The scene has settled at Bonnaroo: showers at the sink, sleep in the reclined car seat. Tents don’t pitch themselves and air mattresses don't blow themselves (ha!). And we need all the time we can find here. We no longer loop the farm twice to find our campsite, because we’ve already done that twice. We lost our friends, made new friends and then found the old ones.
More importantly, we finally danced our socks off to bands we’ve wanted to see for the past three years.
Leading the pack is Phoenix, who were phenomenal. Defining the link between feel-good and sophisticated, their performance pulled toward electronica-dance. We're pretty sure their glow-stick-fueled celebration made everyone's lives just a little bit better.
Animal Collective mixed indie hooks with classic riffs and came up with something that grooved a little and danced a lot.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs took the stage with a huge eyeball as a backdrop and played old favorites and nailed the new songs, especially the electronic buzz of “Zero.”
Santogold packed That Tent beyond capacity. When we saw her in Cleveland at House of Blues last fall, it was a much more intimate show. But she was able to connect with the audience no matter the size or, um, smell.
TV on the Radio either snagged you immediately with their avant-funk sounds, or they just left you scratching your head. You either get them or you don’t. We're pretty sure we get them.
Next up: Crystal Castles, Girl Talk and more time in That Tent. —Carissa Bowlin
