Bonnaroo In Review Day 1

Thursday, it seems like every year I forget that at some point driving from Columbia, SC to Manchester, TN I gain an hour by moving into the Central Time Zone. Always a nice surprise, so after 7 hours of driving we finally arrive at the beginning of the long line of cars lined up on I-24 awaiting entrance to the festival. And we go past them. For about 15 miles we pass cars lined up bumper to bumper waiting in the heat for the entrance to paradise.

We on the other hand are heading to will call. After picking up the will call tickets and selling away one of our extras, we got in line coming from the other direction and avoiding the interstate line. Though our line wasn't 15 miles long, it probably took just as long to make it the ticketing area (about an hour and a half). This year, Bonnaroo had a nice staff/volunteer guy stop us right before the entrance and ask is if we had anything prohibited in the car (glass, firearms, drugs, illegal immigrants, etc.). We responded "no" and he responded "we'll if you have anything you don't want the cops finding, you can give it to me now, no questions asked".----Rumor has it the volunteers/staff were gonna have a huge party Monday night, once the patrons were gone.

Anyway, I practically ran over the volunteer whose job it was to park me as close as possible to the car next to me (sorry buddy, but I wanted to you know, be able to open all the doors). We quickly got out, erected our canopy, and staked in our tents. Then we unloaded the booty, 2 handles of whiskey and enough Yuengling to drown a small horse (oh, yeah plus we brought food and water and stuff). Seriously though, this was my most prepared Bonnaroo yet, he brought hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and salsa, pancakes, bacon, and did I mention whiskey?

After chowing down some burgers, we headed out for the stages. While companions charged ahead to try and get into the comedy tent, I hung back to check out Superdrag. Not really familiar with their work, I was pleasantly surprised as they provided some meaty rock n roll in the form of elegantly crafted punk/power pop style. The crowed seemed really into it and I snapped a couple of pictures.

Next, I joined my compatriots in line for tickets to the midnight comedy show featuring Zach Galifanakis, Reggie Watts, and John Mulaney. This ticketing line seemed to last forever, so I entrusted the ticket procurement to them and headed off to see The Felice Brothers.

Having just gottin' into the Felice Brothers, I wondered how they would do live. My one real complaint with their recently released self-titled record was it failed to really rock out much. I had no need to be worried, they certainly brought it to Bonnaroo. I mean these guys had both and accordion and a washboard (on most songs). The Band comparisons are certainly on target. They even look like The Band. Main vocalist/guitarist= Robbie Robertson, accordion/keyboard player= Garth Hudson, bass= Rick Danko, drummmer/guitarist= Levon Helm, washboard/violinist= (okay so he doesn't really look like Manuel). Anyway I showed up just in time for two of my favorite songs, "Ruby Mae" and "Whiskey in My Whiskey". They worked together very organically and seemed to really enjoy attacking their instruments with fury. The drummer in particular had huge stage presence, acting out the lyrics standing atop his stool and even leaving his post to harass his bandmates during the intro to a couple of the songs. For his trouble, the frontman/guitarist kicked over the entire drum set during the finale. The drummer would trade instruments with the lead guitarist/vocalist for a great vocal on "Radio Song". The song also featured O.C.M.S. guitarist Willie Watson on tambourine and background vocals. I would later catch the Brothers set at the Sonic Stage the next day and was able to snap some pictures.



Then the comedy. Zach Galifanakis, Reggie Watts, and John Mulaney, easily the best comedy show I've seen at Bonnaroo (and that includes Lewis Black and Chris Rock). Mulaney did a great bit on Law & Order (the TV show. Reggie Watts could have been a musical performer at the Roo (but still f*cking funny), he has great a great voice and can rap. Galifanakis was as funny as expected and did a great routine at the end that ended with him holding up an Obama '08 sign (a theme that would be repeated on many stages throughout the weekend). Its tough to really review comedy (at least for me). So, I'm gonna leave you with some video clips.


Reggie Watts

Galifanakis

American Aquarium- The Bible and the Bottle & Bones [EP]

American Aquarium is from Raleigh, NC. And yes, every review you read about them will compare them to Whiskeytown. But, to their credit, American Aquarium embraces the comparison on their second full length, The Bible and the Bottle. Skillet Gilmore (drums for Whiskeytown) does the artwork. Caitlin Cary (founding member Whiskeytown) contributes background vocals to a couple of tracks. Greg Elkins (produced Rural Free Delivery for Whiskeytown) is at the controls.

But, for those of you haven’t heard of American Aquarium Whiskeytown meets Lucero is an adequate comparison. Fueled by the vocal phrasings and sharp lyrics of frontman BJ Barham, the band combines the alt. country stylings of Whiskeytown with the intensity of Lucero. Barham’s lyrics are worthy of either Nichols or Adams, favorite lines of mine include “she takes her coffee one sugar one cream/ she takes her coffee just like me” and “when I’m sober I pray to Jesus/ when I’m drunk thats when I talk to god/ well the bible and the bottle both deceive us/ into thinking we’re something we’re not”. American Aquarium as a musical force is a combustible force in its own right, keyboards, organ, violin, acoustic, electric, and lap steel guitars come together behind Barham in a typical, yet commanding alt. country fashion.

However, the sound of the album does not quite capture the live energy of the band. Such is the case with “Telling A Lie”, a strong song that is signature tune of American Aquarium’s live show that fails to truly take off here. That being said, The Bible and the Bottle is a strong record that should bring the band to the attention of the entire alt. country community (and perhaps beyond).

American Aquarium has made a GREAT record though, and it is the recorded live to tape EP, Bones. Recorded in a friend of the band’s living room, straight to tape with no overdubs, the six song EP not only captures the band’s soul, but also features some of Barham’s best writing. Written in the wake of a recent break-up, the six songs feature a familiar theme of Barham’s, the women that either got away or did him wrong. This is the kind of record that legends are made of.

Bones begins with a minamalist almost R&B like electric guitar before the lyrics settle in with “lonely ain’t easy/ lonely ain’t kind/ lonely won’t leave me/ she’s a good friend of mine”. The song, “Lonely Ain’t Easy” expands to include mandolin and violinist Sarah Mann’s background vocals. Next up is “Emelia”, a song that features a great arrangement particularly the piano parts supplied by Zack Brown. Followed up by “Bigger in Texas”, sounding like Lucero’s Ben Nichols, Barham has several great lines in the song including “the boys they’re running on empty/ my pockets they’re doin’ the same/ that second hand bar in ARKANSAS is the only thing I can blame” as well as “these bar stools are where I spend most of my nights/ the ghosts of dead cigarettes/ these beautiful girls with their strings of pearls/ no good to help me forget/ back home I got a lover/ lover thats too good for me/ these late night calls from the bathroom stalls/ no help……”. The next two songs, “Betting Man” and title track “Bones” would both fit nicely onto Bob Dylan’s classic Blood on the Tracks. The closing track “Good Fight” is the only true rocker on the record and the kind of song that Ryan Adams hasn’t written since Heartbreaker. Lyrics like “Why would you ask for the truth/ truth’s something you don’t understand/ I don’t know why I asked you to stay/ you’re so damn good at walking away/ you’re so damn good at walking away, hey” finnish the EP with a song that’ll leave you singing the chorus well after your cd (or mp3) is over. Bones is a little rough, but a masterful stoke by the band.

check out their myspace for tour dates and tracks from the record(s)

http://www.myspace.com/americanaquarium

they are touring all the way out west right now, before swinging back through the southeast…....