aok
User

Reviews 33
Approval 95%

Soundoffs 60
News Articles 8
Band Edits + Tags 8
Album Edits 78

Album Ratings 390
Objectivity 77%

Last Active 07-22-14 1:48 am
Joined 03-09-10

Review Comments 4,621

 Lists
02.06.24 Cryptocurrency's a Sham06.11.22 Sounds of Bristol
04.19.21 tinychat01.05.15 Aok's Top 10 Of 2014 ♦
11.23.14 Massive Attack Sunday Afternoon09.18.14 Live Music
08.01.14 Excellent Albums Are Classic02.12.14 Rock Anthems
02.06.14 Aok's Top 10 From 2013 ♦05.29.13 That Moment In Music ♦
05.03.13 Miss You Guys ♦04.17.13 Coachella 2013: The End Of An Era ♦
03.25.13 Melt My Soul (recs Please)01.31.13 January 2013 Tracks
12.26.12 2012 Albums12.08.12 Fresh 2012 Beats
09.06.12 Electric Zoo 2012 ♦07.10.12 Aok's Digs
More »

Bonnaroo 2012 (or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Musics)

After 2 years of Coachella, chunks of an edc and all of Electric Zoo 2011, I thought I had a solid understanding of festival atmosphere. But I had no idea what was coming to me with Bonnaroo. I felt wildly unprepared, mildly sunburned and after feeling mildly disappointed by several of the acts that I saw I began wondering about 2013 .. Should I buy tickets in the presale or on craigslist just before the festival starts?
1Kendrick Lamar
Section.80

I'm a big fan of Kendrick and anything Black Hippy (Ab-Soul's gonna be awesome in
4 days), but like many young rappers, Kendrick has had difficulty translating his
talents to a festival setting. I was fairly disappointed overall, but hearing 'ADHD'
and 'The Recipe' made it all just about worth it
2Phantogram
Eyelid Movies

Confirming my suspicions that Thursday (not Sunday) is the day to miss if you have
to miss one as well as my suspicions that Phantogram plays music like the music I
listen to, but not as well. Exhausted, I felt bad about missing MiMosa and Big
Gigantic, but Bonnaroo is a marathon not a sprint ..
3tUnE-yArDs
w h o k i l l

Not really doing it for me. 'bizness' is always fun, but the hectic vibes and the
overcrowdedness really took away from the performance
4 Little Dragon
Ritual

* The only thing I knew about Little Dragon was that their vocalist (Yukimi Nagano)
had a nice feature on DJ Shadow's latest LP, so I decided to give them a shot.
And, I was surprised to note that they were one of the best acts I had seen so far.
Very soothing, entrancing and quite nice.
5ludacris
battle of the sexes

I wanna, li-li-li-lick you from yo' head to yo' toes .. A funny site, and an interesting
crowd, but rodrigo y gabriela were calling
6Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Area 52

** And were they ever calling. If it weren't for this real life married couple soothing
us all, waiting in the "line" for the Radiohead pit would have been painful. But after
Rodrigo leads us out and nearly floored me, the elegant beautiful vibes of Gabriela
(omg I want to marry her!) one up her husband. Seeing them perform should be on
all of your to do lists
7Radiohead
Hail to the Thief

*** "Everybody be Cool" yells someone in the middle of 'The Gloaming' . I relish on
their insistence on playing it in each of the 4 performances of theirs I've seen this
year. Distinctly recall the devilish grin it evokes in me while watching so many
faces disintegrate. Sure 'Paranoid Android' , 'Reckoner' , 'Everything in it's Right
Place' , 'Idioteque' (and in this case 'Karma Police' as well) steal the show, but
watching those who haven't yet seen the sadistic side of this band react was the
highlight of this show for me.
8Major Lazer
Guns Dont Kill People... Lazers Do

** Interestingly, and this is what I realized about Bonnaroo. The party goes on til
morning. There are no rules about when (or whether) to sleep. The headliners are
in a way just openers for the real party and Major Lazer was as fantastic and real
as can be. Definitely see diplo and switch if you get the chance
9Black Star
Black Star

** As much as I was anticipating seeing Black Star, I simply couldn't leave Major
Lazer. Fortunately, I did manage to catch the last 30-40 minutes of Mos Def and
Talib Kweli and, as expected, they delivered
10Battles
Gloss Drop

I don't care if you disagree with me and I can acknowledge that they have talent,
but I generally find that as soon as a Battles song ends I can't help but cherish the
silence.
11Puscifer
Conditions of My Parole

* There's no reason for me not to have listened to more than just a few notes but
that's all I did. Very cool vibes heading from this direction
12SBTRKT
SBTRKT

** Ok, I really need to listen to this guy more
13The Roots
Undun

** A fantastic display. These guys know how to perform, and they know how to
perform well.
14Red Hot Chili Peppers
Blood Sugar Sex Magik

*** In which Flea reminds me why I've always held the Chili Peppers in the highest
of regard. Whereas I cherished Radiohead for giving me a since of individuality,
hearing 'If You Have To Ask' , along with classic after classic (I kinda wish 'Higher
Ground' wasn't the only pre-bssm song they play but I digress). It was kindof
strange to see Josh Klinghoffer, but he's talented in his own right, but Hillel Slovak
defined the Chili Peppers as much as John Frusciante so those who say it's like
seeing a fake version of the Chili Peppers need to wisen up.
15Alice Cooper
Welcome 2 My Nightmare

* Pretty bad overall, but hearing 'Schools Out' in the distance while laughing about
how Alice Cooper was actually singing 'School's Out'
16The Roots
How I Got Over

** ?uestlove was basically him with a couple of famous guests and reminded me a
lot of the Roots' set. I had no problem with that.
17Skrillex
Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

* There's a movement of people. Hordes of people. Wild crazy people. Once you
cross a certain line, all rules are off, every man for themselves. Serotonin is
released, light shows abound and Sonny Moore is one of the biggest stars on the
planet. I mean, I was more upset I missed GZA perform liquid swords, but shit
18The Beach Boys
The SMiLE Sessions

I left before they played. I left before Phish played. I left before the Shins played
... I don't wanna talk about it, good thing I have some things to look forward to
19Ab-Soul
Control System

Thursday, June 21 @ SOBs . The right artist at the right venue
20Tangerine Dream
Phaedra

Saturday, July 7 @ Best Buy Theater . I have otherworldly expectations for this show
21Grimes
Visions

Thursday, October 25 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg . Probably will be the perfect
environment for this show. The amount of tickets she's sold for all of her different
shows in New York is staggering.
Show/Add Comments (37)

STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy