Bonnaroo 2010: Conan calls it a comeback, Margaret Cho talks vaginas, and the Flaming Lips pay off our reporter

Days 1 & 2, June 10-11, 2010, in Manchester, Tennessee

By Laura Marie Braun
Published: June 12th, 2010 | 7:00pm

It was a 12-hour journey from Chicago to Manchester, Tennessee, but the anticipation for Bonnaroo had me running on empty—in the best way possible. As soon as I made it into the state, I was immediately greeted by 90-plus degree heat; worse yet, Manchester experienced some pretty rough storms the night before and the Bonnaroo campgrounds were nothing but mud, which forced a delay in the opening of the fest, much to the dismay of the thousands of festival-goers ready to start the party. But once it got started, the party never stopped with music and entertainment going well into the night. Let’s start from the beginning.

First up on Thursday was New Yorkers the Postelles who were celebrating their upcoming album release and seemed as stoked to be playing as the crowd was to be watching. As if a solid performance wasn’t enough, the band ended their set by throwing copies of the still unreleased album into the crowd and performing a birthday dedication. With a ‘60s garage rock meets the Kooks sound, the Postelles had fans and casual watchers alike dancing in the tent, despite the extreme heat.

Most of the Postelles crowd stuck around for the next performer at the stage, newcomer Diane Birch. It’s easy to see why Birch has been drawing constant comparisons to the likes of legend Carole King. Performing with a full band, the charming singer/keyboardist had a rich, soulful sound and was met with huge cheers for each song by an audience easily entranced with her charm.

The first quasi-celebrity sighting of the fest came when legendary music fan Beatle Bob came out to introduce Here We Go Magic (accidentally introducing them as "Here We Go Again"). With a unique indie synth sound, Here We Go Magic had a great psychedelic magnetism that drew more and more fans as they performed.

Continuing this trend, as the sun went down, the people count kept going up. Temper Trap was the first to draw a gigantic crowd that spanned far beyond the confines of their stage. With the night getting darker, the glow sticks were a-flyin’ and the crowd was getting more and more intense, which made Temper Trap’s dramatic entrance very well received. With an enticing instrumental intro packed with heavy guitar licks, the band was loud but not without purpose.

Margaret Cho had one of the last sets on Thursday. Accompanied by John Roberts (of YouTube fame for his insanely hilarious impressions of his Jewish mom), Cho did not disappoint longtime fans, once again sparing no detail of her colorful sex life. While some people left halfway through the show (either out of exhaustion or discomfort from the constant vagina talk), her fandom was more than apparent with people who stood up and loudly cheered for the infamous comedian.

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First up on Day Two was Julia Nunes. As I arrived at her stage, the ukulele was in the midst of a pretty sweet cover of Weezer’s "Keep Fishin’" as if Bonnaroo was her own personal coffeehouse. Nunes interacted with the audience between songs and was delightfully self-deprecating, as she yelled out zingers like, "Hey, if you wanna hear shitty songs played on a ukulele, stay!" to random passers-by.

The line to gain entry into the comedy tent for Conan O’Brien’s lauded return extended past several stages, but for those lacking patience (i.e.: me) or a ticket, there was a special stage set up with the set streaming live. Fans cheered for old favorites like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Andy Richter. Coco just barely scaled down his elaborate show for the tiny tent, yet opted to include his giant inflatable bat from a former Meat Loaf tour.

For a day set, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros played to an exceptionally large audience. As the band launched into their instantly recognizable songs, Sharpe commanded the crowd and embraced them (quite literally, a few times). While the sound quality of the stage was less than stellar, fans didn’t seem to mind as they waved their hands in the air and enjoyed one over-the-top sing-a-long.

Charisma was the definitely word of Day Two as each performer seemed to have even more than the last. Case-in-point: Beth Ditto of Gossip, who worked the hell out of the stage and created a pretty epic dance party as soon as she got started. Between her strong vocals and the fantastic electronica waged by her band, Gossip were memorable to say the least—but what else is new?

After a short break from the sun, I returned to find Tenacious D fighting the devil (they won), as well as play a medley from The Who’s legendary rock opera, Tommy. Not bad for a comedic rock band.

Of course, the talk of the night was the poorly scheduled headlining three-way of the Flaming Lips, Daryl Hall & Chromeo, and the Black Keys. Roo’ers were passionate about the decision they had to make, either checking out a bit of each set or choosing just one of the very epic shows in its totality. My mind was made up early on: the Flaming Lips performing Dark Side of the Moon.

The Lips played a half-hour set of their own songs, but once they got started on Dark Side, all bets were off. For what could have been incredibly cheesy or overdone, Wayne Coyne and company got it just right. The highlight of the show was, without a doubt, the giant balloons filled with real cash thrown into the crowd during “Money,” one of which luckily made it’s way right over to me. Sure enough, the balloon popped and out came five and ten dollar bills all inscribed in bright red ink, "The Flaming Lips love you." Words that I truly believe from a band giving it their all in the name of rock.

Exhaustion, heat, thirst, and all the other crappy elements of festival life disappeared for the night. It didn’t matter which band you chose to watch—there was no such thing as a bad show on Friday at Bonnaroo.

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For coverage of Bonnaroo 2010, Days 3 & 4, click here