The Current Music Blog: June 14, 2008 Archive

Backstage Instudios

Posted at 2:27 PM on June 14, 2008 by Jill Riley

If you're wondering where I'm hanging out when I'm not seeing all the shows, it's Radio Bonnaroo. Throughout the weekend about 30 stations from all over the country have been doing shows, checking in with their home stations or taking a shift on Radio Bonnaroo. The folks camping and attending the festival can tune into 101.5 FM Radio Bonnaroo for announcements and a Bonnaroo friendly mix of music from DJ's from all around the country!

One of the cool things about Radio Bonnaroo is the backstage recording studio. Just like we do at The Current, there are live instudio performances. What Made Milwaukee Famous, Adele, Nicole Atkins, Raconteurs, Tegan and Sarah and about a dozen others have stopped in to record interviews and exclusive performances.

The photos (credit Music Allies) are of Rilo Kiley and Jose Gonzalez.

Highlights-a-roo

Posted at 4:44 PM on June 14, 2008 by Jill Riley

I just finished up my Saturday broadcast live from Bonnaroo! I can hear Gogol Bordello finishing up their set at the stage behind me. Sounds like a gypsy punk good time! I'll be on again tomorrow from 1-5pm with more live instudio Radio Bonnaroo performances. I can hear Mason Jennings recording his performance right now.

I thought I should take a moment and reflect on some of the hightlights from this weekend. Last night Metallica rocked my world! It was hit after hit, and they even played some stuff I really like from the album Kill em All! "Whiplash" was a nice touch, I think they were conerned that we all weren't rocking hard enough. During "One" the pyrotechnics kicked in and we were all treated to one hell of a rock and roll show! They played a lot of the hits, which was appropriate for the Bonnaroo crowd. Say what you will about Metallica, but they are the pros when it comes to putting on a show. I know I can count on the fact that James Hetfield won't whine about the sound of his monitors the whole time!

Chris Rock (photo credit Music Allies) put on a great show before Metallica on the main stage. I was laughing nonstop! I was really pumped about being able to see Chris Rock in the flesh. Speaking of comedy, last night I went over to the comedy tent to catch Zach Galifianakis. It was nice to have some laughs, and see some of my favorite comedians!

If you're planning on seeing M.I.A. anytime soon, you need to change those plans. She's taking a break for awhile and has canceled her tour. Bonnaroo was her last show before her break. She said "This is my last show for awhile and here I am playing for a bunch of hippies." Hippies or not, everybody was moving their bodies for her, she even pulled up some fans to dance on stage. Her encore tune was her big hit "Paper Planes" and the crowd went nuts.

Tonight I'm looking forward to Iron &Wine, Pearl Jam, Sigur Ros and the show everyone's been talking about... the 2:45am Kanye West show. I just got word that I can hangout on the side of the stage for Jack Johnson. It pays to be friendly with the right people sometimes I guess.

Some guy just walked by with a shirt on that said "I listen to bands that don't even exist yet." How hip. He must be a futurist. I just remembered another t-shirt moment from yesterday. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a dude wearing the "Music Lovers Unite" Current shirt. I went up to him and gave him props for his t-shirt, turns out he's a big fan of MPR from the Twin Cities. Thanks to Steve for showing love to The Current at Bonnaroo!

If you are wondering why I'm not writing about My Morning Jacket... I'll say this. I like them, but it was raining and I was shot and ready for some sleep. So that's that.