2008 Woodie Awards
Bonnaroo wraps it up
Peter Rizzo, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: Arts & Living
(Editor's note: This the last of a three-part series on the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.)
After all of these great performances, there were bound to be missteps along the way. Unfortunately for the throngs of people that reached the main stage at the ungodly hour of 2:45 a.m. central time. On Saturday, it came in the form of Kanye West.
By 3:30 a.m., the rap star had yet to make his onstage appearance, which had not even been set up, as a number of workers busily put together a massive spaceship. By 4:00, still no West had arrived, prompting a number of obscene chants to be shouted by the crowd, many of whom were half asleep on the ground.
Finally, at around 4:30, West arrived, launching headfirst into his set without a word to the crowd. He cut off songs midway and drew the ire of many fans who had been eagerly awaiting his set.
This debacle would spark a he said/she said feud between the rapper and Bonnaroo officials who alleged that Kanye simply refused to play. Talking to one stage manager who would only allow himself to be indentified as Paul, he claimed that he "had been [setting up stages] for over 21 years" and didn't buy West's excuses.
He offered insights such as how each event is "planned out ahead of time, often six months in advance, with everything from the number of hotel rooms to the number of microphones" already in place. But he mostly echoed the festival's claims that West was backstage and ready, despite obvious set problems.
Still, fan reaction was overwhelmingly negative as no sooner did morning come when some angry fans could be seen sporting homemade t-shirts deriding the star.
Rock's elder statesmen at the event seemed less concerned about the pressure, something that was visible in their laid back sets. B.B. King successfully turned the main stage into a back porch jam session, complete with his meandering stories and humorous anecdotes. King charmed the younger crowd as some showed their affection, aludding to comments of how they wished he could be their grandfather.
After all of these great performances, there were bound to be missteps along the way. Unfortunately for the throngs of people that reached the main stage at the ungodly hour of 2:45 a.m. central time. On Saturday, it came in the form of Kanye West.
By 3:30 a.m., the rap star had yet to make his onstage appearance, which had not even been set up, as a number of workers busily put together a massive spaceship. By 4:00, still no West had arrived, prompting a number of obscene chants to be shouted by the crowd, many of whom were half asleep on the ground.
Finally, at around 4:30, West arrived, launching headfirst into his set without a word to the crowd. He cut off songs midway and drew the ire of many fans who had been eagerly awaiting his set.
This debacle would spark a he said/she said feud between the rapper and Bonnaroo officials who alleged that Kanye simply refused to play. Talking to one stage manager who would only allow himself to be indentified as Paul, he claimed that he "had been [setting up stages] for over 21 years" and didn't buy West's excuses.
He offered insights such as how each event is "planned out ahead of time, often six months in advance, with everything from the number of hotel rooms to the number of microphones" already in place. But he mostly echoed the festival's claims that West was backstage and ready, despite obvious set problems.
Still, fan reaction was overwhelmingly negative as no sooner did morning come when some angry fans could be seen sporting homemade t-shirts deriding the star.
Rock's elder statesmen at the event seemed less concerned about the pressure, something that was visible in their laid back sets. B.B. King successfully turned the main stage into a back porch jam session, complete with his meandering stories and humorous anecdotes. King charmed the younger crowd as some showed their affection, aludding to comments of how they wished he could be their grandfather.
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