Blog Posts by The Spin Staff

Bonnaroo continued on Saturday with sets from hip-hop's hottest newcomer Wiz Khalifa and Neil Young and Stephen Stills' reunited '60s band Buffalo Springfield. But there were plenty of other highlights. Here are our Top 5:

EMINEM AT THE WHAT STAGE
It's hard to imagine a performer whose entire aesthetic is less compatible with the communal, peaceful, howdy-neighbor vibeology of Bonnaroo. Still, after Eminem arrived early to the site, there was chatter that he'd get into the festival's collaborative spirit and join other artists onstage. But that never materialized, and when Slim Shady emerged from the wings just after 11:30 PM Saturday, alongside hulking sidekick Mr. Porter, he was not about to entertain any sort of when-in-Manchester attitude adjustment.

Wearing camo cargo shorts and a black hoodie hanging loosely over a promotional t-shirt for his Bad Meets Evil project (with fellow Detroit MC Royce Da 5'9"), Em launched into a ferocious version of the guitar-heavy counterpunch

Bonnaroo kicked off in earnest on Friday with My Morning Jacket's debut set as a headliner on the What Stage, and Lil Wayne's late-night party at the Which Stage. But there were plenty of other highlights. Here are our Top 5:

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE AT THE OTHER TENT
As the son of Steve Earle and namesake of Townes Van Zandt, Justin Townes Earle undoubtedly talks a lotta s*** in his everyday grind, but onstage Friday he was about as artfully and bluntly honest as any singer-songwriter type you'll ever encounter. And he did it by playing his part to the hilt -- sporting a plaid jacket and tie, Panama hat, khakis, cigarette dangling, looking like a squirrelly '40s con man in a James Purdy novel who'll spend all day confessing his colorful sins in a radio-DJ purr, just so you'll lend him enough scratch to buy two fingers of gin.

There's a world of mischief dancing behind Earle's style-conscious nerd glasses and a universe of sly regret in his expressive, if slightly thin voice. When he

The first day of Bonnaroo is mostly a "giant clothing-optional housewarming party," as SPIN's David Marchese writes in his blog. "It's the getting-acquainted calm before the real-shindig storm."

True, that. Still, even on opening Thursday there were a number of strong shows to be seen. Here are our Top 5:

J. COLE AT THIS TENT
J. Cole, the self-proclaimed "fine young man with the old-man mind," had little reason to be humble during his Bonnaroo debut. A hyped throng waved cell phones, raised lighters, and shouted lyrics whenever prompted; but the Fayetteville, NC, native still paused early on to formally introduce himself with a quick striver bio (plus Jay-Z namedrop and Roc-A-Fella huzzah) -- perhaps to maintain the illusion that he's hip-hop's next chosen one, a rare, ready-to-blow talent who'll ascend to superstardom with this year's much-awaited "official" album debut on Roc Nation. Of course, Cole has already released three LP-quality mixtapes since 2007, with no shortage of

X Japan / Photo by Erik Voake

Best Ergonomic Solution for Killer Drum Fills: X Japan
Among all the big-ticket reunions that festivals bank on, one of the biggest featured a band most Lollapalooza attendees had likely never heard of before Sunday. Prog-metal giants X Japan -- no relation to Exene Cervenka, John Doe et. al -- sold millions of records at home before breaking up in 1997. (Their flamboyant guitarist hanged himself under mysterious circumstances in 1998.) But the band had never played America. A reconstituted version rectified that yesterday looking like anime characters dropped into a 1987 Manowar video. There was pyro, sure, but the most lasting impression was left by multi-tasking drummer Yoshiki, who pounded away at his kit -- and, more lovingly, at a white baby grand for the ballads -- all while wearing a thick neck brace, kinda like Joan Cusack in Sixteen Candles. The Japanese Tommy Lee quickly became the hero of the day and was last spotted driving a boat on Lake

Phoenix's Thomas Mars / Photo by Andrew Herrold

Best Music for Your Workout: Phoenix
Phoenix has become the Cadillac of pop bands, and the Frenchmen's eye-popping finale to a smashing Saturday found the quartet hitting on all cylinders. Who knew that the little band that gave us "Too Young" (surely you remember Lost in Translation) exactly 10 years ago would turn into a juggernaut who could play on the shores of Lake Michigan and be heard in Indiana? Phoenix has plenty of features -- a sleek, Euro-charming exterior with Thomas Mars, plenty under the hood with the guitar and rhythm section, and the deftly engineered songs of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. They're not necessarily dancey, but they are catchy and uplifting and aerobic. Even Mars seemed to marvel at the effect they had on masses at the north end of Grant Park. "This is the biggest crowd we've ever played to," he said. "Thank you." No, Thomas, the crowd (and their fitness instructors) thank you. -KEVIN BRONSON

Phoenix / Photo:

Best Reason to Wake Up Early: B.o.B.
There were more dragonflies than fans on the damp expanse of Grant Park - and more people holding coffee cups than beers cozies - when the man born Bobby Ray Simmons took the stage at 11:30. What was with giving a guy who's moving so many units a slot in the Breakfast Club? Who knows, but before Squirt Boy's water bottles were even out of his holsterer, B.o.B. had the crowd overheated. His sweet genre-mashing went down like a pastry. Heads bobbed and arms waved to "Haterz Everywhere," "Past My Shades," and "Magic." Playboy Tre guested on "Bet I." and the frontman busted out an acoustic guitar for the emo power ballad "Letters from Vietnam." He played his own song "The Kids," and finished with a cover of MGMT's "Kids." But no kids were happier than the two who ended up with Bobby Ray's sneakers - in a moment of exuberance, he flung them into the crowd. - KEVIN BRONSON

B.o.B. / Photo: Andrew Herrold

Second Best Reason to Wake Up Early: Javelin
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BEST CHARISMA: MIRANDA LAMBERT
She sang about "holding up my smoking gun" ("Kerosene"). She gloated to the nice girls, "But we got a lot in common you will see / We're just like you, only prettier" ("Only Prettier"). Her witty abrasiveness was probably a slight culture shock to the many country neophytes at Bonnaroo on Sunday, but Miranda Lambert was charming enough to win them over. The young artist, who gained fame as a finalist on the reality show Nashville Star, donned a guitar and let her tremendous pipes ring for her inaugural Bonnaroo show. The badass subject matter was delivered with a bright pageant smile and solid guitar chops. Lambert has the makings of a true crossover star; she may just headline a future Bonnaroo. -- STACEY ANDERSON

Miranda Lambert / Photo by Kyle Dean Reinford

BEST REASON TO ORDER ANOTHER ROUND: LUCERO
"I'm usually not awake this early," said Lucero's Ben Nichols, halfway through the band's resolutely rugged set in the parboiled This Tent. It was 2:30 in

WORST EVERYTHING: GWAR
It's the highest compliment we could pay the legendary shock-metal band. Among the atrocities committed by the mighty monsters of GWAR in the wee hours of the festival's fourth day: live human dissection by buzz-saw, glorification of crack smoking, incitement to violence via brutal moshing, desecration of a deceased pop idol (Michael Jackson depicted raping an alien infant), and quite possibly treason as Barack Obama was eventually decapitated in effigy. But the encore beat all. After Margaret Cho mock-fellated singer Oderus Urungus to the brand new GWAR tune "Margaret Cho is a Ho" -- resulting in a god-awful spray of fluids -- the band marched to Bonnaroo's famous fountain and dyed it blood-red. -- CHRIS MARTINS

Gwar / Photo by Ian Witlen

Gwar / Photo: Ian Witlen

BEST GLOBAL ELECTRO-RAP IMP: BOMBA ESTEREO
"This is psychedelic cumbia," announced Bomba Estereo frontwoman Liliana Saumet matter-of-factly during the Colombian four-piece's early-afternoon set, but