Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

Manchester, Tenn.

June 12, 2010

Hot is an understatement here in Manchester... I think at one point yesterday, I actually felt myself starting to melt. With a heat index of 100, water and Gatorade are flowing fast.

The day got started musically at noon with a funky New Orleans session from Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. The second song of his set, a cover of "American Woman" used the trombone to substitute for lyrics — to give you an idea of his sound.

Next up was The Gaslight Anthem, who sounded to me like Social Distortion "lite," but I liked them and look forward to hearing more of their music.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros are somewhat difficult to describe. It's kind of a '60s communal musical orgy of sorts that combines elements of folk, rock and psychedelia into an amalgam of entertainment. Sharpe was constantly jumping off stage and getting close to the crowd... Definitely a band worth seeing live — though it did make me a little less aware of what was happening musically.

The Gossip took to the This Tent stage and I have to say I was impressed by Beth Ditto's vocal power. She has as much energy in her dancing as she does her voice. I've also got to credit the drummer for coming up with some entertaining techno-style beats.

Conan O'Brien was the host of the main stage for the day, and his first request was trying to get a woman to flash him — which happened — before saying he chose to come to Bonnarroo mostly because of the 95 percent humidity. Note to Conan: I know you're not used to being in front of that many people, but when you have a microphone, you don't have to yell.

Damian Marley & Nas hit the What Stage and brought forth a combination of hip-hop and reggae that got the crowd moving. Of course, there was a Bob Marley cover or two, but these two have created a cool dynamic in their music.

She & Him were next up in This Tent and I was immediately impressed with singer Zooey Deschanel's vocals. The duo has such a cool, hip '50s vibe to their songs without sounding dated. (Setlist coming soon)

The National hit Which Stage... and I'm not sure what to think. I overheard some people talking about how amazing they were, but it sounded pretty standard-issue to me. Perhaps another in-depth listen is required.

Tenacious D brought the rock to the main stage and Kyle Gass and Jack Black entertained with classic D songs and a few new ones. They kicked off their set with a song about how they know their movie sucked, but it's really all about writing one great rock song.

Tori Amos writhed her way onto the piano seat in This Tent and sounded the best I've ever heard her. She had a great aura about her from the moment she walked on stage. She kicked off the set with the uptempo "Precious Things," followed by her cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." (Setlist follows)

While Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers rolled through the same setlist as always in That Tent, Michael Franti brought new life to the Which Stage.

Headliner Kings of Leon kicked off its set with a dimly lit and overwhelmingly loud "Crawl" followed by "Aha Shake Heartbreak." I tried to make my way into the massive crowd to watch the show, but it was a futile effort. I sat in the press area and listened for a while — "Molly's Chamber," "Milk," "Kick the Bucket," "Sex on Fire" — before taking a new approach. Bonnaroo is as much about finding new bands as hearing your favorites...

So, I headed out to the Troo Music Lounge and caught the end of a great set by The Bakerton Group — which is basically an instrumental, blues-rock band featuring the members of Clutch — who are performing on Saturday. After them, it was a psych-rock female quartet called Warpaint that wasn't bad. The music had a good vibe and groove to it, but it tended to linger a bit too long.

I had a difficult decision when I thought about taking photos of The Black Keys or The Flaming Lips, however, staying with the new theme of the night — and since I've taken photos of both of them before, I instead opted for Darryl Hall with Chromeo. The group put together a live version of "Live from Darryl's House" and traded songs. (Setlist coming soon)

I then wandered to hear part of The Flaming Lips set which was the standard fare you'd expect — "Yoshimi," "Do You Realize," "Vaseline," "Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" — complete with large screen, dancers on the stage, huge balloons and plenty of confetti.

I wandered past The Black Keys set for a bit and then headed back to the Lips stage where, after a 15 or 20-minute break, they broke into their covers of the album Dark Side of the Moon. It sounded a lot like the recorded version — though they did throw in a cover of "War Pigs" at the end of the night.

Bassnectar and LCD Soundsystem weren't allowing photographers — so I didn't bother checking them out.

Galactic and B.O.B. were on my list, but by 2:30 a.m., I was exhausted and hit the tent for a few hours of sleep.

Unrelated — I think the Lunar Stage sucks if you're in Guest Camping. I don't need to hear thumping bass until 6 a.m. And in previous years, the porta-johns were cleaned pretty regularly... that hasn't happened much this year and it's becoming a big stink-aroo.

Tori Amos setlist

Precious Things

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Concertina

Leather

Secret Spell [w/ Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season) verses]

Icicle

Mr. Zebra

Beauty of Speed

Cooling

Upside Down

Bouncing of Clouds

A sorta fairytale

Space Dog

Rattlesnakes

Roosterspur Bridge

Love Song

Hey Jupiter [Dakota]

Silent All These Years