“We didn’t just come here to rock the house. We came here to build a house!” wailed Bruce Springsteen during his headlining set with the E Street Band Saturday at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
If his live show were anything like building a home, Springteen’s would be sturdy. Sweat flew from The Boss’ arms as he played a three-hour show in which he performed songs from his near 40-year canon, emphasizing hard times, while barely stopping for breath in between.
Springsteen headlined the eighth instalment of Bonnaroo, which takes place on a farm in Manchester, Tenn. More than 75,000 people from around the world were in attendance for the four-day festival, which wrapped up last night.
Friday began with Brooklyn, N.Y. experimental indie rockers The Dirty Projectors delivering a solid collection, featuring interlocking vocal rhythms and harmonies. Later, they were joined by David Byrne, former frontman of Talking Heads, and performer later that night, who both assembled the stage’s lineup and offered his chops to the band.
The vocals for Baltimore electronic duo Animal Collective, on the other hand, failed to impress. Timing worked against the group that seemed to be disjointed overall, producing otherwise very danceable music to a relatively static crowd.
That quickly changed when New York alt-rockers Yeah Yeah Yeahs took the stage to a massive eyeball backdrop surrounded by a sparkling blue spiral. Lead singer Karen O’s honey-like tableau transitions provided eye candy for the band’s alternating hard dance punk and synth-spiked rock.
Contemporary bands were as common as veterans at the weekend festival. Soul master Al Green played the main stage, as he threw roses to the crowd, London’s Elvis Costello departed from his new wave sound with a country and bluegrass-touched solo set and festival favourite Phish played two sets, with typically extended jam sessions.
Saturday began with a mellow early set by folksy Bon Iver, who interacted with the crowd and brought out a horn ensemble to back him for part of his performance. But the day moved from subtle to spectacle when Atlanta’s Of Montreal took the stage, perhaps best reflecting the colourful crowd with a flashing neon backdrop and a host of exaggerated on-stage animal characters.
Chicago alt-country outfit Wilco, headed by singer/guitarist Jeff Tweedy, took the main stage to prime the crowd for Springsteen. An optimistic Tweedy let the stage’s cameraman strum his guitar during one song, as he gazed into the camera that was projected on stageside screens. He joked he’d interpret any audience boos as “Bruuuuce!”, inviting the crowd to yell the singer’s name.
Before the festival’s unrivaled closing performance by Phish, Sunday offered a varied lineup featuring sets by soulful Erykah Badu, rapper Snoop Dogg, folk singer/songwriter Andrew Bird and country siren Neko Case.
Fast facts about Bonnaroo
• Performing bands: 150
• Tickets sold: 75,000
• Canadian bands in attendance: One (Crystal Castles from Toronto)
• Size of farm for camping and concert space: 700 acres
• Number of years the lineup has not featured a member of the Grateful Dead: One (2009)
