@ZackTeibloom I fully intended to leave Bonnaroo this morning. My suit is hanging up in my car. Instead, I’m wearing a bathing suit in the same room as Jimmy Buffet. I pride myself on crashing festivals, but uncrashing a festival? It pretty much goes against everything I stand for. Read the rest of this entry »

@andlaurasays David Byrne is the ultimate showman. A lone figure of rock genius, he has been an immoveable boulder in the turbulent and ever-changing waters of the music business, constantly reinventing himself, his
music, and his live act. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Gregg “Girl Talk” Gillis told a sold-out crowd in Chicago last November that it was the “biggest show of his life.”  Then Bonnaroo happened. At 2:30 a.m., right after the Pittsburgh native’s Penguins won the Stanley Cup, Girl Talk took the stage at the wildly overpacked tent and threw the party of his life. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Bonnaroo 2009 didn’t hit its stride until Phish took the stage. There was an aprehensive feeling among the crowd until then. A holding back. Tip-toeing around the mud instead of splashing through it. Not enough wild hippie dancing. It hadn’t become Bonnaroo yet.

There was nothing to hold back anymore when Phish opened with “Chalkdust Torture” and the embattled Bonnaroo crowd yelled, “Can I live while I’m young?!” as the glow stick wars raged. Read the rest of this entry »

 @ZackTeibloom The rain came early and often at Bonnaroo this year, turning the festival grounds into a sloggy mud pit. Vendors lined up to buy $6 bales of hay this morning to cover the trenches so their customers could make it to their booths, as volunteers scooped the muddy slosh into buckets.

We’ve been able to avoid the rain, but the mud is now a fixture of the festival. It would take a world class broad jump to clear a moat to get back to our tent. Sadly, I only got a Division II scholarship in the broad jump, so my socks got soaked. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Vampire Weekend is to 2008 as Passion Pit is to 2009. Indie-rock band featuring a high pitched singer, prominent keyboard and synth, barely drinking age. 

Like Vampire Weekend, they were almost dangerously hyped-up befpre their debut and somehow exceeded expectations getting above an 8 on Pitchfork and landing a Thursday night spot at Bonnaroo.  Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom If your real name was Nick Carter, you’d pretty much have to change it to something as hard as MURS, (Making Underground S**t Raw) wouldn’t you? Especially if you were a bare-chested thick dreadlocked, rapper and not the toe-headed younger brother of a Backstreet Boy.

 MURS and his MC had the crowd locked in from before he said a word. The MC cued up some Motown,* speds it up until it’s unrecognizeable and let the rapper do his thing. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore Parretheads headed to Bonnaroo are in for a pleasant surprise. Just added to the incredible Bonnaroo line-up (as in a couple of hours ago) is Jimmy Buffet. He will be performing with Ilo and the Coral Reefer Allstars on Saturday at noon on the Which Stage.

I have only heard stories of the insane party that is a Jimmy Buffet concert. I can’t imagine how he would be outside of his element at noon at Bonnaroo, but I wish I was going to be there. I own Jimmy Buffet’s concert from Wrigley Field, and would have gladly sang along to the hits. Read the rest of this entry »

@Zack Teibloom It’s 5 a.m., the night before the night before Bonnaroo, but it’s Festival eve for me. I drive to Memphis tomorrow to meet up with Laura, the top female prospect of Festival Crashers beta class before making a break for Festival Grounds Thursday morning.

I’m half packed, half asleep and have about half as much money as I’ll need for gas for this trip. In my mind, I’m already back at Centeroo, talking about how I love Dr. Seuss, but only his rhyming stuff. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom With five different colored Stubb’s wristbands in my pocket, I pulled into a parking spot, gave a fist full of change to the guy who “helped me” find a spot and scoped out the scene.

It may be a while before I acquire every color of Stubbs’ wrist bands. This night was bright orange which sucked because not only didn’t I have that color, but it’s hard to walk around a venue without such an obvious pass.

Animal Collective sold out weeks ago, so the scalpers were out in droves asking anywhere from $35 to $60 a ticket. I’m not sure if any got more than $50 for one, but I did see cash exchange hands a few times. Read the rest of this entry »