Bonnaroo Music Festival 08'- Special Edition (Manchester, Tennessee)

Tired from a weary drive that took approx 16 hrs. I had driven from 1:30 am till 5 with very little sleep the night before and an assortment of energy drinks and obscure radio stations helped me to keep going. The winding road called my name like a mistress of the night and I knew the prize at the end was ‘Bonnaroo’.

Christian radio stations, churches and adult bookstores were scattered along the highways in Ohio and Kentucky.

Arrived 8:30 AM- the security check.
“Are there any drugs in the vehicle?” (Guard)
We replied “No”. But they searched us anyway.

Security proceeded to tell us about some of the contraband they had confiscated, which included massive amounts of marijuana, cocaine, weapons ranging from ammunition, swords, machetes to the strange find of a chainsaw with one group. I knew that Bonnaroo would be my own ‘Heart of Darkness’ so I proceeded down the rabbit hole.

The lodgings at Bonnaroo were a virtual refugee camp/tent city filled with hippies from all walks of life. Bonnaroo is almost a cultural experiment with everything from blue grass to hip-hop, bringing fans out from all walks of life. Everything from ratty Birkenstocks to Nike Dunks were visible in this eclectic crowd.

Various drug dealers approached us within an hour of arriving. These nefarious chemists of the concert scene had an assortment drugs that would blow ones mind (and probably did). Mescaline, Opium, Ecstasy, Pot, Mushroom a cornucopia of illegal goodies…

Kanye West – Kanye had delayed his show to the late evening so he could unveil his new stage show that involved glow in the dark props. I was a little out of it by a quarter to five in the morning. I was somewhat lucid by 5. The entire set up for Kanye was sci fi story where he became stuck on a planet and there was a robot on his spaceship that he would talk to between songs.. He closed with ‘stronger. In my personal opinion it was incendiary. It was dark when he started and light when he finished. Not unlike ancient Egypt Kanye praised Ra the sun God and let the fans see an unparallel show.

Mstrkrft- What I do remember from Mstrkrft is the energy. Constant beat. I fell asleep waiting for Mstrkrft to come on and as soon as they started to unleash their rock/electro/beat style and I had an abundance of energy. The crowd was overcome with frenzy not unlike the ancient Greek festival of Dionysus. My patriotic Canadianess overtook me and I imagined electro raves mixed with hockey and cottaging. Mstrkrft was like a mafia hitman. They came…they saw…they conquered.

To sum up the experience, one word: Incensant (look it up)
Photos by A. Cook and story written by A. Cook
and DTI