Flashback (Friday) to that Vampire Weekend with St. Paul & Yeezus
While writing this, I realized the 3 main performers that had the biggest impact on my Friday at Bonnaroo were acts I had seen before and they all have a history with the farm. The Boys Next Door, St. Paul and the Broken Bones
I started my day by meeting up with my Bonnaroovian buddy, Rob (Hi Rob!). We decided to see St. Paul and the Broken Bones at The Other Tent. Originally I was going to skip their set because I’m seeing them on September 18th at Track 29. I’m glad I changed my mind though. They seemed genuinely excited to entertain us. Come to find out lead singer, Paul Janeway is a long-time Bonnaroovian. In between songs, he shared his excitement and a little bit about his Bonnaroo past. I can’t even imagine what it’s like being in that crowd year after year daydreaming about being on that stage, then one day there you are performing for your peers. I could feel their energy as they performed and I know this moment wasn’t lost on them. I am thankful I was there to witness it. Of course, I’ll see you at Track 29 in the Fall. Too much St. Paul and the Broken Bones is never a bad thing.
The Hipster Kings, Vampire Weekend
I usually only see the bands that I haven’t seen before while at Bonnaroo, but my original schedule was long forgotten by Thursday. Shortly before leaving for the farm in 2008, a co-worker told me to see Vampire Weekend while there. (Thanks Taylor!) I thoroughly enjoyed their Thursday night set in This Tent that weekend. Their debut album was the only thing I listened to for months on the way to and from school after that.
Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the epicness that is a Bonnaroo Thursday night? Here’s some intel on the Bonnaroo booking process. AC Entertainment coordinates with The Fates while working on the schedule. Lachesis is on speed dial. (nerdy Greek Mythology reference). They drop all the acts that are going to be freakin’ huge soon into the one of Tents on Thursday night every year, e.g. MGMT, Alabama Shakes, Kendrick Lamar, Alt-J, Passion Pit… It makes my hipster heart happy to brag, “when I saw them at Bonnaroo they were on a [relatively] small stage.”
ANYWAY Vampire Weekend is one of many of those bands. Their set last Friday on What, (the main stage) right before the headliner was fun as usual. Everyone loves Vampire Weekend. Don’t deny for your love for them, like some sorta hipstercrite.
Kanye, Kanye, Kanye…
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| Photo by Ben Kaye |
Y’all know there’s a reason why we can’t stop, won’t stop talking about him, right? Because he's dope and does dope shit. Any long-time reader of Concert Hopper knows my love for my future ex-husband, Mr. West and my opinion (based on facts) of the events that transpired in 2008. If you don’t, read this now here and come back. Okay, now that you know what really happened in ’08 and that I suck at lineup predictions we can move on.
Let me start by saying I’m not real big on stage banter if you’re not giving us a history lesson like Paul McCartney or making us laugh like Leticia Wolf, then shut the fuck up. With that being said I agreed with Kanye’s rants and I think some of that stuff needed to be said, but I think his set didn’t flow, the breaks between songs were too long multiple times throughout the set and I got a little bored at points when he talked too much. When he was actually in the midst of performing a song, he was the number one motherfucking rock star and he had the crowd in his hand. We would have done jumping-jacks if he told us to. I don’t know, I guess what I am trying to say is, Kanye don’t worry about telling them how great of an artist you are, just show them.
Honorable Mentions
An Umphrey’s McGee set is great for people watching.
Janelle Monae is the coolest.
Die Antwoord is freeky and like them a lot. I hope they are the weirdest thing I ever see. I can’t handle weirder.