnaroo 6/12/09-6/13/09
Posted by The Spin on Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 1:29 PM
11:30 p.m., Friday - Phoenix at That Tent
With rumors of a cancellation from Phoenix circulating in the press area all day, we waited on pins and needles to determine whether or not we'd catch a set from the seasoned French popsters. We were pleased not only to see that they'd made it, but also that their show offered what was pretty much the perfect combination of Bonnaroo factors: It was a late-but-not-exhaustingly-late set from a band with an established catalog as well as a growing level of momentum behind their latest release (Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix). Oh, and yet another intro from Beatle Bob. There was enough surging, pulsing, strobe-light-bathed energy during Phoenix's set to rival our already-mounting synthetic high, and it was totally awesome.
Saturday
Perhaps we angered the Bonnaroo gods by partaking in too many debaucheries--or not enough--because in some cruel twist of fate, our Saturday began with getting stuck in line for the showers right behind Which Stage as Jimmy Buffet started his set. Probably karma for saying "Jimmy Buffet fuckin' sucks" in front of some parrotheads while waiting for our press credentials on Thursday.
While we missed most of their set to catch the unrelenting Raphael Saadiq, we did see when we snuck past This Tent that Bon Iver have gathered a substantial following, and, despite the somewhat low-key nature of many of their songs, they were receiving a relatively rabid response.
6:00 - Wilco at What Stage
With palpable Boss anticipation mounting and a line forming for Bruce's pit over three hours before his set, Wilco stepped onto the main stage to a relatively subdued audience. Even Jeff Tweedy knew most folks' minds were on the Boss, because he made what he claimed was a joke about getting "Bruced" vs. getting "booed." Tweedy & Co. opened, appropriately enough, with "Wilco (the Song)," and while they let incendiary lead guitarist Nels Cline off the leash for the newer material, he mostly laid back for Yankee, Ghost and Summerteeth tunes. (There was even a Mermaid Avenue song in there!) Because the What Stage crowd wasn't as packed for Wilco's set as most, security allowed folks to come and go from the pit. Oddly enough, we saw two people pass out due to heat- and/or drug-related issues. Even a rabid Tweedy fan can admit that if your roll is derailed to the point of unconsciousness during a Wilco set, well, shit, you're doing it wrong.
1:00 a.m. - Yeasayer at That Tent
Saturday night is the point at which all serious Roo-tards must make the decision to either mobilize or capsize, and it was just before Yeasayer's set at That Tent when we decided to kick it into high gear. Since we last saw them, Brooklyn's Yeasayer have added an auxiliary percussionist (a shirtless fella who bangs on midi pads and whatnot) as well as an onstage motif of giant, strobing globe lights that hang over their heads like something from a Seuss nightmare. Their vocals seem to have improved since we saw them at Lollapalooza last summer, and the trance-inducing jams from their forthcoming record (no scheduled release date yet) worked quite well for folks getting their second and third winds.
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