Saturday, we all decided that it was absolutely necessary for all of us to sleep in since we had been running around like Energizer bunnies for the past 3 days since leaving LA and there weren’t a lot of bands we were super excited to see before 3pm.

The day started with all of the bandmembers heading over to the hospitality tent to grab some of the artist gift bags which Bonnaroo provided in addition to grabbing some free gear from some of the sponsors. Kaenon sunglasses gave us all a pair of super cool sunglasses for free and Converse as well as Asics gave us some free sneakers. How cool is that?? Who knew with the state of the economy, these corporations would be so generous? Anyways, we were all extremely grateful and thankful for the wonderful gifts.

Next, we briefly wandered over to see Booker T and the DBTs although, since I recently saw them play at Coachella, it didn’t take long for the soul thumping sounds of Raphael Saadiq’s band to pull us towards their stage. First of all, I had no idea that Raphael Saadiq used to sing in the 90s R&B band Tony, Toni, Tone so this was going to be a real treat. His band not only consisted of some of the best musicians I had heard at Bonnaroo so far, but his voice was earth shattering to say the least. There was a point where the rhythm section broke everything down and played a groove I could have danced to all night long. It was pure enjoyment to hear them play and as much as I wanted to hear other favorite acts of mine such as Tony Rice and others, I couldn’t leave until I took in more of Raphael Saadiq’s music. It was by far some of the most phenomenal musicianship around and I would definitely see them again in a heartbeat.

Soon after, we wandered over to hear a band I’d never heard of before this weekend called Bon Iver. This band was very reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky meets Radiohead or Elbow and I completely fell in love with the ethereal melancholy nature of their sound. Not only was their music incredibly dynamic and heartfelt, but the melodies were so brooding and haunting that it wasn’t difficult to give even the smallest music fan chills up and down your spine. The highlight of their set was how the lead singer of Bon Iver got everyone to repeat a chorus throughout their last song and start it from a whisper into a stadium like chant that later broke into thunderous applause. It was pure adrenaline to witness that moment.

Next, a few of us took a journey to go see Government Mule, a blues influenced rock band led by Warren Haynes, known especially for his guitar workings with the Allman Bros and the Dead. I have always loved hearing Warren perform and hearing him with his band was truly remarkable. He is by far one of my favorite guitarists whom I have spent many a sleepless night, trying to learn his licks and emulate them on my fretboard so to witness his spiritual musicianship live made me feel pretty alive and present. He played a lot of fan favorites and covered songs by the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and others, but the peak of his show was when he invited Grace Potter of the band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals to sing Neil Young’s “Southern Man” with him onstage. It was a collaboration worth sticking around for and I was more than happy to be part of the enormous crowd singing the lyrics loud and proud.

After Government Mule, we all decided to quickly go check out Jerry Hannan’s set since we made friends with some of the guys from his band on our flight over to Nashville. It was good music in the style of Ryan Adams and it felt even better to support our new friends who were playing on the same stage we would play just 24 hrs later.

The next part of our expedition had me super excited because we were on our way to hear Elvis Costello play a solo acoustic set. I’ve always respected Elvis Costello so much as an artist, even though I think we have very different influences as songwriters, but getting the chance to hear him perform solo was something I knew I may never get to do again. He was exceptional, not only in the way he worked the crowd with his popular songs like “Veronica” and a sensational cover of “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” by the Beatles, but also in the way he worked the microphone dynamically with his voice. I was very impressed and one day, I hope to play a song with him onstage to share and contribute to that kind of energy. My favorite part of his set was when he pulled Allen Toussaint onstage with him to play a gospel song on piano. They both worked together as if they had been playing music for a lifetime and it was extremely memorable.

Later, we walked over to hear one of our favorite bands on the bill, Mars Volta, perform on the WHICH stage. Mars Volta is a high energy rock band with the driving force of Led Zeppelin combined with the modern edge of Jane’s Addiction or Tool. I’ve always respected Omar Rodriguez and the boys because of how much their music brings out the rocker in all of us. We watched them for over an hour and each song kept us captivated and enthralled.

Next, it was time for the Boss. Because of the cool passes we had, we decided to watch Bruce Springsteen’s set from the VIP grassy area located somewhat close to the stage. Watching Bruce’s band was inspiring on some levels becaus he is such a legend, but in a lot of ways, I have to admit, it wasn’t as inspiring as I’d hoped it would be. The best part of his set came at the very end when he played a lot of his hits back to back. However, I wasn’t that blown away with his performance when I saw him on the super bowl halftime show, but decided I could only make a judgement on his show once I saw it live. As much as I still respect him as an artist and songwriter, his performance definitely didn’t blow me away as much as I was hoping it would. But I will say this, he is STILL the Boss and I give him much props and respect for taking his band and music to the point he has.

The final part of the night for me was definitely the highlight of day #3 at Bonnaroo. We all got the chance to walk up onstage to hear Nine Inch Nails play their LAST US performance at 1am and it was totally worth the wait. Trent Reznor is so admirable to watch as a performer since he really puts it all out there for his audience. His band was super tight, especially his drummer, but his level of artistry was unbelievably professional and passionate. His music blends electronic and rock sounds to create dancing vibes and fist pumping riffs. All in all, it was incredibly inspiring to watch him play, but hearing him sing “Hurt” for his 2nd encore was the perfect icing on the cake to end the day on. After hearing him play while standing 10 ft away, I knew there was no possible way the night would get any better. Trent - I tip my hat to you. Thank you for ending the night with such an awe inspiring set.

Driving back to our hotel, the anticipation was growing for the final day of Bonnaroo, the day of the NK Band performances.

More on this to come in the next blog. Stay tuned…

Tags: 2009, Bonnaroo, day3

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 2:57 pm and is filed under Blogs, Nikhil Korula's Bonnaroo Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.