My Bonnaroo - Day 3

It seems to always rain on Day 3 of Bonnaroo, and this year was no exception. Fortunately, the rain didn't last long and for the most part cooled things down a bit throughout the day. Starting off the day knowing that we would not be sticking around to catch Phil Lesh and Friends that night, I was looking to get the most out of my final day at Bonnaroo 2006.

- Andrew Bird -
My first stop was to see Andrew Bird for the second time that week, this time on the Sonic Stage. I thought I was getting there a bit early, all in hopes of obtaining an autograph from Matisyahu for a friend, but Mr. Bird was already getting ready on stage, and the line for Matisyahu's signature was beyond ridiculous. There was also a large crowd to check out Andrew, which caused me to come to the conclusion that the purpose of the Sonic Stage (to give an audience a more intimate look at their favorite artists) was quickly losing its effectiveness. Oh well, Andrew Bird is an amazing musician and a thrill to see (my fourth time now). I worked hard to work through the crowd for the above photo.

- Be Your Own Pet -
After Bird, it was time to check out Thurston Moore's new favorite band, Be Your Own Pet. Hailing from Nashville, the very young Be Your Own Pet are today's new hyped band. Probably the most punked out act at Bonnaroo, Be Your Own Pet rolled through their songs at lighting fast speed, only taking brieft moments with the "hippies" to announce the next song title. I will give it to them that they were a tight group, but after awhile the songs seemed to all mesh together to me. While I was leaving their stage, the band announced that they had only two more songs left, which would have meant they would have ended early during an allowed thirty-five minute set.

- Refugee Allstars of Sierra Leone -
I hadn't seen the new documentary about the next act, The Refugee Allstars of Sierra Leone, but I had heard very favorable reviews (they were actually playing the film later that afternoon at the Cinema tent). As members of the group explained their story and the significance of each song title, it was the groove of their beat that kept the audience entranced.

- The Streets -
I still don't own the new one The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living but I'm a big enough fan of the first two (2002's Original Pirate Material and 2004's A Grand Don't Come For Free) to be excited about the upcoming show. Frontman Mike Skinner's rap approach is far removed from what us American's are familiar with, and for some that might have been a turn off, especially for my girlfriend who was merely annoyed by The Street's performance, and Mike Skinner's lyrics, which she found to be a mere novelty. I myself was a bit disappointed (in the sense that I had high hopes for The Streets), and felt that most of the tunes didn't translate as well live as they do on the records. Oh well, it was rather amusing when Mike Skinner began to go into the Arctic Monkey's "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor," in between talking to the crowd about "soccer" (even he knew not to address it as football to an American audience).

- Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks -
After catching some of Son Volt in the shade, I made my way over to see Stephen Malkmus. I hadn't seen Stephen since his days with Pavement, so I was thrilled to see him again, especially coming off a strong record Face the Truth. The first track we caught was the highly infectious (as many of Malkmus songs are) number, "Baby C'mon". It was made clear by the playlist that this was a Jicks show, so there were no numbers from Stephen Malkmus' first solo album or old Pavement tunes. Still, he put on a good rockin' show. Though, I'll admit it would have been a bit anticlimactic if it had been the last show I had seen at Bonnaroo.

- Sonic Youth -
Nope, that honor goes to the legendary Sonic Youth, who after twenty-five years together, are still putting out amazing records, including the latest Rather Ripped (the Lovers' album of the week). By suggestion from Stephen Malkmus, Thurston Moore talked to the crowd for awhile before the group launched into their first number. What did he talk about? Well, Tennessee! He talked about how his dad living in east Tennessee, and that he spent a lot of time there when he was younger. And how each time he comes back to Tennessee, he feels like getting a house and starting all over. He also talked about how watching all the kids smoking free samples (?) of Natural American Spirit cigarettes made him want to start back up the habit, a habit he claims he kicked when he was 14 years old! He also recommened the pizza, so I bought one. After finishing up the first one, "Incinerate," Thurston Moore apologized for talking too much at the beginning of the show, and that it was all Malkmus' fault. If you were familiar with the new record, and think it is on par with their classic Sister and Daydream Nation than you were blown away by their Bonnaroo performance. The only older songs I recall before the encore (which I didn't catch but heard Malkmus joined them on stage for "Expressway to Yr. Skull!) were "100%" and "Pattern Recognition". Still, the new songs sounded great and the show was easily my favorite of the day and high on my list for the weekend.

Those that I wish I could have seen: Lewis Black, Elvis Costello, Steel Train, and The Magic Numbers