In a press conference this morning Ed Helms talked about how Bonnaroo provides an unbelievable spectrum of artists. This spectrum gives way to creative energy that makes all things possible here. This is true for fans too. It’s an amazing thing to be able to walk 50 yards to see Belle & Sebastian then walk another 30 to check out Gary Clark Jr. There’s options, so many options, almost too many. Choices must be made when set times conflict and wondrous new music discoveries happen in between.
Here's who we saw Saturday:
The War on Drugs
A live performance from these guys was much needed. Lost in Dreams is the groups third album released last year. While the album is generally a sad one lyrically, musically it resonates a kind of psychedelic country-rock. Having only listened to their studio albums I made sure to spend some time at their show here at the Roo. The War on Drugs live lends so much more. There’s a certain bite to it that is much more prevalent than the studio versions. Plus, Adam Granduciel reminds me of “the dude” for some unknown reason and because of this I will definitely be catching them again at Forecastle in July.
Bahamas
I missed Afie Jurvanen when he came to Louisville back in January at Zanzabar, so I made sure to check him out here. His sound is hard to pin point, but you don’t want to pigeonhole it either. His performance brought a kind of calmness to the Roo in the midst of all the wild happenings. He gave a very earnest performance at That Tent. He knows what he’s doing, you believe him, you kind of fall in love with him. His calm vocals and smooth jams woos you because his emotion on stage conveys honesty.
Belle & Sebastian
Probably one of the greatest group of musicians of our generation. Well respected and for good reasons. Even Jon Hamm thought so dropping in on their set to feed gummy bears to Stuart Murdoch.
Catfish and The Bottlemen
This four piece hails from Wales. From a far they look like your standard English rock group: fashionable dudes with accents playing the the usual four piece instrument set-up. In this day and age you need something more than the basics, a gimmick. At a closer look these guys have that gimmick. What sets them apart is their devotion to the idea that Rock-n-Roll never died. Their songs are instantly likeable ones. The kind you want to listen to over and over when you want to get pumped up, but live they have an authenticity of a starving artist that gives them more of a flare.
Gary Clark Jr.
Because of conflicting times, I wasn’t able to catch the soulful singer with his blues guitar, but decisions had to be made. I arrived at this decision only because he’s performing June 18th at Iroquois Amphitheater, so really it wasn’t a total loss. More like a lose-win situation.
My Morning Jacket
Our very own pride and joy headlining Bonnaroo! Of course I’m not missing that. All I want to know is if the show was recorded and when it will be available for all our listening pleasure. Feeling exhausted and dirty, Jim James was a dose of “everything is going to be okay” opening with “Believe” from their newest album The Waterfall. All my worries were left in the farm dust as they took me through the nostalgic tunes, “Mahgeetah”, “Gideon”, and a very emotionally charged jam of “Dondante”. It was a pleasure to officially hear songs from the new record too while sipping on bourbon and lemonade. For a moment I thought I was home again. Their performance rocked the Roo and only made me more excited to see them again at Forecastle this year.
