[SRG ON TOUR] Bonnaroo 2010: Day 1 Recap

Bonnaroo Carousel | Photo by Nik Christofferson

Time logged in CenterRoo: 4.5hrs

Who we saw: Miike Snow, Neon Indian, The Dodos, Blitzen Trapper, The Temper Trap, The xx

I am very reluctant to speak of the exhausting process by which we battled heat and boredom for hours upon grueling hours to finally enter the Bonnaroo camp ground. We had of course heard horror stories, and thought we were well prepared with late night arrival. It turned out we made a costly mistake, and were left stuck in the I-24 cluster fuck with thousands of other folks for a hellish amount of time. Why the fuck will call and media check-in was located in down town Manchester as opposed to on-site I will never understand, and the result was a little more than frustrating and disheartening. On a brighter note a couple things that helped pass the time were the XM radio in our rental car, the cat and mouse game of cutting the line, as well as keeping track of all the state license plates. People drove from all over the US for Bonnaroo, and it was pretty damn cool.

The xx | Photo by Nik Christofferson

With all plans of catching Savannah, GA metal titans Baroness thwarted early on due to the lengthy wait, and initial campsite setup. The first night focus turned to exploration of the CenterRoo or main festival grounds in the dark. CenterRoo features 2 main stages, 3 large tents, and various minor side stages along with a cinema, comedy tent, rows and rows of booths, vendors, beer and food stands, a carousel, and large mushroom shaped fountain. Beyond the famous Bonnaroo entrance archway was quite an amazing sight, probably 10 times the space of the Gorge amphitheater, and eventually 4 times the people.

After becoming acquainted with the grounds, it was time to catch some music. The acts left after Baroness on Thursday were nothing to write home about, but it was still cool to see local folk rockers Blitzen Trapper put on a great set in front of a rather large crowd. I had no idea they had become so popular. We caught an enthusiastic Dodos set, and a slew of Sasquatch Festival overlappers including: Miike Snow, Neon Indian, The Temper Trap, and snoozers The xx. After not sleeping for almost 40 hrs, we had no choice but to cash in our chips at a reasonable hour. Day 1 was a gentle preface for the next three days of music madness.

The Temper Trap: