Bonnaroo 2014: Thursday had a couple of cool moments but ehh

I thought the Thursday lineup was weak compared to previous years. Last year we had Haim, Alt-J and Father John Misty, and Thursdays past have had Vampire Weekend, Kendrick Lamar, and Zac Brown Band (all before they became big). I'm not sure we'll be seeing that much out of anyone this year. I didn't have much interest in anyone playing during the early part of the day so I just wandered around seeing if anything would stick.

The Preatures stood out more than anyone else. They weave a compelling blend of Britishy pop/rock, but lean more on the pop side than rock. It's fun, sunny, feel good music. Jonathan Wilson had some great guitar solos, but I didn't care for him much beyond that. He had a mellowed out, hippie vibe and looked like a homeless person. All La Lahs presented 60s beach rock. I sat on the grass for a song or two and then went elsewhere. It wasn't until after that that I caught my first full set of the weekend.

Caveman

They were okay, but nothing special. It's like really chilled out guitar rock, is the best way to describe it I guess. The singer said they were all drunk, and then asked someone to toss one of the beach volleyballs onto the stage that people had been batting around. He smacked it with a pair of drumsticks and knocked it out of the park like a baseball. This was the best part of the show.

MS MR

I only saw Caveman though to get a good spot for this band, who were one of my favorite post-lineup discoveries. If you know me you know I love my synth pop bands, so the moment I found out that's what they were I had to check 'em out. They're more about vocals/hooks as opposed to electronics/production, which has its pros and cons. On stage though, the band is far too infectious to deny.

Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow ripped their way through most of the cuts from their debut, Secondhand Rapture, and tossed in covers of the Arctic Monkeys' "Do I Wanna Know" and LCD Soundsystem's "Dance Yrself Clean" for good measure. This was the first band of the weekend I saw people seriously getting hype over, and it looked like the band themselves were blown away by the reception they were getting. They were eating out of our hand as much as we were eating out of theirs.

Cloud Nothings

As much as I was digging MS MR, this was the band I truly wanted to rage to so I bolted for This Tent as quickly as possible. That one two punch was one of the greatest of the weekend.

The departure of guitarist Joe Boyer didn't seem to slow them in the slightest. This set was a pure unleashing of energy and emotion. It was great getting to catch these guys in such an intense environment, being one of the more recent appointments to the ranks of my favorite bands. There were many cathartic moments: the shrieking of "Psychic Trauma," the colossal build up and release of "Wasted Days", straight up to the eerie parting drone of "No Future No Past." Apparently it was too much for some of the crowd, as people were leaving the show in droves, 

Omar Souleyman

Getting to see him was cool. He's a dance music artist from Syria who weaves in traditional sounds of the Middle East into modern dance music. He doesn't play stateside much and when he does he's pretty much exclusively a festival act. That said, I wasn't really feeling this set for whatever reason. I was already tired and felt bad, so I was just sort of there for this set. But it was the first show I caught with my entire crew so that was cool.

After that I decided to book it back to camp. In retrospect, I wish I had gone to Ty Segall's set. Having seen him once before, I'm sure I would have loved it. It might have picked up my mood and provided a nice capper to my night but I decided it would be better to pace myself and conserve energy for the weekend.

Bonnaroo 2014 lineup thoughts, impressions, and general excitement

With the Bonnaroo lineup dropping a couple of days ago, here are my thoughts on a range of artists playing the festival:

KANYE WEST - Pretty much everyone I know hates Kanye. Well I say haters can hate, cause this will easily be one of the best sets of the weekend.  College Dropout, Late Registration, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy are all legitimately great albums, along with plenty of great tracks spread out through the rest of his discography. Folks who come out to Bonnaroo come to see a show, and Kanye has one of the biggest and baddest stage productions of any touring act today. This is his chance at a redemption show, and it will be intriguing to see what he does with it. His setlists are massive, and possible collaborations with Frank Ocean and Pusha T make this into a possible set for the ages. If I am at Bonnaroo this year, I am at this set.

JACK WHITE - very excited for Mr. White. I was hoping he was going to be Mumford's replacement last year; Jack headlining the night after Macca would have been an unbelievable one-two punch. The White Stripes stuff is awesome, Blunderbuss is awesome, I'm not as familiar with Raconteurs and Dead Weather material but can brush up on that rather easily.

ELTON JOHN - I only know four songs from Elton John, but I'm no dummy. I know this set has potential. Elton is one of the legendary artists of his era, this year's answer to Paul McCartney, who has a veritable back catalog of his own. If I end up making the trip this year, I'll make a concerted effort to learn his setlist.

LIONEL RICHIE - not much positive I can say here, so I'll keep it short. Lionel is obviously one of the greats and I respect that, but his brand of schmaltzy, cheesy 70s/80s love ballads does nothing for me. I'll probably have to sit through his set if I want a close spot for Jack, and I will not be thrilled.

SKRILLEX/SKRILLEX SUPER JAM/EDM IN GENERAL - I don't have the greatest impression of Skrillex as an artist, but seeing some of the things on the linuep this year may honestly be the year I give EDM a shot. I'm glad to see Roo is pushing themselves by putting on an electronic superjam; I'm curious to see how it turns out even if I probably won't know most of the guests that drop in. Not to mention this year is the year that Disclosoure and Chromeo are on the lineup. And hell, even Kaskade is sounding pretty sweet based on what I've listened to so far.

THE REST - Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys are near the top of my list. Wanted to catch each when they hit Nashville, but was unable to due to various conflicts. Excited to check out The Flaming Lips extravaganza for the first time, and also looking forward to what madness Die Antwoord has in store for us. Also really pumped that Frank Ocean is coming nearby; didn't think I'd get the chance to see him. I'm really enjoying what I've listened to from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill; she seems like an artist I should give a chance to.

And of course, I've got to dig into some roots/folk music. First Aid Kit, Shovels and Rope, and Carolina Chocolate Drops should all be a blast. Last but not least, if you know me, you know I've got to get my metal fix. I'm glad to see Mastodon on the lineup. I was planning on heading down to Atlanta to see them with Josh; now hopefully we'll get to see them a lot closer (for me, anyway). And I also can't wait for the grinding intensity of a Meshuggah set. Should be an awesome time and I hope to see you  all there!