Friday, June 10, 2011
Bonnaroo Bonnaroo 2011: DPR's Day One [Uncle Skeleton, Karen Elson, The Walkmen, Deerhunter and More]
Posted by D. Patrick Rodgers on Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 2:24 AM
Press check-in was a breeze for most of us, though certain familiar Nashvillians weren't so lucky. The Pink Spiders' Matt Bell, for one, faced a farcical hassle when a small supply of baking soda in his RV proved especially suspicious-looking to some security personnel. We've already seen members of our party lose passes and sit in vomit (a stranger's vomit, no less). But we've also seen a Nashville act kick the whole thing off, not to mention sets from Karen Elson, Best Coast, Wavves, The Walkmen, Deerhunter, Sleigh Bells and Childish Gambino. Hopes and energy are high. The temp is still in the double digits. The guy sitting next to me in the air-conditioned press trailer is trying to talk to me about something, and I'm pretending my normal ear buds are the noise-canceling kind. We're off to the races.
After meeting a first-year Bonnaroo volunteer named Tex (didn't catch where he's from) who wins the award for Most Excited Dude to Be Alive Ever, we set up Camp Cream (see or proud banner above) and breezed into Centeroo for Uncle Skeleton's set at The On Tap Lounge. With roughly a dozen folks in their ranks — strings, horns and all — Uncle Skeleton's funk-fueled electro-pop served as a beacon for early-bird hippie types and familiar faces alike. Shirtless dancers peppered the hundreds-strong crowd that bunched near the tiny stage, and I overheard a particularly zealous listener describe the tunes as "baby-makin' music" — fair enough assessment, honestly. There was a Talking Heads cover in there — "Crosseyed and Painless," if memory serves — and folks even called for an encore at the end of Uncle Skeleton's 45-minute set. We couldn't have thought of more fitting Nashvillian ambassadors, really. An accessible but thoroughly enjoyable, compelling set. Well done, US.
Later at The Other Tent came a set from Nashville's most high-profile, willowy redhead supermodel-turned-songstress, Karen Elson. While orienting myself in the now-somewhat-spacious media area near the stage-right speaker stack, the crowd erupted in a brief fit. Why? What could it be? What did I miss? Oh, Elson's old man Jack White was visible side-stage for a fleeting moment. Between most of the attendees' visible Jack White boners and all the Third Man Records shirts present, I think it's safe to say a lot of TMR's built-in fan set was in attendance. And yes, Elson's band was made up of the expected cast of Third Man all-stars, among them Greenhornes/Raconteurs "Little" Jack Lawrence and the always-stellar Patrick Keeler. Elson's spooky, gauzy Americana tunes were strong and spacious enough to leave her players room to show off their chops, and her voice was stronger than I anticipated. Plus, "Stolen Roses" sounded like a bit of a nod to "Scarborough Fair." Works for me.
It was mostly camp-chillin' time for me at that point, though some Cream folk managed to catch sets from Wavves and Best Coast 'round dinnertime, and will be reporting on that later. Camp cook Sean L. Maloney made loads of BLTs and dick jokes.
A certain Spin-beloved Nashville songstress and her sideman boyfriend were kind enough to hand me an artist's pass and let me tag along to the artists' area, where free drinks abounded and an old-timey string band (banjo, washtub bass, buck-dancin', the whole nine) was having a bit of a hoedown showdown. Nashville's Abigail Washburn — herself a damn fine picker — even danced a bit and provided some harmonies. Anyway, Wavves and Phosphorescent and some band with a babe in it were all back there, but nobody I felt the need to hassle for an interview.
On we went to The Walkmen at That Tent. Frontman Hamilton Leithauser — probably just about the most dependable modern frontman there is, as far as I'm concerned — was decked out in a classy summertime suit and sounding like the Rod Stewart of post-punky indie rock. I don't think I'm the first person to make that comparison, but I don't even consider it a cadence or timbre thing. It's just the fact that Leithauser is a pitch-perfect powerhouse, but where Rod Stewart's latter-day stuff took a turn for the ... well, Rod Stewart, The Walkmen have never once disappointed. All the crowd-pleasers were there — "The Rat," "In the New Year," so on — and Lisbon's "Juveniles" ... that shit's just straight-up life-affirming. The sort song that makes you think of your significant other without feeling like a completely cheesy bastard about it. Hey, Sean Maloney even enjoyed it, and he "hasn't liked an indie-rock band since 1993," or something like that.
Reports allege that Sleigh Bells' set was wild and clusterfuckily attended. More on that later, too.
I ended my night with Deerhunter at That Tent, adrift in their washy, droney, psychedelic sea. Adam Gold will have a full report for you on that, but know this: Frontman Bradford Cox is Beardless Abe Lincoln, and it was as pleasant and fulfilling a set as the one at Exit/In not long ago, but it's the sort of vibed-out rock that will entrance your dome and send you on your way.
So that's Day One from DPR ... and now the guy in the press trailer wants to borrow some paper. He's analog blogging, I suppose. We've got pictures and further reviews heading your way, and as long as Internet access doesn't up and vanish, we'll have more words and proper images for you in two shakes. Keep tuning in and turning on.
NO DUDE, I DON'T HAVE ANY PAPER.
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