Here’s a short recap of the action on Sunday, Day 4 of 4. Pictures and videos galore!
Japandroids [This Tent, 12:30-1:30 PM]
After seeing them at Canopy Club last fall, I vowed to never miss this band when I have the opportunity to see them. Opening the Sunday at a hot, sweaty festival AND playing their style of noisy garage rock is not an easy task. But the crowd was actually more into it than the one who intimately saw Japandroids at the Highdive a few months back. The Vancouver duo didn’t disappoint while they ran through their great 2009 release Post-Nothing. Also big ups to guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse for sticking around the front of the stage to toss Gatorades and waters to fans. – Tom Pauly
Japandroids sweat. A lot. They sweat so much they have a song called “Heart Sweats”. So if you think about it, playing Bonnaroo at high noon in the 100+ degree heat seems to fit their job title. Oh wait, they’re from Canada? Well something must be wrong here. One thing I know is right is the way these two play their music. With just over a year of legitimate touring, the band has accumulated a decent amount of material, ranging from their stellar debut Post-Nothing, to their newest re-release of some EPs they put out before that which were compiled into No Singles, as well as their new exclusive 7” releases. The set was good and loud, like it should’ve been, playing standouts “Wet Hair”, the newest single “Art Czars”, as well as “Young Hearts Spark Fire”. Watch out for this band, they’ll kick you in the stomach if you’re not ready for it. – Patrick Singer
“Heart Sweats/Rolling Stone Interview – Live at Bonnaroo 2010”
Against Me! [This Tent, 3:30-4:30 PM]
As someone who loves the band’s newest major label release White Crosses (which came out on Sire records last Tuesday) I was really looking forward to this set. They sounded equal to and a little bit better that their studio recordings, which is something most band struggle to do. Tom Gabel’s vocals were crisp and fresh for the band who has gone through a lineup change since their last breakout album, New Wave dropped in 2007. These guys haven’t appeared to miss a beat as they crunched through their set with foot stomper “Stop!”, “White People For Peace”, as well as the new standouts “High Pressure Low” and “White Crosses”. Their passion was evident, they played convincingly and they allowed me to rock out, something that I had yet to do enough of. – Mike Rotsch
“New Wave – Live at Bonnaroo 2010”
Aziz Ansari [Comedy Tent, 5:30-6:45 PM]
Yep. I waited around the Comedy Tent for this guy too. Also totally worth every minute of waiting. Opener Chelsea Peretti was hysterical and will be featured on a new Louis CK show in the fall! Ansari didn’t fail to entertain while describing his two cousins who made appearances in his recent comedy special “Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening.” He also mentioned his favorite racial and ethnic slurs, and my favorite bit where he watched a waiter explain grapefruit to rapper 50 Cent. Also, air-conditioning at this point was extremely welcome as the heat index rolled up over 104 degrees. – Tom Pauly
Seeing comedy at Bonnaroo is an interesting thing. You get out of the sun and into the air-conditioned tent to watch an entirely different genre of entertainment. With the incredible string of jokes that is “Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening”, the expectation for Aziz to kill was evident. Offering all new material, hey came on stage with his usual antics. He took suggestions from the crowd and did a little bit of structured improv. To the crowd’s content he discussed his two now famous cousins Harris and Dharwish and how their lives have changed since his comedy special blew up. He encored as RAAAAAAAADY, but the crowd found itself a little disappointed with only three “Getting’ my d*** sucked” jokes. In the end Aziz brought the comedy and offered a great break from face melting and head bobbing. – Nick Jones
The man is hilarious. His crowd interactions are phenomenal and he never misses a beat. I was really happy he did all new material (he said he was gearing up for a new stand up tour) When RAAAAAAAANDY finally came out during the encore I could not have asked for more from Mr. Ansari. – Mike Rotsch
Mike Posner [Café Where, 8-9 PM]
Just kidding. – Tom Pauly
Wait, Café Where? – Patrick Singer
Phoenix [Which Stage, 7:15-8:30 PM]
This was a band that I’d been waiting the whole weekend to see. I hadn’t really dove into their material before I’d heard the stellar Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (WPGU Album of the Year, mind you), when there is really a lot from this band people have not heard of. The band played songs from all over their catalog, but played Wolfgang in it’s entirety. Highlight of the show had to have been “Rome”, with the booming synth outro just destroying my mind the whole time. Although I enjoyed the songs that most regular fans would appreciate hearing (“1901”, “Lisztomania”), the tracks in the set that stood out to me were “Rally” and “Long Distance Call” (It’s Never Been Like That), as well as another Wolfgang standout “Girlfriend”. Overall a very good stage to see the band on that will be headlining the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago this August. Damn. – Patrick Singer
I had a chance to see these guys perform one of the tents at last year’s Bonnaroo and was impressed. This year they graduated to the Which? Stage and didn’t disappoint. They rolled through every track on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and threw in some old-school stuff off of Alphabetical (“Run Run Run”) and It’s Never Been Like That (“Long Distance Call). The best way to end Bonnaroo was with a wild dance party, and Phoenix delivered with a roaring, lengthy “1901” that made everyone instantly leave the festival and buy Cadillacs. Maybe not, but regardless, Phoenix was a great way to end up the ‘Roo. – Tom Pauly
Opening with “Lisztomania”, Phoenix hit the stage on Sunday afternoon. The crowd was full, but surprisingly tame before balloons of red and black began to float around the crowd. The real highlight of Phoenix’s set seemed to be the floor shaking tones that rocked the ground for what seemed like 10 minutes. It was music, but it wasn’t really a song. The bass would shift and a previously still body part was now in an uncontrollable gyration. At a point I closed my eyes, and felt like I’ve never felt before. It was like being on a roller coaster with your feet staying put. They closed with a dance heavy “1901”, encored by a 15 minute epic outro of the track. – Nick Jones
“1901 – Live at Bonnaroo 2010”
Dave Matthews Band [What Stage, 9-11:30 PM]
Being a veteran of the DMB circuit and having taken a few years off, I decided to get back into things at Bonnaroo. Goodness was I disappointed. A pretty poor set list that consisted of mostly new tunes had me out of there before “Two-Step.” I gave it my all, and was just unable to succumb to the bro-out going down on the farm. Sadly, I kept waiting to hear a blast from my past off of some of DMB’s great albums like Before These Crowded Streets. Nothing came but some “Cornbread” and a “Time Bomb.” One of those things is dangerous, and the other is only good with BBQ. I was out. – Tom Pauly
Like Pauly here, I’ve seen this band more than my fair share. Needless to say I’m a huge fan, without a doubt, but when it comes to festival setlists it’s not good to see one of your favorite bands headline. They play an extremely generic set with virtually no standouts from the newer material. The band destroys stellar tracks like “Tripping Billies” and “Two Step”, but come back with a s*** sandwich of “Time Bomb” or the pleasant-but-lengthy “Jimi Thing”. The encore was disappointing to say the least, the sleeper cover “The Needle and the Damage Done” (Neil Young) followed by the old hat cover of “All Along the Watchtower”. The “Stairway to Heaven” part in the middle of that one was cool, but that’s about the only thing that stood out about it. – Patrick Singer
With a great combination of bros and a flushed out horn section, Dave Matthews did his usual thing on the Sunday night Main Stage. Despite, a somewhat disappointing set list, Dave got his Dave on: Unintelligible lyrics, questions about marijuana, drawn out intros and outros, and a light show that did not disappoint. – Nick Jones
