Blog Posts by Michael Lipton

Greetings earthlings. The wee hours of Saturday night have passed into Sunday morning.

If there was a moment--make that three hours--when all the energy and focus of Bonnaroo came together it had to be for Pearl Jam's set. The 10:15 start time and the fact that there was a two-hour block where nothing else was scheduled (save for Wolfman Washington at the "Something' Else" tent) seemed to confirm that.

I've never anything quite like the numbers of people walking to the main stage for the Pearl Jam show. It looked like a strange, robotic exodus as well over 75,000 people (which is at least 23,000 more than live in my home town of Charleston, WV) streamed to the stage. The mass of bodies stretched from the gigantic stage back hundreds (and hundreds) of yards to the lines of freshly sucked porta-potties.

With plenty of time allotted for his set, Eddie Vedder built the set slowly with plenty of ebbs and flows and kept the hits coming. From our vantage point--close to the back of the

Sat evening

After a gentle rain that lasted a good bit of the evening and through the night, the Weather Gods were again in sync with Bonnaroo. For the better part of Saturday, the rain held off and a welcome cloud cover kept the sun from blazing (although when it did, it seemed to cause the Tennessee mud to dredge up the smells of many pre-Bonnaroo cow pies).

We arrived at the site around noon and by 1 p.m., huge streams of people were passing through the gates. The size of the crowds at each stage seemed almost double from Friday.

And if there was a feeling that Friday's lineup was a little weak (which actually made it easier to decide on a listening schedule) Saturday's rooster was an ADD's dream--and cause to get down to some serious planning.

We started out with a quick dose of Little Feat. I pretty much knew what to expect but I couldn't resist. One of my favorite groups (at least through Feats Don't Fail Me Now), the band has continued to play long past the point when humility

Day two

After a full day and night of making the rounds of most of the stages and kiosks, the enormity--and organization--of Bonnaroo came into focus.

There are dozens (and dozens) of trailers filled with ice, beer and foodstuffs and an equal amount of golf carts, fork lifts and trucks to keep the vendors in supply. Behind the main stage are lines of stealth-looking tour busses with blacked-out windows, and RVs for the acts and crew. In short everything you need to keep a city of 80,000 party people sated.

As one act finished and another set up, waves of people moved from stage to stage. The midway became the gigantic intersection of "Planet Roo" with hundreds of people converging from all directions and heading to the different stages.

One of the best things about a festival that features as many bands as Bonnaroo is that, no matter how you plan your day, there will be surprises. And today was no exception.

I can't say I was surprised that the Raconteurs were good but I was surprised

Notes from mid-afternoon, Friday.

More than a music festival, Bonnaroo is a city-sized carnival teeming with music, people--and commerce.

From the press trailer--where I'm furiously writing to satisfy my time-conscious editor--the low end of Stephen Marley's bass is rumbling through the thin, woodgrain paneling. It's definitely hot but nothing like the 95-plus temps last week and a stiff breeze is helping keep the temperature down. On the horizon, a bank of dark clouds is bringing in what looks to be a good-sized rain storm. I'm trying not to imagine what this place will look like after a downpour.

Moments ago, from atop the Ferris wheel ($6), I got an eyeful of the entire Bonnaroo spread. An incredible sight, really.... 700 acres I hear... more than half of which is covered in tents and RVs.

At the wheel's peak, we could hear Adele wailing from "The Other Tent" while an aspiring singer (keep your day job) was belting out Steve Miller's "Joker" from the Karaoke Bay. The ride, a tip off