words by Andy Pareti
photos by Randy Cremean

The way Saturday’s events opened, you could have sworn you had your toes in the foam at Long Beach rather than the dead grass of Manchester.  Ilo and the Coral Reefer Allstars had a special, last-minute guest join their set – none other than Jimmy Buffet, who led a gleeful crowd through Grateful Dead favorite “Scarlet Begonias” and some of his own “Fins”.  The surprises didn’t stop there, as Nine Inch Nails announced their show would be the last ever in the United States.

Katzenjammer:

It can be said a million times and it still will not be enough: David Byrne is a genius.  Another priceless gem from Byrne’s curated lineup, the Norwegian female foursome of Katzenjammer were so impressive prior to the Dirty Projectors set on Friday that they were worth another look at Bonnaroo’s economy-sized Sonic Stage.  Once again, the group sent unplugged shockwaves through the small but delirious crowd with their parade of musical instruments that includes the kazoo, accordion, mandolin, banjo, trumpet, and one big, happy-looking balalaika bass that dwarfs the girls themselves. The self-proclaimed queens of sultry noise, Katzenjammer are delightfully innocent (when mentioning David Byrne’s invitation during an interview, one of the girls remarked, “that’s his name, yeah?”) and tremendously talented, molding gypsy music, folk, blues, ragtime and country into a neat little fiery bundle of nervous energy.  The foursome have a completely synergistic musical relationship, sharing almost 100% vocal and instrumental duties, although Marianne Sveen possesses the strongest pipes, belting out blues numbers like some kind of Norwegian ghost of Janis Joplin.  Other than that, there is complete teamwork among the four, and it won’t be long at all before David Byrne will be hailed by all for introducing America to these wonderfully talented women.

Heartless Bastards:

Speaking of talented women, soon after Katzenjammer did Erika Wennerstrom’s Heartless Bastards take to the Which Stage to paint the remnants of Jimmy Buffett’s beach bum crowd with dust, tumbleweeds and big belt buckles – we’re talking country road rock and roll.  While the Bastards’ latest studio outing, The Mountain, specializes in barely-restrained folk and slow-building vintage rock (i.e. Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks” or “Kashmir”), Wennerstrom turned these tunes into on-the-road tire-squeelers, much in the vein of Tom Petty. Wennerstrom even looks a bit like Petty from afar (which, trust me, is a knock on Tom and not Erika), but her delivery is a bit more commanding than Petty’s – Wennerstrom is a strong woman with a strong voice, and she makes sure that everyone within earshot hears it.  The Bastards’ set was unfortunately not met by a tremendously enthusiastic crowd, either because the Buffett-hounds went to waste away in marijuanaville or because the band failed to be too adventurous at times, though their live versions of “Witchy Poo” and “The Mountain” had an iron grip – particularly the latter, which was extended by a terrifically executed pedal steel guitar solo.

Bon Iver:

It’s always nice to be up close and watch a concert by a dude that looks like he could have been your college roommate.  When Justin Vernon starts performing and you hear that falsetto-Nick Drake softness of his voice, it gives you hope that maybe you, too, have it in you to be a musician.  Bon Iver’s soft folk was a cooling station for the sun-bleached crowd of feverish concertgoers; he trotted through much of For Emma, Forever Ago while also playing “Brackett, WI” – his cut off the charity compilation Dark Was the Night – and a touching version of Yo La Tengo’s “I Feel Like Going Home”.  To round out his soft folk sound, Vernon’s band was joined on stage by the horn ensemble of Elvis Perkins in Dearland for the last few songs, filling in the spots Bon Iver couldn’t get to with their strings.  It went a long way towards kickstarting Bon Iver’s momentum, which to that point was so efficient in its soothing that it was lulling its audience into a sleep-like trance.  The band closed out the set with a sing-a-long version of “Wolvers”.  The band’s sound pulsated in waves like blood from a beating heart as at crowd softly chanted, “what might have been lost”.

Wilco:

It was a very Wilco day Saturday afternoon, as Wilco (The Band) took the stage to perform “Wilco (The Song)” off of Wilco (The Album) to open Wilco (The Concert).  Phew!  Jeff Tweedy led the band through a mostly carefree set of good vibes and better tunes, following “Wilco” with “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” and later stirring the crowd’s drink with a terrific jam of “Side With the Seeds”, off of 2007’s Sky Blue Sky.  Unfortunately, I had to leave after about an hour to respond to a mission from Mars (Volta), but I was there long enough to hear a phenomenal Tweedy guitar solo during the coda of “Impossible Germany” and a sunny rendition of “California Stars” that had me longing for the west coast.  But about that mission…

The Mars Volta:

The Mars Volta’s set on the Which Stage was like a class trip away from the face-paint and pot smoke and into another universe entirely.  After a false start by guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez that prompted lead vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala to enjoy some comic relief time (“It’s great to be back here at Burning Man!”), the band exploded into “Goliath”, off of 2008’s The Bedlam in Goliath.  It can’t be said any other way – the band was on that day, especially Rodriguez-Lopez and drummer/God Thomas Pridgen, who was channeling the ESP waves of Keith Moon, John Bonham and Neil Peart all in one, turning into some spider-armed pounding machine.  Meanwhile, the Tennessee sun seemed to have reached as far as Mars, as Bixler-Zavala was cracking jokes the entire set, whether it be at the expense of his guitarist, himself, or his band’s reputation.  “We’re like DJs, we take requests” joked Bixler-Zavala, referring to common opinion that the band peaked after their second album and that is all their fans want to hear.  He kept the promise, as the band immediately crashed into a Santanallica version of old favorite “Drunkship of Lanterns”.  Closing the set in perfect unpredictable fashion, the band played an extended version of France the Mute’s (2005) opening track, “Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus”, which quickly elevated into a funk jam while Bixler-Zavala howled lyrics from 60s garage rock band The Sonics’ “Strychnine”.

MGMT:

The Brooklyn duo has sure come a long way since their first interview with Soundcheck back in March 2008.  Nowadays they are playing the biggest music festival in the country where the security was freaking out over at the VIP entrance and fans were climbing the supports to get a better look at these lovable stoners.  The band covered all the Oracular Spectacular corners, hitting “Time To Pretend” and “Electric Feel” back to back while saving “Kids” for the encore.  They also surprised with a couple of new songs that they recorded in California.  Both songs have more of a guitar-driven rock feel to them than the pastel dance style of Oracular, but they are still unmistakable MGMT.  The most chaotic of all the festival’s shows (partly due to Bruce Springsteen’s presence watching from somewhere backstage), it is now obvious that the band has graduated from the tent-style stages and are ready for main stage status.  Ah, these kids grow up so fast.