Tales From The Roo: Day 1

Let me start off by saying I apologize for what will likely be a jumbled mess of incoherent thoughts & partial sentences in these next few posts (wait...are all my posts like that?). Three days at Bonnaroo is a little bit like visiting another planet, filled with non-stop loud music and unwashed hippies, and a lot like losing several brain/eardrum cells. So please forgive any awkward transitions and gaping holes in chronology as my recall is a bit hazy!

Day 1 featured a lot of jittery excitement and a few nerves as we all piled into Row 15 of one of the Delta charter planes (the little ones that have you white-knuckling every bump of turbulence) bound for Nashville. Lucky for me, Kevin's left shoulder conveniently functioned as a headrest, and two sleep-filled hours later, we landed in hot, sticky Tenneesee ready to take on The Roo.

While Kevin, Pete, Alex & I have all been to the festival before, as a first timer, Kristin was pumped. Like a little kid headed to Disneyland, she couldn't even sit still for the camera.

Upon arrival at our deluxe hotel accommodations, the Country Inn & Suites, we quickly dropped our bags, slathered on some sunscreen, applied a few fake tattoos (because why not?), and headed to the festival grounds. With our special VIP "Artists" wristbands firmly in place, granting us access to designated private viewing areas and side of the stage entrance (no measly general admission tix here!), we were ready.

Smack dab in the middle of Tennessee on a 700-acre farm, The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is three-days & four-nights of sensory overload. With 80,000 festival-goers, 150 performances on 10+ stages from sunup to sundown every day, it's like an alternate universe. Overwhelming at first, but by the end you're so exhausted and desensitized to the sheer outrageousness of it all that seeing people dressed like this seems perfectly normal:

Our outfits being not quite as garish, Kristin & I felt compelled to join in on the anything-goes festival attire blanketing the grounds. If we couldn't join 'em in the costume department, we would make do with the next best thing. Hair! Hello Garnier Fructis braiding booth! Should I be embarrassed to admit we hit up this place every day? Who knew the authentic hippie look would take so much effort!

Eventually, it was time to get down to business and do what we came here to do. Hear some music! Bands we caught during Night 1...

Haim - an all-girl group from LA with a long-haired, freewheelin' hipster style but decidedly old-school rock'n'roll sound (wishing this was a better photo!):

Japandroids - a funky band with a funky name made up of two guys from Vancouver, BC who do a lot of energetic jumping around on stage. Unfortunately, I was too busy jumping along with them to snap any pics!

We also briefly stopped by the sets of Allen Stone featuring a full gospel choir (!), Alt-J, and Walk The Moon but only stayed for a couple songs at each.

With a marathon like Bonnaroo you really have to pace yourself, so to conserve energy in preparation for the upcoming days ahead, we called it an early night to ensure top fuel reserves for the real reason we all came down here: Sir Paul McCartney. A legendary Beatle in the flesh? Japandroids Shamandroids, we're here to see Paul.

Stay tuned for Day 2 recap up next!

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