Off to day parking and a long walk through the car camping area. Things are starting to get interesting now. First of all, the campgrounds are filled with tents decorated with various signs of peace, love, and rock-n-roll. College kids who think this is Woodstock again. Everyone is either dressed for the beach or sporting dreadlocks and cargo shorts. We pass a school bus with a blow-up doll on top. Another campsite with a pirate skeleton. Various whiffs of not-so-legal substances and lots and lots of beer.
We pass a line of port-a-potties (an ominous look into our future to come) and food vendors and then we finally make it to the gate. Another cursory search of our backpacks (no hemp necklaces on us, so no body cavity search) and we are finally in. We're near the Ferris wheel, so we should be able to find our way back if we need to make a quick exit. We check our map because we're tourists and have never done this before. NeedtoBreathe is at the first tent we come to. Yeah! We stock up on water and other various drinks and head over to the stage. We wriggle our way into the crowd and get an awesome view of the band. They were great! I definitely need to check them out and add them to my playlist!
It's time for a bathroom break. Now I've been camping a million times so outdoor bathrooms are nothing new to me. What I didn't think about was that there are about 100 port-a-potties for 80,000 people. That's about 800 people per toilet. Add lots of water, beer and other unmentionables and it adds up to a really gross proposition. Kristina has brought a pack of wipes so off we go. Thank God there is Purell in there. And this is only day one. We have 3 more days to go.
On the way back we stop by the Silent Disco. We grab a pair of headphones and go on in. Keep in mind that those watching can't hear a thing. I'm told this is rolling music. Remember - I'm soccer mom. I have to be educated on these kinds of things. I thought it was just really cool Bollywood music. Shows what I know. We step around the people passed out on blankets or just in the grass. At this point I don't understand how anyone can just sleep with all of the noise and people walking over them. Alright - I'm not naive - I know most of them have a few illegal substances in their bloodstream, but laying right out in the middle of everything? (Remember this later in the post). We head back home for a hot shower and clean toilet seat. Never underestimate these. Ever. Trust me!
Day 3 is an early one. Imelda May is playing at 12:15. She's an awesome jazz singer that used to be with Blue Harlem. Long lines today, so we are hiking quickly over to her tent. We missed a little bit, but caught most of the show. The tent is small and there is only about 40 people in it. A great venue to see Imelda. Even the band is melting now though. The tent does little to keep us cool in the close to 100 degree weather. After she finishes her set, I buy a CD and head behind the tent for autographs. They band is there so I go up to the guitar player. He's nonchalantly smoking a joint and completely unfazed by the fact I've come up to them. They are more than happy to sign my CD and even seemed surprised that I wanted their autographs too. I head back in the tent to get Imelda's. She's great! Bless her heart - she takes pictures with everyone even though we are all dripping with sweat by now. I can't believe I actually got to meet her!
It's hot. Really hot. We stop to eat and then hang out at the mist tent. I hope that's mud we are standing in. At this point, it's up for debate. We head over to Norah Jones. We chill (in the hot sun and it's 100 degrees now) until she comes out. We stand right behind the VIP area which is essentially empty, so we have a great view. We listen to about half of her set, but give up because it is just too hot. Our beer booth is right in front of her stage and we end up going to work early. The workers are glad to get off early and we finally get out of the hot sun. We get all the water and cokes we want and our hands are digging the beverages out of ice water. Norah finishes up and it gets busy in the booth as people are leaving for the next venue and filing in to listen to the net band here. The Avett Brothers and Weezer both play as we are working. They were awesome. We got to meet a ton of great people, stayed cool and got to listen to the bands we would have gone to see anyways.
Here are a few pics I managed to get while we were working, but I missed the guy with the Union Jack thong. I'm sure this is burned into Ryan's mind whether he likes it or not. I didn't notice the thong at first because I was checking out his body paint. Then he dropped his sunglasses and had to bend down. I don't know how Ryan kept a straight face but the rest of us were rolling on the floor. I hope this sight was erased for him by the three not so clothed girls that walked by a few minutes later.
We get off a little early which is a good thing because my feet are killing me by know. Keep in mind I've had no beer and I don't do drugs. So I'm working off of Tylenol and adrenaline. We're soaked, but it's still a million degrees out. We get off in time to see part of Stevie Wonder. Well - hear him. Everyone is at the main stage, so we are all the way in the back. My mom said it's OK since Stevie couldn't see us either (groan!). After we move up closer and camp out until Jay-Z comes on. Another long nap. Jay-Z put on a great performance. I honestly didn't know most of his songs, but the backdrop was really cool and he really put on a non-stop show. Next Kristina wants to see GWAR. I'm up for it. We're here and I'm not looking forward to the hike back to the truck. We crash again only to wake to the guys next to us hollering how the hell can we sleep through this band? So I didn't know who or what GWAR was. I do now. Not much surprises me at this point, but they came close. We get home about 5 this time. I think I'm going to have to bleach these clothes.
Day 4 - Sunday. Is it really the last day already? I end up oversleeping and I missed Ingrid Michaelson. And Blues Traveller. We had to wait in a looong line to get get tickets for Bo Burnham. It was worth it though since the Comedy Tent was air conditioned! We caught a little of the Dropkick Murphys and Ween on the way to get a spot for the Zac Brown Band. What a show! I'm always up for a little Chicken Fried! Dave Matthews is on next so we decide to take it easy and not lose our spot. Dinner and bathroom break (along with a lifetime supply of Purell). We were both really disappointed in the Dave Matthews Band. His band is awesome. But Dave was stoned, didn't play anything we knew except a Lynyrd Skynyrd song and seemed really self-indulgent. I guess when you are that famous and played Bonnaroo a bunch of times you can do what you want. But disappointing anyways.
So the insanity is over. I have a ton of great memories and strange pictures from this weekend. Thanks to my partner-in-crime Kristina for going with me and putting up with me all weekend. I would have never done it without her. My shoes are still covered in mud and hay (and God knows what else) and I really don't think I'm going to get this smell out of my clothes ever. I think I'll just have to pass if I see another port-a-potty! Would I do it again? Hell yeah! I'm sunburned and worn out, but it was an experience I won't forget. Next year is the 10th anniversary. I can't wait to see the lineup. I won't be living here, but I may have to schedule a few days vacation for the second week of June 2011.
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