Bonnaroo 2009: Nine Inch Nails say their final goodbye, our reporter gets a concussion, and Jenny Lewis introduces the crowd to her friend “Fernando”

Days 3 & 4, June 13–14, 2009, in Manchester, Tennessee

By Lauren Trzaska
Published: June 18th, 2009 | 7:00am

The music on Day Three of Bonnaroo started with metal; thankfully, it wasn’t full-on head banging, drum thrashing, guitar shredding metal. It was actually flamenco guitar metal, a purely instrumental style innovated by duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. Metallica and Megadeth being some of their greatest influences, the band has turned metal on its head, attuned to the Bonnaroo set. While Rodrigo played the lead, Gabriela played the rhythmic accompaniment and created a bass line as she drummed on the body of her guitar.

A jam-packed tent held indie pop darling, Jenny Lewis.The excitement of the waiting crowd was about to bust through the roof until Lewis finally emerged on stage, all smiles. She launched right into songs from her latest album, Acid Tongue (Warner Bros.) After “See Fernando” was played, Lewis introduced us all to Fernando — a plastic, blow-up duck! The crowd sang along all the way through her encore, which included the title track of her album, as well as brand-new song “Big Wave,” and “Born Secular.”

The Best Of The Fest Costume Award hands down should be given to Of Montreal. Their stage show competed directly with their music as costumed members dressed up as zombies, a family on Christmas morning, members of Sgt. Pepper, and what can only be described as a Mummer (if you are not from Philadelphia, “Mummers” is worth a Google search). The audience was receptive to the music and sang along to the jams, but seemed a bit perplexed by the frockery and being blessed by the band with streaming rolls of toilet paper.

There was no way to miss Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Their set began with the usual mix of old and new songs; then, halfway through, Springsteen started to collect the signs audience members had been holding up and informed everyone that it was request time. He soon held up one of the signs, a life-size poster of Santa Claus. Knowing Springsteen’s classic Christmas hit, a cover of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” everyone began to go wild. Would he really do it? Bruce joked that it was “too fucking hot!” but soon enough, Clarence shook some jingle bells and was bellowing “ho ho ho” into his microphone. Yes, there was a Christmas sing-a-long at Bonnaroo! The Boss continued to blow away the crowd with power-packed favorites like “Born To Run,” “Dancing In The Dark,” and “Rosalita.”

A truly bittersweet moment, Nine Inch Nails chose Saturday night at Bonnaroo to conclude their very last North American tour. Yes, their absolute LAST. As Reznor put it, "Don't be sad. I'll keep going. But I think I'm going to lose my mind if I keep doing this, and I have to stop." Decked in leather and sweat, Reznor mesmerized the audience with an intensity that was beyond overwhelming and virtually impossible to describe. As it was their last show in the States, there was a definite sense that the band put it all out there. With blinding strobe lights, NIN plowed through fan favorites such as “Piggy” and “Bite The Hand That Feeds,” and concluded the set with “Hurt.” A quick look around showed an emotional audience that ranged from teary-eyed to downright sobbing. It was impossible to have been unaffected by their performance, an absolute highlight of a packed Bonnaroo experience.

Sunday started with The Lovell Sisters, three teenaged sisters from Georgia who were raised musically, and learned classical piano and violin while they sang in their church choir. The bluegrass trio played the fiddle, mandolin, and lap steel guitar, among others. They are self-described as progressive acoustic but acknowledge their strong bluegrass influences. The Lovell Sisters proved to be a truly family band, with their Dad and younger brother who stood off to the side watching.

Security was ready for the onslaught of crowd surfers at the Dillinger Escape Plan’s show, so everyone in the photo pit knew to watch our backs. Little did I know that only two songs into their set, the bass player would run off the end of the stage and fall directly onto me! I still have a lump in the center of my forehead, direct evidence of the fact that his bass guitar was the first thing to make contact. The photographers around me managed to pull him up and he quickly jumped back onstage, not even acknowledging the incident. I was then pulled to my feet, asked if I was ok, and we all went back to taking photos of this wild spectacle. Soon after, we had to exit the photo pit, at which time those who were around me checked on me again, got ice, and aided me back to the press tent. Having been an EMT in high school, I knew I had a concussion, but also knew I would be fine and have a great story to tell! I can’t tell you what they were playing, as it all ended up a bit fuzzy in my memory.

It was a welcome relief, then, to see Brett Dennen who brought his laidback, California-grooving style to the festival, in true Bonnaroo spirit. Most of the songs he performed were from his latest endeavor, 2008’s Hope for the Hopeless (Dualtone), including “Make You Crazy,” which let the fans feel positive vibes that emanated from the stage.

Erykah Badu got things pumping on the main stage. Despite the heat, Badu was rocking a Public Enemy hoodie, probably acquired when she made a surprise appearance at their Bonnaroo set on Friday night. Badu and her backing singers kept the packed field grooving to her eclectic neo-soul songs. “On and On” got a particularly strong response as well as “Tyrone.” Badu has a voice that is best understood live, as she delivered each song with honey-laden Texas drawls and a voice that comes from her body more than just her mouth.

Band of Horses ended my Bonnaroo experience, as the audience dwindled with people leaving early or camped out at the main stage to secure a good spot for Phish’ssecond performance of the weekend. While the size of the crowd had lessened, the excitement did not. The hauntingly beautiful tunes of Band of Horses, featuring Ben Bridwell on vocals and lap guitar, were easily recognized from numerous TV show soundtracks. Fans reacted most to “The Funeral,” as “No One’s Gonna Love You” and “Is There a Ghost?” were not far behind. It was shocking to discover that Band of Horses are originally from Seattle, as their music seemed much more appropriate of their new home in South Carolina.

As I made my way back to the press area to say my goodbyes, I was happy to be soon getting a real shower, yet sad to say goodbye to a festival I have come to love so dearly and (hopefully) will remember.

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For more photos from Bonnaroo, Days 3 & 4, visit Venus Zine’s Flickr page

Bonnaroo 2009, Days 1 & 2, June 11–12, 2009: Girl Talk is instructed to slow down as Karen O and Crystal Castles move full speed ahead