-A.S.

Although I was least familiar with N.E.R.D. going in, I was excited to see them. Everything Pharrell has touched the last few years has turned to gold. By the time they were done, they were in contention with Lupe for best set of the night.

They were in full force tonight, with a backing band that included two drummers, bass, guitar, keys and a a synth. They got the whole crowd to their feet as they dropped into “Rock Star Poser.” Next up was a track that is on their upcoming album (out June 10) that included a freak out dance party with a whole slew of people on stage that included Chris Brown dancing, Common and Lupe.

These guys really know how to work a crowd. For many of the songs Pharrell was running and jumping around the stage, acting a fool. They even drew a huge roar when the band went into the White Stripe’s “Seven Nation Army.” The energy was high all the way through, and on several occasions the members of the band got their chance to shine. The show was simply awesome, and I cannot wait for their album to drop next month.

-A.S.

Rihanna took the stage wearing a massive dress, as thousands of little girls screamed. I have been to relatively few rap/hip hop concerts, and I was surprised to see a band on stage with her. She had a drummer, bass, guitar, two back up singers and dancers on stage.

After “Pon da Replay,” Rihanna launched into a medly of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” (best used in the Pineapple Express Trailer) and Lauren Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing).” As her dancers were playing washboards, she broke into “S.O.S.” After a couple of ballads, including her latest hit, “Unfaithful,” Rihanna brought the house down with “Don’t Stop the Music,” which was made even better by the dancers with light sabers.

Her set was almost as good as she looked. The most disappointing part was that Chris Brown did not come out at all, not even for the set-closing “Umbrella” ella ella ella.

-A.S.

Kicking the night off for the Glow in the Dark Tour was Chicago’s own Lupe Fiasco, who I was most excited to see tonight anyways. Lupe was not holding any punches as he had the whole crowd going from the start. Only a few songs in he had the whole crowd singing “I’m from the city in the Midwest best city in the whole wide wide world” during his hometown inspired “Go Go Gadget Flow.” During the intro of “Paris, Tokyo” Lupe displayed a sick jazz dance walk/pimp swagger (for those of you who have been following, Zack and I have been talking about dance walks since bringing up American Psycho the other day).

One of the reasons that Lupe was so great, was because almost everyone he featured on the album was at the show. Both Sarah Green and Nikki Jean joined Lupe for some of the tracks that they are on. Matthew Santos was also in the house for both of the songs he collaborated with Lupe on, including a rocking “Superstar.”

Lupe was certainly at home in front of the sold out crowd at the United Center. He commanded the crowd with his stage presence, and proved why he can get away with naming an album The Cool. The set that may have been the best of the night closed with my favorite Lupe song, “Daydreamin’,” with Sarah Green and Matthew Santos manning the vocals in place of Jill Scott.

-Z.T.-
Wayne Coyne never ceases to amaze me. No matter how many times I see him, he’s got a new fun toy to keep my in a perpetual state of wow. Last Bonnaroo, it was thousands of Laser pointers he threw into the crowd. This time? Hot. Naked. Girls.

Decked out in a three piece suit with the bow tie undone, Coyne launched himself into the crowd inside his trademark plastic balloon.
Wayne Coyne knows how to make an entrance.

Proceeding to trot out his usual toy box filled with: Monster balloons filled with confetti that float 20 feet in the air, smoke guns, confetti launchers, two sets of dancers, hilarious videos like a Japanese game-show featuring a lizard, and a fish eye camera in his mic so his head was projected behind him.
Confetti rained from the sky as the Flaming Lips put on their spectacle of a show.

After a couple originals, Coyne said when he was nine years old, he imagined that whenever Zeppelin would play “The Song Remains The Same,” everyone would run around naked and frolic. “I know it’s chilly, but what the fuck” Coyne challenged us.

No one near me de-robed, but onto the stage came 7 gorgeous women, 4 completely nude, 3 topless.Now it’s not only 9-year-old Wayne that sees naked girls during “The Song Reamains the Same”

He guided the crowd through always enjoyable sing-a-longs of “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots” and anti-war anthem “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song.” I was screaming them word for word the first time through, but Andy seemed much more into the spectacle than the songs.

He played a 30-second “Taps” in tribute to the end of W’s reign of terror and exploded into “The W.A.N.D.” which he powered through on a megaphone.

The Lips closed with a video of Jon Stewart circa 1994 introducing “She Don’t Use Jelly.” A raucous crowd demanded an encore where they had an even funnier video with Tiffany Amber Theisson introducing “Do You Realize.” As it winded down, Andy was making an “I’ve only seen Umphrey’s 48 times, let’s head over there face and we left happily.

-A.S.
I know a lot of you are going to be shocked to read that Umphrey’s was not number one on my agenda on Friday, but it’s true. I did not even make it to either set in time to get into the photo pit to take pictures. We didn’t get to the first set in time because we were busy bumping to the end of Girl Talk’s set, and getting a sandwich at Big Bri’s campsite.
Umphrey’s getting down for their Friday night headliner slot.

We could clearly hear Umph playing “Smell the Mitten” while we chilled at their campsite, and walked into the main stage to hear them play “Utopian Fir,” even though Zack made me leave for the Flaming Lips right as they were getting to the good Reggae part in the second section.

After the spectacle that is the Flaming Lips, Zack and I returned to Umphrey’s for the second half of their second set. We walked in somewhere in middle of their massive “Divisions” sandwich. As Zack hit up the port-o-potties, I watched some fire twirlers. The set closed with the newer tune “Wappy Sprayberry” stuck in the middle of a killer “Der Bluten Kat.”

The real highlight of the Umphrey’s that me managed to catch was the encore. As soon as Joel Cummins dropped into the single sustained note on the organ I knew what it was. The spotlight hit Jake Cinninger as he began the opening guitar riff of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” I’ve said it a million times, but Umphrey’s is the best cover band ever.

Girl Talk looked like he was having just as much fun as the rest of us.

-Z.T.-

Girl Talk is Gregg Gillis. A laptop DJ, who “mashes up” remixes of popular songs, gets as much of the crowd on stage as possible and dances around shirtless. By far the most fun of the first day.

During his sound check he yells out, “Turn my voice down. I hate my voice. I hate myself.” As a montage of news clips talking about “Girl Talk” plays on the PA, he strolls on the stage and gets the party started instantly by leaping onto the DJ table and yelling YES! 12 times before reminding us, “The sun’s coming out. It’s fucking Friday. No one’s at work right now!”

After a fake album leak announcement where he assures us his new one would be out in a week. Or two. or three he assures us he’s play exclusively classic stuff, new stuff and old stuff. What a lovely enigma he is.Girl Talk may say he hates himself, but the kids love him.

Moving from Jay-Z’s “Justify My Thug” to Clipse’s “Wamp Wamp” to The Band’s “The Weight” with ease, he’s got six audience members grinding on stage by 7:03 p.m.

By 7:08 p.m. he’s teasing Ace of Base, “No Diggity,” and “Flashing Lights” as 30 stage dancers start taking over.
Kids were getting down to Girl Talk

7:10 he’s mish mashing Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” into Biggie’s “Juicy” to 50-cent’s “In Da Club” with another ten dancers storming.

7:14 Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips takes the stage with giant hands.Wayne Coyne checking out the set from Girl Talk backstage.

The next hour is a treat. Where else can you hear “Come on Eileen,” “Big Papa,” “Want You to Want Me,” “Jessie’s Girl” “Under The Bridge,” “Call on Me,” “Lollipop,” “Big Pimpin” and some Gloria Estefan and Michael Jackson. He finishes with a nasty version of “Say it Ain’t So” before singing a song and proving he should stick to the mash-up game.

-B.E.- Yes, I am aware that it has been almost two weeks since Metallica played at Bonnaroo. However, a review of the greatest metal band ever is not something that can be rushed. It must be allowed to come to fruition only when it is ready. Ok, thats a bunch of crap, but law school is tough. If any of you readers have a problem, I encourage you this time to consult the lyrics of your favorite Keith Urban song.
Anyway, as I have mentioned, Metallica is probably my favorite band and without question was my favorite band that I had never seen live. Needless to say, I had very high expectations. I was very interested to find out what their set list was going to be like. For the n00bs out there, Metallica is a band that has been searching for an identity for the last 20 years. Are they the band with 8-10 minute epics like those in Kill ‘em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice For All? Or, are they the pop metal band that we saw in the incredibly successful self-titled Black Album? This identity crisis was perhaps most evident in Load, ReLoad, and Garage Inc.? Not that those albums were terrible, there were some jams, but in general they lacked the “lets rock and see how fast we can play” intensity that Metallica die-hards have come to love.
As Andy and I entered the festival grounds at around 11:15 am Friday (Metallica wasn’t supposed to go on until 9:00 pm) Metallica fans were congregated around the gate to the main stage waiting for it to open. I was immediately impressed and had that warm “You’re not alone” feeling. Thank God for the Raconteurs, Stephen Marley, and Chris Rock otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to make it to 9:00 pm without going crazy. Finally as Chris Rock was finishing his last joke I realized that it was finally going to happen, I was going to see Metallica!

As they have done for years, the show started with a dark stage and the slowly building “Extacy of Gold.” If you haven’t heard that song its from The Good the Bad and the Ugly and the stunts beginning both of the Jackass movies. Either way I got the chills as they immediately transitioned into “Creeping Death.” From there, they moved into “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and “Ride the Lightning.” I was shocked with how many people joined James Hetfield in the chorus for both songs.
I knew that Metallica had been playing in some festivals abroad, but going into the show I wondered about their chemistry. It had been a long time since they had played in the states and they were playing with a new bassist in Robert Trujillo. As the show went on I became more and more ashamed of my doubts. Their chemistry was amazing. During “Master of Puppets” and Andy’s favorite, “One,” Hetfield and Hammett had incredible harmonies, playing very fast, technical solos note for note. It was unbelievable! Hetfield also had a great 80′s style solo call-out during “The Memory Remains” when he turned to the mic and yelled “Ahhh mister Hamett”.What really got me was when they played my favorite song “Fade to Black.” A lot of metal bands have sick guitar solos that sound pretty clean on CD but when you hear them live the notes blend together. Not Metallica. In “Fade to Black” the Joe Satriani-taught Hammet plays every solo clean and crisp; seeing him tap is really something else.

Now, I can’t review a Metallica concert and not talk about Lars. I’m telling you guys, and Andy would agree, he is one of the greatest drummers of our generation. In “No Remorse,” off of Kill ‘em All, Lars has some of the fastest transitions I have ever seen or heard. Most drummers are content with sitting behind their kits and also behind the scenes. Lars, however, is not. At the end of most songs Lars will stand up, move to the side of his cymbals, and play them relentlessly.
One thing that I have a problem with is guys who wear their band’s t-shirt while performing. I just think its tacky and lame. Jason Newsted, the former bassist for Metallica, was one of those guys. I just never felt that he fit in with the band and was very excited to see what Trujillo (who formerly played with Ozzy Osbourne) had to offer. In the end I was very impressed and thought that Trujillo added a whole new level of intensity. He has a great bass stance and an even better creep. Everything he does on stage is intense and he embodies all that is “metal” about Metallica.
As Andy mentioned in his N00b post, the pyrotechnics were pretty incredible. They also had two encores. The first included fan favorites “Nothing Else Matters”, “Sad But True,” “One,” and the very popular “Enter Sandman” which had its own crazy fireworks that engulfed the entire stage in smoke. They ended with “Last Caress,” “So What,” and “Seek & Destroy.”

I left the What Stage at 11:30ish, tired (we had been on the festival grounds since 11:15am) but also with the feeling that I had just witnessed one of the greatest live performances that I will ever see. Each of Metallica’s four members are arguably one of the best at their individual instruments. I was also impressed and glad that they played only one song post-Black Album. Their set list comprised of almost everything off of Kill ‘em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice For All. That certainly shows the direction and the identity of the future Metallica. And if Death Magnetic, set to be released in September and produced by Rick Rubin, lives up to its reputation, get ready for the rebirth of the greatest metal band to ever walk the planet.

These guys are good, just not Robert Randolph good.

-A.S.

We decided to forgo food at the car for some soul from the Lee Boys. To be honest, I was less than impressed. That is not to say that they were bad, because they were not. They just seemed like Robert Randolph lite. They feature a steel pedal guitar, just like RR, and they play their version of funked out soul music. The lead singer and bass players were both great performers, and had the crowd dancing to their beat. It made total sense to me why the Lee Boys replaced RR for the Langerado late night set that he backed out of in order to record in the studio.

We made it for the tail end of Chicago Afrobeat Project’s set. Their two saxes kept it funky and they’re group-wide drum off had everyone bumping. -Z.T.

A nice sized crowd at the day set for moe.

-A.S.

3:00 p.m.
I was really anxious to get to moe. after a nice set from 56 Hope Road. I anxious to test out my new wide angle camera lens on the main stage. We got there right at the start of the set and I parted ways with Zack to head into the photo pit.
Al Schnier melting some faces as the rain stopped falling.

Having a day set was a new one for the band that usually headlines all three nights of Summer Camp. To Zack and my delight, it was awesome. They played a couple of tunes off of Dither, including a nice “Faker” and then played a very rocking and jammed out version of “Okay Alright” which drew a huge reaction from the crowd.

Overall, I was very pleased with the set from moe., but even more excited about the great pictures I managed to get of Al Schnier freaking out on his guitar and Rob Derhak thumping away on the bass.Rob Derhak manning the vox.