Not the first blogaroo

There's going to be an air-conditioned movie tent at Bonnaroo, but the schedule boasts a bunch of purely popcorn pics—not the round-the-clock screening of obscure & classic rockumentaries I would expect & enjoy. I might still go there to get cool or catch a minute of the soccer game Saturday, but not to devour the hopelessly mediocre menu of Hollywood.

So, to spice up my countdown of packing, planning, & manic multitasking, to get myself in the mood while I get things done, I’ve got my DVDs of Coachella & Woodstock. The Who’s “Summertime Blues” is blaring in my headphones & playing on the desktop ‘puter as I tap these notes into a Word file on my laptop.

It's still uncertain if I'll pull off posting to this blog from the actual Bonnaroo festival, but I'm certainly not the first writer to try to do a blogaroo. 2004 appears to be the year that local papers in Memphis and Tennessee sent their writers to blog-on about the goings on. Cultural commentary mixed with complaints about missing credentials and uncomfortable camping seems to be the preferred approach.

This blogaroo seemed more upset about the sketchy wireless access than anything else while this one really did its best to cover the festival with some enlightened depth & appreciation. Finally, this piece from High Times really seems to capture the spirit of why people return to Manchester every year.

I’ve spent days reading posts at the Inforoo site, studying maps & aerial photos, asking myself if I’m about to waste four days in a sweltering field or fulfill my mad rock music desires with an overflowing cup of sonic brew.

I’m grateful to my east-coast radical circus comrades who are performing & helping me get there, & I’m curious as they must be how a mainstream, corporate-sponsored festival in the deep south compares to other more earthy & explicitly alternative gatherings.

So, in 48 hours, I’ll find out if my efforts, intentions, & anticipations were worth it.