Personally, I embrace the changes in band bookings.  Admittedly, I’m not the largest jam band fan in the world (I can only take so much noodling!), so the evolution in booking has been welcomed in my book.  With the noticeable increase in attendees this year, many others must also embrace the changes.  However, in the past few years, we’ve spoken to many jam band purists who feel that Bonnaroo has “sold out” when they turned their back on keeping it jam-centric.

Stagnation of music on a huge festival level is a killer.  I like Widespread Panic, but just how many times can they close a festival?  Phish closing Bonnaroo out in 09 was excellent booking.  They may have played two nights, but their lasting energy helped the burnt out Bonnaroonians to power through the last night.  This past year, Dave Matthews Band closed it out on Sunday night.  Talk about a college kid magnet…  Bonnaroo has successfully avoided musical stagnation by smart and diverse booking.

From The Dead, to Phish, to Panic, then to Jay-Z.  Is this a strong progression?  I feel  that it is.  Actually, I feel as though Mr. Carter’s (Jay-Z) performance at Bonnaroo was one of the best performances (visually and sonically) that I’d ever seen over the years at the festival.

People may argue that 2010 was the least strong headlining roster yet, but how can one ignore the very strong number of supporting acts on the bill!  The dilemma for most people is whether a festival should have amazing headliners, and the rest would just fall into place, or if the fest should have many good undercard bands.  What are your thoughts on the situation?

On Sunday evening, there was a man who looked very hippie-ish (dreads, a beard, very haggard looking) and was holding a sign saying that he had to bike back home a few hundred miles after the festival.  The sign said that “anything would help.”  One cannot avoid the very nomadic lifestyle that many true hippies decide to involve immerse themselves in, but he looked as though he had partaken in quite a few “recreational” activities throughout his weekend.  Those activities don’t come for free!  Is it really worth biking a few hundred miles to a festival where they spend more money being in an altered state than knowing how they’ll be getting home?  Those choices never made any sense to me.  Many would say that I’d understand if I lived that lifestyle, but I don’t.

As time progressed in the life of Bonnaroo, the bookers have brought in a more eclectic roster of bands, including a very heavy dose of college/indie rock.  Thus, Roo has been inundated with a flood of people that wouldn’t have necessarily attended the inaugural Bonnaroo.  Bands like Dave Matthews Band, Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, The Police, and even Metallica have headlined over the past few years.  There have been smatterings of jamminess with the likes of Phish, The Disco Biscuits, The Mars Volta, Widespread Panic and more, but they are becoming fewer and farther between these days.

“Recreational” activities have certainly made an about term with more and more college drinking games sprouting up all over the farm.  (We’re guilty as well.  We rock our pro beer pong setup every year.)  As a result, the General Stores at Roo have been charging 8 dollars for a pack of ping pong balls.  (Come the hell on.)  As we walked around the farm, we saw some great games and activities being enjoyed by walks of all life.  This fortified the fact that Roo is not just a music festival, but it is a living experience of what each person makes of it.

So what’s my verdict?

Sorry hippies… (or “hippies”)  Your scene has been overrun by a different generation of concert goers, and I definitely welcome the change.  If Bonnaroo would remain musically the same over the years, if would have no plan of growth.  I do feel as though Roo can use a bit of a Centeroo Facelift (the addition of the Lunar Stage was both genius and needed), but musically, Bonnaroo is making the right steps to a continuous musical progression.

Keep your fans on their toes, and they’ll be even more intrigued year after year;  no matter what social status they may fall within.  However, if there’s one thing for certain, the farm will always be saturated with the scent combination of patchouli, B.O. and dirt.

The first night at Roo seemed fairly tame in comparison to years in the past.  The early Thursday lineup seemed weak, until Neon Indian at 8:30.  The crowds seemed very excited to be at any set on Thursday night, as their Bonnaroo dreams finally have been realized.

We checked out The Dodos at 9, and they had a great vibe going.  They give off a sense of being European, but they’re a “domestic product” of the good ol’ US of A.  The crowd was packed, and the side stage area was mobbed.  (I think the press and musicians had a bit of Bonnaroo Fever as well!)

The Dodos made us thirsty.  No, it wasn’t the steamy weather of Tennessee, but it made us want to pour some heavy libations.  So we did.  Quite a few.  As Excelsior chilled at our front row spot (again!) in front of the Bonnaroo Arch, we met and hung out with our neighbors and locals of Manchester.  Apparently, they have been camping next to us for the past few years, and one of the fine gentlemen offered us a few drinks of this fine “shine.”  We had a great conversation about the different types of “shine,” and how much it still paralleled the early days of prohibition.   From what I hear, we’ll be having another sampling this weekend!

So quite a few Moe-jitos later, we head off to The xx’s set.  MTT was slated to interview The xx, but unfortunately they had to cancel.  If you haven’t heard their album yet, I highly suggest that you get it immediately.  It’s a bit more chill than the tunes I usually listen to, but the album is top notch.  It’s a very stripped down and simplified sound, but the intimacy of the set was astounding.  They have replicated the sound of their album perfectly, and in the live setting, the sentiment of their music is magnified tenfold.  They are a must see if they swing through your area.

B and I finished up the night with Wale’s hip hop fiesta.  I just got into his music, and that guy can seriously throw down.  Great crowd command and high energy ran through his crew onstage.  His set was proof that you don’t necessarily need to be familiar with someone’s music to thoroughly enjoy their set.  I’ll definitely be adding Wale to my playlist when I get home.

By the end of the night’s music and mayhem, it was time to crash back at our tent.  The vodka induced slumber was poor, but at least we were getting a bit of rest.  If there’s one thing for certain, Bonnaroo is not for the weary or faint of heart.

Bonnaroo is a true test of will and strength.  Plain and simple, if you’re not a fan of the heat, roughing it, or mud, you shouldn’t be here.  It’s been steamy hot since we arrived, and mud is everywhere.  On Wednesday night, a monsoon hit Manchester, so we’re dealing with pretty harsh conditions.  I’m not complaining, but since there are a ton of first timer here this year, I’m just informing people to make the appropriate decisions when choosing festivals.

We figured that we’d “fly” to Manchester, and find a bar to watch game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  Our boys, the Orange Crush aka the Philadelphia Flyers, were playing in game six.  Well, we underestimated our arrival time, and ended up streaming the game on my iPhone.  (No, I wasn’t watching the game while I was driving… Just listening)  The Flyers ended up losing on a shitty goal, which ended in one of the most sloppy ends to a season ever.  (Shit happens.  We’re Philly after all)

Finally, we got to our yearly destination of the Manchester Walmart, and it was MOBBED.  Beyond mobbed.  I haven’t seen the parking lot that packed in the four consecutive years that we’ve been here.  Usually, we’d crack open a few beverages and join in on the festivities, but we decided to skip that part, and just go shopping for our supplies then pass out for a few hours by the Bonnaroo Radio Station (Fantasy 101).

Mobs of people were already in line at 6am for Will Call and to pick up their credential.  Again, there was a much larger amount of people in line than I’d ever seen.  Was this a portent of things to come?  Did Dave Matthews and Kings of Leon triple the attendance for Bonnaroo 2010?  We’ll see very soon.

After we headed out on the road towards the farm, we were excited to see that traffic was flowing very quickly.  Maybe the Manchester Police finally had their shit together so the line of people would flow much more smoothly.  As soon as we got to the point where we’d start filing into the farm, we were directed down I-24 and away from the farm.

‘Maybe we’re just going to a different entrance this year.’

We could feel ourselves getting inside of the Bonnaroo gates in record time.  Looking around, there was an enormous line to the left of us.  ‘Maybe there’s an alternate entrance on our side of the road.  There’s no way that we could be part of that line.’ Finally, we arrived at the back of the line.  An hour later, we moved maybe a mile.  ‘Oh shit.  We’re low on gas!’ Eventually, we decided to get out of line so we wouldn’t be stranded.  Flying down the road, we were amazed to see that the line kept going, and going, and going, and going… FOR EIGHTEEN MILES!  Yes. 18.  On the wrong side of the road. 

Was the Manchester Police sending people totally away from the festival?  After all, the one officer told us that they had such traffic problems that they were forced to start a different pattern.  Finally, we fueled up and hit Subway for key eats.  There were several Bonnaroonians there who looked pissed off and confused.  They told us that the line on our side of the road was doing a huge loop around to the other side.  ‘What the fuck is going on??’ If we didn’t get out of line when we did, we definitely would have ran out of gas.  As a matter of fact, we saw at least 3 cars being pushed in line.  I wonder where those people are now!

Making a long story a bit shorter… We got back on the road doing 80 and flew towards the gates.  Team Excelsior doesn’t fucking lose, so we got in.  Quite quickly.  Honestly, I’d be very surprised if the people in the back of line (where we started) had made it into the grounds by 3am.  It was THAT long.

Once we got into the traffic checkpoint on the grounds, everything went very fast and smoothly.  Honestly, it was even better than years past.  At least Bonnaroo had their shit together!

So to everyone that sat in line for hours and hours and hours… Our hearts truly go out to you. Next year, the Manchester Police has to have a much better plan, or else Bonnaroo is going to suffer.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Roo loses a few thousand people next year because of this debacle.  You can’t blame Bonnaroo for this major organizational mishap, but heads have to roll somewhere.  The festival dumps tons of money into the local task forces and communities, so they need to treat all aspects of the festival like gold..

Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments on the site.  We’re looking forward to reading them!

Next:  On to better things… Thursday AT Bonnaroo!

It’s that time of year again, and Moe Train’s Tracks is headed to Manchester, TN for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival!  King B and The Train will be bringing you a totally new Tracks experience with this year’s coverage.  We’ll be blogging on the site as all of the action unfolds over the weekend, as well as getting great interviews with the fest’s top musicians, concert photos and more!

We embark on our trip from Philadelphia and will be arriving in Manchester, TN about 12 (ugh!) hours later.  Who knows what the road will hold for us, besides a ridiculously long time on Route 81 (that road SUCKS!), and pure Excelsior insanity!  Keep connected to the Tracks by following on Twitter (@MoeTrainsTracks), and watching the site for lots of great updates…

We’ll be camped out by the front of the Bonnaroo arch, so if you see us, come say hi!  If we’re not there, we’ll be bouncing around the grounds doing our artist interviews, taking in a ton of shows, and interviewing people in the crowds.  We plan on checking out as much of the festival as possible, and we hope to meet as many of you as possible!  If you have any great tips  about what’s going on at the festival, or just want us to come stop by and hang out.. Message us on Twitter, and we’ll try to stop by!

Bonnaroo has always been one of our favorite festivals to cover and we’re especially looking forward to spreading our Global Domination Tour to Manchester, Tennessee and Bonnaroo!

WE’LL SEE YOU ON THE FARM!!!  BONNNNARRRROOOOOOOOOOOO!

Related articles:

• Bonnaroo Live Webcasts (jambase.com)
• Why They Call It… Bonnaroo (spin.com)
• FREE ALBUM! SPIN’s Picks for Bonnaroo 2010 (spin.com)

If there’s one thing for certain… Manchester, TN changes to one of the largest “cities” in Tennessee during Bonnaroo weekend.  With the changes in music, you not only have the hippies and the wookies, but you also have the scenesters, the indie kids, “fratboys,” and even some metalheads (GWAR!!!).   Some dig the changes and some don’t.  But then again, you have the choice.  Either you go, or you don’t.  Problem easily solved.

While at Roo, you’ll see some crazy shit.  Many people lose (or find) themselves.  Even more people just get lost in the virtual undulating sea of the Roo life.  For the most part, the people are good.  Some people are just there to take advantage or rip off the discombobulated.  (Yeah, I just used that word.)  You’ve gotta watch your ass a lot of the time while you’re there, but that will happen anywhere.  No matter what, you’re going to see things that you’ll see no where else in the world.

Keep an open mind, and your senses will quickly be overcome by the diversity of Bonnaroo’s people and culture.

- Train

Related articles:

• FREE ALBUM! SPIN’s Picks for Bonnaroo 2010 (spin.com)
• Ben & Jerry’s Launches New Flavor: Bonnaroo Buzz (shoppingblog.com)

There’s a main Shakedown as you make your way into Centeroo by the arch.  As you walk through this bustling center of free enterprise and opportunism at its finest, you’ll be surrounded by tons of interesting sights, sounds, and smells… Some good, some bad, and some that are downright repulsive.  Drum circles, tons of music (sometimes live), squishy ground, big slices of pizza, rings, hats, artfully created glass, and an myriad of wares are available for your sampling.  (Excelsior highly suggests that you sample each locations local wares!)  Rumor has it that there are other areas on the farm which have their own independent Shakedowns, but they’ve been known to move from year to year.

Do yourself a favor, and remember that Bonnaroo isn’t just a music festival.  It’s a music AND arts festival.  Go check out the many booths around the farm, and bring yourself home a few souvenirs!

A final tip:  If you really want to save a shitload on any purchases you make, hold off either until the last night of the festival, or the day you drive out.  You won’t believe how much money you’ll be able to save, since many vendors are desperately trying to unload as much product as possible!

Keep an eye out for King B and The Train, as we always hit up Shakedown several times during the festival!

- Moe

(The red circle is our camping spot.)

5.  The Food Vendors

Go anywhere on the farm, and you’ll smell amazing food being cooked all over the place.  Sure, you may smell good food mixed with dirt and B.O., but it still smells pretty good!  Whether you’re in Centeroo getting churros, Chinese, gyros, gigantic slices of pizza, or you’re in the campgrounds having garlic grilled cheese, burritos, or funnel cakes, you’ll never go hungry.

For those who are Bonnaroo veterans, you are very familiar with the lines of vendors which greet you on the way into Centeroo.  Can corn dogs be considered a breakfast!  Hell yeah.  It’s Bonnaroo!  Virtually anything that you could crave (or have the munchies for) can be found on the farm.  We had the giant gyros almost every night, and they definitely gave us the strength to power on for the late night scene.

Didn’t do enough pregaming at your tent?  Hit the Brooers Tent and sample some amazing beers from all over the US.  It’s the microbrew fan’s dream.  Yeah, we know.  You’re not supposed to be drinking during the day… As soon as we get our interviews and on the scene crowd stuff done, we’re indulging.

So stay healthy at Roo.  Keep your body fueled with the amazing eats and drinks to be found on the farm.  It’ll keep you happy and alive!

Related articles:

• Ben & Jerry’s Bonnaroo Flavor (jambase.com)
• Bonnaroo Food Drive (jambase.com)
• Fuse & Twix want to send you and ten of your friends to Bonnaroo 2010 (gadling.com)

MGMT Interview on Moe Train’s Tracks

Andrew Vanwyngarden, Ben Goldwasser (MGMT)

Monty Wiradilaga, Brian Kracyla (Moe Train’s Tracks)

Starlight Ballroom – Philadelphia, PA

Here’s a great interview that was rescued from The Tracks’ vaults…  Back in early 2008, MTT caught up with Andrew and Ben from MGMT in Philadelphia, PA.

MGMT had just gotten a major break in the music scene with the widespread critical success of Oracular Spectacular.  Keep an eye on MoeTrainsTracks.com for tons of great new content!

Moe:  We saw you guys down at Bonnaroo for your set, it was a great way to open up the weekend.  I was a pretty epic show if I must say.

Andrew: Yeah, it was fun.  We had been to Bonnaroo before so it was good to see it from the side of the artist instead of the person in the crowd.  It was only our second festival show.

M:  Oh really, where was the first, Coachella?

A:  Yeah.

M:  So how do they compare?

A:  I don’t know, Coachella was crazier for us because we were more nervous.  Bonnaroo was a little more relaxed and cool.

M:  You guys just started tour together with a band right?

Ben:  We started practicing with them about a year ago.  I think we were kinda thrust into exposure a little too quickly for our taste.  We played on national television after we had only been touring with the band for a couple of months.

M:  Was that on Letterman?

B:  Yeah.

M:  You looked a little nervous.

B:  Yeah, we were very nervous!  But we’re getting more comfortable and we don’t have to think as hard when we’re playing, its kinda getting to be more natural.  We’re getting used to playing for crowds.

M:  Did you guys have sound problems at Bonnaroo in the beginning, what was going on?

B:  Yeah, well, the festival thing, we hardly ever really get a sound check so it’s always a little weird starting out.

A:  I think the monitors were pretty messed up.

M:  (to Andrew) Oh, by the way, you had on some pretty fucking crazy pants.  I remember walking up to set and saying ‘holy shit’, those bright blue ones!

A:  Tropical floral bellbottoms, yeah.  Really big bellbottoms. 

M:  They looked comfortable though!

A:  Yeah, they’re real comfortable.

M:  Saw you guys backstage, you guys looked pretty chill, pretty relaxed, so I guess you feel like you’re falling into place with everything.

B:  We’re good at hanging out.  We’re good at relaxing.

M:  Any standout moments yet from your recent successes?

B:  We just played at the Oxygen festival in Ireland and that was really crazy.  There were all these people climbing up the towers that were holding up the tent and we had to stop the show because this girl made it all the way to the roof of the tent so that you couldn’t even see her anymore and everyone was yelling at her telling her to come down.

M:  Did she take a spill?

B:  No, it would have been ugly if she had!  That was probably at least 60 feet up in the air or something.  It was pretty crazy.

M:  I saw a video of you guys at some festival in Scotland that you guys were playing and you were walking around the grounds, checking out the scene; Andrew you like the thrill-rides?

A:  As much as I’d like to keep the myth going that I like thrill-rides, I’m new to them.  I’ve been on like Space Mountain and most of the Disney rides, and I like those a lot.  I was like twenty when I started going on roller coasters, so I don’t think I’d go on the Slingshot thing.  I would vomit.

M:  You guys got together at Wesleyan, and you were actually making music that you thought would be annoying?

A:  We knew it was annoying.

M:  Just to fuck around, just playing, just to amuse yourselves?

A:  I dunno…  We were young and foolish.

M:  You were freshman?

A:  Yeah.

M:  So it was basically putting that freshman energy, that drunken and banged up energy back into the music.

A:  Yeah, exactly.

M:  What’s up with the clothing optional dorm?

B:  At some point it was designated a “clothing optional” dorm but there aren’t many people walking around naked there.  There were a few, and we were friends with most of them.

A:  I did naked calisthenics with Vin Popper on time.  (all laugh)

B:  Nice.

M:  Tell us about some of those early dorm session jams.  We used to do the same thing.  We’d go out to parties, get all fucked up and come back and just grab our instruments at like 2 o’clock in the morning and start jamming.  So what was it like with you guys getting together?

B:  It was a lot like that.  It’s was just kinda very casual, just having fun.  We had a lot of other friends that we played music with and we were both in other bands at the same time.  It wasn’t like we started a band in order to get successful and get fans and all that, we just started it for something to do and didn’t really care if anyone liked it.

M:  You guys just probably wrote the album for yourselves.

B:  In a way, I mean, we know we were writing it for other people because we had signed a record deal at that point, so we had a delivery date, so there was a little bit of pressure on us but when we were writing the songs we didn’t think that anyone was actually gonna hear the album, so it was pretty much just writing it for ourselves.

M:  So I guess its still a surprise with all of this going on?

B:  Yeah, its still a surprise.  And, I don’t know, it keeps getting crazier!

M:  When you guys were first recording you guys had a pretty gritty sound right?  I mean, if you were recording back in your dorms you’re going to have that unintentional gritty, natural sound.  Did you guys try to replicate that sound?

B:  In a way it was the other way around because we were doing a lot of stuff just on computers, so a lot of it was very electronic and very clean sounding.  I think we’ve tried to get dirtier.

M:  You had the producer who worked with the Flaming Lips.  Did you guys pick him because he had that psychedelic background?

A:  We kinda just chose him because we talked to him and we’re fans of the Flaming Lips and other stuff he’s done, like Sleater-Kinney and Mogwai.  He’s not the kind of producer that wants to mold the band into something, he kinda just lets them do their own thing.  So, he was good for us.

M:  So did the album come out exactly how you wanted it to come out?

A:  At the time I think it did, yeah.

M:  Looking back now, what do you think?

A:  I’m sure now if we listened to it a bunch, we’d probably change stuff.  But we think it’s good that we can’t because it captures that moment.

M:  I see you in a lot of pictures wearing sunglasses, you’re not becoming Bono are you?

A:  I hope to God not!!  If I am you should stab me…

M:  What’s your beef with him?

A:  Nah, I just don’t like him.  I heard he’s a great guy, and he seems like he’s got good intentions.  I think it’s really the sunglasses that piss me off the most.  So, now I’m never going to wear sunglasses again.

M:  Will you burn them in effigy?

A:  We stabbed an effigy at our senior recital.

M:  Ben, you said, “To give music meaning you have to have your back up against something”; What, you don’t remember?

A:  (laughs) You sound like Thoreau or something.

M:  Yeah, I guess you were being pretty introspective.

B:  I guess maybe just having some resistance kind of helps.  With us, when we got signed and we had to deal with all the kind of big-record-label bullshit for the first time, I think it kind of forced us to look at what we’re doing and try to give it as much meaning as possible and try to ask ourselves why we were doing it in the first place.

M:  So what’s your validation?

A:  I don’t think we’re validated.

M:  No?  What will be your validation then?

A:  If aliens approve of our music.  So, we’re waiting for contact.

M:  Waiting for the return in 2012 when the earth ends?  I know you guys are joking around about your future, about what will happen hen things will come, but we’re sitting inside of a big tour bus.  Obviously this is probably five times bigger than your dorm room was.  You said that when the fame comes around and you get the big label money that you would go get blow jobs, you would ride horses to your gigs, and go get castles.  What’s going on with the success?

B:  Yeah, we’ve both gotten blow jobs before, which is cool.  We’re working on the horses and the castles.

M:  What have you benefited from just by being in the business?

A: We get a lot of free clothes, a lot of free stuff.  And we both got haircuts for the first time in a long time.  We used to cut our own hair and now we can afford real haircuts.

M:  If you guys think that everything musically has been done before, how does MGMT stray away from the norm’?

B:  I don’t know if everything’s been done before…

A:  All the good stuff has.

B:  Yeah, all the good stuff’s been done before but pretty much…

A:  You could string your guitar with celery or something, but that doesn’t mean it gonna be good music.

B:  Any new good thing I think comes out of recycled ideas and using them in creative ways.  Rock and roll is a pretty basic, simple form of music but there’s so many possibilities with it.

A:  You don’t have to make up your own language to write a good poem.

M:  Who is it that does that again…

A:  Sigur Ros!

M:  Oh yeah that’s right.  Did you guys see them at Bonnaroo, what’d you think?

A:  I heard for somebody that it’s much better to see them in a wide open cathedral-type space, like an indoor space, and I could see how that’d be true.  It didn’t translate that well to the festival thing.

M:  Yeah, it’s pretty grand I guess.  So, what’s the future of MGMT, or have not realized the present yet?

A:  We have trouble comprehending what’s happening at all times.  But the future should hold good things.   We’re trying to get a cabin somewhere in the woods.  James is gonna cut firewood, I had a vision of him walking towards me with an arm full of firewood and I’m gonna smile and then our dog is gonna lick our faces.

M:  (laughing)  Alright guys, thanks a lot.

Twittelator – [8.7/10]

For those who feel that being connected to the world at all times (or most of the time) is a must, Twittelator is a very functional Twitter client that will fulfill your needs.  If you think that a function is necessary, then Twittelator probably has it covered.  Lists, video/photo posting, geotagging, and my most useful function (due to the fact that we run a music show/website), song tagging.  The main gripe that I have with this app is the tweets don’t always “refresh” when they should.  Besides that, Twittelator is a pretty seamless application.

One could purchase quite a few separate apps for many of the options packed into the Twittelator package, so if you need an all-encompassing Twitter app… Twittelator will be a very competent choice.

What’s up everyone?  I’ve got summer festivals on my mind (and why shouldn’t I?  All the lineups are coming out!)  Anyway, I was on Twitter (@MoeTrainsTracks), discussing what people would think if festivals like Bonnaroo would do a booking that was totally out of character for the festival.  For example, I was watching the Olympics tonight and heard Andrea Bocelli‘s music used for ice dancing.  I thought, Andrea Bocelli would be an off the wall, yet amazing addition to Bonnaroo’s lineup this year.

Metallica seemed to be one of the biggest stretches for the perennial hippie/jamband and indie friendly festival, and their booking was met with very mixed reviews.  Personally, I was pumped to have Metallica on the farm, as I’m a big fan of their music.  Yeah, I definitely think that Lars was an absolute prick for what he did to Napster, but Metallica’s live performances are top notch.  Many of the Bonnaroo purists were upset that the balance of their universe would be thrown off it’s axis by such a notable metal act.  On the other hand, their presence brought a different “type” of festival goer which wouldn’t usually have made the trek to Manchester, TN.  When all was said and done, Metallica had blown the roof off of the farm, and made fans out of non-believers.

The same booking mentality would certainly apply to a talent like Andrea Bocelli.  Imagine Sunday night, when everyone is exhausted from four straight days of music and mania, and enter Andrea Bocelli on the main stage.  Surround him a laser show of Tool proportions, and give him the best backing band that Bonnaroo artists have to offer.  The result would be one of the biggest sensory overloads that the festival world has seen.

Everyone’s always wondering who the Superjam lineup will consist of, and it’s usually a nicely diversified group of musicians, but sometimes, the best things come from the most motley of crews (or Crue).  In the overloaded market of festivals (RIP Rothbury…for now), promoters need to continue pushing the envelope so they can continue to attract huge audiences.

What do you guys think?  Are music festivals doing enough to keep you coming back year after year?  What would be the most off the wall booking that you’d like to see at the festivals in the coming years?

- Moe

Related articles:

• Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup (stereogum.com)
• Jay-Z To Headline Bonnaroo (current.com)
• Metal at Non-metal Festivals (metalsucks.net)

Minus the Bear Interview

Jake Snider (MTB), Monty Wiradilaga, Brian Kracyla

Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

Moe (MTTracks): All right, we are sitting back here in some alley at Bonnaroo with Jake Snider, lead singer, guitar, from Minus the Bear…

Jake Snider (Minus the Bear): Howdy. Hello there.

Moe: Thanks for being here.

Jake: You bet. Thanks for having me.

M: Hell of a performance today man.

J: Thanks man, I appreciate it.

M: How’s the vibe of Bonnaroo compare to the other festivals you’ve played?

J: It’s definitely laid back. Everything runs pretty much perfectly, so its seems like seems like everyone’s just got it down. It’s just super easy, the crowd it just awesome, one of the best crowds I think of any festival that we’ve played.

M: Why do you think it’s one of the best vibes?

J: I don’t know. Maybe it’s the location, or maybe it’s just the history of the festival, the vibe that people expect from it. You know, kind of a more free-form situation probably.

M: You played a good bit of tracks from Planet Ice…

J: Yup.

M: I think that an album’s true test is how it translates live…

J: Yeah, that’s definitely a good record. Live is usually better, hopefully. That’s the idea at least.

M: With listening to your music, I get sort of a sense that you incorporate a bit of jamminess into it. It feels like you’re translating that live performance into your albums and vice versa. You’ve changed your writing style lately haven’t you?

J: The last record, Planet of Ice, is a little more broader sounding I think. A little bit more ambient. It’s just not a tight as the other ones. Yeah, I don’t know, there are songs that are really fun to play live. And I think that that’s what our goal was, to write a record full of songs that we really enjoy playing live…and don’t get sick of.

M: Well, before didn’t you have more regimented songs. Didn’t you cut it short because you thought it would go on too long, and with this record didn’t you change your writing process to let certain parts just flow? Let um go where they had to go…

J: Yeah, totally. We kinda just laid back on that stuff. We used to be really concise, and it is really a lot more fun live and especially to be able to explore things a little bit more.

M: So, do you like this process a little bit more than what you were doing before?

J: Yeah. It’s a lot more fun.

M: What made you go in this direction?

J: I don’t know. It just started coming out that way, I guess. We’ve been playing together for years and years and years, and a lot of the same songs. At that point in time we felt like we needed to try some new shit, you know, basically.

M: It seems to me that you live a bit vicariously through your music…

J: yeah…

M: First of all, I’m not gonna go into your funny song titles and all… (Laughs)

J: Okay, cool.

M: I know that you’re probably sick to death of hearing about it.

J: Yeah, totally.

M: What are the main topics that you think in your head that you like to live vicariously through?

J: A lot of the songs are about sex, and a lot of those are kind of fictionalized. So, I do kind of live vicariously through some of those songs. Mostly those songs. I guess most of the songs are about sex on some kind of level, or getting wasted. But all that stuff is just another way to imagine life I suppose.

M: I’ve heard you say that after every show there’s a disco. What are some of the craziest moments you’ve had being out on the road, being on tour, whatever?

J: Well, usually Florida’s pretty brutal for us. We have had some run-ins with the law in Orlando. One of us got a little too drunk one night and ended up getting arrested.

M: Oh yeah, what happened?

J: Oh, nothing. He went to jail for the night. We got him out. And then hauled ass to the next show. He had to pay a fine, or whatever.

M: A little rowdy?

J: Yeah, just a little rowdy.

M: Did you really have a site called Friction USA?

J: Yes.

M: What was the deal with it? Was it a Suicide Girls…

J: Yeah, it was similar to that. It started almost exactly the same time as Suicide Girls. Just did it for a couple of years. My wife, it was her idea basically.

M: And it just never materialized or what?

J: It was good, the music thing just started taking over. Once I got into the band, there was just no time.

M: Well, you’re from Seattle, how’s the Seattle scene THESE DAYS?

J: It’s always good. It’s an amazing town for music.

M: What are some of the big things going on in Seattle THESE DAYS?

J: These Worms Are Snakes is a great band. I can’t even think about it right now, I don’t know why, sorry.

M: Question, have you done any sleep walking through walls lately?

J: Nope, only when I was a kid.

M: What happened?!

J: Yeah, my parents were building a cabin, and the walls weren’t sheet-rock yet. My bedroom was right on the hallway for the stairs, so basically, you would walk through the wall and fall right down the stairs, into the bottom of the stairs…

M: Holy shit.

J: Like a full story. So I slept walked through the studs and fell.

M: What happened?

J: Got a concussion and broke my arm.

M: Jesus Christ, that’s a pretty big fall.

J: Pretty brutal, yeah.

M: You’re band has a pretty distinctive sound. A lot of it comes from Dave’s guitar taping techniques. What do you think sets your band apart from the others?

J: I don’t know. We are always trying to find parts that we find interesting and try not to right the same stuff over and over again. I don’t know, that’s a tough question. The combination of personalities, it’s pretty hard to come up with something different. I think it’s just kinda crazy.

M: You guy are definitely always evolving with changing the lineup. How’s the new cohesive unit working?

J: Better than ever.

M: So, what’s next for Minus the Bear?

J: Um, next is a summer where we’re gonna play a few shows. We just re-released our They Make Beer Commercials Like This EP on Suicide Squeeze. That’s also out on vinyl for the first time now. And we’re writing a record…

M: How’s that going?

J: Starting it off, just getting it started, you know…

M: With the new album are you evolving to a new level, or is it something with the same equation that you’re doing now?

J: I have no idea yet.

M: It just comes together.

J: Yeah.

M: Awesome. Thanks a lot for staying with us.

J: Yeah, I appreciate it man.

Prior to a friendly batting-cage showdown, MTT’s Moe and KinG B (Team Excelsior) interview Raul, Trey, Jiro, and Asdru of Ozomatli.

Interview with Ozomatli (Moe Train’s Tracks)

Tre, Raul, Asdru, Jiro (Ozomatli), Monty Wiradilaga, Brian Kracyla

Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

M: We’re sitting backstage with Ozomatli…

R: I’m Raul. I play guitar and sing some songs.

J: My name’s Jiro. I play percussion.

A: Hi, I’m Asdru. I sing some songs and play trumpet and play piano.

J: Yeah, you’re at Bonnaroo!

M: Main stage at Bonnaroo, what were you thoughts, looking out?

R: Yeah, man, it was nice. The last time we played here we were the first band on the main stage and people were barely awake. It was a lot nicer. It’s a great festival.

M: What do you think about playing with all these amazing bands the whole weekend?

R: These festivals are always good for that. You run into, it’s funny, you may know a lot of musicians actually over the years but you never really see each other, except for at spots like this. Now you actually get to see each other, maybe have a moment to check each other’s music out. And I always like to come here and see what’s happening and what’s new that I haven’t seen.

M: Do you guys bounce around to the different shows?

R: No, we haven’t had a chance all day. We’ve been running around.

B: Yeah, sorry we’re making you guys miss B. B. King right now.

R; Yeah, thanks a lot dude.

M: Hey, we can all go over there and just watch it right now if ya want to. Don’t Mess With The Dragon been out for a little while now, how the reception been for the album?

R: I think it’s been cool. The interesting thing about us is that none of our records have been like top of the charts or anything like that but it’s always pushed us into different into different audiences, it’s always helped us grow. So that’s what we do. We’re barely starting to get some new songs together for more recordings and hopefully that’ll start happening soon, ‘cause I’m definitely ready to start doing that.

M: What do you think about album sales versus being culturally-relevant?

A: Album sales is kind of a weird thing nowadays. It’s almost a thing of the past.

R: We don’t really look at it that way because I can name a few bands that don’t need that and they survive just fine without it. We’re a traveling band. We’re a live show.

A: I think what would probably fit us more is having a Vegas show with dancers.

J: Well, selling records is not necessarily longevity. You can be at the top of the charts, be here today and gone tomorrow, you know, and that’s one thing about our band is that we have a live show and so, whether we sell one record or not, we still make a living from that.

M: And have a good time doing it too.

J: Yeah, and having a good time to. We here at Bonnaroo!

M: There’s a lot of shitty bands that sell a hell of a lot of records but are done next year. You’re like, “Who in the fuck was that?!”

J: But don’t get me wrong, we like to sell records! (Laughter) We just don’t.

M: You’re guys show encapsulates a lot of different genres; Reggaeton, Banda, Duranguense. Think about your influences over all those genres…

R: When we first got together it was a bunch of individuals who showed up and we just kinda like, well, what do you know, what do you know? And if you didn’t really know, you just kinda figured it out. As people and as musicians we were just open to different things. I don’t think we’re purists in the sense where we have to play styles exactly traditionally. I think that we respect music enough to learn a little bit about it but we’re open. Wherever we go, wherever we travel, we’re always looking for new music. We’ve taken a lot of trips this year. We’ve been all over from India to Nepal, parts of South America to the Middle East, and we ask the locals what they like, what they listen to. There’s a music called Murga, it’s this African music in South America that I’ve really been into lately. We just get into it. That’s kinda the way it works for us.

M: What’s it sound like?

R: It’s definitely like this Africa carnivale music, but it’s slower. It almost sounds kinda drunk. It’s kinda like…(emulates the sounds of the music). It’s really cool.

M: You guys are into the political movement, your guys music opening doors. You guys were one of the first bands to go into countries and play in Nepal, or play in Timbuktu, or wherever it was…

J: Katmandu!

M: Katmandu, yeah, that’s right! How was it going into those countries and being one of the first?

J: It was great. This past year we have gotten to a lot of cool places that a lot of bands don’t get to travel to, like; Tunisia, Egypt…

M: Indonesia too?

J: Yeah, Indonesia.

M: That’s my background.

J: Oh, cool. Yeah, we were just in Indonesia. We got a chance to play with bands like Slank, who we had never heard of before, and they’re huge there. We got to make a song with them. That’s part of the beauty of traveling the way we do is that we get to meet musicians like that, local musicians, and get to interact like that and get to meet people from all around the world.

M: What was it like to see those hot Indonesian chicks singing your song?

R: It was a song called Can’t Stop and it was a radio contest. The girls who won showed up in these little nursing outfits…

J: It looked like something out of Speed Racer, it was a trip.

A: It was really cool man. It was an honor for them to learn the song and actually sing it.

M: I was pretty impressed. I was heard the song and I was like, wow, they’re singing this really well. Then I sent him (gesturing to B) the video of it and was like, see, there’s hot Indonesian chicks.

B: Wait, I never said that there wasn’t hot Indonesian chicks, don’t pigeonhole me like that! (Laughter)

M: Your writing process, it’s gotta be pretty crazy. You guys have had so many members of your band, all those influences like you say, you’re drawn from so many different angles, how in the hell do you guys finish a song?

R: It is a long process for us because I think people need to feel connected to it. When you bring in music it has to inspire everybody else. That’s kinda that songs that get picked to record, the ones where everybody looks at each other and says. “Oh, yeah yeah, I get it.” The ones that half of the people say, “Ah, I don’t like it” and half of the people say they do, it’s just not worth the battle. So we say, okay let’s pick something else.

B: So, you’re approaching thirteen years now, are you guys sick of each other yet?

R: We love each other. It’s like we’re family. You know, there’s ups and downs all the time but we are totally committed.

A: Well, it’s nice that some of us live really so away from each other. So we don’t have to visit each other or ride in a cab together.

B: Oh, you guys don’t picnic together every Sunday when you’re not touring?

A: No, we all have our own lives. The three of us are dads here. You see us, it’s kinda crazy.

R: You see the person you work with more than you see your lady at home, that gets weird.

B: Yeah, the wifey’s not too happy with me being down here with him (gesturing to Moe) all the time either but…

R: But you do what you gotta do!

M: I’m single. I get to go places, he’s (makes whip sound). Nah, it’s not bad.

B: Alright, rather than asking you guys questions about yourselves, I want to get your guys opinions of each other. Asdru, why don’t you tell me a little bit about Jiro.

A: Jiro is probably one of the sexiest guys in the band. I think that, if I went that way, I wouldn’t mind.

B: (to Jiro) How do you feel about that? You guys have to share a bus together.

J: Hey man…

B: Jiro, tell me a little bit about Raul.

J: Raul is hurting right now. He’s burning up, but he’s a trooper because he’s out there doing it no matter what. That’s a little inside… see he went running the other day, running right through a patch… see he was on a roll, he was like, “I’m running as far as I can today!”, and we were at a festival in Kansas and he went through the woods and I think he was taking a leak or a crap or something, came back with a little rash. (all laugh) That’s what he tells us at least. It looks like it’s true.

B: If it has three leaves, don’t squat near it!

R: Dude, the truth is, I am hurting. And I am a trooper!

M: Yeah, I saw you walking over pretty gingerly. I was like, what’s a matter, did he fall off the stage or something.

B: I think it was you (gesturing to Asdru) that I heard doing a little acapella when I was walking by earlier. Do you guys do anything like that in the back, any specific acapellas or something like that, that you guys do to warm-up?

A: We should! All these years, you’d think that we’d learn that that we be a good thing to do. But no, we don’t. Maybe as individuals we do, but not as a group.

J: Check us out next week, we’ll see what happens.

R: Yeah, we’re a regular barbershop quartet before we go on stage!

A: I prefer warming up voice then warming up my trumpet, even though I should be on my horn a little more. It works out somehow. If everyone else worked out enough of their stuff then we would sound great. I think we could sound better, we always could.

M: Saw you guys playing on Dancing With The Stars.

A: That was hot, that was dope. I learned two things. Number one, I’m not in shape. I mean these people were like amazing. And number two, I don’t know how to dance. Nobody in the band can dance compared to these people. I got to give it up, there was this one couple that came in who were guests and they were these champions, and I saw this dude, he started from the floor, she was lying on top of him, and with one arm he got up on one knee and with a fluid motion stood all the way up and stretched her out into the sky.

J: I can do that.

A: No, the way that he did it, nobody can do that shit. I can throw somebody but I don’t think I could do it as graceful as this cat did.

M: Was it weird being in that situation where you guys were on TV with people dancing?

R: It turned out way better than I thought. At first I was like, that’s corny, but then we were there and everyone was really nice. The other half of the band said there’s twenty million people who watch it. I said, okay then, I guess we’re gonna do this. It was cool. It was totally like the magic of TV. The stage set itself, it doesn’t look really nice, there’s kinda these bleachers, but on TV, you see it on the camera, it looks awesome! And the great thing is all these musicians, there’s all these bad-ass musicians from L.A. who are on so many records. It was kinda cool to be hanging with them all day.

M: I wanna know how in the hell you guys kept your concentration with all those hot girls shaking their asses right there in front of you?

A: The twenty million people watching was kind of a big motivator.

R: Yeah, if you fuck up, these twenty million people are gonna be like, “What did you do?!”

B: It’s definitely not like you guys weren’t having fun up there. You stand up, you’re doing kicks back and forth, you’re just partying. It really comes through that you guys really like what you’re doing up there. I’d have to say that you guys had the most fun, more than any other band I’ve seen so far (at Bonnaroo).

R: We always do. We play this stage, we play the small stage afterwards. We’re just having a good time. We’re playing music, it’s not brain surgery, we’re not digging ditches, and there’s people here to enjoy themselves. We’re very happy that we get to do this for our lives.

B: I must be the only guy, probably on this farm, who didn’t know who Beetle Bob was…

J: And now you do.

B: That was awesome that you guys gave him a shout and had him come out.

J: He’s funny.

B: He said he’s seen like 50,000 shows!

J: He’s from St. Louis and he’s… I don’t know if anomaly is the right word… he’s kind of a thing all to himself.

M: He’s an amorphous being.

J: He’s just a lover of music. He comes out to all our shows, so we give him props.

M: Asdru, you say, facial hair and a beard is a key to success! (Laughter) First of all, how stoned were you when you made that video?

A: Oh, you saw that. It’s funny, I wasn’t stoned, I was actually…

M: Tired, delirious?

A: No, I actually was really depressed at that point there, I was in Jakarta (Indonesia) and I had too much time to kill. So I started listening to all the classics and I came across Michael McDonald. Then I started watching this old podcast, I guess they got a cease and desist order at some point, and it was just a whole spoof on how smooth music came around. They all had this facial thing going! Like Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, they had that really cool facial hair, the Bee-Gees.

M: So you tried to grow a big massive one or what?

A: Well, I tried but then I started looking kinda funky and my wife said, “You gotta cut that shit.”

M: How am I doing?

A: You’re doing great. See, that’s Kenny Loggins right there! But that was the thing, because I realized that all these cats, like the Beach Boys, the Beatles…

M: So how’s got the best beard at this festival? Willie Nelson, probably.

A: Yeah.

M: Anybody else?

A: B. B. King. I like his, it’s classic.

M: Wait…

J: Yeah, he’s got facial hair, but it’s on his back! (Laughter)

A: It comes in a V-neck.

M: Raul, I was gonna bring my German Shepherd to the interview but…

R: Ha. Yeah, he’s (Moe) watched all the videos. Yeah, I got bit when I was a kid by a big ass German Shepherd and ever since then I’ve always been freaked out by dogs. I’ve had to learn how to really chill out around them. I’m learning.

B: You guys are, right now, in your longest tenure with a label. How’s that relationship?

How does it compare to Interscope?

J: Oh, it’s much better. What happened with Interscope is that we kind of fell into them. Our first label was Almo Sounds. Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert kind of got out of the business and in doing so we kinda got folded into Interscope. With them we were kind of a round peg in a square hole. We didn’t really fit into that machine really, along with September 11^th and a bunch of other excuses, so we got dropped by them and got picked up by Concord. Concord is music lovers, they just bought Vanguard, Stax, all these classic catalogs. They give us space and let us make our music. They give us suggestions and stuff but they’re not like, “Where’s the hit?!” They’re not like that. They say, “We love this record and we’re gonna put it out.”

M: I know you guys recorded for the Dodgers…

J: We took a song of ours that they actually liked, they came to us, they were like, “We like the song but can you change it into more of a Dodger theme?” So we changed the song Magnolia Soul into Go Dodgers Go! (Laughter)

M: But you’re wearing a Yankees shirt!

J: Oh, this isn’t the baseball team, this represents being American more.

R: A yankee go home kinda thing. (Laughter)

M: Hey, we’re yankees.

J: They asked us to put it out there and they’re playing it this season.

M: Awesome. I don’t know if Brian told you guys about our plans but we’re gonna take you guys over to the batting cages and we’re gonna challenge you guys, Ozomatli versus the Excelsior crew, to a hitting contest.

J: Aw shit!

R: A hitting of what, baseball?

M: It depends! Either way, we can go a couple of rounds! Let’s do it.

At the batting cage:

R: I used to play when I was a kid. My father was a coach. I played all the way up into high school. But I never really practice or anything. I was good, but I haven’t really played since then. I haven’t really swung a bat since last time I was here probably, which was like two years ago.

B: Trey, let me talk to ya for a sec dude.

T: Alright, cool, let’s do this.

B: You need to get some mic time. Gimme a prediction about how Asdru’s gonna do (in the batting cage). He’s taking it pretty seriously!

T: I know, he really focused!

B: He’s dialed in.

T: This is crazy. I’ve never seen him this focused about sports!

B: So, Trey, how did you get involved with Ozomatli?

T: I was actually hanging out with G. Love, of G. Love and the Special Sauce, and he was like, “Yo, Trey, why don’t you come and jump on stage with me.” So I went and I got up on stage with him and Ozo was there and they were like, “Yo, man, why don’t you jump up with us.” I was like, alright, cool. So, I jumped up on stage with them.

B: So what did you do, did you freestyle? Did you have a couple of things in your pocket?

T: I had some rhymes to share so I said I’d do it. So we did that and then the next day they were like, “Yo, why don’t you come with us to Santa Barbara?” I was like, fuck, alright, cool. On that day they were like, “Well, hey, what are you doing? Cuz we might need a MC to travel.” I was like, I’m not doing too much of anything, so if you want me to travel, yeah no problem, now’s a good time. So that’s how it turned out. It’s pretty awesome.