Showstoppers

It was a four-day carnival\non acid that just happened\nto feature some of\nthe biggest musical and comedy\nacts on the planet.\nIt can be hard to focus on the\nmusic amid the nonstop parade\nof sights and sounds, but the\n80,000 music lovers who descended\non Manchester, Tenn.,\nfor four days this past weekend\ndid their best. Festival-goers\nraged on from noon Friday until\npast 4 a.m. Sunday, despite\nan unrelenting Tennesee sun\nthat made it nearly impossible\nto sleep past 9 a.m.\nThe combination of heat\nand exhaustian made Bonnarees\nfeel like they were running\na marathon, but Lilly Allen\nsummed it up best in her\nperformance, singing, "Sun\nis in the sky. Oh why oh why\nwould I want to be anywhere\nelse?"\nThe festival, which in past\nyears included mostly jam\nbands, featured more mainstream\nand indie rock acts\nthan in the past.\nWhen one panelist at a press\nconference pointed that out,\ncomedian David Cross retorted,\n"You mean it's better."\nHe didn't seem to welcome\nthe crowd that the festival\ntraditionally attracts. Cross\nexpressed his hatred of hippies\nat every opportunity, especially\nwhen they interrupted\nhis story about how his dog\njumped on him while he was\nsleeping and he ended up getting\noff before the dog did.\nFans stood in line hours before\nsome shows, but the longest\nlines were consistently\nat the comedy tent. Big name\ncomedians like Lewis Black,\nDave Attell, David Cross and\nDemetri Martin drew twohour\nlines before they went on\nstage, even though each had\nfour sets throughout the\nweekend.\nMartin offered a few suggestions\nfor popping the\nquestion to a girlfriend, like\nfeeding your dog the ring\nand then asking your future\nfiancee to walk it. But his\nfunniest idea was to break\nyour girlfriend's finger and\nhave the doctor set the cast\nwith the ring on it. When\nshe gets the cast removed,\nhe reasoned, you're already\nthree weeks into your engagement.\nOne idea he didn't present\nwas having Jack White of The\nWhite Stripes stop his band's\nperformance halfway through\nto allow a fan to propose to his\ngirlfriend in a way that didn't\ninvolve dog poop or a broken\nfi nger (as far as we know).\nIt's hard to argue whether the\nfestival was better or worse than\nthe past, but it was as diverse a\ngroup of artists as Bonnaroo\nhas seen. Ranging from hot\nnewcomers like Allen and Girl\nTalk to veterans like The White\nStripes, The Flaming Lips and\nTool, to rock 'n' roll icons The\nPolice, John Paul Jones of Led\nZeppelin and Bob Weir of The\nGrateful Dead.\nThere's no right or wrong\nanswer when trying to fi gure\nout who the musical highlights\nwere. It completely depends\non who you ask.\nFor some, it was the mindblowing\nlight show and theatrics\nof The Flaming Lips, who\nsupplied the audience with\nthousands of laser pointers. For\nothers, it was the Super Jam,\nthe closest thing possible to a\nLed Zeppelin reunion concert,\nas Ben Harper and Questlove\njoined Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones for a midnight show.\nFor fi ve-time Bonnaroo attendee\nJessica Thurman highlights\nincluded the songs former Rage\nAgainst The Machine guitarist\nTom Morello played with Tool, The\nPolice reunion show and John Paul\nJones joining Ben Harper for their\nsecond rendition of "Dazed and\nConfused," a song Thurman called\na theme of the festival.\nTough decisions had to be made\nby music-lovers as bands fought\nfor attention. Tool, Widespread\nPanic and The Police were the\nonly acts to play unopposed. Saturday\nevening, for example, festival-\ngoers had to make the diffi -\ncult decision between seeing Ben\nHarper, Franz Ferdinand, Spoon,\nWeen and Keller Williams, who\nall played at the same time.\nOne of Bonnaroo's biggest appeals\n-- the plethora of bands that\nperform in such a small amount\nof time -- is its curse, as well. But\nwith fi ve main stages, a comedy\ntent and enough sideshow attractions\nto fi ll a circus, it's conceivable\nfor a group of people\nto never see the same show and\nhave an incredible experience at\nwhat is becoming the premier\ntea, there was always another\nstage to check out.\nBob Weir played a great cover\nof The Beatles' "Come Together,"\nThe Black Keys got rave reviews\nfor their blistering blues rock set,\nWilco had a warm reception and\nDJ Shadow, Galactic and Girl Talk\nhad fans dancing late into the night.\nWayne Coyne of The Flaming\nLips entertained at every opportunity,\nusing the soundcheck\nas a chance to play a rousing\ncover of Black Sabbath's "War\nPigs" an hour before they went\non. And once they hit the stage,\nit was a never ending feast for\nthe senses.\nJon McCarty, who lives within\na few miles of the site, has been\nevery festival since 2002. He said\na lot has changed over the years\nsince the early days when "people\nwould sneak in under blankets\nin cars." The bands that come\nthrough have changed considerably,\nMcCarty said. A few years\nago, he said, he never thought\nThe White Stripes or The Police\nwould ever play Bonnaroo. "You\nnever know what you're going\nsee. You never know what's going\nto happen. It's great"