My Bonnaroo - Day 2

- Bill Frisell -
The first act on Day 2 was the well-respected jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. Frisell has an extensive back catalog that have explored an array of musical genres. Perhaps a bit predictable, but Frisell went the genre route of jam band (which thanks to the Dead is an understandable genre term). The sounds were mellow and relaxing, and I would have liked to have taken more of it in, but I had to check out everyone's favorite, indie band success story of 2005, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah -
No pictures of the band here, since I was too far away from the stage to get anything worth posting. Instead, I took in the show under the shade of a tree. I think I will have to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on a club date before I submit my verdict on their live performance.

- Amadou & Mariam -
The next obvious choice was Elvis Costello with Allen Toussaint but they were performing on the stage without any coverage. And to be honest, I had already seen Elvis Costello live but I knew that I might never get the chance to see Amadou & Mariam again. The blind husband and wife team musicians from Mali are fairly new discovery for me even though the two have been recording albums for the past six years. But it was their last studio release, Dimanche a Bamako that brought them their biggest exposure to the world, often finding its way on Best of 2005 album lists. Even as a developing fan of world music, Amadou & Mariam are an act that don't have a problem with crossing over to various musical tastes. This show was probably the biggest surprise for me at the festival, and also one my favorites of the week that I plan on purchasing from Bonnaroo.com when the mp3's come avaliable.

- Buddy Guy -
My next stop was to check out the Sonic Stage, a small venue set up to give Bonnaroo fans a more "intimate" look at some of their favorite artists. After a short performance, the artist sign autographs for a line that's longer than those for the bathroom. The first act I caught at the Sonic Stage was Buddy Guy, and while he had a nice size crowd, I was still able to get rather close. What can I say, the seventy year old blues veteran still knows how to entertain the folks.

- Beck -
Certainly one of the biggest draws for the week was Beck. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Beck but for some reason I wasn't bubbling with excitment about seeing him live. Perhaps this is due to the massive crowd which resulted in a less than intimate setting. Or perhaps this is due to the fact that I was hot and tired. Either way, I made my way over to the mainstage to check it out. There has been lots of talk on other blogs about the puppets that were modeled after Beck and were shown on the large screens on each side of the stage. Sure it was cute, but after awhile I wanted to see Beck and not his wooden representation. Oh well, I left after a few songs but I did hear "Devil's Haircut, "New Pollution," and "Hell Yes".

- Medeski Martin & Wood -
So, I left the Beck stage and went to check out Medeski Martin & Wood, a band that has played Memphis numerous times, and a band that I don't own any of their records or have even been exposed to that much. Still, I thought they would be nice relaxation in contrast to the other acts going on at that time (Cypress Hill, Blues Traveler, Les Claypool). Well, I was right and I actually feel asleep in the grass for awhile.

- Radiohead -
When I woke up, I headed back over to the end of the Beck show and then got a good position for Radiohead an hour before showtime. Even with that far of an advance prepartion, I was still pretty far back. At least, I could actually see the band. I am almost afraid to see photos of the crowd that night, since there was no other act was going on (and it wasRadiohead), all of Bonnaroo showed up. The Britsh act (the first as a headliner in Bonnaroo's 5 year history) didn't disappoint, giving us amazing live versions spanning their entire discography. Some of the songs played: There There, Kid A, No Surprises, Paranoid Android, The Bends, National Anthem, How To Disappear Completely, Pyramid Song, Fake Plastic Trees, etc. At one point, looking out into the sea of night visitors, Thom declared "Now, this is a festival!". We left after "Karma Police," the final song of the first encore. I didn't realize until later that there was an actual second encore with two additonal songs. In total, Radiohead played a set of 28 songs! (How did "A Wolf At The Door" not get thrown into mix?)

End of Day 2.