TimmyB's 10 Reasons Why I Love bonnaroo's Initial Lineup for 2006

[TimmyB]

Ask anybody that knows me, when I go to a any type of concert, whether it be at a bar, club, arena/amphitheatre, stadium, or giant field in Manchester, Tennessee, all that matters to me is the music.

The recent thread about entitled "Bonnaroo line up, here it is" fascinated me. I can understand why people wouldn't want to go to bonnaroo because a certain band they wanted to see there in years past wasn't there this year or because it's too far away or busy with people or hot or whatever.

But to my eyes and come June 16-18, 2006 to my ears there is more great music on any given stage at bonnaroo than any other festival in North America and possibly the planet.

I started writing down what I personally thought was great about the bonnaroo music & arts festival 2006 and by coincidence I ended up with ten reasons I'll be going solely based on one thing and one thing only, MUSIC. I split it up most of it based on genre, though in the end it is all just music and bonnaroo has more diveristy and quality than any other festival out there.

I could have wrote down more than ten reasons but I stopped at ten because I have things to do today other than write why bonnaroo looks so good to me. The resons were typed down in the order they came to me and where not changed after the fact.

So without further ado:

TimmyB's 10 Reasons I Love bonnaroo's Initial Lineup Announcement

1. A member of the Grateful Dead.

CHECK - Phil Lesh & Friends (And we don't even know which Friends Lesh will have with him as of yet.)

2. A member of Phish.

CHECK - Mike Gordon and Ramble Dove (Mike Gordon performing material from Hank Williams to Gram Parsons, I'll be sure not to pass this set by Gordon up.)

3. Other jambands (whatever that may be?) to represent the foundation of the festival.

CHECK - The aforementioned Phil Lesh & Friends along with moe., Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Blues Traveler, Robert Randolph and the Family Band and likely more to come as more lineup announcements are made.

Not to mention groove based jazz acts like Medeski, Martin & Wood and Soulive.

4. New Orleans artists are to be well represented after Hurricane Katrina.

CHECK - The Neville Brothers, Dr. John (It is nice to see that two of the most significant acts to have ever come out of New Orleans will be at bonnaroo this year.) and Ivan Neville's Dumstaphunk and the Rebirth Brass Band.

5. After bonnaroo dropped off in attendance nearly 15,000 fans from 2004 to 2005 they needed to find an act that will draw them in.

CHECK - Radiohead (Is an act that is significant not just because of their popularity which will sell tickets at bonnaroo, they will also possibly draw new fans to the jambands scene. I know there are several fans of the jambands scene like myself that love Radiohead, but many Radiohead fans will be seeing many jambands for the first time. I do not see the downside to this, it will bring new fans to the scene and in the end don't we want more people to love the artists we love so much?)

5. You're in Tennessee, so you feel like hearing some country music.

CHECK - Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Jerry Douglas, Shooter Jennings and Nickle Creek

Not to mention alternative country rock, like Steve Earle and Son Volt

6. We would have never had rock and roll if it were not for country music and that other genre of music rhythm and blues and/or the blues.

CHECK - Buddy Guy (Mr. Guy will be seventy this year and if you haven't seen him live yet you should definitely make it to whatever stage he will be performing on at bonnaroo.)

7. Country music or the blues is not your thing and you are tired of none stop jambands on every stage, maybe you want to hear some indie acts.

CHECK - Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Bright Eyes, Death Cab for Cutie, Cat Power, the Dresden Dolls

8. There is a nice mix of young and old at the festival and what is wrong with the old acts anyway? If you are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame whether you like the act or not they are at very least significant in the history of music. I'm sure when Phish gets inducted a lot of you on this board will celebrate that fact.

CHECK - Phil Lesh (within the Grateful Dead inducted in 1994), Bonnie Raitt (Inducted in 2000), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Inducted in 2002), Elvis Costello (Inducted in 2003), Buddy Guy (Inducted in 2005)

9. Reggae on Saturday or Sunday at noon at the What Stage.

CHECK - Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley and Steel Pulse (In 2003 it was the Wailers, in 2004 it was Burning Spear and in 2005 it was Toots and the Maytals)

10. The greatest solo artist of the last twenty years.

CHECK - Beck (Beck Hansen can do it all, he can write and perform songs in several different genres from rock to rap, country to blues, folk to heavy metal and a little bit of soul in all of it, play every instrument under the sun, dance like James Brown and do some of the craziest things you'll ever see on stage. The hippies will dance when he is on stage, oh they will dance.)

[Deeps]

Wanna car pool?

I think you just sold it to me TimmyB.

Deeps

[TimmyB]

Wanna car pool?

I think you just sold it to me TimmyB.

Deeps

Hey Deeps,

I will definitely travel with you and your lovely lady.

We can sort out the details via Private Topics over the days to come.

Tim

[AD]

10. The greatest solo artist of the last twenty years.

hmm... interesting... not sure if i agree with it, but hey, it's your opinion.

good list and reasons Tim, well done.

You've covered the musical reasons to go to bonnaroo, i'll skip those and add some more reasons why I love it...

1. Road Trip / Vacation - the drive is hell on the way back, but in the past we've had 3-car convoys and it's generally been a wicked trip just getting there. And everyone loves a vacation.

2. People - you can meet everyone under the sun (literally), people watch, etc... Good times. Everyone is in a good mood generally, there's no traffic jams (inside), deadlines, worries...

3. Partytime - I don't do any drugs except the occasional hoot off a joint a few times a year... That said I love to drink. And the majority of the people I go down there with love to drink. SO we drink and it's a good time, you can party with your neighbours 24 hours a day, the beer tent has some fabulous beers from across the USA. I've never laughed harder than I have at the past 3 BOnnaroos

4. Shared experience - down the road, hanging out with friends, there's nothing like those 'remember that guy in the crowd with the kermit doll at the Tokyo Ska show?' and having people know what you're talking about.... Add to that if you take everyone out of their natural habitat you tend to learn a lot more about people.

I gotta get back to work, but I can't wait for the day when I say 'I gotta get back to the What Stage, meet you there.'

AD

[TimmyB]

Hey AD,

Looking forward to seeing you there.

As for Beck, of course it is my personal opinion.

I didn't think much of Beck until I saw him live at the H.O.R.D.E. Festival at SPAC on Auguest 10, 1997.

When Beck took the stage he was all bizness, from how hard he sang and played to how well he danced.

Beck that night went through material mostly through this classic 'Odelay' album but at one point in the show he picked up an acoustic guitar and played a folky version of "Pay No Mind (Snoozer)," then he picked up a microphone and a harmonica and did the bluesy "One Foot in the Grave." The band came back for the country-rockish "Jack-ass" before going back to the hit single rap/soul/rock "Where It's At."

I was completely won over after those four songs were performed Beck in Upstate New York that night.

I have never seen an artist perform folk, blues, country, soul, rock, rap and whatever else mixed in so fluidly from one song to the next and performing those different genres with nothing but heart and soul.

Tim

[AD]

stories like that are great. i sure do like beck (except for that album with Where It's At), so I definitely understand where you're coming from.

Hope he gets a good timeslot at the Roo, hopefully on the smaller stage in the 70VP slot from last year, that'd be ideal for me. Freaks flock together.

AD

[Freak By Night]

... when I go to a any type of concert, ..... all that matters to me is the music.

I agree whole-heartedly with that. Too many times friends of mine have missed out on great shows because they were either passed out or puking.

First and foremost, it has to be about the music, not about the drinking.

[TimmyB]

Ah yes now I feel like playing the "Where will they play and when?" game.

I believe Beck will either have the second last time slot on the What Stage on any given night.

Though I hope that Beck is performing on Sunday June 18, as that is the tenth anniversary of his release of 'Odelay.'

Tim

[AD]

hehe to clarify my above post.... the first and foremost reason i'm there is for the music. i didn't say that because tim made the point already.

that said, i like to have a good time while i'm watching bands / waiting for bands / after bands are done etc....

AD

[AD]

Odelay

Ah yes, that's the album I don't like.

The one and only Beck album I've heard that I don't like.

Can't believe it was 10 years ago, wow.

AD

[TimmyB]

Hey AD,

Off topic from bonnaroo for a moment.

With Freddie Mercury always looking right at me from your avatar it begs me to ask you this quetion. Are you coming down to Toronto to see Queen + Paul Rodgers at the ACC in March?

Tim

[AD]

No don't think so. I had kinda forgotten about that show.... I'll check out the dates and see if they're in Montreal, that's a bit more do-able for me..

Not too excited about no Deacon, plus I've never been a fan of Paul Rodgers.

AD

[TimmyB]

No don't think so. I had kinda forgotten about that show.... I'll check out the dates and see if they're in Montreal, that's a bit more do-able for me..

Not too excited about no Deacon, plus I've never been a fan of Paul Rodgers.

AD

Have you heard the new live album Queen + Paul Rodgers 'Return of the Champions?'

I actually grew up on Free, Bad Company and the Firm, but I was openly questioning how good Queen would be with Rodgers at the helm vocally, but after hearing their performance on the album from Sheffield in May of 2005 I was blown away by how great the gig was.

It does suck that John Deacon didn't come along with Brian May and Roger Taylor for this tour, but it still is quite excellent.

Next to David Gilmour in April I'm looking forward to Queen + Paul Rodgers more than anything else.

Well either way hopefully we'll see each other at bonnaroo?

Tim

[AD]

didn't even know they'd already capitalized on their tour with an album, i'll give it a listen if i can 'find' it and see how it is...

yup, you'll see me at bonnaroo, and i'll be at the sadies show on saturday as well, although lee's will be packed to the rafters i bet.

ad

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

i only have three reasons for going

1)drugs

2)bitches

3)money

[dave-O]

10 nice reasons, and not one of them is that Bill Frisell - arguably the greatest guitarist alive - is playing.

[livingstoned]

I've been drawn to this festival for the past couple of years for the various artists...the only thing that has held me back is the size. I like being able to wander around if I so please(not everyone wants to see the same act when there are several stages) and from what I've heard it's not a good idea for little ol' me to do so alone - that being said I've never wanted to go more than I do this year. SO i'm wondering:

WHO's COMING WITH ME? Or rather WHO's TAKING ME...my car won't make it.

[tribalstar]

I am so sold on Bonnaroo...I swore I wouldn't go back but heck that was 2 days after last year and this preliminary lineup is sweet!!!1 I will be ordering my tickets on Saturday and am looking forward to going...anyone interested in carpool ideas send me a line...I may have a car up my sleeve but am always willing to explore other options