www.bonnaroo.comJune 12-15, 2008
Manchester, TN
In light of this, let's take a look back into music festival history. Waaaay back in 1996, Clinton was starting his second term, the economy was looking up with the development of this new-fangled interweb, and Lollapalooza announced that Metallica was going to headline the '96 tour. The cries of pained and outraged indie fans (I'm not sure if the word "indie" had been coined yet, but you know what I mean) echoed far and wide, and it would be the last actual Lollapalooza tour. Keep in mind, these are the people who had sponsered Rage Against the Machine, Sonic Youth, The Beastie Boys and so many others in recent past. The tour tanked, attendence sucked, and Lollapalooza wouldn't appear again for another 7 years. In other words, Metallica effectively killed Lollapalooza in its original inception.
Flash forward 12 odd years; a Clinton might once again take office, the economy is in the shitter, and Bonnaroo announces that Metallica (not to mention Jack Johnson) is headlining in 2008. Again, keep in mind, Radiohead headlined in 2006. Don't get me wrong, I have no real issue with Metallica, but this isn't 1998. Or 1988, for that matter. Festivals with the potential to attract so many people should be showcasing new bands as well, and yet I don't see a single band that hasn't been around for at least a couple of years (yes, even Vampire Weekend has been together since last year). This probably won't spell an end to Bonnaroo, but really, they can do better. I'll be damned if I'll pay $250 bucks a ticket to see Metallica and Jack Johnson.
Here's to hoping for a better Lolla lineup.
During high school, Bonnaroo always stood out to me as "the festival to attend." Unlike most other fests of its size, there was always a certain cohesion to its lineup, centered around southern rock and jam bands, which paid a certain homage to the festival's setting in Tennessee. The more I look at the big 3 (Lolla, Bonnaroo, Coachella), they seem to increasingly resemble each other as mere smorgasboards of revivals of bands of yore that have broken up or dropped out of relevance. In 2008, my inclination is to skip the big festivals in favor of more the more dynamic ones, like SXSW and Wakarusa.
ReplyDeleteI see your point, but keep in mind that they want bands that they know they'll get a positive reaction to. That means that the band has to at least be signed and have something of a fan base, which usually means they have to have spent some time on an actual label. Also, because there are multiple stages going at once, a band has to be able to hold its own against some other pretty big acts, so they have to be at least known in some scene.
ReplyDeleteI thought Bonnarroo was the "jam-band" festival. While I generally dislike that type of music, at least it had it's own scene that made it different from all the other clear-channel festivals out there.
ReplyDeleteI think Metallica and Pearl Jam headliners finally show how it has increasingly become a general "indie" and past top-40 "alternative" band bland ticket-selling mixture.
Compare 2002 (inaugural) line up:
* Trey Anastasio
* Widespread Panic
* Phil Lesh and Friends w/ very special guest Bob Weir
* Galactic
* Béla Fleck & Edgar Meyer
* DJ Logic
* Les Claypool's Flying Frog Brigade
* Amon Tobin
* Old Crow Medicine Show
* Soulive
* Gov't Mule
* Jim White
* Umphrey's McGee
* Gran Torino
* The Big Wu
* Donna the Buffalo
* Acoustic Syndicate
* Keller Willams Incident
* Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
* Ben Harper
* Cut Chemist
* String Cheese Incident
* John Butler Trio
* Robert Randolph & the Family Band
* Jack Johnson
* Jurassic 5
* Del McCoury Band
* Drums & Tuba
* Lil' Rascals Brass Band
* Disco Biscuits
* Llama
* The Codetalkers feat. Col. Bruce Hampton (ret.)
* Particle
* Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains
* moe.
* Corey Harris
* Ween
* North Mississippi Allstars
* Vinroc
* Z-Trip
* Mofro
* Gabe Dixon
* Norah Jones
* Campbell Brothers
* Dottie Peoples
* Blind Boys of Alabama
* Pink Flamingos
With 2008 lineup:
* Pearl Jam
* Metallica
* Jack Johnson
* Kanye West
* Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
* Phil Lesh & Friends
* My Morning Jacket
* The Allman Brothers Band
* The Raconteurs
* Willie Nelson
* Death Cab for Cutie
* B.B. King
* Sigur Rós
* Levon Helm and the Ramble on the Road
* Ben Folds
* O.A.R.
* The Bluegrass Allstars Feat. Luke Bulla, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Bryan Sutton
* M.I.A.
* Umphrey's McGee
* Iron & Wine
* Yonder Mountain String Band
* Swell Season
* Talib Kweli
* Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi's Soul Stew Revival
* Gogol Bordello
* Broken Social Scene
* Robert Randolph's Revival
* Rilo Kiley
* Mastodon
* Lupe Fiasco
* Against Me!
* Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
* Pat Green
* Ozomatli
* Tegan & Sara
* Solomon Burke
* Drive-By Truckers
* !!!
* The Avett Brothers
* Israel Vibration
* Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck
* Phil Lesh / Larry Campbell / Jackie Greene
* Aimee Mann
* Ladytron
* The Fiery Furnaces
* Orchestra Baobab
* Ghostland Observatory
* Jose Gonzalez
* Dark Star Orchestra
* Minus the Bear
* Donavon Frankenreiter
* Lez Zeppelin
* State Radio
* Battles
* Jakob Dylan
* Two Gallants
* The Sword
* Vampire Weekend
* Little Feat
* Nicole Atkins
* The Felice Brothers
* Mason Jennings
* MGMT
* The Lee Boys
* Black Kids
* Serena Ryder
* Steel Train
* Grupo Fantasma
* Back Door Slam
Hi you left off my favorite guitar hero.... Rock,Blues and Jazz guitarist GW Williams
ReplyDeleteanyways I am learning rock,blues and jazz guitar right now, but I am still very young.I get inspired to play by going to major concerts with guitar players
I am like barley 13 and cute for a blonde girl, and I love guitar.I just had to tell everyone that!! I went to a rock show and saw GW Williams Friday. he was the bestest ever.I am so in love with an older guitar man.ok so he doesn't know,but I have a crush on GW Williams.
I got his press release here
Part of him Press Release Is down Below
________________________
The GW Williams,Rock & Blues & JAZZ guitar concert held last Friday evening in Seattle was amazing !! The crowd went crazy wild with emotion,even I couldn't believe what GW Williams did, neither could the over 98,582 people who veiwed GW and his Rock n Roll & jazzy blues style on guitar. And This Guy can sing like Elvis.His Guitar Playing and singing opened a whole new world of music,maybe a new style was born.So Don't wait check this guy out when he come to your town.Rock,Blues,Jazz Guitarist GW Williams The Birth Of A Guitar Legend
You people must be smoking crack.
ReplyDeleteI saw GW Williams play in a bar in Texas a few years ago, before he changed his name, and hoooowie, I've never seen anyone stink up a joint like that before in my life. Such a horrible voice, such a lack of coordination, people were booing and walking out without even finishing their beers. I would have walked out too, it was that bad, except I had hde a hard week and really needed the buzz. But as soon as I killed my pail of Rolling Rocks, I got the hell out of there, went straight home and popped in an Eric claptop tape to remind me of what REAL guitar playing was.
My advice to blog message readers and guitar music lovers, if you ever get a chance to see GW Williams play, run, don't walk, in the opposite direction. If you're lucky you'll be out of hearing range before he plays his first chord.
The comment above was posted by I.P.Address of Michael Angelo Batio the worlds lamest guitar player he can't stand the fact that a greater guitarist lives than the self center Michael Angelo.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that Mr. Williams existence has escaped Mr. Batio.
ReplyDelete