Cracking Spines

Bonnaroo Day 2

originally published, in slightly different form, by Decider

People in general (not a band)
Everyone at Bonnaroo seems to have a tribal tattoo. No one seems particularly tribal. Also roughly sixty percent of the people here seem not to own a shirt despite massive productive sweat glands. Also, girls down south are less self-conscious about wearing bikinis than girls in Minneapolis. After a few days, though, you realize that this doesn’t necessarily make them more attractive.

the music:

Animal Collective
Animal collective played unimpressive, whiny, alternative music while white guys danced in the mud pit. It was ninety-seven degrees with no shade. As they left - with the band still on stage - people grumbled more about the show than the literally hellish weather.

The Dirty Projectors
Even with their inconsistent time signatures - switching within the same song from like 6/4 to like 1/1 - The Dirty Projectors rocked through the wall of hipsterdom into something more broadly appealing, something more sincere. Then David Byrne, guru of mixing the cool with the nerdy,  came on stage. An already amped crowd went ape shit and maintained, until the headliners came on later in the night - it was just 2:30 now - that it was the best show of the day.

Bela Fleck and Toumani Diabate
Diabate plays an the kora. Fleck plays the banjo. Their method mjght be described as duelling, but really they build songs collaboratively, taking turns riffing “Deliverance” style on “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” they both have such mastery of their instruments, and are so sparing with their words, that performing seems to be their most coherent form of communication. And they’re amazingly fluent in whatever language this might be called.

Yeah yeah yeahs? Karen O? Yeah yeah yeah .

The Beastie Boys
Contrasting last night’s Passion Pit show, where an enthusiastic audience danced to a lackluster performance, the crowd at the Beastie Boys show couldn’t match the energy on stage. While the veteran MCs spit rhymes - “grandpa’s been rappin’ since 1983,” AdRock said - some concertgoers stood listlessly and chanted for Phish. But the Beasties were impressive - hyperactive despite the zen style of MCA, they played a Check Your Head heavy set, often picking up their own instruments and actually jamming out, not unlike Phish. And, oh yeah, Nas came out to promote a forthcoming collaboration.

Phish
The songs Phish play are like balloons, floating so high it’s easy to forget anyone is holding the string. The tunes sort of just lift into the air, assuming their own improvised trajectories. Phish’s studio albums, one must understand, are mere fodder for the live show. It’s easy to see why these guys have such a devout following: they breathe pure helium.

Girl Talk
Twice Girl Talk’s set was interrupted by technical difficulties- dancing fans onstage jostled the plug out of his laptop.  While his mash-ups are sometimes mind-blowing - is that Biggie mixed with Elton John? yes, yes it is - it’s difficult to ignore that his instrument is a computer and his performance is pushing a button, often identical  to the collages on his albums. Still, the guy knows how to pump some bass to move a crowd, and if you were looking for a dance party then this was about the best you coule ever do.