Bonnaroo 2007 From the Inside: The White Stripes

More from inside Bonnaroo 2007:

Well, Jack and Meg White tore the place up last night with Jack's mind-bending instrumentals/vocals and Meg's thumping rhythms on the drumkit. The Which stage crowd was huge - and pretty frenzied toward the front with as many as 10-15 bodies being passed at a time through much of the first half of the show....

Coming as it did at sundown of the last of four Bonnaroo days, the White Stripes were the perfect band to complement the dust, heat, and exhilaration of four days of great music and vibes.

Bonnaroo 2007 From the Inside - Sunday afternoon

Back.... (& check out the Bonnaroo smoke-ring in this pic):

Overheard at the water line at 9am this morning from inside Bonnaroo 2007 (even though you're up until 2-3am for all the late acts, there's no sleeping once the sun starts heating up the tent at 8am....) after the Police's 1-3/4 hour set last night:

"I don't know about closing down everything else for the Police - Warren Haynes could wipe him up.... 'hey-o, hey, hey-o' - we get it already...."

They did sound great though - and "Roxanne" met the test laid down by the Roots on Friday.
More highlights since last time:
-I forgot to mention guitarist James Blood Ullmer, France's 2006 "Jazzman of the Year," first thing on Friday - no doubt the blues;
-Didjeridooist (sp??) and one-man-band Xavier Rudd - complete with Aussie flags and kangaroos in the pit;
-Keller Williams and the WMD's - not in HIS one-man-band mode, disappointingly, but still rocking, complete with stuffed dogs (including a 6-foot Scoobie who came unstuffed in the pit after awhile) in honor of "I can be your dog, and you can be my master."

Disappointments:
-Everybody's raving about the Flaming Lips' midnight show last night with the band emerging from a descending spaceship, confetti, dancing female Santas, etc., etc., but my impression in seeing part of this show (I left after 30 minutes) was that it was lots of bells and whistles covering up pretty mediocre music. Performance art is all well and good, and I know lots of people like the spectacle.... but circus acts just aren't my cup of tea.

More later.... just heard the request to limit time at 15 minutes, and also I'm hearing something promising, The Slip, just outside at the Sonic Stage....

Bonnaroo 2007 From the Inside - Saturday

Here in the DLink-wired tent working up toward the third of four nights from inside the 80,000 person tent-city at the alternate reality that is Bonnaroo 2007, the annual mid-June music festival of music festivals on a farm southeast of Nashville.....

Tonight the Police play a stop on their reunion tour; other big acts during week are The White Stripes, Tool, The Flaming Lips, Ben Harper , Wilco, Ziggy Marley, Widespread Panic, and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. A highlight so far was the Superjam at midnight on Friday - Ben Harper with bassist John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame and drummer ?uestlove of Roots. Unbelievable jams with Zep's Dazed and Confused morphing into Immigrant Song and Stevie Wonder's Very Superstitious....

Most enjoyable acts so far:
-a real surprise on night one, first act of the Festival Thursday in the "The Other Tent" as most were still coming in from their 4-5 hour waits at the gate, was gospel singer Ryan Shaw - check him out.... the guy is incredible;
-also on night one at midnight, Rodrigo y Gabriela, a guitar duo from Mexico City working some tight acoustics;
-kicking off Day Two, Richard Thompson, one of Rolling Stones' top 20 all-time guitarists;
-Michael Franti with his band Spearhead, joining the front-rail crowd at the Which Stage in some uniquely-Bonnaroo festivities;
-the Roots at the What Stage Friday, laying down the gauntlet with a great cover of "Roxanne";
-Latin-alternative rocker/activist Manu Chao - I had to see him after the strong trusted recommendations of a student, and the guy is impressive;
-the first great unexpected find, Brandy Robinson at the non-descript Solar Stage, then at the Blue Room cafe earlier this afternoon - this girl ROCKS (at least that's when she's at her best).... And you know musicians are hungry when they're selling their latest and earlier 1-2 discs onsite for $15-$20 for the set. I picked up all of hers....
-So far today, Day Three, an early disappointment with Hot Tuna - these Jefferson-Airplane mates and early 70s collaborists are legendary, but they lacked energy today.... they've been playing together fifty-years, though, so they can be excused....;
-an incredible unexpected find just an hour or so ago, though, at the Sonic acoustic stage with NYC Club player and Bonnaroo and recent South-by-Southwest first-timer organist and singer Jonah Smith, winner of a Relix magazine jam-off - check THIS guy out.... I also picked up his CDs.
-The Allman Bros.'s and Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes acoustic set at the Sonic Stage just before now - from the roots....

More later....