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Live at Paste: Duncan Sheik
We just finished putting together our August issue, which is our special International Issue. Our premise is that "world music" isn't a genre; musicians from around the world are contributing to every style of music and adding their local flavors. International influence certainly proved to be true the first part of the day yesterday at Bonnaroo. I started local with Augusta, Ga., native Sharon Jones and her Dap Kings. It was like watching Amy Winehouse if she was better and likable—and could dance. From there, I caught Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet. Abigail is from Tennessee, but her music is influenced by her many trips to China, where she'll be returning this summer for the Olympic Games. On the main stage, California-based multi-ethnic group Ozomatli was mixing rock and hip-hop with salsa and reggae for the pulsating masses. And then Gogol Bordello was adding their Eastern European touches to New York punk for a frenzied crowd.
As evening approached, I hopped from stage to stage, catching bits of
The Avett Brothers, Cat Power, Iron & Wine and even a very little
bit of Mastodon. I hated leaving Iron & Wine, but I wanted to catch
at least a couple of songs of Levon Helm. I ended up staying for the whole set, and it may have topped Swell Season for best performance of
the festival. His Ramble on the Road band was fantastic, and seeing the
68-year-old cancer survivor sing his heart out and tear up the drums—always with a mile-wide smile—was magical. We were sitting right in the
photo pit in front of the stage, and when they closed their set with
"The Weight," the crowd was deafening, screaming at the top of our
lungs and then breaking into a chant of "Levon!"
Jack Johnson was unsurprisingly boring. I don't dislike his music, and if I was sitting in a coffeehouse, I'd have probably enjoyed last night's set. But I was in the crowd of tens of thousands people, and there was nothing special about what we were watching, even when Eddie Vedder came out. At one point, I had to wonder what his band would do if he said, "Let's bring it down." They'd have to say, "There is no lower. We've hit the floor of 'down.'" But when Pearl Jam followed, the wood was brought. They poured their hearts into every song and we poured ourselves back into the music to the point I was completely exhausted by the end. Which made Sigur Rós the perfect follow-up. The wash of the Icelanders' atmospheric music couldn't have been more relaxing at 3 o'clock in the morning. I would have finished out with Kanye West, but there was no sign he was coming on anytime soon so we headed back to the hotel. That turned out to be a great decision. He started playing to a pissed-off crowd at 4:30. He'd postponed his set from 8pm because he needed darkness for his light show, but the sun started peeking up halfway through. He made no friends at Bonnaroo—and that's hard to accomplish.
Jack Johnson was unsurprisingly boring. I don't dislike his music, and if I was sitting in a coffeehouse, I'd have probably enjoyed last night's set. But I was in the crowd of tens of thousands people, and there was nothing special about what we were watching, even when Eddie Vedder came out. At one point, I had to wonder what his band would do if he said, "Let's bring it down." They'd have to say, "There is no lower. We've hit the floor of 'down.'" But when Pearl Jam followed, the wood was brought. They poured their hearts into every song and we poured ourselves back into the music to the point I was completely exhausted by the end. Which made Sigur Rós the perfect follow-up. The wash of the Icelanders' atmospheric music couldn't have been more relaxing at 3 o'clock in the morning. I would have finished out with Kanye West, but there was no sign he was coming on anytime soon so we headed back to the hotel. That turned out to be a great decision. He started playing to a pissed-off crowd at 4:30. He'd postponed his set from 8pm because he needed darkness for his light show, but the sun started peeking up halfway through. He made no friends at Bonnaroo—and that's hard to accomplish.
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Did Larry Campbell take part in Abigail Washburn's set?
Not while I was watching. I got to listen to their acoustic set on Sunday, too. They played The Sonic Stage right next to the Paste tent.