The Rest of Roo...in pictures

Since Bonnaroo is old news, I'll forgo the day by day blabber and get to the good stuff...photos! (Videos for Rothbury, I promise!)
Some of these photos are from a friend (and photo major) who was also at Roo. His name is Brandon Tobin and you can check him out at BrandonTobin.com :)

Welcome to Manchester, TN...home of Bonnaroo (and not much else).

Some of the local color, keeping us entertained while sitting in miles of traffic

Signs that we were nearing the end of the traffic...

Thoughts on BB King: BB KING ROCKED THE HOUSE

Before he went on stage to play, the Mayor of Manchester and the Mayor of Coffee County (the county that Manchester is in) presented BB with the key to the city. After thanking them graciously, the 82 year-old musician took a seat in the center of the main stage. He made a comment about how he was too old and tired to stand and play. When some musicians sit to perform a show, they lose the energy and attention of the audience. Not BB King. He had more stage presence and energy while sitting than some bands ever have thrashing around stage.

During the breaks in the songs, he'd introduce a member of his band, making sure that everyone applauded for them. Then he'd tell some sort of story or make a comment about his songs. I don't exactly know how to put it, but BB is just cool. His voice, deep and worn from years of music, was steady and calming. It was like the voice of a grandfather, down to earth, but filled with wisdom. And his face, (though he looked the size of a garden gnome from where I sat) projected on the TV screens on either side of the stage, was filled with wrinkles and lines, like a roadmap or a timeline of his years.

I could go on, but I won't bore you. I'll just say that if you ever have the chance to see BB King in concert, do it, it's worth every penny.

During one of our favorite activities--rejoicing in the cold goodness of the fountain--we discovered a parrot, just chilling in the fountain. There's no dogs allowed, but apparently parrots are okay.


This is my horrible view at LUPE FIASCO. Though they only gave him a 45 minute set (pathetic!) he made every minute count...Most memorably, he began his song "Daydreamin'" with some incredible vocals and then burst into the song (at which point, the crowd went nuts).

I know, all of the show photos look the same, but this is Talib Kweli, another fantastic hip-hop artist that went on after Lupe. It was really disappointing to see the crowd thin out for Talib...Kanye West was supposed to be performing on another stage a few minutes later, so most left to see him instead. I proudly stuck around for Talib, but the show wasn't the same. Talib rushed through his set...He rapped through his songs way too fast and had few positive "pump up" things to say to the crowd. You can't blame the guy--he's Talib Kweli--he deserves an audience. I will say that one of his most popular songs "Get By" was outstanding, and those still in the crowd were clearly hyped about it.

As you may have heard, Kanye West was a let-down. He was set to perform at 2:45 AM on Sunday. I arrived from the Talib show to see an angry crowd and a note across the big screen saying that Kanye's show had been delayed until 3:30. As 3:30 came and went, the crowd grew more and more hostile, expletives were shouted and the crowd began booing. Perhaps to keep the crowd happy, smoke was released, clouding out the starry Tennessee sky and giving the crowd hope that Kanye was soon to come...no such luck. By 4:30, I was thinking of the tent and how I would be awakened by the heat of my tent at 6 AM. I was tired...no I was exhausted...and I figured Kanye was a no show. Our group headed back to the tent. Just as we had exited Centeroo, we heard him. There was no turning back though. "Kanye will be at Lollapalooza" I told myself. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because, from what I heard from others, Kanye's crowd was tiny. I had also heard that he gave a weak performance, not even bothering to apologize or even engage with his fans.

By the next day, graffiti phrases had appeared all along the borders of Centeroo. F*$# Kanye, and other hateful phrases had been created by Kanye's former fans. It felt fitting that just the night before, Chris Rock had made a joke about Kanye's enormous ego.

Anyways, that's it for Bonnaroo. Look forward to some pre-Rothbury posts and some day-by-day coverage of the festival (photo, video, etc.). I'm pumped.