Devin here, posting from my Bonnaroo campsite. Planned to post earlier, but after skipping The Roo last year I kind of forgot what an ordeal it is getting into the site. It certainly isn't the fault of the organiziers, since Bonnaroo is one of the best run operations I've experienced. You try wrangling 90,000 music fans on 700 acres of land, to say nothing of more than a hundred bands and hundreds of support folks and volunteers. The powers that be at Bonnaroo do a jam up job each year. Getting onto the site is still a chore though. It seems as if everyone shows up at once and factor in the rain we've been having so far, it makes for a long day. I arrived to get my press passes at 6am Wednesday morning. I let my friends go ahead in hopes they would score a campsite close to the performance site. There was a slight mix up with the press credentials, which was quickly cleared up when Marcus arrived with a printout of the press credential confirmation email, and I rode in with Marcus and Bevin. Didn't actually get the press passes until almost noon, then spent about three hours waiting in line to get in, going from the highway to a country road, then through the "tollbooth" to have our car searched (no glass bottles allowed at The Roo) and our tickets punched, then more waiting as we were guided to Marcus's campsite. Marcus got put about where I was in 2004, just a bit further up from the treeline in Camp Jeff Spicoli. All the different camps are named after film, TV or cartoon characters. I helped Marcus and Bevin set up their tent, since it was starting to rain, then set out to find my party. I had no idea where they were, but were hoping they were close to the m-n gate. I finally got ahold of one of my friends, Julie, and she started directing me toward their camp. I walked and walked...and walked...and walked some more, each step taking me futher away from the festival site. When I finally met up with my frinds, I found myself in Camp M (after Agent 007's boss in the James Bond films). I invite you to go to Bonnaroo.com and look at the site map. As you will see, Camp M is about as far as you can get from the action and still be on the festival grounds.
Great.
Again, no ill will towards the Bonnaroo folks. You have just as good a chance as anyone apparently to score a great campsite, but it would have been nice to have been a little closer. No worries though. By the time I got my tent up and sat down with a cold beverage, it was almost 5pm. I hadn't slept since Monday night save for a couple of catnaps in the car on the way. I crawled into my tent at about 6:30, and zonked out until about 1am, when a truly spectacular thunderstorm threatened to wash us all away. My tent held up though, and now here I am, fresh from a morning shower (yes, there are shower facilities available for the reasonable price of $7), and ready for some music. I will be photographing as many bands as I can, and updating here throughout the day. Let the fun begin!
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