FRIDAY at Bonnaroo 2009

Friday, we knew was going to be a loooonng day.

Just as I was told would happen, we woke up not long after the sun came up. It just got too hot in the tent, especially since it had rained all night, causing us to keep the vents closed.

In order to get a good spot for Animal Collective, David and I headed to the Which Stage to stake out a good place and decided to sit through Gomez in the process. I actually liked Gomez a lot, which David predicted would probably be the case.

I saw a guy wearing a shirt that said "I heart balls on my face" and another neon yellow one with Carlton's face on it. I couldn't resist posting it. That twitpic got the attention of Brian Shoemaker at wgem.com, who recommended me for Follow Friday. :) Proud moments.

As soon as the Gomez set was finished, there was no time to sit and rest - people started pushing and shoving their way to the front. I was kind of appalled, as I had expected the Roo crowd to be a bit more congenial. (And at every other show for the rest of the weekend, it was.)

We did at least have a good view. "My Girls" sounded nothing like it did on the CD, but I still kind of liked it. They fooled around with it a lot. I've been at shows where you "feel" the music, but this was in the most literal sense of the word. The sound was SO LOUD that I really and truly thought one of my eardrums was going to burst. After that feeling passed, I was numbed by the vibrations and really started to enjoy myself. At least two people passed out, but it's unknown at this time whether that was due to drug use or dehydration. I'm guessing both.

Grizzly Bear was up next at This Tent, and I was really starting to feel worn down. This alarmed me because I intended to go until 4 a.m. for Girl Talk, so I left the tent and laid down in the grass underneath a nearby tree.

I continued my rest back at Which during TV on the Radio. I stood for one or two songs, but the experience was the same lying down since I couldn't see much anyway. Dozing off during a show like this is a surreal experience that I'm not sure how to describe. Makes dreaming a lot more interesting, where you're not sure what's real and what's not. David stood most of the time, because TV on the Radio is one of his favorite bands.

Beastie Boys were next on the main stage (What Stage). We stayed for much of this, and I was delighted to hear "Body Moving." David was excited when Nas joined them on stage. We were sure Justin, who couldn't make it this year, would be incredibly jealous. As we walked away I heard "Intergalactic." If I could do it all over again, I would have stayed longer, but I was bound and determined to see Girl Talk if it killed me, especially after he sold out the Pageant before we got tix.

We took a several hour long nap, missing David Byrne, Phish (D*MNIT all to hell), Crystal Castles and Public Enemy and woke up just in time to hit Girl Talk at 2 a.m. at That Tent. Thank God he went on late because we would have missed the beginning.

We were positioned really close to a mud puddle that people kept falling in. One guy actually went diving into it, which I would have done too except that the fest had two days left to go, no showers and the mud smelled of poo. I only wish we would have been closer. SO jealous of those on stage. "You alright Bonnaroo!?"

After the show we at some NY pizza and then headed back for a few hours of sleep before daybreak... Twitter users warned of a really bad storm headed our way (the land hurricane that hit Memphis) but it completely missed us.